Sunshine Village
| Sunshine Village | |
|---|---|
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Sunshine Village ski resort
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| Location |
Banff National Park, Alberta Canada
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| Nearest city | Banff |
| Coordinates | 51°04′43″N 115°46′56″W / 51.07861°N 115.78222°W |
| Vertical | 1,070 m (3,510 ft) |
| Top elevation | 2,730 m (8,960 ft) |
| Base elevation | 1,660 m (5,450 ft) |
| Skiable area | 13.6 km2 (3,360.6 acres) |
| Runs | 120 15% easiest 37% more difficult 40% most difficult 7% Expert |
| Lift system | 1 gondola (8) 9 chairs - 6 High-speed quad - 2 Quad chairlift - 1 High-speed quad with heated seats and bubbles 2 magic carpets |
| Lift capacity | 20,000 / hr |
| Terrain parks | 2 |
| Snowfall | 914.4 cm (360.0 in) |
| Website | SkiBanff |
Sunshine Village is a Canadian ski resort, located on the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies within Banff National Park in Alberta and Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of three major ski resorts located in the Banff National Park. Because of its location straddling the Continental Divide, Sunshine receives more snow than the neighboring ski resorts. The Sunshine base area is located 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) Southwest of the town of Banff, Alberta. By car, it is about one hour and thirty minute drive from the city of Calgary. The Sunshine exit on the Trans Canada Highway is 8 km (5.0 mi) west of the town of Banff.
Sunshine Village ski runs and lifts are accessed via an eight-person high-speed gondola. The gondola takes people from the parking lot (or bus terminal) to Goat's Eye mountain in 10 minutes and to the upper Village area in 18 minutes. There are 9 chairlifts and 120 trails within the alpine valley formed by the three mountains (Mount Standish, Lookout Mountain, and Goat's Eye Mountain) that constitute Sunshine Village. In summer the resort runs a shuttle bus service to its attractive walking trails and alpine meadows.
The first explorer that passed through the Sunshine area was Governor George Simpson of Hudson's Bay Company. His party passed through the area in 1841 seeking new quicker routes into the Columbia District. His diary noted "Hole in the Wall" Goat's Eye mountain and he left a blaze in a tree that has since been preserved in the Banff Natural History Museum. The next significant exploration party was the Palliser Expedition in the late 1850s; Mt. Borgeau, is named for one of its members.
Everything changed with the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway and its arrival in Banff in the late 1880s. Bill Peyto may have been the first person to bring real tourists through the Sunshine area. The eccentric Peyto was a trapper and prospector. He was also a competent guide, as his rugged life gave him the skills required to face the often harsh realities of nature. In the 1890s Peyto would guide tourists through the Sunshine Meadows to the base of Mt. Assiniboine, the highest peak in the Southern Continental Ranges of the Canadian Rockies.
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Wikipedia