Mountains – Page 3 – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

It’s Time for the Challenge-versary!

Dan and I at the summit of Cascade Mountain one year ago

Exactly one year ago, I was in the midst of an incredible experience. Dan and I were hiking up Cascade Mountain with a Yamnuska guide, a Parks Canada guide, and Jeff from The Real Banff. I had won the Big Mountain Challenge that month, which resulted in a $26000+ donation to The Kidney Foundation of Canada. Of course, hiking mountains was also part of the win… and hiking mountains is what we did!

Fast forward a year later, and Dan (this time accompanied by his brother) is about to board a plane en route to Calgary for what we have called the Big Mountain Challenge-versary! Dan and I don’t see each other very often since we live in different cities, but when we do, there’s usually some sort of adventuring to be had. And since I have had a lack of scrambles this year, scrambling will be part of the adventure! All I know is that I’m pretty stoked about a weekend filled with hiking, laughs, and shenanigans. I guess spending quality time and catching up is okay too eye roll.

Buller Pass

Saturday was hike #2 for the weekend. Fact: my ankles are weak now. Weak! Ever since ripping some ligaments in my left foot about a year ago, it has never been the same. Lo and behold, a short walk home from work earlier in the week would result in me spraining the same ankle again in a similar way. It’s been sore since then. My hope for Saturday’s hike was to take it easy on the ankle, so I strapped on the ankle brace from last year (it’s on its come-back tour), and a few of us headed to Buller Pass in Kananaskis.

Another fact: I very much dislike the gravelly Spray Lakes road. But it sure does lead to some amazing places!

View from Buller Pass. Ribbon Lake can be seen from here.

Buller Pass was a very nice day hike. Not super long with a bit of everything: forests (both alive and charred), a waterfall, a bridge or two (though one of them was out and replaced with a few logs for fording the water), a nice ‘meadow’, and a last push up a rocky slope to incredible views of the valley, mountains, Ribbon Lake, and Guinn’s Pass. Let me emphasis: the views are gorgeous! Of course, there was time for Shari, Robin, Bjorn, Robbie and I to take some photos… along with seemingly lots of other people. Who knew the hike was so popular?

The day ended with gorging on Grizzly Paw’s burgers and fries in Robin’s car because of a freak rain storm. Random, yes. But super tasty, nonetheless.

Stats:
Start: 12:45 pm
End: 6:10 pm
Distance: 15 km
Elevation of Buller Pass: 2485 m
Elevation Gain: 671 m

Nihahi: The Best Dinner Spot in the World

I should eat dinner here every night :) — I should eat dinner here every night 🙂

Now this is a dinner spot with a view.

On Friday, Jess, Dave, Robbie and I headed out for an after work hike. I thought about going to Nihahi, which is where we ended up, but with the nights descending upon us earlier and earlier, we didn’t quite make it to the summit. That ended up being completely okay, though. We all packed sandwiches for dinner and by the time 7:00 pm rolled around, we decided to stop and feast. We chose a spot, about mid-way to the summit, facing west.

I really do live in an amazing place. Calgary is a great city in its own right, but I love living here because of its proximity to the mountains. One minute, I’m working in the Statistics Canada data centre on main campus; the next, I’m eating dinner and overlooking the Elbow Valley while the sun sets behind the clouds and the expansive mountains ahead. The magnitude of the view was enough to create a reflective mood among the four of us, and in some ways, put us in our place. Not all dinners are that awesome in the true sense of the word.

The Banff Mountain Festival

BanffFF-4 Winter is most definitely here. I arrived back in Calgary earlier this week after spending a lovely few days in Halifax, where the weather was mild, the fall colours were beautiful, and the air smelled like the sea. But in Calgary, a winter storm had come through, causing havoc on the roads, and casting a gloomy mood to the week. Winter was here to stay.

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But alas, Calgary and the mountains are still amazing in the winter. Why stay gloomy when there’s so much to do! Case in point, the Banff Mountain Festival started today, so Robbie and I headed out to Banff to check it out. First on the agenda: wander Banff Avenue, get something to eat, and peruse Atmosphere. Then, it was off to the Banff Centre for the festival. It was clear that Banff has quite the thriving arts and culture scene! I guess I never paid much attention to that before. We looked around the Mountain Art and Craft sale, and then waited for the “Photography on Foot” event, which was an exploration of mountain photography in and around the Banff Centre. Truthfully, after seeing some photos of the Birds of Paradise of New Guinea, we decided we were too cold and ditched the tour. Photography on Foot FAIL! But it was still a fun event. After taking some photos of our own and browsing through Monod’s and Atmosphere (again!), it was time to hit the road and head back to Calgary.

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It was a short trip out to the mountains, but it did confirm one thing to me. I’m so fortunate to live so close to the mountains. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the mountains and the scenery are just gorgeous. The snow and fog among the trees and the mountain tops certainly add a completely different feel to the landscape. I think there will be many more winter adventures to come!

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Drive the Icefields Parkway. At Least Once.

Driving the Icefields Parkway

A few weekends ago (the August long weekend, to be exact), it was my 31st birthday. With all of the hoopla of the contest win the day after my birthday, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and reflect about that weekend. In a few words, it was very enjoyable, relaxing, and beautiful.

Road trip time

Robbie and I set out from Calgary en route to Jasper. I didn’t actually know what was in store for the weekend, which made it all quite exciting! First stop- kayaking in Banff. I had never gone kayaking before, and it was so much fun! Then it was on to the Icefields Parkway, making photo stops along the way, until reaching Jasper. The next day, we started the morning off with horseback riding, followed by a relaxing afternoon with a short visit to Maligne Canyon. The last day we headed back to Calgary, but not before seeing the glaciers on Mount Edith Cavell, admiring the Athabasca Falls, and taking in the bright turquoise of Peyto Lake. It was a fantastic birthday weekend 🙂

Kayaking in Banff

… so peaceful…

Amazing scenery the entire time on the Icefields Parkway

Approaching the Columbia Icefields Visitors’ Center

Now, I’ve done the Icefields Parkway drive before, and this second time was just as awesome as the first. The mountains are incredible, and the landscape changes from Kananaskis to Banff to the Icefields Parkway and then finally to Jasper. I don’t know a lot about the geology or the formation of the mountains, but something incredible occurred to make them look the way they do. And so, I wanted the take home message of this post to be this: If there is ever an opportunity to drive the Icefields Parkway, do it. It is one of National Geographic’s Ultimate Road Trips, and with very good reason. It really is one of the most beautiful and majestic drives. I acknowledge that I am quite fortunate to live so close to such amazing scenery, but it really never gets old. Every time I drive through the mountains, I’m lost and mesmerized all over again.

Athabasca Glacier

Horseback riding. Yay!

Stopping at Athabasca Falls

You never know what wildlife you’ll see 🙂