After we sent yesterday's email, we went up to Banff Hot Springs and had a soak. That felt great! Really made a difference for my knee. Then, we wondered around town a little, and ended up grabbing a really excellent Korean BBQ dinner - for sure the best meal so far of the trip, and maybe the best meal I have ever had in Banff. Banff is one of those places where the food is always good, but not often great. This was great. Back to the room, for a couple of beers, and to bed early.
We took it easy this morning, and then headed for Sunshine Village for a half day ski - timed it to get there for noon! We had a blast! We both really enjoyed it. The snow was nice and crispy, and we both skied far better than we did in the mushy fresh snow we had encountered at Norquay. It was a real relief to me - I was really wondering if I had lost it after a fairly rough first day at Norquay. But, skied well, and really enjoyed the half day. I found that I had to really be careful with my weight transfer - so that I had minimum torque on the right knee when it was uphill on a right turn - once I got the feel for it, I skied well. We stayed on the blues and greens, and skied all three mountains. I think anyone who has been there will agree that the two best blues are off the Continental Divide chair on Lookout Mountain - both the South Divide and the World Cup Downhill were a lot of fun. Over on Standish, all the blue stuff off of the WaWa Chair was a blast as well. We made one trip up Goats Eye, and cruised down Sunshine Coast, which is a really fun blue, except for boarders - their is one long traverse which can be a bit long.
Speaking of traverses and boarders, Sunshine can be a tough spot. When moving from place to place on the mountain, you can end up in some flat places. In fact, you can end up in places where every direction is uphill, so you better have a head of steam, or you are gonna have to take the board off!
For sure, a great day! I am going to finish beer #2, then we are headed to the Hot Springs for a soak, followed by dinner! Hmmm, might be time to try out some Alberta Beef!
Kate says:
It was an awesome day. The snow was just right, and I felt like I was getting my form back. The conditions were way better than at Norquay, and we had sun peaking out about half the day. The runs were awesome, and when the clouds lifted a bit the view was incredible!! My only beef against Sunshine Village is how many flat runs there are when you move between the mountains. Snowboards just aren't made to operate well without substantial gravitational pull - too much friction on the large board surface. It's so tiring trying to skate a snowboard!! And for looong flats with just a bit of slope, it's all about maintaining as smooth a line as possible on just one edge. Makes the toes really sore. I'm really looking forward to Lake Louise tomorrow.
Last night's dinner was really good, Korean isn't something I eat often. We did a bit of shopping, and I bought a tiny piece of iron meteorite on a necklace. Banff is really nice, as far as tourist fleecing operations go. heheh.
I'm feeling a bit stiff and sore tonight, but not too bad. Definitely not as bad as after Norquay. We're a few beers in and headed for the hot springs shortly. Cheers!!
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