Member of the Month

hi_vis360
November, 2024

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Banff Party Scene

profile picture
Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
ill be coming in November and want to know what to expect. is it good? are there a lot of young people? should i live in staff housing or get my own place? should i have a car?
tell me what you know.
Sep 2 2013 9:22PM
18 0
profile picture
Avifarer
Posts: 5926 - Karma: 598
yes its good. very good. lots of young people. and if they arent "young" they are young at heart. what company are you working with? and you can easily get by without a car.
Sep 3 2013 12:24AM
0 0
profile picture
ChasingFlakes
Posts: 822 - Karma: 1,544
also bitches are thurrrrsty thus the sexually transmitted infection rate is one of the highest in north america per capitta. niiiguh wrap it then tap them thurssssty hoes. Seriously tho its a good time out here
Sep 3 2013 4:27PM
5 0
profile picture
Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
staff housing would likely be on hill at sunshine, assuming i get hired. my interview is tomorrow.
wondering if since its a drive from banff i would be better off getting my own place in town with my friend. only downside i see is having to travel in the morning, and more money. but plusses would be ability to cook my own meals, and proximity to fun.
Sep 3 2013 4:56PM
1 0
profile picture
Avifarer
Posts: 5926 - Karma: 598
do NOT live at sunshine staff accom. i worked there for 3 years. live in banff at all costs. try and get on trail crew, if you cant do that be a lifty
Sep 4 2013 12:39AM
2 0
profile picture
minihef
Posts: 813 - Karma: 781
Agree with everything posted above. Do not live on hill - only a couple hundred people (if that) do and you are completely cut off from everything. It can be fun for a few weeks but it's very limiting.

The town itself is small but full of young people from all over the world (but especially from Australia, NZ, UK, Ontario, Quebec) along with some older ski bums like myself. The night life is good for a small town, there are always things going on. Wrap it up or you'll get Herpes.

Housing in town can be very hit or miss and at certain times of the year very difficult to find but it's nice not relying on staff accom even if it does cost a bit more. Having a car is really useful but you can get by easily without.
Sep 4 2013 3:52AM
1 0
profile picture
liftedresearcher
Posts: 1140 - Karma: 1,775
you can sneak into the dancing sasquatch by climbing onto the green electrical transformer in the back and then onto the roof, scurry over to the left and hop down into the little courtyard thing and walk in the door. saves you waiting in line on busy nights plus whatever they charge for cover.

thats all the advice i have.
Sep 4 2013 4:00AM
4 0
profile picture
Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
my number one reason was the cheaper rent. like $200 a month vs $400 or so somewhere else.
i was concerned about being cut off, but waking up at work sounds awfully convenient.

besides being isolated what are the reasons to not live in staff housing
Sep 4 2013 5:23PM
0 0
profile picture
Avifarer
Posts: 5926 - Karma: 598
you live with another person in your room. no drugs allowed in the room (they check). no microwaves or fridges so you have to eat staff meals (they are disgusting).
there is a free staff shuttle from town to the hill. i caught my bus at 7:10 you are at the top of the gondola signing in by 8 so its really not that bad.
gondi shuts at 6 so you have to be back before that if you have a day off to get back up. its open till 10:30 on fridays.
the only positive of living on hill is the cheap rent.
Sep 4 2013 9:37PM
0 0
profile picture
Avifarer
Posts: 5926 - Karma: 598
also sunshine had (not sure if they still do) staff accom available at the banff HI hostel, and the banff springs hotel. The banff springs one wasnt too bad i was in there once. You get your own little kitchen, own bathroom. Gotta sleep in the same room as someone else but you would have to do that at the hostel. The hostel and the hotel are on exact opposite sides of town. if you are looking to save money try and get into those staff accoms instead of on hill.
Sep 4 2013 9:40PM
0 0
profile picture
Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
This is helpful, the hotel and hostel sound like much better options. Thanks
Sep 5 2013 6:25AM
0 0
profile picture
pastysmasher
Posts: 780 - Karma: 664
Banff is the shit! In winter, its just a nonstop party! But like people said above, don't live at sunshine, once that gondola stops, you are totally stuck, also I've heard that it gets pretty gross with a huge sex circle going on, everyone's had everyone! haha
Living in town and catching the staff bus is a waay better option. I'd say keep an eye on Kijiji and find an apt with cheap rent, I live in town and pay 255 a month. A car is nice to have but I get along fine without one and you'll meet people with cars.
Sep 5 2013 11:27PM
0 0
profile picture
minihef
Posts: 813 - Karma: 781
If you're concerned about cheap rent but not being stuck up at Sunshine cut off from everything then consider getting a job in town and not working for the resort. A lot of places will have staff accom for around $280 a month and there are lots of jobs that will get you much more ski time than a lot of the resort jobs. You'll have to take a hit on actually buying a pass but chances are you'd be earning more anyway.
Sep 6 2013 1:42AM
1 0
profile picture
Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
like in a hotel? interesting.


and that sex circle sounds interesting hah hah hah hah hah ...
Sep 6 2013 5:16PM
0 0
profile picture
minihef
Posts: 813 - Karma: 781
Hotels and restaurants are the obvious ones.

To give you an example I work in a hotel doing front desk/relief night audit - three 3pm - 11pm shifts, two 11pm - 7am shifts.

It means I'm free to ski any day I like so I don't miss powder days although if it keeps snowing I won't sleep or rest much. On the upside I ski a shitload. Not everyone can cope that well with a schedule like that, switching between nights shifts etc but if you're motivated enough to get out there skiing a lot you can make it work.

In the last four seasons I skied 132, 112, 150, 100 days with the lower ones being interrupted by injury. It's all completely free ski time as well which gives you a bit more freedom than ride breaks as you can go touring, slack country, resort or whatever. The work is nice enough and the night shifts give you time to edit edits or do whatever else to pass the time. I also get guaranteed 40 hours a week so no need to worry about getting fuck all pay when town's quiet. When I used to live in staff accom it was $280 a month.

It's not the best hours for partying but you you still have two whole nights off and you can hit the bars after 11 on three of your shifts.

The downside is that it would be harder to find this sort of job. With the resort hiring fairs you get taht added security as you can get a job sorted before you arrive in town whereas most other employers won't hire people till they know they're in town and they can meet them. If you're arriving in November it can get pretty brutal looking for work - the town is still quiet until Christmas but there's a huge influx of people arriving to work the season so until things pick up there won't be many jobs and there will be a shitload of new arrivals trawling the sheets adding their resumes to a big pile.

Some food for thought at least.


Sep 6 2013 11:44PM
1 0
profile picture
Avifarer
Posts: 5926 - Karma: 598
Yep. My first year at sunshine i was a lifty, and my friend worked at earls. He had a 3-11 or 2-10 shift something along those lines. So even though i was there 5 days a week, got a 2.5 hour ride break, he definitely still rode more than i did. If it was a mid week pow day you could ride from 9-1 then go to work and you would be laughing.
On trail crew its nice because we actually get first chair. Sometimes we will get about 2-3 runs to ski, then we would actually have to do work. So we are up to our waists pulling out fences and people are flying past us getting turns.
Same in the dive it would be epic in there, we would ski cut the whole thing then get about 5 turns at the bottom, we would open it and could see the people skiing down.
In the middle of january you are doing a LOT of free skiing though.
Park crew aint a bad gig either if you want to work at the hill. Its harder work than you think when you actually have to work, but they also get time to just do park laps. And if its a pow day a lot of the time they would close the park.
Sep 7 2013 1:45PM
0 0
profile picture
minihef
Posts: 813 - Karma: 781
I have so many days like that - ski hard all morning, couple of Dive/West laps once they open and then arrive at work in the afternoon with a stupid grin on my face with hotel guests wondering why i'm so excited that the sun hasn't been out for days.

I do feel for you guys when it's -25 and you're digging out the fences but your hard work is appreciated.

I've been wanting to do patrol for ages but have been locked into working for the hotel as they sponsored me to stay here. Got my residency this year though so can start looking at it more seriously.
Sep 8 2013 12:09AM
0 0
profile picture
Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
ugh this is gonna be a tough choice.

the rent is literally half as much money. is it thaaat bad? if i have a car that cheap rent will be amazing considering around $500 in car + insurance costs.
are most of the people living on site young? or am i gonna be in a room with a 40 year old weirdo
Sep 8 2013 8:06PM
0 0
profile picture
Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
but yeah im gonna go to the job fair in toronto next weekend. should hear tomorrow if im hired or not at sunshine. but if i can get a steady resort job, with a middle of the pack rent on that site, then i can probably win on all fronts.
Sep 8 2013 8:10PM
0 0
profile picture
Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
my biggest concern truly is whether or not i should break up with my girlfriend.
Sep 8 2013 8:11PM
0 0
profile picture
erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,329
two options
1) cheat on her all year, don't tell her, move back to onterrible and be with her again
2) break up with her
Sep 8 2013 9:39PM
1 0
profile picture
Horsefacekillah
Posts: 867 - Karma: 878
didnt break up with mine. Ended up breaking up before i even came home. Not worth to wait unless she's serious, loyal and ya know wifey material. You might miss out on many great opportunities op.
Sep 8 2013 9:56PM
0 0
profile picture
minihef
Posts: 813 - Karma: 781
Most will be young but that doesn't guarantee not being in a room with with a weirdo.

It basically comes down to a choice between living in a community of about 200 people with one bar and one shitty place to eat or living in a town with 8000 people, lots of bars/clubs and lots of places to eat.

Sep 9 2013 2:10AM
0 0
profile picture
Avifarer
Posts: 5926 - Karma: 598
i guess worst case is live on hill and see how you like it. but everyone in this thread has lived in banff/ me and mini know people who have lived on hill, trust us, try and get a place in town. when you are at your interview ask for fairmont staff accom. its maybe 100 more than on hill.
i had a car and its always a bonus but i dont think its 100% necessary. i would much rather live in banff then have a car.
and its so easy/cheap to get bus passes too and from sunshine. the first one in the morning and last one at night are free, and if you want an anytime pass its pretty cheap.
and if you want to go to other places like calgary, revi, kicking i am sure you will meet people with cars. and if not you can do a banff to lake louise staff day for 15 dollars.
Sep 9 2013 2:37AM
0 0
profile picture
minihef
Posts: 813 - Karma: 781
Agreed - I lived on hill for 7 months and i've lived in the town without a car for four years and there's absolutely no way i'd live on hill again.

And I lived there when they were nowhere near as strict - it was a drug free for all, HR wouldn't give two shits if they walked past people who were smoking weed on the balcony, they would just take the piss out of them etc.

From what i've heard in recent years they've got way more strict and will just fire you and kick you out of staff accom if you're caught doing pretty much anything.

Like Brett said maybe try it and see how you like it, it might work for you. There's a reason why everyone who knows what both are like keep telling you to live in the town though.


Sep 9 2013 6:15AM
0 0
profile picture
m1k3vb
Posts: 75 - Karma: 273
Hmm interesting. Applying to Sunshine this fall and was wondering the same. Is it possible to start living in staff accom. and then move into town later on?
Apr 9 2014 9:36AM
0 0
profile picture
MLB
Posts: 4462 - Karma: 298
m1k3vbHmm interesting. Applying to Sunshine this fall and was wondering the same. Is it possible to start living in staff accom. and then move into town later on?



In town...fuck staff accom. See if you can get in the hostel, and then move on from there. Also invest in condoms...i know this sounds like a bit of common sense but Banff has some of the highest STD/STI rates in all of Canada. Shit gets pass around there on the regular. Even if she says she is on the pill...wrap it. Every time.
Apr 18 2014 7:55PM
0 0
profile picture
Sallabillz
Posts: 1289 - Karma: 762
banff party scene : turnt
Sep 23 2014 1:32AM
0 0
All times are Eastern (-5)