My partner and I decided to take a long weekend jaunt out to the Rockies when a seat sale presented us with cheap flights. My nephew works at the Fairmont Lake Louise, a famous hotel on a world renowned lake in Banff National Park and we thought it would be fun to pay him a visit.
The Rockies attract hordes of tourists in the summer. Winter can be busy too but the crowd is mostly skiers and snowboarders who fill up the hotels, lodges and hostels on the weekends. Most camping facilities are closed and the iconic Icefields Parkway that connects Lake Louise to Jasper is often snow covered and not frequently maintained. If you have snow tires on your car and good luck with the weather, the drive is unforgettable.
Our plan was to head straight to Lake Louise the first night but we decided to stop in Banff for lunch on the way in and visit Johnson’s Canyon.
Dusk was settling in pretty fast by the time we got into Lake Louise and the snow was coming down hard. My nephew treated us to a horse sleigh ride out on the frozen lake. It was truly a winter wonderland.
After dinner we ventured out to look at the ice sculptures that had been carved the weekend before as part of the Lake Louise International Ice Carving Competition.
The next morning we had a glorious view of the lake and surrounding mountains from our room.
We left Lake Louise mid-morning so we would have lots of time to drive the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. The temperature was around -5C and the weather was supposed to be good for the trip.
At roughly the half way point up the 230 km ride up to Jasper is Nigel Pass, a sweeping valley towered over by the 3200m Cirrus Mountain. The road takes a broad S through here so you get to see the whole valley from every angle.
A highlight along this parkway is the Columbia Icefield. In the summer the glacier can be accessed by a special vehicle that drives tourists right onto the ice surface. The tours are not done in winter as the weather among these mountains is highly unpredictable.
We stayed that night at the Pallisades, an old ranch about 12 km from Jasper. We had our own iconically Canadian log cabin “The Icehouse” located not more than 100 m from an iconically Canadian railway.
Once settled in, we showshoed out toward the river to get a better vie of the valley.
Jasper’s historic train station
We got an early start, picked up some provisions and began our return trip down the Parkway. The weather was promising but one never knows in the mountains.
We arrived in Banff in the late afternoon and checked into the Buffalo Mountain Lodge, a series of low rise cabins in town. Our room had a working fireplace and a great view.
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