Who knew a day of spring skiing could involve an Excellent Enema?
by Shari Bishop Bowes
Give the board its last coat of wax and shed a layer or two, but don't forget your party hat - it's spring skiing time in the Canadian Rockies.
With almost two full months left to enjoy skiing and snowboarding at ski resorts in the Bow Valley, it's time to get serious about logging as many days in the mountains as you possibly can before it's all over.
At the same time, you'll want to leave all seriousness behind as you enjoy on-hill parties, concerts and crazy end-of-season events.
Sunshine Village is the headliner this year for fun on-hill entertainment, including five live concerts on top of the mountain, the wild and crazy "dummy downhill", "That 70s Ski Weekend", and two Beach Party weekends featuring the kind of music that will have you dancing even in your ski boots. Sunshine wraps it all up on closing day, May 23, with the Slush Cup, where polar bear-like entrants in weird costumes brave the jump into a cold, slushy pond. (Watch closely for the winner of the "Best Bellyflop" and "Excellent Enema" contests.)
The Sunshine spring concert line-up kicks off April 23 and 24 with Nova Scotia country singer George Canyon, who caught the eye of North America as a finalist in the TV show Nashville Star. Next up on the April 30-May 1 weekend is 54-40, a great Canadian band with more than a few chart-toppers to its credit. If you're a Canadian about the age of your correspondent, you won't want to miss Trooper, playing its 70s his like "Raise a Little Hell" and "We're Here for a Good Time" on the May 7-8 weekend. And if you've spent any time at all in the Bow Valley, you'll have enjoyed the unrivalled repertoire of covers by local band TR3, playing on top of old Sunshine May 14 and 15. Winding up the spring concert line-up on the hill that has surprising few line-ups, is BC/DC, a tribute band of hard rockers AC/DC.
Skiers and snowboarders take advantage of gorgeous spring weather at Sunshine Village, enjoying the outdoor barbecue, live music and lively atmosphere.
Theme parties are a popular way to see out a great ski season in the Bow Valley, with the Lake Louise Ski Resort hosting their own retro event for the last weekend of their season, May 7 and 8. Lake Louise invites skiers and boarders to tease their hair into a 'big' style, streak your faces with zinc, and don your favourite fluorescent one-piece suit for the 80s Weekend and Splash Down. The fun doesn't end until you've taken part in the Undie 500, The Dating Game and Name That Tune. Oh, and bikinis and thongs are preferred attire for the Splash Down event, which will land more than a few chilly souls in a cold pool of slushy ice water.
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A skier at Sunshine Village ski resort rips down the North Pocket, enjoying excellent spring conditions in early March this year.
Louise is also hosting two more spring season on-hill events that combine actual skiing and snowboarding with music and partying all day long. On April 23 it's the Kokanee Freeride, sponsored by a favourite Canadian beverage company, and involving a chance to win a day on the slopes with a group of your friends. Also on April 23 and the next day, too, is the Superpark 9, with bands and DJs, a beer garden and Ice Bar, and a chance to watch 500 of the world's best snowboard athletes rippin' it up in the hills ShowTime Terrain Park.
Back at Sunshine, you won't want to miss the most hilarious event of the season on May 1 - the Dummy Downhill. With a month left, there is still time for you and three of your friends to enter a handmade dummy in the contest - and a chance to win in categories like "Ugliest Dummy", "Closest Resemblance to One of its Creators", "Awesome Airtime", and "Complete Carnage". No doubt you now have a picture in your mind of the wacky antics that will take place at the Dummy Downhill. Stay for the whole thing to see who wins the grand prize in the Final Deathrace, a free-for-all of the dummies that are still standing after the first run down the hill. Even better, the first one to the bottom wins a keg!
Before you start dreaming up the ultimate dummy, you're advised to check out the rules and regulations on the Sunshine web site, www.skibanff.com. Note especially that there are "no sharp objects or explosives."
Bands, beer, dummies, costumes and endless partying. Did we mention the excellent spring skiing conditions that will fill your heart with joy on a perfect day of snow and sun? Come for the parties, but don't forget why you're there.
If You Go:
Check out the Essential Events Calendar in SolaraLife for more information about specific events, or visit the Sunshine Village website at www.skibanff.com or the Lake Louise site at www.skilouise.com.
Sunshine Village is located 8 km west of Banff, about a half hour from Canmore. Lake Louise is a 50-minute drive west of Canmore.
Shari Bishop Bowes likes nothing better than a brilliantly sunny springtime day on top of the ski hill. Just don't ask her to ski over any big, chilly ponds of frigid water in a silly costume.
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