| Since 1926 Ski Norquay has been the ski area for Banff locals. Just
minutes from town, Norquay has everything you need for a great day of skiing
or riding, no matter what your ability. Starting with the first ski runs cut
in 1926, Ski Norquay now encompasses a wide variety of terrain and ticket options
to suit everyone. The terrain ranges from gentle beginner runs that provide
areas to build confidence and skill, up to heart pounding double black diamond
runs that will challenge any expert.
Ski Norquay's long-standing reputation for challenge is based on the
first runs you see upon approaching the area: a quintet of super-steep,
mogul-studded freefalls served by the original Norquay double chair. For hardcore
Norquay regulars, no runs anywhere can match Upper Lone Pine and Gun Run, a
dynamite black-diamond duo as demanding as any trails in the Rockies. Memorial
Bowl isn't a bowl at all but a generous, consistent swath with an average 34-degree
pitch that rarely feels the blade of a snowcat. Even the North American, the
easiest of these runs, legitimately earns its black diamond.
Three more chairs climb up stepped-back parallel ridges and serve the
area's beginner & intermediate runs. Continuing on to the main
base area will bring you to more friendly terrain. In addition to a small, sheltered
beginner slope, you'll find the Cascade Quad chair which services most of the
beginner terrain and provides access to Spirit quad chair and to the long Pathfinder
Express quad. Because the terrain lies deep in a valley under some very steep
summits, it has a really rugged and interesting feeling. It also provides some
of the most weather sheltered terrain in the area. |
