About BanffBound

Who's behind this?

I'm Jack Chittenden. I run ultras, race Ironmans, ski anything with snow on it, and spend an unreasonable amount of time planning trips to mountains. Banff National Park is the place that got me properly hooked on the Canadian Rockies.

I first visited Banff on a ski trip and ended up extending my stay three times. The combination of world-class skiing, trails that start right from town, and lakes that genuinely look fake in photos — it got under my skin. I've been back multiple times since, in every season, and I keep finding new routes, new spots, and new reasons to go back.

BanffBound started because I was frustrated with the travel content I found online. Most Banff guides are written by people who've never laced up a hiking boot, let alone skinned up a slope at sunrise. They recycle the same TripAdvisor descriptions and slap affiliate links on everything. I wanted to build something more useful — a site with real trail data, honest hotel comparisons, and tools that actually help you plan a trip instead of just selling you one.

What I actually do here

I maintain the trail database (71 trails with GPS coordinates, elevation profiles, and seasonal conditions), the hotel directory (96 properties I've researched and compared), and the interactive tools like the Trip Builder and the weather-based activity recommender. When I'm on the ground in Banff, I update trail conditions, check out new restaurants, and test routes I haven't done before.

I also work in digital marketing full-time through Spires Digital, so I know how the internet works and I know what makes a genuinely useful website versus a content farm. BanffBound is my attempt to be the former.

The adventure CV

• Ironman New Zealand — full distance, March 2025
• Luleå Ice Marathon — running on a frozen sea in Sweden, February 2025
• Mt Taranaki Summit — New Zealand, February 2025
• Big Bear Ultra — mountain ultra, October 2024
• Ironman 70.3 Weymouth — September 2023
• Pilot in training — 50+ hours flight time logged

When I'm not working or racing, I'm usually out with my dog Pepper, who is absolute chaos wrapped in curly fur but makes every adventure better.

How this site makes money

Transparency matters. BanffBound earns commission when you book hotels through our Expedia links or tours through GetYourGuide. This doesn't cost you anything extra — the prices are identical. It does mean I can keep this site running, the data updated, and the tools free to use. I only recommend things I'd genuinely suggest to a friend visiting Banff.