The Banff resort has opened for a summer season. Skiers report there’s no shortage of reasons to go.
The guys sitting beside me on my low-fare flight to Calgary were guessing why I was headed to Banff for Canada Day. These two 20-somethings in golf shirts were anxious because the flight delays were going to push back the 3 p.m. tee-time that would kick off a week-long, day drinking vacation at the Calgary Stampede.
“Look at what I’m wearing,” I hinted.
“Surfing?” guessed one of the guys like he was playing charades. It was almost July, and yes, I was wearing a floral shirt.
My Ski Canada cap wasn’t enough of a hint, so I just told them.
“Where are you going skiing in July?” they wanted to know. “And why?”
The where part is easy, Banff Sunshine Village. The Canadian Rockies resort within Banff National Park had a killer season, seeing more than 10m of snowfall, with two big dumps in early June.
For only the third (or maybe fourth) time since 1928, Sunshine has opened for summer skiing. On June 20th lift ops cranked up the Strawberry and Standish Express chairs, letting skiers carve up 10 trails, including three terrain parks and a slalom course. The planned closing day is July 5.
Sunshine Mountain Lodge is open for ski-in/ski-out accommodation and the resort hosted its first-ever Summer Skiing Rail Jam, in partnership with Salomon. Weekend DJs bring a summer après party to Mad Trapper’s beer garden, so you can party like it’s 2022 and 1991 (and maybe 1990, nobody can remember for sure), the other times there was skiing in July at Sunshine.
Who else other than me shows up at Sunshine two months after the season has ended to ski off a perfectly good coat of summer storage wax? And why? I loaded the Sunshine Village Gondola on Canada Day to find out.
The Horn Family from Shawnavon, Saskatchewan, regretted missing the last time Sunshine opened for Canada Day. “We weren’t going to let that happen to us again.” Not to mention the bragging rights back at the Elkwater Ski Club, I’m sure.
Nobody likes a deal more than Renato Pedrazzini. He’s here because Sunshine in the summer is included in next year’s season pass. Which, he told me, was only $119, because he is over 80. What’s the secret to skiing into your 80s? “Cucumbers, sardines and lots of eggs,” he says. “And standing on one foot with your eyes closed for 10 seconds.”
Scott Wexler and his wife drove up from Telluride, Colorado, as part of a two-week road trip so he could ski his 45th month in row. He pulled out his special edition Gilson Snow carpet skis with the shag topsheet—for the 70s van vibe. He handed me a sticker for his Instagram account, The Ganjola, and told me skiing was, “One mind. One purpose. One Love.”
Misha Ballescheff and Kate MacGregor drove over Rogers Pass from Revelstoke for the party. What was the tipping point of their decision? On Canada Day anyone wearing a double denim “Canadian tuxedo” got their lift ticket for $40. Turns out you can’t ski off storage wax on summer snow, so they used Misha’s driver’s licence as a scraper and carried on. “Best day ever!”
Ski racer Hema Kumar was given the choice. “I asked if she wanted to ski or mountain bike on Canada Day,” said her mother, Jill Cunes. Even surrounded by great riding in Golden, B.C., skiing always wins for Hema. And this won’t be Hema’s last skiing for the summer. She’s off to Mount Hood for a GS and slalom camp next week. Which raises the question, do these training days count for this season or next?
Jesse and Julie wanted to tell Jesse’s buddies back home in New Zealand that the skiing is better in Canada, even in the summer.
Dustin, Megan, Bryana and Logan (otherwise known as the Cressey siblings, plus one spouse) realized they all had the day off work and got together for a summer ski.
Chris Pense and Alison Branman from Swift Current, Saskatchewan, met in the middle with Ben Mayer and Fraser Fields from Fernie, B.C. The line for beer was longer than the lift lines, so they bought a few at once to better celebrate Canada Day.
Zach Eckers, Eleanor Lyon and Jack Scott at the Sunshine rental shop were way busier than anyone expected. It turns out when tourists are in Banff and there’s summer skiing, people who have never skied give it a go.
On my way out of the parking lot I caught up with Vienna Nodwell, Julian Cramb, Jackson Cooper and D.J. Hanson who were cooking hotdogs on a Coleman stove and having birthday cake for Jackson, “And, I guess, Canada, too,” said Julian, who won a 2027 season pass with a scratch-and-win Canada Day contest.
Why was I here? Because I’m only a few days away from my first 100-day ski season. And, thanks to a great snow year and a ski-first ethos at Sunshine, because I can.
