Winter Sports Lift the Days at Banff

“If we can’t export the scenery, we’ll import the tourists!” declared William Cornelius Van Horne, superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The year was 1888 and the scenery was the spectacular, soaring Rockies in Banff National Park.

Under Van Horne’s direction, two magnificent hotels soon loomed in the Western wilderness, thousands of miles from civilization--the opulent Banff Springs Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise, affectionately called “The Lady of the Lake.”

In uncharted wilderness amid lakes, glaciers, waterfalls, flowery meadows and exotic animals, guests could sip tea, eat continental cuisine, hear chamber music, browse in libraries and, if in Banff, bathe in soothing hot springs after a mountain jaunt.

Banff and Lake Louise remain immensely popular tourist destinations both for the rugged and the not-so-rugged in search of fun, beauty and relaxation. To see them in summer sunshine is more in vogue, but don’t let a wintry cover deter you.

Outstanding Skiing

The skiing, downhill and cross-country, is outstanding. Ice skating, old-fashioned sleigh rides, moonlight walks over crunchy snow, helicopter sightseeing, outdoor and indoor swimming, tours to the Columbia Icefields, discos, fine restaurants, Indian and wildlife museums and numerous other activities await.

Banff and Lake Louise are in Alberta, about a two-hour drive from Calgary, site of the 1988 Winter Olympics. The ski season is long--November through May at Sunshine Village, which is on the Continental Divide 13 miles north of Banff, and well into April at Lake Louise, 34 miles north of Banff.

Another ski resort, Mt. Norquay, is only five miles from Banff. The climate is dry, so skiers enjoy the best of snow--dry powder.

Each area has cross-country trails, numerous downhill slopes and its own ambiance. Mt. Norquay is known primarily for its challenging expert and gentle novice slopes. It’s also the only area offering night skiing.

A gondola takes you to Sunshine Village, where you’ll find the 90-room Sunshine Inn, a three-tiered lodge, ski school, rentals and a day-care center. Most runs are wide open and above the tree line; 60% groomed for intermediate skiers.

March is still winter skiing; that means wear those long johns. In April you can get by with only a sweater or windbreaker. In May, bring your shorts and swimsuits.

After a day’s skiing at Sunshine Village you may either take the gondola down or the “ski-out,” a mountain road winding through tall pines gracing the valley below and mountains above.

Lake Louise is the largest ski area in North America, with 17 square miles of skiable terrain featuring four mountain faces and two mountains. There are two lodges on the slopes and one at the base along with Chocolate Moose Park, a day-care center and ski school for kids.

C.O.D. Skiing

Lake Louise recently introduced C.O.D. skiing and training stations. C.O.D. skiing offers 90-minute theme lessons depending on weather and snow conditions. One day it could be skiing moguls or powder, another day race turns or tree skiing. You pay after the lesson--cash on delivery--but only if you feel you’ve learned something. A C.O.D. lesson costs about $10 ($14 Canadian).

Training stations are at the top of selected runs and offer impromptu private lessons. Each trip down the mountain with intensive one-to-one instruction plus a ride back up the lift for analysis and advice from the pro costs about $9 ($12 Canadian).

If you’re skiing alone or are with friends unfamiliar with the huge area, you might want to ski with the Friends of Louise. They wear orange and blue jackets with “Ski Friends” printed on the back. You may meet them at the lower chairlift daily at 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The service is free.

What’s in it for the Friends of Louise? A free lift ticket, and, of course, new ski friends. On the chairlift ride they’ll tell you the area’s history and about Banff’s in spots for apres- ski fun. For instance, the B-52s at Melissa’s Misteak are “wicked”--equal parts of coffee liqueur, Irish cream and Grand Marnier. Then there’s Silver City, a disco jammed and jumping.

For classical music lovers, the Banff School of Fine Arts gives regular concerts. Faculty and students also play at the Banff Springs Hotel in a stately salon complete with chandelier, candelabra, antique furniture and an enormous fireplace flanked by two stone ram’s heads.

Fine Sweets

If you savor fine sweets, stop in at the Post Hotel in the village of Lake Louise. It’s famous for its afternoon tea. A Swiss chef prepares tortes, creams and pie that are served between 2 and 5 p.m. Plum pie with custard, Black Forest cake and Linzer torte topped with whipped cream melt in your mouth.

Perhaps you’ll meet silver-haired Slim Flemming at the Post Hotel. He’s been dropping in for more than 40 years. Slim tells great stories, like the one about the time in the spring of 1938 when an old grizzly plopped next to him and laid his head on Slim’s lap.

“Felt like a 100-pound sack of flour,” Slim recalls. “There was no blinkin’ way I was going to argue with that gol-darn’ fuzzy. I jist scratched his ears like he wanted and told him he’d better lumber off. Why, he made a pet out of me!”

A tradition for nearly a century at Banff has been “to take the waters.” Whether it’s after-ski aches or just plain every-day aches, lolling in hot mineral pools in crisp mountain air relaxes and invigorates you.

At the Upper Hot Springs on Sulphur Mountain, a 10-minute drive from Banff, the entrance fee is only about $1.30. If you don’t have a bathing suit or towel, you may rent them. The water contains about 30 minerals, including a trace of uranium. But calcium from the mountains’ limestone dominates.

Never Cold in Pool

Both the men’s and women’s changing rooms exit into a small indoor pool with swinging doors to the outside pool. The water is a constant 100 degrees, so you’re never cold in spite of the nearby icicles and snow-laden trees. A lifeguard is on duty and signs recommend soaking only 20 minutes because the heat makes some people faint.

Outdoor life whets the appetite. The area’s 40 restaurants offer everything from hamburgers, pizza and fondue to the best in international cuisine, including French, Italian, Swiss, Greek, Mexican, Chinese and Japanese. If you can splurge, try Le Beaujolais at the corner of Banff Avenue and Buffalo.

Table-side service, white linens, fresh roses, velvet chairs and French songs compliment an extraordinary menu. Some swear that the salmon mousse, creamed lobster soup and scampi wrapped in veal scallops, prepared in a light lemon pepper sauce send you straight to heaven. Dinner for two with wine is about $60.

For more feasting, try the theme dinners at the Chateau Lake Louise or Banff Springs Hotel. It could be a medieval banquet or a Swedish smorgasbord of 60 different dishes prepared by chefs flown in from Sweden. They bring their own salmon and herring, cases of aquavit, a schnapps swallowed in one gulp and chased by beer. Theme dinners are about $15 to $20 a person.

Fourteen campgrounds are in the area and about 50 places offer accommodations. Plenty of shops tempt visitors with wares such as rock-colored gum, Hudson’s Bay Co. blankets, carved jade animals and luxurious furs.

If you arrive to see spring dress mountains green and turn meadows to rainbows, besides skiing “on top of the world,” you’ll find horseback riding, canoeing, golfing, rafting, fishing, tennis and climbing.

Diamond-shaped Lake Louise sheds her icy robes in spring to reveal her opalescent glory. Then you can bask outdoors at the beautiful Lady of the Lake, as those adventurous travelers did in bygone years.

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Double rooms at both the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise range from about $45 to $125. Summer rates nearly double during high season, beginning mid-May at Banff Springs Hotel and the beginning of June at Chateau Lake Louise.

Lift ticket prices vary. For a minimum of three days, including shuttle service between the three ski areas, a ticket is about $22 a day, a five-day pass about $90. If heli-skiing is your joy (a helicopter takes you to virgin snow), the Banff Club Ski arranges daily and weekly packages.

For information on lift prices, ski lessons, snow conditions, area maps and apres -ski life, stop in at the Banff Club Ski on the town’s congenial main street, Banff Avenue. All other streets are named after animals in the park, including elk, big horn mountain sheep, moose, grizzly bears, otters, foxes, cougars and buffalo.

In Banff park, animals reign. Herds of elk, mountain sheep and deer graze along the road, coyotes and lynxes dart under chairlifts and a bold black-and-white bird, the black-billed magpie, hangs around town scrounging food scraps.

For general information on Banff National Park, including accommodations and camping, contact Alberta Tourism 333 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles 90071, or phone (213) 625-1256.

Banff Club Ski offers a variety of ski packages. They can include air fare, transfers (from Calgary International and from your hotel to the ski resorts) or rental cars, hotel accommodations and three area interchangeable lift passes. Children stay free at many hotels. Contact Banff Club Ski, Box 1085, Alberta, Canada TOL OCO, or phone (403) 762-4561.

Four Greyhound buses leave daily from Calgary to Banff. Shuttle buses also leave daily from the Calgary airport to Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise.