Arrival

Welcome to our "No such thing as bad weather" vacation. Calgary received 10 cm of snow the day of our arrival. In Banff, a couple of hours north the snow had changed to rain by afternoon. We should have guessed this was a harbinger of things to come.

Day 2: Banff

We spent our first full day exploring the Banff area. We ended up hiking up Sulfur Mountain (~ 3.5 miles ~ 2,000 foot elevation gain) because we are too cheap to pay to ride the gondola. Though it was still overcast, we only had light sprinkles this day. There was clear evidence of the earlier snow at higher elevations. Again, we should not have been surprise at how the rest of the vacation unfolded.....

Day 3: Lake Louise

The third day of our vacation started out cool, overcast and drizzling and progressed to rainy and cold. Despite the weather we headed north on the Bow Valley Parkway to Lake Louise. Along the way we scouted a location for tomorrow's hike as well as all of the ski areas (Norquay, Lake Louise and Sunshine Valley) in the vicinity. Lake Louise is that amazing turquoise color because it is fed by glacial waters. The movement of the glaciers grinds rocks into‘flour’ that is suspended in the water. The minerals in the flour give the water that amazing color.

Day 4: Ink Pots

Today dawned a bit less ominous. The forecast called for a nice day but we had long since learned to ignore the weather lady’s predictions. Armed with enough gear to survive several seasons we headed for our Hike of the Day: The Ink Pots via Johnson Canyon; 5.8 km (3.6 mile) one way, 210 m (~ 700 feet) elevation gain, max elevation ~ 5, 400 feet. The Ink Pots are seven cold mineral springs bubbling to the surface in the open meadows beside Johnston Canyon Creek. These springs are unique in that they have a constant temperature of 4 degrees C (~ 49 degrees F). and their basins are composed of quicksand. As the water bubbles to the surface the sand moves creating a new ‘painting’ every few minutes. Each one is a slightly different color, depending in part on rate of filing. Despite the optimistic weather forecast we experienced sun, clouds, rain and hail….

Heli Hiking

The weather seems to be cooperating today. We traveled from Banff, Alberta west to the helicopter pad located just south of Golden, British Colombia. We are now in the Columbia Mountains (goodbye Rockies). Helicopter safety training important points: 1) the closer you are the safer you are and 2) KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN 3) the downdraft WILL knock you over so get on your knees. It is a short but exciting 15 min ride to the lodge. After lunch we head out for our first hike up Mañana peak. We only get sprinkled on today… not bad. Our group includes Christian a reporter / videographer from CBC (Canadian Television station), Josie (freelance photographer for Westworld magazine) and her husband Ryan (freelance writer), Melanie (from Richmond VA), Jason & Melissa (Jason works for CMH) and Tina & Ken (couple from Calgary area). Today was about what I expected, amazing views and a moderate hike. We saw numerous signs of Grizzlies (fresh digs, prints and fresh scat) but no actual bears.

Via Ferrata

Back at the lodge after our first hike our guide, Gary, casually asked if we would like to do something ‘a bit more exciting’ the next day. Having no idea what he had in mind we enthusiastically said ‘YES’. Our first hint of what lay ahead should have been the name of the place; Nimbus Tower. It is not customary to name things with gently sloping sides ‘tower’. Second should have been the climbing harness and helmets we were issued. Third should have been our luck with the weather. As you might expect today was the darkest, wettest day to date. So began the best day of our ‘NO SUCH THING AS BAD WEATHER’ vacation.

More Heli, Less Hiking

On our last day of hiking we moved around quite a bit. We started with Anthea’s a half-day, resoundingly alpine hike along a goat trail up to a high ridge, with great views of the Conrad Glacier, looking down at towering ice needles and into looming crevasses. Generally there are big horned sheep or mountain goats in this area but we suspect the weather was keeping them at lower elevations. From there we hopped in the helicopter to explore the ice caves at the edge of the Conrad Glacier. Finally we were whisked to the valley floor for a hike along the river Adventure Trail which included several zip line river crossings.

Departure

Wouldn't you know it. The day we have to leave is the most beautiful day of the entire trip.