Maybe the goggles are good but your face is crooked?
Hey Digs, where in Canada are you going?
First decent snow falling in the hills. Hopefully the start of a good season (screw you El Nino!).
Na. There are many ways down from the top lift station from easy trails to near vertical. The bottom 2/3rds of the resort was an intermediate ski area before they put in the gondola. Not everyone jumps off cliffs!
The 10k cat track sounds like fun. Is there much powder down on the lower runs?
Like every mountain it depends on the gods but Iâve had 20+ cm at the lower lift station. They always groom a run from top to bottom but that seems a waste of pow to me.
Powder King in BC is my favourite âhillâ as the locals call them
The 10k cat track sounds like fun. Is there much powder down on the lower runs?
Kicking Horse is superb. I did a day trip there from Banff many years ago. The snow was fantastic (it had dumped the night before) and there was plenty of varied terrain for different levels. You can get bus trips from Banff to KH that include lift tickets, but itâs a couple of hours on the bus each way. I havenât done the cat track, but my brother and sister-in-law did a working-honeymoon at Kicking Horse (sister-in-law used to be a ski instructor) and did an overnight cat trip that stayed in a back-country cabin and then got taken around the hills by a guide. They loved it.
If youâre just looking for beginner/intermmediate terrain, then there is plenty available around Banff at Sunshine and Lake Louise. Itâs been 10 years since I was there, but they used to do shuttle buses from town out to all the local hills. Norquay is the closest, but they do night-skiing too I think. Beware the ice at the bottom of the home trail that leads to the carpark at Sunshine - I got cleaned up from behind and broke my wrist halfway through my trip there. That sucked. Make sure you have travel insurance that covers skiing/snowboarding as some insurers wonât cover it. I was covered, but Iâve heard horror stories of people not fully covered that have broken legs, had spinal injuries, etc.
Also, around Banff there are plenty of other things to do. Dog-sledding is a good experience (dress for warmth - by which I mean wear everything you have, 2-beanies cold), the thermal springs are always popular, and there is a frozen waterfall around the other side of the lake at the Lake Louise Chateau (about a 20 min walk iirc). I highly recommend going to the Chateau just for a look around - very impressive building and scenery. Thereâs also a brewery in Banff that does some good beers which is always a good option to have up your sleeve.
If youâre thinking about other hills in Canada, Big White is good and has a nice little village with plenty of nightlife. Terrain for levels. Whistler-Blackcomb is enourmous, but gets huge crowds as well. Also heaps of Aussies working there.
I caveat this all with the fact I havenât been there for nearly 10 years (that long already? Curse you, children!) and things will have changed to some degree.
Excellent advice. The Monkeysâ should meet the diggersâ at Kicking Horse in Jan 2017.
The Monkeys are in the process of selling their house, so O/S holidays are off the table for the time being. :/Iâm stretching the love to spend $2k on a P-51 joy flight for my 40th later this year.
Nice. Was it you wanting to do the mustang a while back? The mustang is just as iconic. A Stuka would be a bit of a thrill. Iâm tipping the Mitsubishi zero with a one way ticket less so.
The Monkeys are in the process of selling their house, so O/S holidays are off the table for the time being. 
Iâm stretching the love to spend $2k on a P-51 joy flight for my 40th later this year.
Yep, had my heart set on doing the two-seat Spitfire over in NZ. My wife looked into it as a present and it was $4050 for a 30 minute ride. As much as I would love to do it, I cannot possibly justify $4k on a joy flight (plus the flights/accom, etc for the trip over there to start with). However, there is a mob in Qld that have a Mustang and do flights for $2k. The missus gave me a leave pass and I'm away!The Monkeys are in the process of selling their house, so O/S holidays are off the table for the time being. :/Iâm stretching the love to spend $2k on a P-51 joy flight for my 40th later this year.
Nice. Was it you wanting to do the mustang a while back? The mustang is just as iconic. A Stuka would be a bit of a thrill. Iâm tipping the Mitsubishi zero with a one way ticket less so.
Back on topic - itâs puking down up in the alps!
The weather people reckon youâre going to get snow tomorrow in the Dandenong Ranges. If you were planning a trip to the area, do you call it âDandeâ or âNongâ?
It was always Dandy Road for usâŚgoes from St Kilda Rd south-east and used to be part of M1. Might have become Princes Highway out near Oakleigh.
Only nongs called it anything else.
Reboot and benfti lived in Noble Park which is only a suburb or two short of Dandy. Theyâll know.
Ummm, the Dandenong ranges, (Mt Dandenong) are nowhere near Dandenong, the suburb/Town.
For Mt Dandy, or âSky Highâ you want Mt Dandy or Canterbury Rdâs, & turn off at Montrose.
Kicking horse is great fun, a big, big mountain with some good steeps and plenty of tree riding.Diggers, try a trip to get to Kicking Horse from Banff. Great terrain, awesome snow and no people. My favourite outside of Japan.Kicking Horse, eh? Will check it out. Thanks for the tip.
Itâs a little further down the road but I would recommend a trip to Revelstoke as well. It has the most vert of any resort in North America, I was cooked after a couple of loops. Also gets huge dumps of powder with amazing regularity.
You sound like you know what youâre doing.
I can get down most runs, whether I do it with any style is questionable. Just been lucky enough to have a wife that boards as well so we used to head off to either Japan or Canada most Aussie summers.
Donât accidently end up in the other Dandy, itâs a bit stabby from what I hear.
So many Dandies to choose from.