How cold is Banff in March?
Mar 4th, 2009, 11:52 AM
#1
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How cold is Banff in March?
Having skiied most of the ski resorts in Europe, my partner and i have decided to give North America ski resorts a try. We have chosen Banff over Whistler for weather and costs. Accordingly to our guide book, Banff can be bittingly cold in the winter, we are wondering how cold does it get? Do we need thermals and long johns? I don't particularly enjoy riding on cold (exposed) chair lifts, are the chair lifts in Banff covered? We are travelling to Banff on Wednesday next week. Many thanks.
Mar 4th, 2009, 03:42 PM
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Here is the Environment Canada web page for the Banff forecast:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/..._metric_e.html
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/..._metric_e.html
Mar 4th, 2009, 06:01 PM
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Hi! Which Banff ski resorts are you going to? Sunshine does not have covered ski lifts, neither does Nakiska. Only skiied once at Lake Louise quite a few years ago and their wasn't any covered chairs then. Never been to Norquay.
It will no doubt be cold enough to have to wear long johns. At least I always wore that Kombi underwear legging stuff. Mind you my ski pants aren't lined. You for sure will need a neck warmer as it can get pretty windy and cold on the chair lifts. Goats eye is an area at Sunshine before you actually get to the actual Sunshine village. The Gondola stops there on the way up. After the initial stage when you first get off the chair, and you get to the actual runs, it's not as windy as some of the other chairs at Sunshine.(I don't know if that make sense, but perhaps look at the map of runs on the Sunshine website and you'll know what I mean.)
I would dress as warm as possible. After all you can always rent a locker and take some stuff off if you choose. Have fun.
It will no doubt be cold enough to have to wear long johns. At least I always wore that Kombi underwear legging stuff. Mind you my ski pants aren't lined. You for sure will need a neck warmer as it can get pretty windy and cold on the chair lifts. Goats eye is an area at Sunshine before you actually get to the actual Sunshine village. The Gondola stops there on the way up. After the initial stage when you first get off the chair, and you get to the actual runs, it's not as windy as some of the other chairs at Sunshine.(I don't know if that make sense, but perhaps look at the map of runs on the Sunshine website and you'll know what I mean.)
I would dress as warm as possible. After all you can always rent a locker and take some stuff off if you choose. Have fun.
Mar 4th, 2009, 06:59 PM
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It's hard to know what you mean by "bitingly cold" as it really depends upon what you are used to. I find temperatures of -5C to -10C to be just about ideal, but you might be used to warmer temperatures.
I ski regularly (at least once or twice a season) in that part of the country (Lake Louise, Sunshine, Panorama, Kicking Horse) and have never found it nearly as cold as, for example, Mont Tremblant or Mont Ste Anne in Quebec in January, where the temperatures can be -25C and windy.
My last visit was at the end of January this past year, and I didn't find it very cold at all. Based on the forecast for the coming week, it will not be extremely cold at all.
I always wear long underwear, and above that vary the layers according to the temperature.
Lake Louise has a gondola, but the chairlifts are open. When the sun is shining and the sky is blue, I don't know of a more beautiful place to ski.
I ski regularly (at least once or twice a season) in that part of the country (Lake Louise, Sunshine, Panorama, Kicking Horse) and have never found it nearly as cold as, for example, Mont Tremblant or Mont Ste Anne in Quebec in January, where the temperatures can be -25C and windy.
My last visit was at the end of January this past year, and I didn't find it very cold at all. Based on the forecast for the coming week, it will not be extremely cold at all.
I always wear long underwear, and above that vary the layers according to the temperature.
Lake Louise has a gondola, but the chairlifts are open. When the sun is shining and the sky is blue, I don't know of a more beautiful place to ski.
Mar 5th, 2009, 03:20 AM
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Hey thanks for all your replies. We will be based in Sunshine and it looks like I will have to wrap up warm for the chairlift rides. The range of temperature in the Alps is between 0C to -10C without the wind so I should feel at home in Banff.
Laverendrye: I get warmed up fairy quickly when I ski but feel the cold on the chairlift rides. I guess like you said layers is the word.
Laverendrye: I get warmed up fairy quickly when I ski but feel the cold on the chairlift rides. I guess like you said layers is the word.
Mar 5th, 2009, 01:02 PM
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We skiied Lake Louise and Sunshine one year in March and the weather was great. My brother in law got a terrible sunburn one day. We always layer.
We did have to come in one day and wait out a very heavy snowstorm--you couldn't see to ski.
I loved skiing Sunshine since I had never skiied a bowl. But I agree with the above poster. Lake Louise is the most beautiful place we have ever skiied. Our ski pass enabled us to ski all 3 ski areas. My husband has the pictures from our trip on his office wall.
We did have to come in one day and wait out a very heavy snowstorm--you couldn't see to ski.
I loved skiing Sunshine since I had never skiied a bowl. But I agree with the above poster. Lake Louise is the most beautiful place we have ever skiied. Our ski pass enabled us to ski all 3 ski areas. My husband has the pictures from our trip on his office wall.
Mar 6th, 2009, 06:10 AM
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Looking at the forecast for next week, snow over the weekend and sunny when we arrive, perfect! I am so looking forward to this trip! Anyone care to recommend a good restaurant or two in Banff? We are pretty adventurous and won't mind pay a bit more for a good meal. Thanks.
Mar 9th, 2009, 11:06 AM
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Hi!
It's so cold here in Alberta today, I hope you are going later in the week! Anyways, in regards to restaurants. Perhaps look at a website called Taxi Mikes. He gives good recommendations with pictures, etc. It looks like he has a facebook blog if you're into that. Fuze and Bison have gotten good reviews on Chowhound. Our family was at Tommy's pub in January and it looked like it could be lots of fun.(We were there in the afternoon for just a quick one.)If you happen to be heading out of town to Canmore, 2 good restaurants I could suggest are The Trough dining co. and Crazyweed. Hope you have a good time and stay warm.
It's so cold here in Alberta today, I hope you are going later in the week! Anyways, in regards to restaurants. Perhaps look at a website called Taxi Mikes. He gives good recommendations with pictures, etc. It looks like he has a facebook blog if you're into that. Fuze and Bison have gotten good reviews on Chowhound. Our family was at Tommy's pub in January and it looked like it could be lots of fun.(We were there in the afternoon for just a quick one.)If you happen to be heading out of town to Canmore, 2 good restaurants I could suggest are The Trough dining co. and Crazyweed. Hope you have a good time and stay warm.
Mar 16th, 2009, 10:57 AM
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Check here: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/caab0016
and here: http://www.skibanff.com/conditions/snow_report.php
and here: http://www.skilouise.com/conditions/weather.aspx
for weather forecasts. It is frequently warmer up in the mountains than it is down on the plains around Calgary or Edmonton. You should have great weather.
and here: http://www.skibanff.com/conditions/snow_report.php
and here: http://www.skilouise.com/conditions/weather.aspx
for weather forecasts. It is frequently warmer up in the mountains than it is down on the plains around Calgary or Edmonton. You should have great weather.
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