Snow Sports 2016/17

izzop said:
Hi,

Just curious if you booked this as a package or put it together yourself? Although I'm assuming the later.

Any details you're willing to share on flights, accommodation etc. would be appreciated, especially a ball park figure of cost(s) and budget.

Cheers
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Sorry for the late reply! I got the notification when I was busy and then forgot about it. We actually did it through Crystal and have done that again for next year already. Looked into doing it separately but it was always coming out more expensive. We were more than happy to stay at the same place and had no problems with them on this trip so figured we'd just do the same again but for longer. Easy to get it done all in one place and now I have till December to pay it off. Was a little under £1200 for room with upgrade (same room as this year. Big, great bed, whirlpool bath, etc), flights and transfers, B&B for 2 weeks. I'm sure more well versed travelers or Banff'ers could shave a bit off that but I can't be bothered unless it's multiple hundreds. Which given the flights are about half that price I don't see how you could anyway. Lift passes I've actually booked through Crystal too as short of waiting for an offer closer to the time it's nice to know a big chunk of the in-resort cost will be paid off. I can always get that refunded if I see something better. I know people who have left both lift pass and accommodation till the very last minute and got great combined deals, but I much prefer having it sorted and paid for long before I go.

I'm not really sure how much I spent on food this year but on the hill you can get something like poutine for $14 which everywhere I had it was large, easily 2 peoples worth of food! Dinner didn't seem any more or less expensive to me than any other trip. There were some cheaper options like Burgers or stuff from the supermarket, but lots of good restaurants so we ate out every night.

Flying with BA so my board bag will cost me £60 each way. I could have flown with Air Canada for the same price and had my board taken for free, but I always put more stuff in my board bag like boots, extra clothes, helmet etc, and Air Canada will only take your board (They also stipulate it be in a hard shell case or you have to sign a waiver for damages - sod that). Plus if my main bag then went overweight, which it would with all the **** I'd normally put in my board bag, I'd have to pay as much or more than the £60 in overweight fees, so it just seemed easier to go with BA in the end. Again flew with them this year and had no troubles at all.

Any other questions I'l try answer in a more timely manner!
 
Considering the cheapest direct flights in winter are now £750 (Brexit yo) that's actually a damn good deal. Even in the cheapest hotels (but not hostels) you're looking at not far off £500 each (~$100+ a night for a small room with bathroom) and no breakfast.

I think with AC you actually get free boot bag carriage as well, so you can take a bag, boot bag and skis/board. Think they are still included in the same weight allowance though - check that!
 
Pretty much in line with what I found, except the hotel wanted £2800 to book direct for the room.. Not sure how that works! RE: AC it seemed like it would be more faff. I never carry my boots separately, I've always put them in my board bag (I don't even have a boot bag), along with quite a bit of other kit. The thought of running the gauntlet at the airport for money I'd almost definitely end up paying in OW fees anyway just seemed daft. This way I know it's all contained, won't make my main luggage weigh a ton, and I'm not waiving liability for it.

Others who we'll be travelling with have insisted in booking everything separately. Will keep my ear out for how much that costs them in the end.
 
God no I'm not that posh :D Brewster Mountain Lodge. I have no idea why it's that much if you book direct but it's where we stayed this year and it was top. The location is bang in the middle of Banff, really close to the ski bus stop. Room was great, loved the bed, has a great jacuzzi, and it's opposite Ed's Burgers. I'm sure some people want more perks from their hotel but given I'm a first lift/last lift kind of guy, most of the time I'm in the room I'm fast asleep anyway. We were with some people staying at the Aspen Lodge and I tell you even that little 10 minute walk down the road is hell when it's -25. I want to be as close to everything as possible.
 
For £2800 you could probably stay at the Fairmont! :p

Eds burgers is really nice. Also recommend the Sleeping Buffalo if you haven't been. Went there a few years ago now but their food was stunning, if on the more expensive side. Also the Elk and Oarsman, nice food and good prices - been there several times recently.
 
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The lake this morning. Getting a bit warm but the snowpack is still great so other than mid mountain down in the afternoon the snow is still good. Hoping to do another day or two before it shuts in a couple of weeks.

@Furyus, the rockies usually open a little earlier and close a little later but the seasons are similar. Early conditions are usually into mid January, spring conditions around late March onwards. It's coldest in Jan/Feb. January, February and March are all good times. March will generally be warmer with better snow but may be more likely to be too warm.
 
The joys of being able to go up before everyone else! That said it was fairly quiet all day, with lots of places almost deserted going through.

While we were on the way up we were thinking it was going to be a poor day, but then we broke through the clouds.
 
No one ever skis past March for some reason, even although spring skiing is basically the best unless you happen to be storm-skiing a mid-winter blizzard. Shorts and t-shorts, beer, sun-bathing, no lift-lines, discount tickets, empty slopes, chicks in bikinis.
 
Any snow now.will melt, and you better hope it does otherwise the deep faceted crystals will.ruin the ski season and lead to multiple deaths. Last thing we want is a colorado snowpack
 
I've never done a package tbh, prefer to just organise myself.

Flights/transfer/Airbnb done online then buy passes at the lift. Job done.

Would be interested to know if packages are cheaper mind.
 
Packages tend to be cheaper, but you do tend to remove the flexibility in doing it yourself.

You'll almost certainly be able to get lift passes cheaper, even if you buy them yourself online before you go! I buy an Epic season pass for $640 for Colorado, pays for itself in no time at all if you were otherwise buying at the window.
 
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