Mountain Review: Lake Louise, Canada
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
- An in-depth video review of Lake Louise, a remote ski area located near Banff in Alberta, Canada. Filmed December 2021 - February 2022.
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0:00 Intro
0:54 Mountain Aesthetic
1:18 Snow Quality
1:38 Cold Spells
2:19 On-Mountain Facilities
2:59 Size and Terrain Layout
3:31 Beginner Terrain
4:05 Intermediate Terrain
4:35 Advanced Terrain
4:53 Expert Terrain
5:09 West Bowl Expansion
5:37 Terrain Parks
5:55 Crowd Flow
6:33 Lifts
7:29 Flat Traverses
9:13 Aprés-ski and Other Activities
9:43 Verdict
10:04 Pricing
10:32 Score Breakdown and Rank
Overall Mountain Score: 75/100 - #3 in Western Canada
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Snow: 9/10
Resiliency: 9/10
Size: 8/10
Terrain Diversity: 8/10
Challenge: 8/10
Lifts: 6/10
Crowd Flow: 8/10
Facilities: 4/10
Navigation: 5/10
Mountain Aesthetic: 10/10
See our full resort breakdown and written review for Lake Louise here: www.peakrankings.com/content/...
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Hi all, apologies for the audio on this video! We recorded the whole thing and realized the output was connected to the computer rather than the mic 😅 will not happen again!
I skied Lk Louise last March. The scenery is truly breathtaking and rivals the Dolomites or the French alps IMO. I think it deserves better than a 4 for facilities. It has one of the better base lodges in the ski world and the whitehorn bistro at mid-mountain is one the best on-mountain table service restaurants I’ve seen in North America ranking up there with kicking horse. One more nice thing about Lk Louise is it’s one of the few family-run major resorts left in North America and it’s clear that the Locke family really pay attention to the details. Well worth the effort to travel there to ski or ride.
Oh... I skied in Dolomites back in 2012... 100% true
My only complaint about the review, they hammered Facilities far too hard. However, Whitehorn Lodge placement could be better. I'm just glad it still exists though!
@@chrisraeside9825 I think the resort is moving whitehorn lodge
100% Agree that the facilities are far better than rated. There's too many options to list for places to eat, warm up etc... Also the customer service at Louise should be highlighted. It's obvious the Locke family stresses the importance of this to their staff.
I lived in Banff for a couple years, skied Louise a ton, and I still don’t think I ever bothered with Whitehorn. You may as well just go to the base area. Needing to take three lifts (Grizz/Glacier, Top, Platter) to get to the top for the best backside terrain was ridiculous. Temple Lodge was the only lodge remotely usable if you aren’t doing the lower frontside, and it still forces you onto the Ptarmigan which is hella backed up later in the day.
When i lived in Calgary, Lake Louise was my favorite ski hill. I preferred it over Sunshine. The views are absolutely stunning.
what's up with the audio, usually it's pretty good
Being an east coast skier I can only dream of skiing snow and mountains like Lake Louise
I'm with you bud, but lets go anyway.
I skied the east from '59 to '79 during which a trip to
Stowe was the pinnacle of experience.
Flew to Calgary in '79 just to visit my sister for a week.
She took me to Sunshine where I enjoyed my 1st mountain powder, immensely.
I moved to Calgary in '80 naturally and
often bought 'all area season passes'
until recently.
Be alert that if you come out here for a mountain visit
you too might easily become a light white powder addict.
You nailed it. I am from Calgary and have been skiing for over 40 years at the Banff resorts and I couldn’t agree with you more. Once Louise opens up Upper Juniper and Richardson Ridge it will be a game changer. They still need to Replace Paradise and Ptarmigan with express chairs. I don’t like the gondola as well. Years ago they used to have a chair called Eagle on the east side of the hill and you could ski there without going to the bottom but they took it out when they installed the gondola. I personally like Sunshine better as I feel they do a better job of spreading out the crowd.
The gondola is relocated from squaw valley
@@Bluebottlenose I know it's old and uncomfortable. They should take it down and replace it with an 8 pack bubble chair IMO. No need for a gondola at Louise.
@@paulwestenberger3710 with the new upper juniper they’re probably done with any out of base related projects for a while, but when the time comes I think it should be a 6/8 chondola
Looks like an absolutely epic and gorgeous place to go skiing!
I last skied Louise in Dec 85 and this brings back memories. Such awesome views.
Booya!
I’m super interested in going there, it looks beautiful!
Your reviews are among the best and this particular review has me adding SkiBig3 to my list of places to visit before I die. Stunning !!!
On my Bucketlist; near the top.
Thank you again for the great content.
Louise is my primary resort, it’s miles better than sunshine in my opinion and only 30 minutes further than sunshine as well. My favourite resort I’ve ever skied granted i haven’t skied much outside alberta.
Great video. I live in Calgary and only thing I can say differently is the snow fall. We get weeks with out snow. Revelstoke resort is the king of snow in Canada. It snows 5 days a week. It’s unreal. It’s a 5-7 hour drive in the winter but it’s worth it.
The summit platter was the best, kept lots of people out of the terrain.
This was always the argument and part of the reason they took so long to upgrade that lift:
Side A: the crappy and uncomfortable poma keeps the crowds down
Side B: the crappy and uncomfortable poma is crappy and uncomfortable
Personally I was on side B of that argument and am happy to have the new quad.
I lived and worked and skied my a$$ off at LL 30 years ago. The backside and Larch have some super fun and deep snow almost all the times I skied there. Facilities are basic though (or were) and it's a hike to Banff to party afterwards. Coming from Calgary, it's pretty hard to drive past Sunshine.
As a Calgarian who does day trips to Banff often, I personally prefer Sunshine for terrain and lap-ability but Louise has a much better parking setup for those who work evenings and don’t like waking up at the crack of dawn to get a spot in the morning 😂. Also after seeing how expensive many of the big resorts in the US are these days (especially with the conversion rate working against us) I’ll never complain about ticket prices again! Especially when you can get a Sunshine Super Card or Louise card for $94 CAD that get your 1st, 4th, and 7th days free with discounts on the rest!
Do you have any advice for an American traveler? What time of year is best to travel there?
@@heyitsbranigan March is the most consistently good month. The base is at its deepest and temps are warmer but stay below freezing
@@src248 thank you!
Lake Louise usually has better visibility and less wind but I agree Sunshine is better for putting laps in, especially on Wawa
Not going to lie, I zoned out on the review at times to drool on the scenery and snow.
Lake Louise is always worth the trip! The vibes in Banff for après ski are top notch as well.
Hello, question for you? where is a nice place to stay close to the resort and airport. Thank you
Good stuff !
I always tell newcomers to make sure they stop and look up. The view is amazing.
Lake Louise and Banff Sunshine are as good as it gets for views from a ski resort and blow anything else in NA away. They can be quite a trek from Calgary, though, and I'd recommend staying in Banff (or at least Canmore, for a cheaper alternative.) But great snow quality, friendly people, and exceptional challenging runs. As this video mentions, be aware that some of Lake Louise's black runs would easily be double black at most NA resorts.
Canada is so behind Europe in terms of ski infrastructure... Grooming slopes, lifts, restaurants... so far, my Canadian choice is Fernie
Thanks for the fresh review!
have skied LL many many times. Firstly, they do not receive that much snow, and yes, it is very cold resulting in hard packed areas, ice, and huge hard moguls. after going to whistler, revelstoke, and kicking horse, i felt like i had been wasting years of my life skiing in Banff. i would advise to go in March, when the weather is warmer, and you scan still get lucky with some mid-season snow.
About the cold: Basically, you have a trade-off. Either resorts can get very cold, or resorts can get rain. If it's too cold, you stay home for a day or two. If you get rain, the slopes are likely ruined for quite a while. In my books: cold = good snow = good. About Lake Louise (your #3): I like it even more than Sunshine (your #2), and about as much as Whistler (your #1). West bowls is my favorite area.
Not gonna lie even though it doesn't have any life fearing extreme terrain in comparison to Whistler or Kicking Horse or Revelstoke, IMO it takes a foot and shoves it up overall over Whistler and Revel any day of the week!
I agree. There are ways to protect yourself from extreme cold and still enjoy a good ski day. There is no way to ski at all if there is no snow or if it rains for any period of time.
I'm gonna be honest, I've skiied both lake louise and sunshine, and I gotta say sunshine takes the cake when it comes to mountain aesthetic. If there was any mountain that deserves an 11 in that category its sunshine.
My second favourite resort, except it is often very cold, not enuf snow and very crowded weekends.
However they have a good variety and number of runs for all abilities.
Very beautiful and the staff have always been friendly and helpful, not like SS near Banff.
we need to see a review of Schweitzer mtn, Idaho next
looove lake louise, and i will say personally i never feel too lacking for intermediate runs with the number of blues and groomed blacks available, especially with all the space you have on the front side from the top of the world
This used to be my home mountain and I used to expect skiing be like this everywhere.....until i moved to toronto and see what they call mountain. You really don't know what you miss until you lose it
You’ve done a video on Sunshine Village, Kicking Horse, and now Lake Louise but where’s that Whistler Blackcomb vid everyone’s been waiting for?
Dont worry about the "cold", it never actually gets really cold -45°c like northern Alberta, and when it gets a bit chilly you just have to nut up a bit😉
My most Beautiful Place onEarth
Giving lake louise a 9 and Revelstoke an 8 on snow is criminal. Any crappy dump that lake gets already dumped twice that on Revy.
Revy can get twice what LL gets IF it stays snow. If you don't care about the bottom of the hill or like skiing snot in shoulder season, sure. The opposite side of this is that IF it actually gets cold at Revy, then LL is Hoth. Tough to plan for a trip this year.
@@ui-guy- its rarely raining mid mountain in revy and if it is then the conditions probably suck in the rockies too. Sorry, the snow at lake louise is some of the worst in western Canada simply due to lack of it. Most east coast resorts get as much.
@@samraymond215 Just got back from the Rockies. After the warmup we got snow four days in a row and i skied dry pow on 100% open slopes at LL and SS to the base. Watched the gnome cam and temps every day in Revy, wet snow, melt, freeze. Even the mountain says "marginal under the stoke". Revelstoke is great if you only care about the upper half of the mountain later in the season, which is where the freezing line is about right now. Had deep deep turns in Larch and could never feel the base. Some exposed ridges and hikes had shark fins but that's the price to play in the alpine. It was a good choice not to drive past Golden. You ski the snow and not the calendar, but late spring is great in the Rockies and LL will be skiing in a month while everyone in Revelstoke is riding bikes. The only problem is that VT got about 5 feet of chalky dry pow over the span.
Maybe it's fair to give Revelstoke a 10 for snow in January and February, but a 4 in March, and a 1 in April. Have a good closing day!
@@samraymond215 Dry pow this week to the base while Revy got rain. The Rockies are just colder and a great place to extend your winter in Spring. Very late closing day means they're still skiing while everyone in BC is riding bikes. Some east coast resorts get tons of snow, but missing rain events is almost as important. Cheers,
May 3rd. A few inches over night, 140 runs still open. Best spring skiing in Canada?
@peak rankings do you think another resort will ever get a 10/10 on snow besides Altabird?
Targhee has a shot if they review it. It's probably the only other place that gets high quantity high quality beyond the cottonwoods.
TBD!
why no marmot basin review yet
Having skied both Lake Louise and Sunshine, I have to say that I always preferred Lake Louise. I disagree with your assessment on the facilities and to place it lower then Sunshine in this mark in my opinion a mistake, however I realize this is all just a subjective review. I always found Lake Louise to have better lodge facilities then Sunshine, that is if you just taking into account day use and not taking into account the onsite accommodations that Sunshine has available. Unfortunately with the regulations of being in the national park it is unlikely that Lake Louise will ever get onsite accommodations like Sunshine, although if this changed it would be a welcomed addition. Admittedly getting from Whitehorn to the top of the mountain / backside was a lot easier when Eagle Chair was around, but that got removed with the installation of the Gondola.
Its not hard to get too at all ?
Wish you had made the title more clear and consistent…I didn’t realize this was a review until now
Can you use cell phones there or are walkies required? Thanks
Reception on the front side is good, you're facing the highway. The back side can be spotty. There is free WiFi at all the lodges
Hello, question for you? where is a nice place to stay close to the resort and airport. Thank you
Banff or Canmore unless you have big $$ for the Château Lake Louise
Ski the rocks at Lake Lousy.😅😂
I feel like the discussion about the cold at both Banff Sunshine and Lake Louise is a bit overblown..
Normally it is a 1 week span during the season at most
0:00-13:30 ?
Good video , however the audio quality isn't great , sound like your in a submarine ... unless you actually are in a submarine ... are you in a submarine ??? Don't lie to me !!!!!!
Recorded in the Oceangate, this is his last video :(
That escalated quickly !
We accidentally recorded on the wrong mic.
The lake is by far the best of the big3, especially when considering tree skiing. Not the best moutain in the province but I'll let you guess which mountain that is :).
The traverses suck but at least it doesn't have the flat zones like at scumshine. Newer boarders need not apply.
How is it 'tough to get to' Calgary and area has millions who manage to do the 2 hour drive every weekend. These peak ratings are weird
Amazing resort! Unfortunately, I came very early in the season -- czcams.com/video/oki2t6RfHso/video.html Not many lifts open but it's the biggest amongst the skibig3 I'm surprised there's no RFID and they check pass manually. Still very beautiful though.
Ok so Will I see my dead friends if I go there or something? Because this place is heaven. Literal. Heaven.
it’s more than 4000 acres
So 1.5 hours from an international airport is remote? Ha! Guess that's why there's more skiers from other countries there than locals on any given day.
I’m just going to say it, I am blocking your channel because you complain way too much. It’s “cold in the Canadian winter?!” Louise has closed maybe a dozen days due to cold in the past 4 years. Your take is uninformed and you’re doing a disservice to your audience.
This is my local hill rode like 200 days here, but this audio is whack.
Agree. Audio reminds me of CZcams ca. 2010