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Published: October 6th 2006
Mt Cascade
This mountain dominates the skyline over banff. It tops out at 2997 metersEspanol malo abajo......................
Banff is what it is. You can't knock it because it started that way and has never been anything different. And, as it knows it, it doesn't suffer that pretentiousness that prevades the air up in Jasper.
Banff is a tourist town.
It all started way back in 1883 when three prospectors stumbled on to a warm stream that led into a hole. One of them, William McCardell climbed down a ladder made from a tree trunk while that others waited up on top.
Down in the hole he found at cave with a warm spring welling up, so he took off his clothes and took a dip. And so started Banff - a smelly prospector taking off his clothes in a hole.
It didn't take McCardell long to figure that other people would like to take a dip also, so they made a claim of ownership for their dicovery. Sadly for McCardell, the land wasn't catorgerised for any use, and as the Government couldn't decide on who to give it to, they turned it into Canada's first national park.
The Government blasted a tunnel through to the cave and created the
Banff avenue
as seen from the Parks Canada grounds, with Mt Cascade in the background.
Banff Avenue is the main street. Banff Springs. Then they sold it all over the world, as a health spa, where your syphilsis could be cured, or your artiritis, skin infections, , bowl infections, paranoya, or paralasys. It didn't matter what - it could all be fixed it a tub of Banff Spring water. And if soaking in it couldn't fix you, you could buy it in a bottle and drink it.
People came from all over the world to swim in the pools, take in the clear mountain air, the mountain senery, maybe even climb one or two. And sill they are coming.
The majority of the tourists here are knocking on deaths door. The gray haired dears slanter down the footpath, in and out of the shops, and hop on their coaches again. They are mostly Americans doing the grand tour in style before they die. Asians come a close second to the elderly. The rest are twenty something males from all over the world, looking to climb, ski, or work.
I came here for the same reason the prospectors did - to make money.
Well, sort of. If I wanted to make money I'd go the Oil Sands and help
This hole in the ground
is where the prospectors climbed down into the hot spring that began Banff.
Doesn't look so attractive with the grate over it.... squeese out black gold, or at least have stayed in Edmonton, where the wages are higher...and then, of the four jobs that were offered to me all on the same day, I would have chosen either of the two that paid $2 a hour more than the job I took.
But I would have missed out on the glory of working for the Canadian Dollar Store. It sells all sorts of stuff, but most focuses on selling house wares to all the temporary and seasonal workers that come to town.
The reason I chose this store is that it is the only store in town that is not a tourist shop. The only people that come in are locals or seasonal workers that need to buy some bowls, pots, decorations, or other such stuff for their flats.
And as it is not a tourist store I am unlikely to get fired when the tourist season ends.
On the extra curcicular side, I have climbed a few mountains and ridden a fair few ks on the bike.
Oh, I was given a bycicle by a friendly local. It doesn't have suspension, so I've really killed my shoulders
The Banff Springs
This is the hot springs that now serve the tourists. They are not the orginal hot pools, but they serve the same general purpose. The water is a nice 39 degrees. and neck on all the rocks and tree roots. And it is half pink. This is, I think, a bad thing, except that have have had more than few comments from girls about my nice bike- it's a better magnet that a dog or small child.
I cycled around Lake Minawanka, which point to point is about 32k, but I couldn't cycle the whole trail, as I had to cycle out to there from town which chewed up a few hours. The trail doesn't loop to end where you start, but ends up on another road miles from anywhere. So I had to back track the way I came, cycling almost the entire trail twice, but I can't even say I've completed that track...it pissed me off the whole ride home.
It snowed really quite badly when I first got here - everything was a few feet under snow. Which is quite odd considering it is still summer. The people I'm living with always hassel me about New Zealands bad weather, but at least it doesn't snow in summer, with a high of 3 degrees.
Thankfully, the snow has begun to burn off now, and the indian summer
Lake Minawanka
I took a bike ride out to this lake. There is a fairly good mountain bike trail around the lake, but having shocks on your bike would be an advantage. will last a few more weeks.
I have so far only climbed up Mount Edith and Sulpher Mountain.
Sulpher mountain is really isn't all the much of a climb, it's a boringly solid 5.5 km hike straight up the side of the mountain, but the ridge walk from there is really nice. The entire ridge includes five peaks and then a drop down into the valley at the far end near Canmore.
Mt Edith is a bit more interesting. The first two hours are a bustingly streep climb that starts straight from the trail head. There's no warm-up or nothing. The next hour up to the pass isn't so bad, and from the pass up to the North summit is an annoying scramble up a scree slope where you spend more time sliding backwards than climbing forward.
Then you have to climb a chimmey to get around an impassable rock face, to reach the summit. It sounds really easy when I write it, but most people give up once they reach the pass, as the first two hours takes it out of them. The elevation gain is only 1120 meters but you gain most of it in
Sulpher Moutain ridge
Considering how close this is to the town, all the times I have walked this range I have never encountered anyone else beyond the second peak. the right at the start.
Mount Edith has three peaks so if you're keen you can do all three.
Once the rest of the snow burns off Mt Rundel I might do that again. I did it two years ago and it was a real slogg. It can't really be done with snow on it as the ridge narrows to 2 meters across with vertical drops on either side about halfway up; the snow forms a cornice that would ping you off either side.
I haven't had much chance to climb so far, as the first week everything was snowed in and and I was beating the streets looking for work. But now that the weather has cleared I should start a little more.
So that'll be me for the next month - working in shop and climbing mountains on the days off. I think the only thing in the calander is Jorge's wedding, so that'll probably be the next blog.
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Estoy vivendo en Banff, en Canada. Es un pueblo en las montanas Rockies, y todo de esta luger es un parque national. Banff fue el primer parque nacional en Canada.
Summer snow
When I arrived in banff it snow for 2 days and everything was coloured white..except there was no sun, so every thing was grey and cold Banff comenzo cuando algunos mineros descubieron un rio calente, y trataron construir una piscina. El Gobierno no pudo decider quien fue el dueno de la terria, y entonces ellos crearon una clasificacion nueva - parque nacional.
El Gobierno construyo una piscina en el frente caliente y gente de todos las partes del mundo llego para banarse y tomar el agua como un medicamento. Les pensaban que el agua pude curar todo - arthritis, eczema, ceguera, - cualquera dolencia del hombre.
Ahora, gente llega para subir las montanas en el verano, o mira a las glaciares, o montar sus bicicletas.
Y en el inverno, hay muchos jovenes vienen para esquiar. Esta luger es el primer lugar para esquiar del mundo.
Hay muchas estaciones de esqui aca.
Tengo trabajo en una tienda que vende cosas por las casas. La verdad, vende muchas ortas cosas tambien, pero los platos, ollas, y juguetes son la mayoria de se vende.
El trabajo es facil, y la plata es suficiente para sobrevivir aqui. No es muy interesante, pero no importa.
Cuando no estoy trabajando, subo las montanas de aca o monto una bicileta. Solomente he subido dos montanas, porque no tuve
The street I live in
It's a quiet area, with mainly families in the street....the short term housing is across the river, so I miss out on most of the parties... mucho oportunidad. En el primero, es imposible subir algunas de las montanas cuando les cuben en nieve, y el segundo, estuve buscando trabajo.
Subi una montana llamada Mt Edith. La hace un camino fuerte. EL pica son de 2554 meters de altitud. Esa montana tiene 3 picas, y hay un libro de un club alpino arriba en el pica central. Se puede escribir su nombre, y dejar una mensaje por las otras alpinistas.
La otra montana no fue tan fuerte ni tan interesante. Pero la subi cuando hay mucho nieve cubre la tierra, y fue linda.
El vecino mi presta una bicileta rosa. No es totalmente rosa, pero igual, es suficiente rosa. Muchas ninas en el calle le dan cumplidos cuando monto el bicileta.
He montando el bicileta para visitar algunos lagos. Los lagos son muy verde, porque hay polvo de rocas en la agua. Las glacias aplastan las rocas, en el polvo entra por las rios y hace los lagos muy verde. No les parecen natural, pero son.
Es super lindo aqui, y hay tanto oportunidades para trabajar. Cada lugar en que yo entrevisto me ofrecen una posicion para trabajar y tuvo 8 opciones
The Great Canadian Dollar Store
It's not very inspiring by it's design but I work in this building de trabajo. Farabella (la tienda) tiene que cerrar 2 dias cada semana porque no hay suficiente trabajadores.
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Priscila
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wow!! what a beautiful place!!!!!! I loved your pink bike....rsrsrsrs besitos