I lived in the "Lake" (Lake Louise) for quite some time and I guess I could start with what it was like to live there, some inside scoops that the public generally doesn’t know about.

I worked for Skiing Louise who is owned by R.C.R. (Resorts Of The Canadian Rockies) who is personally owned by Charles Locke who sold it to the Assistant Owner of the Calgary Flames because the company was going into receivership, so there is some basics of the Ski Resort.

When I started work for the Ski Resort I started as O.C.S. (Outdoor Customer Service - Lift Ticket Scanner), I was only in this position for a matter of days when they moved me into the Accounting Department. During my stay in the accounting department I noticed allot of ugly accounting schemes & employee scams and even a law enforcement pay off. It is no wonder the Ski Resort went belly up, with the poor management, accounting issues, company over spending and employee theft.

Working for Lake Louise opened my eyes to many experiences most of which were first time events also, while in accounting I realized how much Management was against their employees, they break so many Labor Codes that it still sickens me to this day, I have seen Management pay supervisors to fire employees near the end of the season so that the employee looses their end of season bonus, however if that same employee were to check their T-4 slip for that year they would notice that they were paid a bonus that they never got, thus the 700$ is split between the supervisor and the Management. This is only one of the many employee scams that they are currently involved in.

Due to the poor treatment and VERY low wages that these employees faced, they would damage the buildings they live in, thus making the staff accommodations look terrible, not to mention that the employee housing isn’t even up to the Health Code and they have had a few warnings already.

Well, now that I got all of that out of my system, let me tell you about the most wonderful time of my life, the highlight of my life to date, Living In The "Lake".

I must say, as much as I have some very legit complaints, the upside of the "Lake" far outweighs the downsides. I would like to start with my time living in Residence. I lived in a room in Charleston Residence that had the most breath taking view I have ever been blessed with. Outside my front window was the Victoria Glacier, the Lake Louise Bowl, Mt. Temple (Tallest Mountain in the area, and rated as a Majestic Mountain), Mt. Fairview and the sea of Pine. The view from my window was more than enough for me to happily get up out of bed and start my day.

There is this one point about halfway up Mt. Fairview that if visited on the night of a Solar Borealis, will light up the Lake and reflect off of the Victoria Glacier while mildly lighting up the tops of the Pine, shooting stars constantly, I tell you, it would be a major highlight of your life, something that would have no comparison.

My time in the "Lake" was amazing, due to my employment with RCR I was able to ski over a dozen different ski resorts for free, and I cant lie to you when I say that the Lake has some of the best skiing around. The ski hill usually opens about November 5th to the 10th but I wouldn't recommend going at this time as they are still making snow on the slopes, there will be allot of rocks, and limited open runs. I would say the best time of year to go would be near Christmas, we have the best snow fall then and right through until about February. Lake Louise has some of the best backside powder I have ever skied or rode. There is three main parts to the Ski area, 1) Front Side which is usually pretty good, the runs are very interesting and some really good tree runs, the lifts are some of the fastest and the Friendly Giant is just a pleasure full trip. Then there is area 2) Back side, here you will find some of the best snow in Canada, the runs on the back side are breathtaking, beautiful bowl trails and a "Way Cool" Double Black. Finally 3) Larch, this is actually a different Mountain beside the main. Larch is attainable via the back side of the main Mountain.

Lake Louise has a Day Care if you have children, they also have a “Kids Ski” program where you get a certified ski/snowboard instructor to teach your kids while you hit the slopes. If you don’t have equipment, no worries, the Rental team at the ski hill will set you up with some nice day or 3 day rentals. Lake Louise also has a ski friends program where you can go off in groups to see the ski sites with a tour guide. There is a green run from every chair lift on the mountain. There is 47 front side runs, 7 front side lifts, 44 back side runs, 2 backside lifts, 15 Larch side runs and 1 Larch side lift. There is 8 Restaurants (Whisky Jack; Powder Keg; Northface; Great Bear Room; Lodge Of The Ten Peaks all at the “Base Area”, Gazebo by the lifts, Whitehorn which is ½ way up the front side of the Mountain, and Temple Lodge which is on the back side between Larch and Ptarmigan Lift). There is a Day Care, 2 Retail Stores, several restrooms and a rental shop in the main lodge. The main Mountain reaches 2672m and Larch area is 2714m. The whole base area Lodges are made from the Pine they cleared to make the runs, the woodwork is amazing, the architecture is breathtaking, a really rustic look.

I have overall found the skiing at Lake Louise a pleasure. I wouldn't recommend the food at the Ski Resort, it is really poor quality food. The cooks are not to blame in this situation, they can only work with what they have and I cant stress enough, Don’t eat the resort food. If you want some decent food then you can travel into the town area of Lake Louise and go upstairs in the little plaza to the "Bar & Grill" they have great burgers and thier specials are always good. I would also recommend eating at the "Lake Louise Hostel" they have some really healthy options, pastas are always a good choice, and they make very good burgers there also.

I found that the prices for Passes at Skiing Louise are quite pricey, I would recommend that you buy them in the summer because they are usually 1/2 priced. There is ways to ski the "Lake" for free however I feel that my explanations may get me in some trouble (P.S. see my write up on Vacation Spots - Banff). There is something you can do that will get you a very cheap day pass. . . If you locate "Charleston Residence" (in town beside the RCMP building - Largest Log Building in North America) then you can ask the Staff of Lake Louise if they will sell you a "Green/Blue" card, employees get these in their pay checks, however they rarely use them so finding an employee that is willing to sell you one for 10$ shouldn't be very hard at all. (Same goes for the summer Gondola tickets)

The staff of Lake Louise although they are burdened with poor management, they are usually very helpful in showing you around, getting you things you need, or simply hanging out with afterwards. I think that the staff of Lake Louise is very friendly, outgoing and very open-minded, they don’t get paid much but they are mostly there to ski or board anyway. If you see an employee hitchhiking up the mountain, please pick them up, the resort often leaves employees stranded and cold, it will make a big difference and hey you might just earn a free ski pass for doing it, often times employees carry their day passes on them for just such occasions.

In conclusion, I would like to summarize my Pros and Cons. The scenery in Lake Louise is Stunning, Breathtaking and very Unforgettable. The people of Lake Louise are very accommodating and friendly, will go to some great lengths to make your day a happy one. The wildlife is amazing, if the old Highway 1 or TCH is open from Banff to Lake Louise (Summer only I believe) then take that for the best view of the wildlife. I found that to develop film, buy food at any other place than above mentioned, or get souvenirs, is going to be expensive, there is no competition in Lake Louise so they can charge you whatever they want. The town is very transient and what I mean by this is, allot of people come and go from Lake Louise, sometimes overnight, some people in this world are just ignorant, if you leave your board out of sight, or your back packs and video cameras, well, some ignorant transient WILL take it, so please be very careful. I find that 8 or more RCMP officers for a town I could fit under my thumb is rather allot of cops, now I agree that Lake Louise has some issues, but I think that setting up speed traps in a town with barely 3 stop signs is just making the visitors mad, the police have many other issues they can see to rather than setting up speed traps and nailing people for 5 over.

I would like to fully recommend Lake Louise for Skiing/Riding and all the other wonderful things mentioned in this opinion.


Recommended: Yes

Level of Experience Needed: All
Best Time to Visit: January
Best Suited For: Families