Gem & Lita at Banff w/ Jimmy, Amy, Jason & Jonabelle
I’ve loved alpine (downhill) skiing since the 80’s as a recreational winter pastime after several lessons at Springhill Winter Sports Park at Hwy. 59 North on Oasis Road just fifteen minutes away from our City of Winnipeg. Since then I have known that skiing would be how I would spend some of the best time of my life especially during the long winter months. As passionate skiers we always wait every winter for the snow as the mercury plummets with the approaching cold. We are the father-and-son buddies and grandfather-and-grandkids buddies skiing together on the slopes, hills and mountains where family memories are also best shared. A family that skiis together stays together!
Our family’s passion for alpine skiing has taken us to the slopes of Breckenridge and Vail Mountains in Colorado, Heavenly and Sugar Bowl Ski Resorts in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Lutsen and Wild Mountains in Minnesota, Frostfire in North Dakota, Whistler-Blackcomb, Panorama, and Fernie in British Columbia, Lake Louise and Sunshine Village in Alberta. In our Province of Manitoba, go to our two popular ski resorts, the Asessippi and the Holiday Mountain Resorts.
Gem ready to ski at Sunshine
With proper training snow skiing whether it is downhill, cross-country, or snowboarding, may not just be a hobby or a sport but can also be a way of life to be physically fit, regardless of how old you are. To be one among the snow wilderness of the mountains you can be in tune with nature, enjoy the fresh air, and that personal feeling of absolute freedom. A short ride to the mountain top is sufficiently enough to proclaim that “I am the king of the world!”.
Whether you’re novice or a pro it is helpful to know about the level of one’s skiing abiliyy: level one (1) means a never ski before; level two (2), a beginner, still learning to make turns in both directions – left or right, and make stops on gentle terrain; level three (3), a novice, able to link snowplow turns on green terrain; and level four (4), intermediate, able to execute parallel turns; and lastly, level 5 (five), the advanced, able to execute strong parallel turns with pole plants. Don’t worry, everyone has to start from the very beginning and it could take many or several lessons before you, falling maybe more a hundred times, can learn the arts of the sport.
Jimmy & Amy at Sunshine
Knowing one’s skiing level ability determines the terrain where to ski. There are several ski trails difficulty, namely – the easiest trail (represented by colour GREEN circle) , gentle slope , usually wide and groomed; next is the intermediate (represented by colour BLUE square), generally the trail is groomed but more difficult and steeper than beginner’s trail; and third, advanced trail (represented by colour BLACK in diamond shape), the hardest and most difficult, steep and usually narrow, may or may not be groomed.
For our family ski destination to Banff Sunshine Village, on 14 March 2022 after a 16-hour long drive through 917 miles (1476 kms.) from Winnipeg, Manitoba. on Trans Canada Highway 1 West with several stops for fuel to both our van and bodies, we (my wife Lita, our son Jimmy and wife Amy, our grandson Jason and girlfriend Jhonna), ended up for a three-night stay at the Tunnel Mountain Resort , Banff, Alberta.
Waking up early on the following day we headed to the ski resort.
We’ll see you at Sunshine.
TRIVIA: Do you know that our very own Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was a former snowboarding ski bum in the 1990’s? He once lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, and snowboarded Whistler Ski Resort regularly for five (5) years.
