Windy Gap

Windy Gap is a narrow col on the ridge between the Summit Chair and the Boomerang corridor at Lake Louise Ski Resort. It is the critical bottleneck skiers must traverse to reach the Back Bowls from the summit.

Wind-scouring. The gap acts as a wind funnel; prevailing westerlies strip snow from the ridge and often expose bedrock even in mid-winter. The resort employs snow farming (wooden and plastic fences, manual snow placement) to build and maintain the traverse. Early season, skiers may be required to remove equipment and walk across rocky sections.

Operational significance. Windy Gap defines the thin margin between lift-accessed Back Bowl terrain and impassable alpine. See Whitehorn Back Bowls for avalanche governance and snow-safety context.