Resorts

Banff, Canada.
Awesome place, Banff is a town in Alberta, West Canada. About 90mins drive from Calgary, one of the fastest growing cities in North America.
Banff is a great town to stay in as a base, to visit the resorts of Lake Louise (45min away), Sunshine Village (25min) and Banff's own Mount Norquay. The tri area lift pass (expensive!) includes the well organised coach travel from area to area.
The lift systems are mostly modern, well organised and almost queue-less. When you do have to queue, there are at least 3 'lifties' there to help out, nothing like the hustle-bustle-pole-stab-anyone-that-tries-to-nip-through European queues.
The runs are well groomed and the most varied that I have seen. Tight, tree lined blacks, wide open blues, steeps and verticals, moguls to scare the life out of you, and the almost crazy double diamond blacks. The off-piste IS crazy. North America does not have red runs, so you will find runs that may be red in Europe to be either a blue or black in Canada.
The eating and drinking is cheap for a ski resort, like the pub prices back home, and very friendly. Jet lag and the time difference however does make it difficult in the first few days, feeling ready for bed at 6pm and wide awake at 3am, not ideal if you fancy an alcohol laden trip.
The town is beautiful, set in the Banff National Park and the stunning surroundings of the Rocky Mountains. There is always something to do; shopping, cinemas and other leisure facilities. If you can splash out, snowmobiling is amazing, and the NHL games of the Calgary Flames are a fun night out.
It is however, COLD! The temperature at Christmas varied from +2c to -34c in one night.
After 2 Christmases there, you cant imagine a more perfect setting on Christmas eve, skating on a pond part way up the mountain, trees lit up, chestnuts roasting and the snow gently falling.
If you want a fantastic ski holiday, family time or Christmas, get to Banff.