Out of all of the Banff resorts, I think Sunshine Village was our favourite from a day-to-day boarding perspective. It's got a lot of variety, the location seems to attract passing powder dumps, the scenery is spectacular, and there's a homey feel to the lodges and bars.

We were a bit unfortunate in being here during an El Niño year which resulted in some marginal conditions and icy days (not as bad as Lake Louise though). So with the fresh powder on pause and icy corduroy piste conditions, we decided to go over to the dark side for a few days and take some skiing lessons! It didn't take us long to master the basics. The edging concept and hip swivel is very similar to the boarding skill we already have, so we were shooping down the slopes and taking on the moguls after a couple of days of lessons.

Then the powder did finally arrive, the boards were back out again and the cruising, jumping, tree dodging, and bad mouthing of skiiers resumed. Without a doubt, boarding is more fun than skiing ... fact!