Skiing Austrian Tirol v Canadian Rockies??

Thanks everyone, this is all really helpful and much appreciated!

Hi Alpine Flower, back in October my son ( 20 yr old snowboarder ) suggested I put Canada ski trip on my bucket list , having done the Alps for more years than I can remember, why not i thought. Small amount of research and just booked Banff for 10days first week in March . ( whistler came a close second choice). Now into getting fit and counting down the days :D

Hi Alpine Flower. This may be nearly a year late. Just seen your post. Most years I ski in Austria (Rauris is my favourite). Charming village, not a huge number of kilometres of pistes. Good food on the mountain. However twice in the past 6 years I have taken a ski trip to Marmot Basin, Jasper in Alberta in late March first time, and just this Spring in mid April. Fantastic hill, good infrastructure, uncrowded trails, best snow I've ever skied!! Had 9 nights Accom and 6 days skiing. It may be a deterrent for some but not me that to get there from Calgary takes 6 hours by road. Beautiful scenery along Icefield Parkway. I believe January...cheapest...is cold. Probably best to avoid Spring break. Food on mountain not as good as Austria,fairly pricey too...but certainly not awful!
I hope this helps.

Hi there,

Thanks for this thread, I am finding it useful as well. I have skied in Austria a number of times (Tirol - St Anton, Ski Welt region, Kitzbuhel) and absolutely loved every single trip we did. That being said, the past few years have been nerve wrecking in terms of snow cover. We generally go towards the end of January, and on a couple of occasions we had rain, and some sad looking slopes.

With the hectic Euro and the nerve wrecking snow reliability (Apart from St Anton - its very reliable), the wife and I decided to give Canada a bash at the end of this year. We are staying in Banff for two weeks. Thanks for the tip on renting a car to get around, I thought they would have buss services to Lake Louise.

Definitely looking forward to the trip and trying out a new ski region and country. Will also be spending a couple of nights up north in Yellowknife in search of the Aurora's..... Now that is going to be cold :-).

Best of luck with your decision.

My final word of advise, if you are a competent skier, head to St Anton, fantastic ski area and amazing experience, for traditional easy going ski experience, head to Ellmau / Scheffau in the SkiWelt region. I have been there 3 times and loved every second of it.

It's hard to answer your question without a bit more information regarding your ski experience. Do you want groomers only, with North American blue/black runs, or do you seek non-groomed runs. What about off-piste skiing? Although I have some experience at Sunshine Village, the area can be affected by wind. Lake Louise is perhaps my favorite, with superb skiing in the back of the area accessed by the platter. The groomers are excellent without crowds. Farther field, Kicking Horse or Revelstoke offer excellent off-piste skiing, but get tracked out fast. Perhaps it the quality of the skiers, but Lake Louise does not get tracked out as fast. Only a few hours away, in B.C., consider skiing at Panorama. Great groomers and excellent off-piste skiing from the top. These areas have good avalanche control. They also offer free mountain hosts for exploring the mountain. In the south Tirol, skiing off-piste is fantastic, but you will need avalanche hazard training or a guide. In addition, the groomers can be really crowded.

I have have not addressed apres-ski. For me, Canada is all about skiing and after dinner and a few drinks, I rarely stay out late - Revelstoke has nice nightlife. In the south Tirol, the food is outstanding, and after ski bars 'Rock'. Perhaps come back with more questions and thoughts. Best❄️⛷