Canadian Rockies
December 2007
|
We headed up north to the Canadian Rockies for pretty sites and skiing. After flying to Calgary, we drove a couple hours west and spent the
first 4 nights in Banff National Park in the townsite of Banff.
|
There are many places in the area to do some cross country skiing.
|
|
Banff is home to great mountain scenery that attracts international tourists from around
the globe. It has a couple extravagant hotels set in lovely locations. Here is the Banff Springs Hotel just outside of Banff Townsite.
|
Banff Townsite is home to some hot springs which provide a great soak after a day out enjoying the park.
|
|
We checked out a downhill ski area in the heart of the park called Lake Louise which is known for being one of the most scenic places to schuss down the hill. Sharon downhill skied for the first time in 10 years so she could check out the views.
|
The park also has a nice winter hike to see some frozen water falls which was a cool treat.
|
|
Great skyline views of the Continental Divide and Lake Louise from the ski area.
|
|
|
After our stay in Banff we headed about 4 hours further west to the town of Revelstoke which is in the heart of deep snow country and home to Selkirk Tangiers helicopter skiing operation. They are based out of a hotel just outside town so I could ski for 3 days and Sharon could do stuff around town, relax and do some xc skiing too.
|
Heli skiing is a different breed and is geared for the powder hound. This company has a permit area that covers 500,000 acres which is massive by any measurement. Even a detailed map only shows a fraction of the runs that they have developed to please even the most jaded powder enthusiast in an area that sees up to 60 FEET of snow a year. I skied untracked snow every run and had fun meeting fellow skiers for the skiing and fine meals too.
|
|
The snow is so deep that it is a surreal view on top of the peaks
|
Me at the end of an incredible run, the copter is down below ready to take us back up.
|
|
On the way back to Calgary we took the long way and visited Kootenay NP and also drove through Glacier NP. Great mountain views the whole way. Here is the Canadian Highway #1
|
We spent the last night, which was New Years Eve, in downtown Calgary rounding out the trip in style. There was a big outdoor party with music and a nice fireworks display at high midnight.
|
|
When walking back to the hotel we looked up and saw that the tall Calgary tower was burst into flame! It has a giant torch at the top of the building which was one of the symbols of the 1988 Olympics. Pretty cool.
|
|
