Spring Skiing in Alberta: March and April Are the Secret

The Alberta ski season does not end in March. Banff Sunshine regularly runs to the Victoria Day long weekend in late May, on natural snow, at a time when most of North America has closed. March and April are, for a lot of people who ski here, the best of it.

Why it is better than midwinter

The base is at its deepest after five months of accumulation. The days have stretched to twelve hours or more. The temperature is comfortable enough to sit outside for lunch. And the snow, on a good spring day, is corn: firm at nine, perfect from eleven to two, heavy by three.

Crowds thin after the March school break. Prices soften. And the light is far better for photographs than the flat overcast of January.

Timing the day

Spring skiing is a clock, not a schedule.

• Before 10. Firm, sometimes icy. Stick to groomed runs.
• 10 to 2. The window. Corn snow on south and east aspects, softening through the morning.
• After 2. Heavy, and hard work. Move to north-facing or stop.

Follow the sun around the mountain: east faces first, south through the middle of the day, west and north last.

Where

Sunshine Village. The longest season, all natural snow, and high enough to hold it. The obvious choice in late April and May.

Lake Louise. Big and high, and the back bowls in spring sunshine are as good as it gets here.

Marmot Basin, Jasper. Quiet, and quieter still in spring.

Castle Mountain. Closes earlier but has a devoted spring following.

What to wear

Less than you think, and bring sunscreen. Spring sun at 2,500 metres reflecting off snow burns faster than a beach. Sunglasses or goggles, lip balm with a factor, and a shell you can vent rather than a heavy insulated coat.

End of season

Sunshine's closing weekend is an event: costumes, slush cups, and a party atmosphere on the hill. Worth planning for if you like that sort of thing, and easy to avoid if you do not.

Getting there in spring

Spring conditions on the Trans-Canada are their own hazard: melt through the day, refreeze overnight, and black ice at exactly the hours you drive to and from a ski day. Winter tires still matter in April.

We run fixed-rate ski transfers from Calgary and YYC right through to the last day of the Sunshine season, with room for gear and a driver who watches the overnight forecast so you do not have to.