The Lake Louise Ski Resort & Summer Gondola is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

in western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, located in Banff National Park near the village of Lake Louise,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Located west of Banff, Lake Louise is one of three major ski resorts within Banff National Park. The resort is situated on the southern slopes of the Slate Range, between the heights of Mount Richardson, Ptarmigan Peak, Pika Peak and

Redoubt Mountain Redoubt Mountain (alternatively Mount Redoubt) is a mountain located in Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. It forms the southern buttress of Boulder Pass. The mountain was named in 1908 by Arthur O. Wheeler, foun ...

, all around above sea level. The base of the slopes is defined by Pipestone River, a tributary of the

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These w ...

, immediately north of the intersections between Highway 1A ( Bow Valley Trail), Highway 1 (

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...

), and

Highway 93 Route 93 or Highway 93 can refer to: International * European route E93 Australia - Victoria Canada * Alberta Highway 93 * British Columbia Highway 93 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 93 * Ontario Highway 93 China * G93 Chengyu Ring Expr ...

(Icefields Parkway).

History

Lake Louise has been a home to skiing since the 1920s, as the gateway to the

Skoki Ski Lodge The Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site of Canada was built in 1930-31 in the Skoki Valley of Canada's Banff National Park. Built by local members of the Ski Club of the Canadian Rockies, the lodge was the first commercial building built sp ...

. The first lift was constructed in 1954, and a

poma Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, peop ...

was added in 1960. Until autumn 2008, the ski resort was owned and operated by the

Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Inc. (RCR) is the largest private ski resort owner/operator in Canada, owning six ski resorts across Canada. __NOTOC__ Current properties The company owns Nakiska in Alberta as well as Fernie Alpine Resort, Kimberley ...

(RCR) company. In 2008, Charlie Locke, a former owner of the ski area (1981-2003), exercised a buy-back option to reacquire Lake Louise from RCR to return as the ski resort's owner, president and operator.

Events

The Lake Louise Ski Resort is the first stop on the

FIS Alpine Ski World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France ...

circuit, and the only place in Canada where this event is held. The event, also known as the Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup, is described by

Alpine Canada Alpine Canada (french: Canada Alpin) is the national governing body for alpine, para-alpine and ski cross racing in Canada. Alpine Canada represents coaches, officials, supporters and athletes, including the racers of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team ...

as "Canada's highest-profile alpine ski race", and attracts high-profile downhill skiers from around the globe - such as four-time World Cup champion,

Lindsey Vonn Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three ...

. The races began at the resort in 1980 and ran consecutively from

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

to 2020. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2020 races to be cancelled. The race is one of the select few that holds both the men's and ladies' speed events on the World Cup circuit and plays host to the first World Cup

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

and

super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event d ...

races of the season. The Lake Louise Ski Resort hosted its first FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup in December

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. The resort also hosts Shake The Lake: a freestyle and live music event held at the end of the snow season. Lake Louise 17092005

Facilities

The 145 marked ski runs and back bowls on four mountain faces are 25% beginner, 45% intermediate and 30% advanced. The 'Terrain Park' is also designed for riders of all levels. Four full service day lodges are operational during winter. Snowboarders have access to all trails and the terrain park. The Lake Louise sightseeing

gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...

is open year-round, offering panoramas of glaciers, natural springs, wildflowers and possibly wildlife (such as grizzly bears). Other activities in the resort area include dog sledding,

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

, and cross-country skiing.

Trails

Lifts

* Lake Louise has 8 lifts, and 2

magic carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination. In literature One o ...

References

External links

*
Lake Louise Alpine Ski World CupSki Banff - Lake Louise - Sunshine
- Tri-Area Joint Venture between the Lake Louise Ski Resort, Sunshine Village, and Mt. Norquay {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Louise Ski Resort Ski areas and resorts in Alberta Banff National Park