Skiing  Banff Mount Norquay's long-standing reputation for challenge is based on the first runs you see upon approaching the area: a quintet of super-steep, mogul-studded freefalls served by the original Norquay double chair. For hardcore Norquay regulars, no runs anywhere can match Upper Lone Pine and Gun Run, a dynamite black-diamond duo as demanding as any trails in the Rockies. Memorial Bowl isn't a bowl at all but a generous, consistent swath with an average 34-degree pitch that rarely feels the blade of a snowcat. Even the North American, the easiest of these runs, legitimately earns its black diamond.

Three more chairs climb up stepped-back parallel ridges and serve the area's beginner & intermediate runs. Anyone who continues to the lower parking lot, come upon the main base area, the welcome gateway to this more friendly terrain. In addition to a small, sheltered beginner slope, you'll find the Cascade Quad chair which services most of the beginner terrain and provides access to Spirit quad chair and to the long Pathfinder Express quad. Because the terrain lies deep in a valley under some very steep summits, it has a really rugged and interesting feeling. It also provides some of the most weather sheltered terrain in the area.Snowboarding  Norquay's slopes and trails make for excellent riding. The area has carved a sensational halfpipe that is sure to be a hit with the experts. The park also features gap jumps, table tops, 1/4 pipes for all levels of riders. A reduced-rate Cascade lift ticket is available.

Solidifying Norquay's commitment to snowboarding is the Snow Sport Centre, which offers a commendable selection of introductory and advanced programs for adults and children. Off-piste free-riding, freestyle, extreme riding and high pro freecarving are among the upper-level specialties offered.