The things you do when you don’t have a functioning vehicle.
(Yes those are nordic skis and poles strapped to the bikes – it worked quite well)
Category: canada
So apparently it’s largely uphill along the highway from Canmore to Banff. Only 700 metres gain over 25km or so. Gradual enough to make you think it’s flat, and that you’re just really unfit – until you turn around and go the other way.
Despite the cool temperatures on Thursday (it was around minus 13oC at 11am, I don’t know that it got much warmer), we went Banff-wards by bike – largely to go and see the new Warren Miller movie (Children of Winter, much better than other Warren Miller movies I’ve seen in recent years).
Friday morning brought fresh snow to telemark in, and then the homeward-bound cycle (with the added bonus of a brand new balaclava, which led to much more warmness).
After prolonged warm weather, it finally snowed in town the other day – and there was actually some snow on the ground for opening day at work (which has been kind of hectic). Oh, and the flag really is a Canadian flag, it’s just being all insipid and limp.
Step One
Park in the Goat Creek carpark, up above Canmore along the Spray Lakes Road. Walk up the hill opposite the carpark, over the bridge, past the trail up to Ha Ling, then along the road next to the canal for twenty minutes. Walk past rock cuts. See inukshuk and flagging in trees and follow faint path with more flagging up into the forest.
Step Two
Reach drainage, do not cross it (unless you wish to try failing to hike up South Lawrence Grassi). Follow along it for a hundred metres of so then head back up left into the trees, steeply. And more steeply. Hit a few snow patches.
Step Three
Reach the tree line. Start scrambling up the scree slope. Notice increasing presence of snow.
Step Four
Keep going up the ridge as it narrows, and narrows and narrows. Scramble over some dragon’s back ridge formations. Slide around on the snow a bit. Spot the summit cairn off in the distance.
Step Five
Get scared when the ridge starts getting steeper and narrower, and the cliff-type drop-offs get closer and closer, and amounts of scree and snow surface underfoot remain consistently high, and the weather is closing in and looking cloudy, and it starts to snow on you a bit, and you realise you didn’t tell anyone where you were going because it was just an afternoon hike.
Step Six
Turn around and go back down. Justify your decision as thoroughly sensible all the way down. Glare at the sky that turns nice and blue and sunny.
We were supposed to go skiing on the Rae Glacier, but the snow looked thoroughly uninspiring. Also we realised once we were on our way that none of us actually knew where the Rae Glacier was. So after driving around in K-Country for a while, we decided we’d just park where all these other cars were, and go for a walk and see what was there.
First we found a frozen lake, which was good for throwing rocks onto.
And then we managed to find the Rae Glacier, and weren’t too distressed about the fact we didn’t haul our skis up with us.
Maybe next weekend there’ll be snow?
