Lake Louise, Part Three



This is the view from the main ski lodge at Lake Louise.  Skiing was simply wonderful, even though it was cold, but it is always cold there.  The coldest morning it was -22 C but it would warm up to about -9 C and it was clear all but one day.  We could not have planned our trip better, as this week they got 3 feet of snow, very poor visibility, avalanche possibilities and many closed runs.  None of the runs were closed while we were there except a few double black diamonds and needless to say, I did not ski any of those.

This is a photo I took one day from the ski hill.  I wish I had taken more but it was so cold so that I did not want to take off my gloves to take photos.  This was about half way up one lift which is about one quarter the way up the front hill.  When we took the gondola ski lift, it would take 10 minutes to get up the hill and then there is another lift called Top of the World that took you even higher.  For the really good skiers there is a tow-bar that takes you to the very top.  Hubby did that a few times, but not me!

There is some serious skiing here, World Cup races are held here.  The blue slopes are similar to black ones in the eastern US. There were two blues that I had a hard time with, and I did a few blacks.  But the runs are very long (up to 2 miles) and you get the leg burn quickly.  Most everyone was fit and trim and there are some really good skiiers in Canada. 



Another view....... If you look really close you can see a snow covered lake on the right side of the photo.  That is Lake Louise and the Chateau is there.  What we love about going here is that it is a national park.  There are no houses, condos, no development. Just 4000 acres of  skiing (just at the ski hill).  The animals are protected and we saw a moose and two small coyotes.  In summer you regularly see grizzly and black bears. 



This is a photo taken earlier this week at the ski lodge.  You can see how much snow there is and it was still coming down.  Visibility was very poor, would not want to be skiing in that!  The main lodge is very nice.  The food was very good and every day, around 4 pm, we had our apres ski wine and beer.  It was just heavenly.  When you ski all day it reminds me of how I feel after horse showing all day.  Very tired but a great tired feeling knowing that you have exhausted your body doing something you love.



We also skiied the back side of the mountain and used the Temple Lodge as a place to warm up and also have lunch.  This was an historic building but a fire destroyed the original one and this one, very tasteful, was built to replace it. (This photo came from a Calgary newspaper).



Here is a photo from the inside of the main lodge. It is very nice. It was never really crowded but we chose not ski on Saturday.  So we never waited in line for a lift. 



We skiied at Sunshine (near Banff) and we heard a lot of good things about Revelstoke and Kicking Horse which are further west in British Columbia.  Kicking Horse is about an hour from Lake Lousie and Revelstoke is further.  The locals from Calgary go to Fernie which is south between Calgary and Montana.  The lifestyle in the Canadian Rockies is just divine. Everyone is outdoors in winter either skiing, snowboarding or playing hockey.  And in summer you hike!  Just a wonderful way of life!