Ski & skate in March/April?

This February we went to Banff and skied/boarded at Lake Louise, Sunshine and Norquay. We had such a fantastic time we'd like to go again in 2010, but as I'm a teacher the only time I can get 2 weeks is end of March/start of April.

The other thing we like to do while we're there is pond skating, being a hockey family. Question is, will it still be cold enough to pond-skate in Banff at that time of year, or would we have to consider somewhere further north?

Sorry I can't give you a direct repply, but I checked the almanacs and the temps around Banff are very similar to ours in MN (about the same for March and slightly cooler for April).

http://www.myforecast.com/bin/climate.m?city=CWBA&metric=false

http://www.myforecast.com/bin/climate.m?city=20594&zip_code=55044&metric=false

I would guess from experience here that occasionally you may be lucky at that time of year, but it varies so much. The Pond Hockey Championships http://www.uspondhockey.com/ are held here every year in January and the ice conditions are always a big news discussion. Winters are so variable. In the fourteen winters I've been here, the ice thickness has varied from 5 feet to less than 2 feet. At that time of year there is always going to be ice on the lakes, but the condition on top for skating might be very iffy.

I would contact local hockey leagues or teams. Beside having the best knowledge, you might be able to meet up with people for a practice session.

Trencher

Further north you won't have much luck, where were you thinking of, Jasper? Banff is the highest town in Canada.. if there is no ice in Banff doubt it up there.

Well I've researched climate, and there are colder places with ski resorts, like Cold Lake up near Bonnyville.

Looks like it's going to be one of those suck it & see things, but I'll be most disappointed if I can't skate (not as much as my son though who is a netminder with Nottingham)!

If that is where I think it is seems like an awful long way to go just to skate on a lake. I doubt the ski resort is anything to quip about.. seems an awful long way from Marmot..

Asahartz

Some info from a Canuck...

The winters are long and the days short this far north. If you want to ski you can ski until April in either Banff or Jasper. Sunshine, near Banff that gets lots of snow and stays cold we will sometimes ski until the end of May! Jasper would be skiable too but the resort has limits as to dates of operation to allow the sheep to raise young, this is a national park and they were here first after all!

Ponds freeze over in November and will stay frozen until early April depending on the year. There are several reasons for this, it takes a lot of "warm" to melt the five or six feet of ice that can form on these mountain lakes, the low sun angles slows the melt. The surface a pond if the ice is exposed (no snow cover) will freeze and thaw each day, never the less, the ice stays thick until May in some lakes. I am a sailer and often watch the ice closely at thai time of year so I can vouch for this fact. The amount of snow pack in any given year and region will affect frost depth and ice thicknesses. Pyramid Lake just north of Jasper will have ice on it in June and is frigid all year.

In Jasper the Jasper Park Lodge hotel has a pond skating surface that will operate until the end of March just about every season. The skating is gratis and the hot chocolate is too... mmm.

Banff has lakes that stay frozen quite late as well. Two Jack lake is often frozen in October and if there is little snow until December which is often. At that altitude the ice can become seven or eight feet thick under the snow. I have skated there several times in the last twenty years and see frozen fish four of five feet down.

We have lakes up here that we drive transport trucks on to reach remote areas so ice is something we know about.

http://www.thedieselgypsy.com/Ice%20Roads-3B-Denison.htm

Check it out. I like page two where the big rigs roam. :-)

The skating in the National Parks isn't quite as dramatic but you get an idea of the cold, low sun, high reflectivity of snow and snow depth all factors in the sustainability of the ice pack.

In short both Banff and Jasper will have ice in March and probably in April depending on the severity of the winter. The skiing will of course be there until May 1 or darn near to that date just about every season. I once skied every month but July and August one year and that was all at resorts too. I'll admit it I was a worker at Fortress and Canada Olympic Park that allowed me on the slope but you can get turns every month if you are prepared to climb for your turns.

Hope the note helps.

PS to above...

Cold Lake is flat and the skiing is on a pimple of a hill.... the region is known for fishing and sailing and a military base... not for skiing...