Goat's Eye
The Goat's Eye Express is the resort's most challenging lift. Lower down, Wolverine and Jackrabbit sit out of the wind and keep fresh snow longer.
Three mountains on the Continental Divide, one gondola up
Yes. The ski school uses the magic carpets on Mount Standish, and the Strawberry Express is a beginner chair with gentle blues and greens. Stay low on the mountain until you are ready for Lookout.
January to March, on a weekday. On a weekend, ride the gondola early, because the lifts fill as the morning goes on.
Online before you go, or at the gondola base on the day.
A working avalanche transceiver. The gate at the top of the Divide Express opens only when it detects one on each skier, and rescue gear is expected beyond it.
A gondola lifts you from the car park to a Village at about 2,160 m, right at the tree line, and all the skiing starts up there. At that height the snow falls often and holds well.
Map data: OpenStreetMap.
The gondola stops at Goat's Eye on the way up and ends at the Village, where the lifts for Lookout Mountain and Mount Standish start.
The Goat's Eye Express is the resort's most challenging lift. Lower down, Wolverine and Jackrabbit sit out of the wind and keep fresh snow longer.
The Angel Express can be exposed in a wind; Teepee Town LX beside it has heated seats and a cover.
Wawa Bowl for intermediates, and Standish Express, which often catches wind-blown snow.
Goat's Eye, Lookout Mountain and Mount Standish spread out around the Village, with open runs above the tree line and tree-lined ones below.
On its way to the top of Lookout Mountain, the Divide Express crosses into British Columbia and back.
Most skiers sleep in Banff, about 15 minutes' drive from the gondola base, and ride up each morning.
Sunshine Mountain Lodge, in the Village itself, is the only ski-in, ski-out lodge in Banff and Lake Louise. You arrive by gondola and wake up at the lifts.
The lower mountain opens in early November and the upper lifts about a month later. The week between Christmas and New Year is the busiest of the season.
Where to base yourself, and what else is close
