Bring me Sunshine...

For our last day of skiing, we decided to go back to Sunshine Village, which almost lived up to it's name in the morning.

This lift is called the 'Continental Divide'. In the space of 5 minutes, it goes from Alberta into British Columbia, and back into Alberta!

From the top of this lift, you can tackle 'Delirium Dive'. Unfortunately?! this run has been closed for the last 2 weeks because of the avalanche risk - but I don't think it would be for me anyway!!! (starts from the blue arrow)

As the day progressed, the snow came in. As at the time of writing, it's been snowing heavily for 10 hours, with no signs of letting up.

Just about to hit the last few runs of the day here - it still amazes me the distances you can cover on a pair of 'planks'!

So, after 2 amazing weeks skiing in the Banff region, my favourite photo is....... the view from Lookout Mountain in Sunshine, after a big dump of powder. This will be on my desktop for quite some time!

What a difference a day makes!

Today was mainly bright and sunny, with just a few wispy clouds in the brilliant blue sky. Consequently, we were able to ski over and ski the stunning powder bowls of Lake Louise.

This is 'Paradise' chair lift, above the tricky Paradise Bowl (if this is paradise.....?). This must be the longest mogul field in lake Louise!

From the top of 'Saddleback Ridge', 8,300ft above sea level. It was incredibly windy up here....

While I was taking this shot, a sudden gust hit me from behind and propelled me forward about 10ft on my skis! Fortunately, the sign stopped me from going any further.

This is the view up 'Lynx', a black run through the trees. The bits sticking up out of the snow are the tips of small fir trees...

...and the view down to the bottom. All in all, a great day today, but it did get warm later in the day!!

What a Grey Day

The Australians continued their celebrations throughout the day today - quite a few braving temperatures of minus five degrees in shorts & t-shirts!

The day was supposed to brighten up, and for a little while the skies over Goat's Eye Mountain looked promising.

However, the clouds closed in during the afternoon. This was the scene looking back up a run called 'Gladerunner' a couple of days ago....

.... and heading down the same run from the top today (although visibility was slightly better further down)! If you look carefully, you can just see the black diamond in the middle of the photo, the chairlift on the left and a snowboarder on the right! It made for a challenging afternoon's skiing.

We went to a great restaurant for dinner - the 'Magpie & Stump'. It's a bit quirky, from the Mexican hat that drops onto your head at the entrance, to the name of the place as described below.

The eccentricity continues with the drinking vessels. This place would give a whole new meaning to 'going out for a jar'!

Happy Australia Day!

By the time you read this, it will be Australia Day. Banff is full of Ozzies, or should I say the 'Pump & Tap' bar was full of Ozzies on Tuesday night, starting their celebrations early! We met some great people, including Lucy, Chook and Matt (not sure why Lucy isn't in the photo, as she's much better looking than these two!).

They introduced me to Coopers Ale, which is one of many Australian drinks on offer at the P&T over the next two days. I had to sample one or two before deciding whether I liked it - and I did! Good onya!

Earlier in the evening we visited the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. This is a spectacular building, constructed in 1887 - plush!

The hotel is in the shadow of Mount Rundle - 9,777ft of sheer limestone. Bow river is in the foreground - all but frozen over.

Walking back into Banff, you can see how the Rockies dominate everything here! (Or should that be the Ozzies?!)

Wishing all Australians a great day - hope it's a beaut!!

Looking Black

Arrived at the top of Mount Standish this morning on the first lift of the day - but the weather looked a bit dark and foreboding!

So we spent most of the day on Goat's Eye Mountain, as it catches the light, making the terrain more visible.

The only downside is that the runs over here are predominantly black 'mogul fields'.

Having tried a few gentler ones over the last few days, Christine plucked up the courage to try some challenging 'black diamond' runs...

... and we really started to enjoy the fact they were extremely quiet, so we stayed on the blacks all day!

 That's Christine down below - by the time I'd got my camera out, she was at the bottom. 

An-ice day off

photo courtesy of Fairmont Hotels

After seven consecutive days of skiing, it was time to give our legs the day off on Sunday. The Fairmont Chateau Hotel at Lake Louise was holding the annual 'Ice Magic' competition over the weekend, so we went to have a look. It's an enormous hotel, looking out over the lake (which was named after Queen Victoria's fourth daughter, Princess Louise).

It felt very strange standing in the middle of a frozen lake, even if we had been told that "the ice is over a metre thick"...

....and sinking into the snow on the surface didn't help me feel any safer!

Talking of safety, the ice carvers took a few risks themselves!

But the results were pretty spectacular. The photos below show just a few of the sculptures as they near completion.

Some of the detailed work is amazing, as in this one 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' (it's hard to see here, but there is a wizard in the 'sorcerer's' right hand)

Here's a closer view - the wizard is no more than a foot high. Everything in each sculpture must be carved out of just 3 rectangular blocks of ice, and the pairs of competitors have 34 hours to complete the work!

All in all, a relaxing day, and we even managed to have a walk around the 'bustling' town of Banff.

Black, Blue, Bruised?

The seventh consecutive day of skiing, and looking forward to a 'day off' tomorrow, believe it or not.

As it's the weekend (busy, with all the locals hitting the slopes), I thought it best to try out the third ski area surrounding Banff - Norquay. Although smaller and quieter than the others, this is reputed to be the toughest. Someone said "The only reason they classify any runs as 'blue' at Norquay is because if they didn't, no-one would visit". They weren't wrong! These are the steepest, iciest slopes I've ever skii'd, and both Christine & I have the bruises to prove it. It was still a great day's skiing, though!

 This is my uneaten Mars Bar from my backpack, which shows the battering of the day quite well. It's coming back to the UK for a very special person, who loved them like this!

Although the skiing was tough, the scenery was stunning....

... so I think I deserved my pint of 'Canadian' at the end of the day!

We even managed to get a couple of Elk on film on the way back to Banff. All in all, a great day... now, I'm off to soak my bruised body in a hot bath!

A Scared Small-wood, or a Petrified Forest?

The snow at Lake Louise was relentless again today - the locals say that the conditions are the best for over ten years!

To make the most of the wonderful snow, I persuaded Christine to practice on the moguls and 'steeps'. After lunch, we took on the men's downhill, which is a fast 'black diamond', made even harder with a foot of powder & moguls. Christine was so scared, we went back up & did a second run!

The snow and freezing conditions have also had an effect on the forests - this tree was putting up a brave fight! .....

as well as the wildlife. I couldn't get a photo of the Elk; they roam free next to the highways, but this little fellow was very photogenic....

all he wanted was some food!