—Skiing

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MT. NORQUAY STATISTICS AND MOUNTAIN INFORMATION

RESORT TRAIL MAP PAGE

SNOW REPORT | WEB CAMS

Expert, Advanced: The view of Banff and the Bow Valley from the North American chair just above the parking lot is fabulous. Called The Big Chair by locals, this lift takes you to those ribbons of bumps tumbling down the mountainside. It's an old slow chair that rarely has a line. Be positively sure you want to be here. This is very tough stuff with no blue or green runs down. That said, these are quite possibly the most fun bump runs in all of skidom. And they are long. The bumps can get so big, folks of short stature can barely see over them. By the way, look closely at the tea house at the top of the lift—it's built to have avalanches roll right over the top of it. Upper Lone Pine is the name of that double-black mogul belt that plunges down a consistent 35-percent pitch. Another appeal for the adventure-seeker is a chute called Valley of the Ten, a narrow drainage perfect for thrills. To get to it, skiers at the top of The Big Chair (North American) literally drop off to the left into a drop-out (accurate again) called Gun Run, the steepest run on the mountain. The easiest way down from this chair is Memorial Bowl, which is not really a bowl at all but a tough black with monster moguls that rarely feels the blade of a snowcat. Off the Mystic Express, some chutes drop into a gully that feeds back to the lifts. Black Magic and Ka-Poof are screaming cruisers. [TOP]

Intermediate: Three chairs climb up ridges that serve the area's beginner and mostly intermediate runs. The terrain off the Mystic Express Quad, unseen from the base area, is mainly groomed intermediate. The intermediate runs here are pretty steep by most standards - most would be black at other areas - so they're not for the timid, but excellent grooming makes them truly delightful. Groomed, gentle warmup runs off the Cascade lift just outside the base lodge next to the first-timer's area are designated slow skiing zones. Watch out for novice skiers and riders getting their ski legs but this is a good place to start your day. This is listed as a green area, but a great place for lower intermediates to do a warm up run on their way to the steeper slopes. As you move further across the mountain, the terrain gets progressively steeper. Although runs off the Spirit quad are listed as blue, some are quite challenging. Start out on Hoodoo and work your way up to the tougher trails. The last chair across the face of the mountain is the Mystic Express serving some blacks and mostly steep blues. There is a blue that turns into a green cat track off this lift but it's not a place for beginners. Intermediates wanting to stay in the sun all day have a challenge. At midday none of the Mystic Express nor Spirit trails get sun except the front two runs, Black Magic and Ka-Poof, which are both blacks. [TOP]

Beginner, First-timer: The beginner, first-timer area is conveniently located next to the Snow Sports Center/Ski School just across from the base lodge. Although this is NOT a hill for beginners, this small area is an easily accessible place to learn. It has a gentle well-groomed slope served by a moving carpet, the Sundance Conveyor, with an enclosed, protected run, Shenanigan. Next door, the Cascade quad chair serves most of the sheltered beginner terrain. Beginners would be advised to stick to these areas as the other Norquay green runs are much more advanced. [TOP]