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Published: March 18th 2006
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I did manage to get some sleep, but I still woke up feeling pretty shabby. Headache, dry sore throat, runny nose. It's so cold outside, and so warm and humid inside that your body doesn't know what is going on. We had planned to have breakfast at the Athabasca, but it wasn't open so we went across the road. It was clear sky as far as the eye could see, as well as there being a few stars, and of course huge snow covered mountains. Beck went and got me some aspirin which seemed to help a bit. After breakfast we checked out, and headed to the service station to clear the snow and ice off the windscreen, before we picked up Christian and Nicole from their hotel at 8 a.m. We grabbed some supplies from the bakery and then we were on our way. It seemed we had made the right decision, the views were spectacular and the condition of the road was ok. The catch was that it was extremely cold, but the heater in the car worked really well.
Our first sightseeing stop on the most beautiful highway in the world (other than photo stops) emphasised how cold
it was. At Athabasca Falls it was freezing. When we got out of the car a sign suggested a 7 km round trip to the falls on foot as the road was closed. We decided to have a closer look and found that the falls were not far from the car. The air is so much heavier when it gets this cold, and at first you think you can handle it, but as soon as a body part loses it's heat (which doesn't take long) you can't get it back.
The falls were frozen over, but you could make out that some water was flowing behind the ice, and the water that surged out of the bottom was an icy light blue colour. Very spectacular. We weren't out of the car for long, but we were all feeling the cold terribly, especially Christian and I as we had taken our gloves off to take photos. If a flowing river that leads to a frozen waterfall isn't proof of how cold it was, we found it via a thermometer that was attached to the road closure sign. The photo we took showed the thermometer at - 20 degrees Celsius. I'd hate
to think what the wind chill was.
Back in the car it took a while to warm up, and it wasn't long before we had to venture out into the cold again to have a look at Sunwapta Falls. It was harder to get photos of these falls, as they were set in a huge gorge, but they still looked impressive. We didn't get as cold this time which was a relief.
On the road again and there was less photos being taken from the car as we were starting to take for granted the spectacular views around each corner. Any mountains just over 3000 metres didn't get the treatment from the camera. The camera came out again though when I drove around a corner and there was a group of Bighorn sheep standing in the middle of the road. Beck and Christian both got out of the car to get some closer shots. The sheep got off the road and started climbing straight up this sheer cliff. One of the bigger sheep knocked a smaller one causing it to stumble, and Beck and Christian thought it was beginning to charge at them! Needless to say they piled back in
the car very quickly.
According to the map we were right in the heart of the glaciers now (Columbia Icefield in particular), and while we could make them out, it was hard to distinguish a glacier from other ice and snow. We were content to sit in the car and take in the sights as we cruised along, until we saw a sheet of ice cascading down over a huge steep rock face called the Weeping Wall. On getting out of the car we discovered that there was an added attraction to the Weeping Wall - there were people climbing it!!!
One guy wasn't too far from the top and as he used his tools, chipped ice flew down to the ground below. We were amazed that these people were attempting such a feat, so we hiked to the base of the wall for a closer look which was an effort in itself. I can't begin to describe how crazy these people must be, and I'm well up for extreme sports! We were still shaking our heads in amazement when we got back in the car and continued down the road to Lake Louise.
Prior to Lake Louise there had
hardly been anyone on the road, but this all changed at Lake Louise. It wasn't packed, but there was tourist buses, and cars coming and going. We rugged up before we went and had a closer look at the lake. This didn't help Christian or I because we thought the lake wasn't frozen until we got up right up close and could see that the lake was well and truly frozen. We put it down to a trick of the light!
Along with the lake there was ice statues that had been carved to take photos of. It was extremely cold with Christian suffering the most due to his photo taking. To get warm we went inside the famous Lake Louise Resort, and had a look around. It didn't impress us that much, and was quite expensive so we headed back to the car to go to a little cafe/restaurant back near the highway for lunch. Christian and Nicole took care of the lunch bill (as well as the Park pass) since we drove them down, which was nice of them. We looked at brochures on what to do, and where to stay in Banff.
On arrival we settled on
Irwin's Motor Inn which ended up being a good choice. Cheap, spacious rooms. We didn't settle in though. We dumped our stuff and then headed to the Banff gondola and Banff Upper Hot Springs. Both attractions were right next to each other which was fortuitous, but the gondola stopped at five which would have left me only five minutes at the top and a $25 fare, so I decided against it.
We had been talking about the hot springs all day, and they lived up to expectations. Around -20 degrees celsius outside, the water was 40 degrees, and very soothing after a long drive. Everyone's hair had frozen parts to it, as the steam off the pool froze directly in your hair. The result was that your hair looked grey, and that you had aged twenty years. We enjoyed the Hot Springs, and before we left we couldn't pass up a photo opportunity with the life guard dressed as an eskimo, snow capped mountains in the background, and us in our bathers!
Unfortunately, and dramatically, Beck slipped on some ice at the edge of the pool as she got out, landing heavily on her bum and elbow. She really hurt
her elbow, but she still managed a smile for the photo.
Refreshed after the hot springs, we went back to the hotel for a shower, before we headed out for dinner. Dinner was at the Old Spaghetti Factory and it was an excellent choice. The food was spot on, and at a very reasonable price. We've really hit it off with Christian and Nicole, and it has been great fun exchanging travel stories, and talking about life, etc. Ironically our waiter was from Australia, and when we tipped him we gave him Australian currency ($5 note, $2 coin, $0.50c piece, $0.20c piece, $0.10c piece, $0.05c piece). I think he enjoyed the joke, and the quick chat about back home.
We continued chatting back at the hotel over a bottle of red called The Painted Turtle. It was a bit harsh, but I didn't mind it. Then it was time to call it a night after a very long, but equally enjoyable day.
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