Tuesday 12 March 2013

Banff in a nutshell


Banff lifestyle is awesome. 

Living within a fifteen-minute walk of anything in town (big plus for the heavier evenings), and being surrounded by the typical Canadian scenery is not fully appreciated until you’re amongst it.

I was a late arrival and moved into Banff towards the end of November, living in the Wolfpack house with some thirteen other people. My first memories of the coming gap year began with drinking cider on a completely empty stomach and meeting a house full of British folk. Coming from Melbourne where a five minute hailstorm was considered snow, snow in Banff was nothing less than amazing.

My first impression after exploring outside is that it was…cold! Canadian winter is nothing like an Australian winter where the occasional 20*C would imply shorts and t-shirt weather. Since arriving I am still yet to experience a positive temperature. However the -20*C days are quickly adapted to, and the holiday heavily focuses on the skiing and snowboarding. 

Currently working at Sunshine Village as a lifty, I moved out here with the intention to learn snowboarding for the first time. After the notoriously boring SSV training videos, I was handed my staff pass (season pass for the mountain and also Lake Louise) and sent to work on the Goats Eye lift. Lifty life is arguably one of the best jobs on the mountain; two hour ride breaks each day, being outside, easy going job requirements and working with similarly minded people…Its hard to complain when your guaranteed fresh tracks on the big powder days. 

My first white Christmas is another experience that I will remember for a while. Spending my Christmas day snowboarding in bluebird weather after waking up to -31*C in Banff was a polar opposite to what we would see in Melbourne. The traditional turkey dinner was also enjoyed (thanks to Dan). After the Christmas rush came New Years celebrations. Whiskey, twister, house parties, good music and a street party in town with literally thousands of people resulted in me ushering in 2013 waking up on a couch in a giraffe onesie… It’s safe to say New Years Eve is one of bigger nights in Banff! 

In a nutshell, Banff is an amazing place to spend the winter and I couldn’t be happier spending my gap year here.

Tom. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,

My name is KC Owens, I’m a college student and I love to travel! While cruising the Internet, I found your site and really enjoyed reading your posts. I have been to countries all over Europe with just my backpack and a camera. Since I am a college student and I have significant bills, it can be difficult to find ways to travel the world. However, I have done this several times, with less than ten pounds of luggage and while on a college dime!

I was hoping that you would allow me to write a post for your site to share my tips and tricks with your readers. I put a lot of time into my traveling, it is my biggest passion and I would love to inspire others by sharing my stories, mistakes and triumphs. I look forward to hearing from you!

Best,

KC Owens

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