Banff Ski Resort Lake Louise To Open 200 Acres of New Terrain This Week
Just weeks after the start of the season, Lake Louise Ski Resort, Alberta, is preparing to unveil 200 acres of brand-new terrain alongside an accompanying lift this Wednesday, December 17.
Dubbed the Richardson’s Ridge expansion, the swath of slopes includes beginner and intermediate trails, serviced by the Richardson’s Ridge Express, a high-speed quad.
The area is found in Lake Louise’s Back Bowls, where the Ptarmigan and Paradise lifts already deposit skiers atop largely advanced and expert trails.
Lake Louise, in a release, noted that Richardson’s Ridge is similar in size to the preexisting Larch area, serviced by the titular Larch Express.
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The debut of Richardson’s Ridge on Wednesday is only the first phase for the terrain pod. In the future, Lake Louise plans to undergo selective glading and build a surface lift connection to the Temple Lodge below the Larch Express.
The terrain expansion follows a series of developments that the resort called “some of the most significant capital investments in our history.”
Last winter, Lake Louise opened the Pipestone Express, a heated six-seater which created another access point to the ski resort’s upper ridge. Lake Louise has also added two other lifts—the Summit Quad and Juniper Express—in the past five years.
The opening of Richardson’s Ridge comes as Lake Louise, and other ski resorts in western Canada, are enjoying a snowy start to the 2025-26 season, marking a sharp contrast with their neighbors to the south.
“It’s been absolutely unbelievable,” Sam Hamilton, sales and marketing content supervisor at Lake Louise, told the Calgary Herald earlier this month. “Insane November conditions and insane conditions overall.”
In a snow report published on Monday, Lake Louise noted that almost 45 inches of snow had fallen in the past week. The resort’s already seen about 135 inches so far this season on its upper mountain.
Another storm cycle arriving this week could push the powder totals even higher, with Banff-area resorts seeing more than a foot of snow through December 22, according to Chris Tomer, a meteorologist popular among skiers.
Related: “Skiing Is Supposed To Be Fun”—A Lesson Every Sports Dad Could Learn From
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