Crash7

Has anyone ski'd or snowboarded on Calgarys Olympic Park hill?

Could you tell me how big it is?

How many runs are there?

What colour are they?

Is it suitable for a begineer?

Any and all info appreciated

Thanks

snowboardboy

Crash here is a piste map ) http://www.goski.com/trailmaps/welco...ermcode=403002

Helen Parnell

[QUOTE=Crash7;6690716]Has anyone ski'd or snowboarded on Calgarys Olympic Park hill?

We had our first lessons there and they were great. You can get a package to hire, get the lesson and ski for the day. Myself and Hubby had lessons during the week and we were the only ones By the end of day 4 we could ski from the top (badly) but it was enough to be able to go to the other ski slopes in Banff.

The boys had 4 lessons each and were the same when they finished
Could you tell me how big it is?

Don't know how long, but really not very long. Since that first year and those few lessons we have not gone back. We rather ski at other hills.

How many runs are there?

I think 3, no trees, straight down.

What colour are they?

Green and easy blue

Is it suitable for a begineer?

Definitley
Any and all info appreciated

If you are already a skier then I would recommend going straight to the mountains. If you want a half day brush up to get your ski legs then this is great.

Thanks[/QUOTE]

Crash7

Fantastic info, thanks guy’s

I actually snowboard to a decent standard, but my OH has only been boarding for a short time, I am in Calgary for a while this winter before heading off to Fernie, so I want to get her back into it in a relaxed environment. - I see they also have a terrain park which is sweet!

I am also looking to use this as my local week night hill when I move to Calgary next year, does anyone know there any other hills closer to Calgary than Banff?

Alberta_Rose

Nakiska http://www.skinakiska.com/ is much closer than Banff, and is great for beginners. We like that we can get up late if we're going there and just have a half day ticket, which is enough for my OH who's very much a learner.

COP is OK for lessons, especially at the start of the season before it gets too icy, and has the benefit that you can go in the evenings after work. The boys love the terrain park, but apart from that, once you can ski/board a little you'll want a proper mountain!

As the season wears on the repeated thawing and freezing caused by the Chinooks can lead to very slushy then icy conditions!

Crash7

Nice one

The appeal of COP is being able to board in the evening after work, and when ever I have a little spare time on my hands - I currently travel 3 hours each way in the UK once a month to get to a snow dome that has a slope 120m long x 20m wide!!!

Nakiska looks cool, lots of blues and blacks How is it size wise, piste maps can be deceptive, is it a similar size to Norquay? Bigger, smaller?

How long driving out of Calgary is it in winter? And it what direction? Towards Banff?

Is it generally a quiet hill?

Thanks again

Alberta_Rose

It doesn't take much longer even in winter. The roads are usually cleared pretty quickly if it snows. It has a slightly shorter season than Sunshine or Lake Louise as it's lower in altitude.

I'm not sure about the comparison to Norquay as I've never been there. Nakiska was built for the downhill events of the Calgary Winter Olympics way back when, so it has some quite good runs. My son found the blues harder than Sunshine (for instance), but there are still the nice greens for lesser mortals.

Ive never found it really busy, but the lower slopes can get crowded on a Sunday afternoon for instance, as it's a place where the locals would go with families.

Sunshine http://skibanff.com/ is the next easiest, and that gets terrible for parking, but once you are there the area is enormous and you can always find somewhere uncrowded.

Once you have the endurance, Lake Louise http://www.skilouise.com/ is definitely the best place (in our opinion), with lovely long runs and you can ski down the back and on different mountains, so you don't always end up back at the same start place after each run.

Crash7

Tip top info! - Thanks again!

I will definately be visiting!

Norquay is a small hill but has some quick steep runs, from your description it sounds similar to Nakiska

I have been to Sunshine & Lake Louise, and I'm in agreement with you and think LL is the better area but I find Sunshine gets the better snow, I find the front face at LL back down to the lodge, gets icey unless they get regular fresh!

snowboardboy

Did anyone notice that the map seems to have extra parking half way up the hill in the middle of a run .... seems a bit extreme

Alberta_Rose

Which map?

Mountain Girl

Norquay is nice for an afternoon, but does get a little icy. Its definitely smaller than Nakiska.

I love Lake Louise if there is lots of snow (winter of '06) , but Sunshine was my favourite this year.

Have you been to Kicking Horse? Its about 2.5hrs from Calgary.

Ramsey

You talking about COP??

Yeah you can drive right around up to the Ski-Jump Tower.... Remember it is only a 'hill' on the outskirts of Calgary....

Alberta_Rose

Sorry, I didn't answer the question about where Nakiska is.

You take the same road (Highway 1) as if you're going to Banff, but turn off to the left at the beginning of the mountains, into Kananaskis.

Alberta_Rose

Hey you! How are the knees doing?????

snowboardboy

The Piest map in my first post above ^^