We visited Sunshine in early February 2024, and despite the terrible start to the ski season this year (thanks El Niño), we thankfully did get both pow and bluebird days.

The best part of Sunshine is the views of the Rockies, and a secluded feeling like no other ski area I've been to. We got lucky and had about 30 cm of squeaky, dry snow over the week, so there were lots of freshies to be found, even days after it last snowed because Sunshine barely gets busy! Most of the terrain is decent enough, but if you're someone who's been spoiled by the variety, vertical drop, and off-piste of places like Whistler, Revelstoke, or the European alps, you will probably find a lot of it to be rather tame and same-old. The exception to this are the extreme skiing areas, Delirium Dive and Wild West (which I sadly didn't get to try). The vertical drop of most of the resort is actually quite small, the alpine "bowls" are barely bowls at all, and the tree skiing is either super dense, or super spaced out. SNOWBOARDERS BEWARE: this resort has a shocking amount of tedious flats and up hill sections that no amount of speed and momentum will get you past. RIP thighs. Furthermore, we found that most of the resort is extremely exposed to the elements. Cold, strong winds, and quick descending clouds / zero visibility are very common occurrences.

With all that said, the cost of visiting Banff / Sunshine is lower than any other ski area of its calibre in North America, so if you're on a budget and want a big mountain adventure, you can't go wrong in that regard.
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BE AWARE....if you have an injury in Sunshine

Sunshine is probably one of the best hill in the bow valley but they have the worst customer service.

I have a accident in Wawa lift, month ago. A guy went through the security door and took my position in the chair.... I could not have a place to sit on the chair! They lift operator did not stop the lift on time and my leg got stuck between the chair and the ground...and it twisted.

The lift operator offered me help but I decided go by self to the medical center which in only 30m far from the chair. The guy who was there did not help me at all... I explained him (from the door) what happened to me and his answer was "I can not do much, go home and rest" He did not even offer me immobilize my leg...he did even not had a look to my leg!!! ABSOLUTLY NOTHING! just; "go home and rest"

At that point I took the gondola with a lot of pain in my leg...I decided one more try going to customer services and talk with one girl. I explain her the situation, and she did not say much! She said that 50$ extra you pay only covers the refund of the pass..Just that! Wow! what a service!

Two days after this happened I decided visit a physio. He said that 90% of chances I got a ACL injurie.

After this bad new, I sent an email to customer services. Jason T; director of Sales and Marketing replied my email saying that the were opened a investigation...

02/18/2022 We have started an investigation into your complaint, reviewing the incident report, video footage and interviewing with the lift operator and ski patrol involved. Please bare with us while we compile this information and I’ll be following up with you in the coming days...

After one week i sent an Email asking about the investigation...this is the answer!

02/23/2022

I’ll be calling you tomorrow, is there a time that works best for you ? – thank you

My answer was - Hi, Jason sound good. Call me any time

03/07/2022

I am writing this review and I am still waiting for the phone call.

So seems like Sunshine does not care about customers. I doing snowboard more since 18 years old, I have been working in ski resorts and I have seen many situations. What I am sure is this not the way to treat a customer. Specially when someone has and accident in one your resorts.

Thanks Sunshine for your Service!
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really liked how they had a shuttle from the parking lot to the lodge but once getting to the lodge the experience began to decline. The line for elementals was very short but yet took hours to get in and once getting in the staff was very rude and unhelpful. I honestly could not believe how rude the staff was. The mountain was ok but no where near as good as Marmot in Jasper. I have been to a few mountains and would not recommend sunshine.
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First time visit and we found the staff friendly and the terrain nice and varied.
But super frustrated and disappointed as most times we were on the chairs they stopped mid ride, sometimes up to 5 times and sometimes for several minutes.
When we mentioned it to staff they said it was due to beginners having issues loading etc, but we were skiing the most advanced chairs...
Definitely did not feel we got a good value for what the lift tickets cost!!!
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It’s been a long time since we have visited Sunshine and not that much has changed with respect to the terrain. A major change has been the various lift upgrades such that many of the lifts are now high speed. And the orange bubble chair which provides protection from the elements, is a significant improvement from the slow old, brutally cold double chair (and it was very welcome on one particularly frigid day we visited).

Sunshine used to be our favourite Banff ski resort, but on this visit it was potentially pipped at the post by Lake Louise because it provides better fall line groomers, more diverse expert terrain, and better tree skiing than Sunshine.

Our thoughts on the pros and cons are outlined on the Sunshine overview page, and you can also see the Canada ski resort ratings to see how we compare Sunshine to other ski areas.
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There are many wonderful things I would say about Sunshine. Great snow conditions, very expansive terrain, great lift network, absolutely beautiful views and landscape. I would especially want to recognize the ski school and Tom Horne who taught our first-time skier triplets to ski well in just 3 days and Tom Spence who helped my wife and I get back to skiing after a long time off.

My concerns about the resort have to with safety. First of all, we were there during the busy holiday week between Christmas and New Years so that contributes to the problem. The parking is quite limited and if you don't arrive early you could end up being very far and be forced to look for your car in remote parking very far from the lodge in the dark. The shuttle service is slow and crowded.

Secondly, the main lodge where people congregate for lunch is extremely crowded. There is a big need for additional lodge space so people aren't crawling over each other at lunch time. I have doubts that if that building needed to be evacuated in an emergency, an evacuation would go well.

Lastly, my time at Sunshine was punctuated on the last day with an accident or perhaps what seems to me in retrospect like an assault. Standing in a group of 7 people, awaiting direction from our ski instructor, a young man coming out of nowhere, barreled in to me at top speed. I had no warning and had no chance to move. He crashed in to me, helmet first, in to my side breaking at least 1 rib and keeping me from skiing anymore that day.

My natural instinct is to think it was just an accident and he lost control. As I reexamine the incident however I think it's possible it was intentional. Earlier while on the gondola I heard young kids joking about injuring people. There was no warning and the collision happened in what I would think is an unlikely place. Also, the kid fled the scene and offered no help even though he easily got up with help from friends.

The skiing at Sunshine is absolutley beautiful but. I do think the resort could put more of an emphasis on safety and cater to a more adult crowd rather than just teens and millennials.
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The more I go to sunshine the more I enjoy it. The best thing about sunshine is even if it hasn't snowed in a week, there is still plenty as it is the highest ski resort in the rockies. Covering three mountains the resort is definetly more suited for beginners and intermediates, but there is enough to keep advanced skiers happy.

Mount Standish is very fun with lots of natural features but has short runs. Lookout Mountain has long groomed runs but unless you know where you are going, you can get stuck in the flat spot. Goatseye Mountain has long, steep fall line runs from top to bottom with glades and some awesome tree skiing.

Pros:
- Probably some of the best snow in Canada
- Terrain to suit everyone
- Great Lift system
- Easy accessed back country (but not that challenging)
- Close to Banff (20 min) which has plenty to offer

Cons:
- Not too much for experts
- lacking good glades and tree skiing
- Doesn't get big dumps of snow
- Closest ski resort to Calgary so very busy on weekends and pow days
- As it is so high White outs can be common up top
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Absolutely wonderful. I have been skiing here this entire week. It has not snowed here in about a month (very, very rough season this year) and there is barely any ice. The snow quality is fantastic and very light.

Terrain is well marked, amazing views, and a great lift system. The downside is that the runs are not very long and quite short and the glade skiing is very tight at times.

I was there during midweek and on Saturday and the lines were not long, no more than 3 minutes wait at lifts, if that. I would highly recommend, you will not be disappointed.
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3 consecutive powder days (30 cm + of powder each day) at Sunshine. No snow at Lake Louise.
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Super high elevation, lots of snow, and great accommodation. The lift ride closes at 11:00, which sucks when you want to party in ridiculous Banff. There are some onsite food and drinks, but lacks a party atmosphere if that is what your looking for. Perfect for families and get you away from it all in the evening when the hoards leave.

It is Canada's top national park so it can be insanely packed, so powder must be sought out early, unless you got some secret stashes.
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