The winter in Canada December 2012- February 2013

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So you want to be a Canadian??

A phrase that appears in books, T shirts and from many mouths here in town. But did we? After settling in to our new home on Muskrat st, meeting the other tenants and riding for a few weeks we were not so sure. Banff had become our "bubble" community. It is a transient place with Calgarians coming in for the weekends and young gap year students during the week. Prices are inflated and "touristy" doesnt come close! If you want a fossil of a megasaurus or a T shirt saying "I like big dumps" you have come to the right place. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the town, it has a restaurant and bar scene which can keep you occupied for a few weeks before you would need to step into the same place twice. The scenery is stunning, the walks around the mountains allow you to see wild deer, mountain goats, wolves and if you are lucky a moose or two. But what we found is it is not is a place so base yourself for a few months straight.

The mistakes we made.

Having loved the Koh Tao (Thailand) community we hoped that Banff would allow us the same. Wrong. It is impossible to make more than a few friends unless you work here, and most you meet leave after 2 days. Secondly, we were so desperate to secure accomodation in this small town that we signed oursleves into a lease that we could then not break out of without emptying the bank. Rent in Banff is at a premium and ours was not exception. Although we had an ensuite bathroom to our room, the kitchen and communal areas had not been updated since 1965! Having travelled from asia where we had our own 2 bed apartment overlooking the sea and a pool for less, we were narked to say the least. According to others our accomodation is much better than places they have stayed which does not say much for the town but with no ability to build more housing in the national park, my view is they can charge what they want and people wil pay.

Lastly, we booked our season passes in advance, which was a good thing financially for the area. For future travellers a tri pass is £800 before the July. It is 1/3 more after. Given it costs around £300 for 10 days it is a really good deal. However, the bus pass is not included and costs as much as the pass itself! Not wanting to drive in the snow we were left with no option but to buy the pass as well. So we felt Banff had taken hold. Almost feeling forced to ride every day to get the most out of our money but then having days we resented it and just wanted to leave. In hindsight, we should have just bought a pass for Lake Louise rather than a tri pass as we rarely ride at the other 2 mountains.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I can say with certainty if we came back to Canada and were not working we would definitely travel around. Don't base yourself in a small town for too long. There are so many other places to see and stay it would be a shame to miss out.

Making the best of Banff.

So ranting over, we decided to do the most we could with the area surrounding us. The decison was made to head back to Calgary for Christmas after a kind invite from the Klay family. Christmas Eve was Robs Birthday so a party was held at the house and far too much alcohol consumed. Robs love of schnapps rubbed off on Mark and he awoke with an almighty headache the next day. Unbeknown to us, in fact he was coming down with a man cold. Christmas day started with a slap up breakfast and christmas hampers on the table. The family had done so much to make us feel welcome. After breakfast it was down to the tree for unwrapping even more presents. We had both spoken to our families back home and despite always wanting to spend Christmas in to snow were both surprisingly homesick. Most friends will tell you that when it comes to Christmas I am the bah humbug of the relationship and Mark the big kid but when Christmas is not how "you know it" you start to miss home, even if in my case im not really a fan! An emotional moment later, more drinks were poured, thankyou's shared and we let the festivities roll. Christmas dinner was to be held at Peter and Ruths and their family. They are good friends of Rob and Kay and they have shared good times for many years. Dinner was huge but a few differences to how we know it. Mash potato and side salads but not a single pig in blanket! The turkey was awesome along with the brussels with bacon! Gonna do that next year. Far too much food consumed but thats just Xmas right? What did make me laugh is the compulsory piece of Christmas pudding. Ruth and Kay being english like nothing more than a traditional Christmas pud! I happened to bring one from Sainsbury (not really big enough for this crowd though). Everyone has to try a piece as its Xmas, however most hate the stuff and sit and eat under protest!! But it was complusory. Same with the brussels! For every roast potato consumed one brussel must be on the plate. It made us laugh. No one at the table was under 28 and it was like a table of children suffering food they dont like because it was "Xmas"! I had no problems, brussels and pudding, yum yum yum ;-)

Marks man cold developed quite rapidly Xmas day and he virtually spent the next 2 days in bed. We headed out to Elbow Falls after Mark had improved. It was a pleasent walk with the temp rising to a mild -10. Pretty rivers and a 1/2 frozen waterfall made for some great pics. I recommend it. A great night out with Nessa and Michael in Calgary ended our time here on a high. Thank you very much.

Back from Calgary to Banff for New Years. Banff put on an annual firework display so we wanted to see that. In Tommy's local bar for the night and out to see the fireworks at midnight. One stupidity! Champagne poured for the midnight toast and all go out to see the display, however no alcohol allowed outside so champagne downed before midnight. What was the point of that! Some girl tried to steal my new years hat so she got a piece of my mind! How dare she take my 99c plastic purple hat. Her partner ended up giving me both mine back and his too for the poor behaviour of his girlfiend! Ha ha, happy with myself I went back into the pub and presented Mark with a hat who then told me he couldn't leave me alone for a minute! What, I said!

After recovering from the festivities and catching Mark's cold we refocused on our riding. The problem was there was not much in the way of snowfall. Then, bingo, 60cm in 2 days, get in!! Powder Powder Powder. Lake louise was awesome and to date I thnk our best week. I was riding runs I would previously not have touched. Laughs a plenty at being stuck in the snow up to our waists and going faster than ever.

As well as the riding Mark went on a photography course. It was a great day, he learnt a lot and the pictures came out really well. I would recommend Banff Photography. They have great advice and the course was reasonable given we were in Canada at $150 for the day.

On the days we did not ride we tried to find walks around the mountains. In the winter most of the normal trails are officially closed but the reality was people still used them but just in the knowledge that if you fall the parks are not liable! The Hoodoo's trail, Tunnel Mountain and Bow falls are recommended. All are easy to medium intensity and take a few hours round trip. They offer spectacular views of the mountain range. The Hoodoo's are strange rock formations on the side of the valley. Very out of place and they make you wonder exactly how they got there! My tip would be to be up high for a sunset, gorgeous colours in the sky.

Since our mega powder week the snow has not been that forthcoming, with locals saying it has turned into the mildest January they remember! Not so good for riding! So we decide to push ourselves again and take regular lessons, effectively forcing us to ride all conditions. The lessons have been really enjoyable, pushing us well beyond our comfort zone. Mark has good and bad days. Our instructor, Tanya, told him he leans back too much. When he tries to correct his stance he overthinks it and falls. This is something he has not done in weeks!! Frustrated but determined he plods on. I on the other hand am called the ballroom dancer! Gracefully turning down runs but refusing to go fast. She is trying to push me by shouting at me to turn to speed me up, but as soon as I get out of my comfort speed I push on the brakes and stop. She has her work cut out there. So instead she makes me learn movement on moguls and steep blacks to improve. I've decided I am just not a fast person. I have never liked going fast in anything. Cars, boats, ATV's, jet skis all freak me out and I've decided snowboarding is not different.

After an intense day snowboarding it was always nice to head to the Hot Springs, tip- if you have the option do not go at weekends, it gets packed! $7.50 and an hour and a few stretches later, you either fall asleep or are ready to take on the world again. We did both.

During January Banff holds "snow days" where it puts on events in town and competitions around the mountains. The ice sculpture competition was certainly a highlight. The competition goes on for a full 48 hours with no sleep. They were very impressive from dancing sheep with a glitter ball suspended above them to a gorrilla in bamboo. This one won the peoples choice. Mark took some great pics. See below.

Well my birthday arrived, what to do? Well there is kind of a tradition that we head to the Chateau. Normally with a great group of friends but this time on our own. We had met a guy who works there though so we went to say hi. What he did then was way above what we expected. Free cocktails in Lakeview restaurant and 30% off our food. This was followed by a free sleigh ride around the frozen Lake Louise. At the back was a gorgeous frozen waterfall. I would recommend the walk as the ride would normally cost $40 each! The evening was spent drinking cocktails, drinking Ouzo and playing pool and darts (I did not improve with drinks)! Our local bar Tommy's were great and I don't think I paid for a drink all night! Great day. Very hung over the next day.

The Klay family arrived for a visit late January and as well as good company and food we were taken to Johnston Canyons. I would recommend this trip but you need a car. Its a very well made trail of metal railings hanging of the side of the canyon. At times Mark and Nessa were holding on for their lives or looking straight ahead. Apparently the back of my head is very pretty! No good when I wanted Mark to take pics of the drop below. There are lower and higher falls, both of which are almost frozen. People were ice climbing the upper falls which was great to watch. The climb is 1.7km to the first and 2.7km to the second. An easy leisurely walk if you don't mind heights!! Again pics below.

So our recommendations for eats and drinks in Banff. Tommy's for cheapish drinks (nothing is exactly a bargain in Banff!) and you can't beat the $6.95 steak sandwich, a true bargain. If, like us, you miss Asia then Pad Thai do a mean dish and if your looking a bit upmarket Ticino offers good swiss italian food and also offers fondue. Eddie Burger is good to create your own burger but we had poor waitress service. Bear St Pub is good for ribs. Bison is still my favourite for a treat. Melissa's is a must for breakfast as is Ricky's Grill. In fact we have not had a bad meal just some in my opinion not worth the buck like Tony Roma and Paddock. Boston Pizza was an experience. Just ended up staying for a drink after we witnessed the staff take a half eaten finished meal, go round the side and eat the leftovers. Yuk! The food itself also did not look very appealing.

So you may wonder if we would ever come back? The answer is yes but for no more than 10 days. Louise is our favourite ski hill, the runs are long, wide and cruisey. Like nothing we have experienced in Europe. Its just not a place you can spend an extended period without feeling chlostrophobic. We hope to come back one summer, hire a camper and tour around. Seeing a bear would be awesome! We have made friends in family that before this year we never knew existed and would happily extend the invitation to the UK if they wanted to visit. We will miss the Klay family and their hospitality.

The future.

So we have already planned for the last leg of our trip. Originally looking to stay in Banff until April we have decided to move on at the end of February ( 4 months is enough! ). Back to Asia and firstly Cambodia before meeting up with our Thailand buddies before work re commences in June. This year has gone so quickly, we have had an amazing time, made some awesome friends and have stories to tell for the rest of our lives. If anyone hesitates at taking time out to travel, don't! Its been the best experience, one we simply do not want to end. That is however, the next chapter!

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