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Powder Highway: Mt Norquay Ski Resort

Written by Fiona

July 22 2019

I visited Mt Norquay Ski Resort as part of a ski-drive tour of the Powder Highway in Canada. We stayed nearby in the town of Banff and enjoyed breakfast at Whitebark Café

Mt. Norquay is part of the SkiBig3. Benefits include:

  • Complimentary shuttle service from Banff & Lake Louise hotels
  • Free Hot Springs and Whyte Museum admission with a 3+ day SkiBig3 ticket
Mt Norquay. Credit: Reuben Krabbe

Norquay stats, pros & cons

Great mis of slopes at Norquay. Credit: Reuben Krabbe

Norquay stats

  • Top: 2133m
  • Base: 1630m
  • Drop: 503m
  • Area: 0.78 km2
  • Number of runs: 74
  • Green: 20%
  • Blue: 36%
  • Black Diamond: 28%
  • Double Diamond: 16%
  • Longest run: 1.16km
  • 4 chairlifts
  • 2 surface lifts
  • Snow making?: Yes (85% of area)
  • Average annual snowfall: 3m
Fantastic views.

Pros of Norquay ski resort

  • Superb views.
  • Great, old-school community atmosphere
  • Small but brilliantly formed
  • Good food in the mountain base café and inspired by Whitewater resort  
  • A good mix of slopes with something for everyone
  • Great expert test piece with Lone Pine.
  • Ideal for a day or two of skiing
  • Great alternative to the larger SkiBig3 resorts.
Top of Lone Pine with its many bumps.

Cons of Norquay ski resort

  • Might feel a little old school and small but it depends what you like.
  • Snowfall record is less than Lake Louise and Sunshine Village.
We loved Mt Norquay.

What we discovered at Norquay

  • This is a resort with a history – and dates back to the 1940s
  • There are many skiing stars of the past that learned to ski at Norquay
  • Many groomers and great learner terrain…
  • …And some great steeps, too…
  • Including the steepest of all, Lone Pine, which is considered a right of passage.
  • After three weeks of skiing the Powder Highway we were both very capable of tackling Lone Pine (thankfully!).
  • Norquay was a great finisher to our superb Powder Highway ski-drive in British Columbia.

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