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Skiing in May

Sunshine Village in May

“There’s still snow in Sunshine!”

I thought I hadn’t heard right. Maybe I was a bit confused. We had, after all, just arrived, and it was the end of a twenty hour day spanning seven time zones.

I mean, of course there is snow in the mountains. What did he mean by ‘Sunshine’? True, the sun was shining that day, but in the Alps you can see snow even in mid-summer.

I must have gaped, because the landlord clarified. “I mean, people are still skiing. Snowboarding, too.”

Sunshine Village, it transpired over our next pint, is the Rockies’ highest wintersport resort, and it is a mere sixteen kilometres from Banff.

I had to see this for myself. The following morning I hopped onto a bus which deposited me at the base of the gondola that takes visitors five kilometres and a thousand metres up to the resort. But here at the base, there still wasn’t any snow. The sun was burning on my face and people were licking ice-lollies. While they were carrying snowboards.

Surely, it couldn’t be?

Boarding the bus, I had left behind the scantily-clad crowds in the city centre—almost everyone was wearing shorts and T-shirts—and joined a younger crowd: all in bobble hats and goggles, wooly sweaters and baggy trousers.

The evidence was there.

I walked across the car park and had a look around. I dithered for a long time in the hire shop. The gear was expensive. What if the snow wasn’t any good? At this time of year, it would hardly be champagne powder.

I hadn’t skied in twenty years.

In the end, I just took the gondola. Over the twenty-odd minute ride, it carried me across one of the most impressive winter playgrounds I have ever seen, with over 82km of combined runs, ranging from kindergarten ski-school to the double-black ‘Delirium Dive’.

From my perch, high up among the tree tops, it looked great, but the slopes weren’t busy.

When I got out at the last stop, I could see why. The snow was slushy, with a consistency like salt slurry. No good for a beginner, or rusty skier like me. But the mediocre conditions don’t keep people from having fun: this Saturday, there’s a rock concert in the resort.

Wish I was there.

Skiing in May

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One Response to “Skiing in May”

  1. Rcon Pascua Says:

    the skiing grounds don’t look that inviting even in the photos. good decision not to ski. 🙂

  2. Posted from Philippines Philippines