Recap: Sunshine Village Hosts Powder’s 2024 Ski Testing Week

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There are fun weeks, and then there are weeks so memorable they become all you can think about for days after. For anyone who’s ever been a part of Powder’s annual ski testing program, we’d reckon those weeks fall into the latter category. Yeah, we know, we’ve missed a few, but for 2024 we brought the program back in a big way with our friends up at Sunshine Village, Alberta. Early this April, we teamed up with our friends at Newschoolers to test over 40 of next year’s best skis, spanning the spectrum from park, to all-mountain to freeride/powder, all on the slopes of Sunshine Village inside Canada’s Banff National Park.

Testing skis might look like all fun and games, but setting up, tuning, testing, and making notes on over 40 models takes an army. We began the week looking at a fresh coat of snow blanketing the mountain, with over 30 centimeters blowing into Sunshine Village’s legendary Delirium Dive big-mountain zone, and perfectly soft corduroy and chalky bumps found elsewhere on the mountain.

Our crew of 20 testers ranged from Banff’s local park rats to powder-hungry rippers from Revelstoke to shop techs and owners who know more about edge angles, ski flex profiles and core constructions than most. Having local knowledge isn’t necessary to enjoy the mountain, but it sure does help when you can follow your friends into some serious stashes!

From grabbing our avalanche safety gear and the fattest skis we could find to drop into Delirium Dive–or going “diving,” as per the local parlance–to ripping high-speed groomer laps off the Goat’s Eye Express, or mini-golf sessions in the Garbage Chutes under the Standish Express Quad, we enjoyed exploring the mountain’s many zones. It’s remarkable how much terrain is hidden in the nooks and crannies of Sunshine Village - not to mention that having terrain on every single aspect gave us the ability to find good snow no matter the time of day.

Halfway through the week, we were treated to one of the most epic sunsets any of us had ever seen–coinciding with our planned evening park session. The park crew gave the team special access to the Divide Terrain Park after the lifts closed, letting us lap the big jump and rail line until it was literally too dark to see. Needless to say, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that left the testers with all-time-high vibes.

We’re incredibly grateful for the hospitality and help from the Sunshine Village team, and can’t wait to come back for more. In the meantime, we’ve got some ski reviews to write!