I looked up in disbelief. Coming down the mountain, flailing like a spastic chicken was, well, a spastic chicken. Rabid, perhaps. Most likely drunk. Not surprisingly, he was coming in hot, feathers flying, wings flapping, and totally misjudging … something. He hit the water in a high-speed, chaotic assault the likes the avian world has never seen. I’m not sure if the booze-fuelled crowd appreciated the decapitation or the dismemberment more, but the “chicken” was definitely a fan favourite. Read More
I looked up in disbelief. Coming down the mountain, flailing like a spastic chicken was, well, a spastic chicken. Rabid, perhaps. Most likely drunk. Not surprisingly, he was coming in hot, feathers flying, wings flapping, and totally misjudging … something. He hit the water in a high-speed, chaotic assault the likes the avian world has
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I looked up in disbelief. Coming down the mountain, flailing like a spastic chicken was, well, a spastic chicken. Rabid, perhaps. Most likely drunk. Not surprisingly, he was coming in hot, feathers flying, wings flapping, and totally misjudging … something. He hit the water in a high-speed, chaotic assault the likes the avian world has never seen. I’m not sure if the booze-fuelled crowd appreciated the decapitation or the dismemberment more, but the “chicken” was definitely a fan favourite.
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Ah, yes, spring skiing. If the pond-skimming competitions don’t win you over, the tunes, tans and turns certainly will.
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Noon News Roundup
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Personally, I’ll ski any time of year. I’ll ski roots and rocks in fall, waist-deep powder in winter, and boot-top slush in spring. And, certainly, each time of year has a vibe or a character that’s all its own.
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In spring, thanks to the sun-soaked patios, live music events, and the wild pond-skimming parties, the energy level – the fun-factor! – always seems to ratchet up a notch. And I’m a fan of that. Life should be lived. And spring skiing ticks a lot of boxes.
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Of course, you don’t need to get inebriated and tap into your kamikaze chicken fixations to have a great day of spring skiing. (But dressing up – especially if you’re entering a pond-skimming event, a common final-day festivity at many ski resorts – is never a bad idea.)
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“Over the spring months, our mountain really comes to life,” says Kendra Scurfield, VP of marketing, brand, and communications at Banff Sunshine Village, which is typically the last ski resort to close for the season in the Rockies. (The base elevation of 1,660 metres at Sunshine ensures snow quality remains good well into spring. This year’s closing day at Sunshine is May 19. Their annual and extremely popular “Slush Cup,” or pond-skimming competition, will be held on this day. At nearby Lake Louise, the annual Mount Slushmore closing day event will be on April 26. It’s also a riot!)
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“It’s definitely a ‘fun in the sun’ vibe at Sunshine this time of year,” says Scurfield, who also cites spring as her favourite time to ski. “We’ve got regular live music events and this year we’re also launching a western weekend, Sunshine Stampede. We’ll have country music, line dancing, and a barrel-inspired ski race. This will happen April 26 and 27.” Sunshine’s Untracked Concert Series, which occurs every Saturday afternoon until closing day, is perfectly positioned in the beer garden outside the legendary Mad Trapper’s Saloon.
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While sun-softened snow, bikini skiing, and tan lines are normal occurrences during spring skiing, the conditions are, in reality, all over the map. Cold snaps, powder dumps, and wild weather swings are par for the course. It is, after all, Alberta. In the mountains.
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“Historically, if you want fresh snow, spring is the best time to ski in the Canadian Rockies,” says Matt Mosteller, senior VP for Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, which owns and operates several popular local ski resorts like Fernie, Nakiska, Kicking Horse and Kimberley. “March and April typically get the biggest powder dumps. The opportunity to ski powder on a bluebird spring day is magic! And there are always so many great events in spring, such the Spring Splash at Kimberley Alpine Resort and the Raging Elk Slope Soaker in Fernie, which have become ski town party traditions to celebrate spring.”