Banff is a gorgeous mountain town in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. Millions of visitors flock to this tourist mecca every year, as they’ve done for a hundred years. The random discovery of the hot springs by three Canadian adventurers in the 1890’s proved the catalyst for today’s tourist phenomenon. Soon after the Canadian Pacific Railway cottoned on to the potential of the area, and financed the construction of the rail line as well as building the famous Banff Springs Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise. Build it and they will come is a famous saying … well, I’m here! Travelling in a North American winter is gorgeous, but the photos don’t do the scenery justice, and the brilliant blue waters in the lakes are frozen over at this time of year. However, experiencing the Canadian Rockies during winter certainly has it’s charms.
To recap briefly, dear reader, the last journal left off in Vancouver. I organised a ticket on the trusty Greyhound, and rode the dog to Kelowna in the Canadian Rockies. This gorgeous city lies in the Okanagan valley on Lake Okanagan, and is only 1200 feet above sea level. There was no snow as the bus wound down the steep mountain road into the city, but it sure is cold with the temperature dropping to minus 20 at night. I went for a wander around the lake upon arrival, and was beckoned over to the edge of the lake by some locals milling around. They pointed out a beautiful Snowy Owl resting on the rock. This was an unusual sighting, but the SPCA had come to check on the bird who seemed to be OK, and just staring back up at the humans ogling her. It was a special treat for me, and many Canadians I spoke too had never seen one either, I’m told it’s extremely rare to see the birds this far south. I went to an excellent pub that evening for a few beers and a great feed, while relaxing over a great book. Then it was back into what’s becoming a familiar routine of putting on every layer I have to prepare for the icy walk back to the Samesun hostel.
Next morning I was back on the bus again to Banff, and since arriving I’ve spent four nights in this wonderful mountain town. The peaks surrounding the city are so beautiful, but once again it’s the cold that shakes you to the core. In early December I was enjoying a Sydney summer of 30 degrees celsius, and now it’s minus 20. What on earth happened to those missing 50 degrees? It’s a great part of travel though, and endlessly fascinating how your life routine can be turned on it’s head simply by hopping on a long haul flight. The ski fields around Banff and Lake Louise are legendary; in fact the first round of the World Cup is held in Lake Louise every year because of the reliability of the snow. Apparently the hospital at Banff has world renowned orthopaedic surgeons, due to the number of broken bones and buggered knees, as many unfortunate skiers come to grief on the mountains.
So then, with skiing left for the young ones I needed to get cracking on my agenda, and soon organised a few tours via the hostel. Discover Banff tours does a great job, and I was privileged to have the excellent Alex as our guide on both tours. He is a conservationist in summer, and this knowledgeable and authentic Alberta local has a genuine love for the Rocky Mountains. He reckons the mountains have magnets on them that keep pulling people back to experience their charms. On the first tour Alex provided heaps of information about Banff and the National Park, which was the first in Canada and the third created in the world. It’s now a massive stretch of protected land where wild life abounds, and we were tasked with doing a bit of game spotting. We spotted a group of Bull Elks just out of town, and a herd of females had just moved on from an open area. I spotted them through the trees, but unfortunately we couldn’t get any closer. We also saw a Bighorn sheep licking the salt off the road, before he bounded up on to a rock ledge for the perfect photo op. Then we spotted a coyote following the Canadian Pacific railway line for his own reasons. The bears are hibernating now, but the park has Grizzlies and Black bears, plus wolf packs and a resident cougar. It was a great day packed with information about the wildlife and the history of the National Park.
On the next tour we visited the world famous Lake Louise and the iconic Chateau Lake Louise. We were given the option of walking on the lake in snow shoes, as it’s completely frozen over at this time of year. I’ll have to return another time to witness the brilliant blue waters of the lake in the warmer months, but it’s still a magnificent part of the world to visit during winter. We visited the Cave & Basin National Historic Site, where the first hot springs in the area were found and developed for tourism in the 1890s. This was the making of the area, and attracted visitors from near or far to lie in the recuperative sulphuric waters. The completion of the railway line vastly increased the popularity of the springs and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Canadian Rockies are absolutely wonderful, and it’s a great thrill to be visiting Alberta province for the first time. There is world class skiing in the winter months, and also plenty of tours to great sights including icewalks at the nearby canyon. When it comes to summer, the scenery around Banff and Lake Louise has featured in a thousand travel photos, and is almost without peer anywhere in the world. As a matter of fact, basically all of you should be here now!
“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” Aldous Huxley
As I continue my travels, until next time it’s signing off for now
Tom
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