Belgian going to Banff for snowboarding holiday in February 2024: alpine equipment shops? courses? tips?

[gTa9000be]

Hi all,

I'm a Belgian, mostly riding in Europe (France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy) on an F2 Speedster RS 183 Equipe + a Swoard 175M + a Dupraz D1+.
In February 2024, I'm going to Calgary/Banff for 12 days. I'm debating to take my own board and boots with me but flying over a quiver is expensive. Therefore, I'm looking for alternatives.

(1) Are there alpine boarding shops in the greater Calgary area, or in Banff - Lake Louise? Rental of buy?
(2) Is there any chance to acquire Mountain Slope .751 boots in that area? (If yes, then I won't take my own Deeluxe Track700.)
(3) Are there any possibilities for taking some hours of private courses with an alpine snowboarding expert?
(4) Tips for ski areas and/or slopes that I specifically MUST or mustn't go to on alpine gear?
(5) Any general advice?

Thanks for helping me out.

Kind regards from Belgium,
Gilles

[gTa9000be]

I've asked for input/suggestions too (per email) at the F2 Snow Alpine importer (@yyzcanuck seems to be a member here too!) and at the UPZ importer Dan Yoja.

Hoping for some useful leads etc

[Neil Gendzwill]

1. No

2. No

3. No

4/5. The two major resorts near Banff are Sunshine Village and Lake Louise. They both have runs that work well for alpine gear but to truly enjoy them I would bring an all-mountain setup. Leave the Speedster at home. 

[slabber]

I would also recommend considering Nakiska.  It won't be as busy as the other hills.  

I lived in Lake Louise for many years, then Canmore, but never rode at Nakiska until last year.  Was pleasantly surprised. 

[gTa9000be]

28 minutes ago, Neil Gendzwill said:

1. No

2. No

3. No

4/5. The two major resorts near Banff are Sunshine Village and Lake Louise. They both have runs that work well for alpine gear but to truly enjoy them I would bring an all-mountain setup. Leave the Speedster at home. 

Thanks for the reply, Neil!

1-3 = as was to be expected. (It is the same here, in the Alps (France, Switzerland & Austria) I've only managed to find ONE shop that stocks alpine gear.)

4-5 = good insights; much appreciated!

Since my Speedster is my main board (I take it out more often than the Swoard and the Dupraz, also on less 'suitable for alpine' slopes), it'll be tough to leave it here though.

If I decide not to bring own alpine gear, I'll bring none (or maybe just my Malamutes) and rent a board locally.

22 minutes ago, slabber said:

I would also recommend considering Nakiska.  It won't be as busy as the other hills.  

I lived in Lake Louise for many years, then Canmore, but never rode at Nakiska until last year.  Was pleasantly surprised. 

Thanks for that suggestion - I didn't know Nakiska until now.

Since we're staying in Banff, Mount Norquay and Sunshine Village are the more obvious ski areas. But they might be the more crowded ones too.

Nakiska seems to be the same ~ 1 hr drive from Banff, as is Lake Louise. We're renting a Jeep at Calgary airport and are free to go around as we please. A day's trip to Nakiska might be worth while, I gather.

Edited January 2 by gTa9000be

[Neil Gendzwill]

If you're going to ride Nakiska, avoid the weekend at all costs.  That resort sells cheap family passes and on the weekend it is overrun with kids and nearly impossible to carve safely there.

Otherwise it has the best grooming of all of the resorts within easy driving distance of Banff.  Other than the groomers it is a pretty boring hill and doesn't get much snow cover compared to the others.

Sunshine and Louise are quite doable on the weekend.  They have enough uphill capacity that the lift lines are never too bad.  They are also large enough to disperse huge crowds of skiers.  Especially if you are comfortable on expert terrain then you don't really have to deal with too badly crowded conditions.  Of course the connector routes get busy on crowded days.

The worst bottleneck is the parking and gondola at the base of Sunshine.  If you go there on a weekend, make sure to go early.   I hear that in some cases they will turn people away when they run out of parking.  The last few times we've gone we've left the car at the hotel and taken the free hotel shuttle to the hill.  That's a great service that not a lot of people take advantage of.

[gTa9000be]

Thanks again, great advice. MUCH appreciated!

[big canuck]

Reach out to Steve Recsky aka “Riceball” on this site. See if you can hook up w him. Guy rips 

I like Nakiska for Alpine riding. Lake Louise for AM, Sunshine is beautiful but I don’t love it for snowboarding 

snow has  been just so so this year 

my $0.02

[gTa9000be]

Thx, will do.

In the meantime, I got an answer on my email to YYZCANUCK from Andra, where (s)he states there aren't any shops carrying alpine gear, not for sale and certainly not for rent.

Edited January 4 by gTa9000be

[crackaddict]

Hey @gTa9000be

If you haven't booked your hotel yet consider Revelstoke.   Only 2.5 hours from Lake Louise, more snow, more vertical and far less crowded.

I have hard and soft boot carving boards available to rent, bindings and boots too (in size 26.5 to 27.5).  I also do lessons.

The boys here can attest to my quiver and my skills.

James

Edited January 6 by crackaddict

[Allee]

On 1/2/2024 at 8:39 PM, big canuck said:

Reach out to Steve Recsky aka “Riceball” on this site. See if you can hook up w him. Guy rips 

Steve and son Brad are frequently out at Nakiska and would be great company for you. Plus he has a bunch of alpine boards that I'm sure he'll be happy to loan you for a day.

If you can manage a couple of nights away then you should take James up on his offer. The drive to Revy is breathtaking, Revy is a wonderful little mountain town, and the hill's better carving than you'd find around Banff. Plus James is an amazing rider who makes you better by osmosis.