swag
Mar 13, 02, 5:03 pm
I decided to take advantage of my unemployment, so just after New Years, I packed up the convertible, took the dog, and headed to the Canadian Rockies for a couple of months on the slopes.
We left on a Wednesday morning and arrived in Canmore, AB on Friday afternoon, spending the nights in Ft. Collins, CO and Great Falls, MT. On the way back home, it was Billings, MT and Raton, NM. The drives were nicely uneventful. A few thoughts on the journey...
(1) The new Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver is pretty odd looking. Its wavy outline made me a little seasick as I approached from the South.
(2) Unexpectedly to me, there’s an awful lot of casinos in Great Falls.
(3) The oddest named tourist site I drove by has to be “Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump “. I didn’t stop, but it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which puts it up there with the Pyramids and Stonehenge. Check it out (gotta like this web address) at http://www.head-smashed-in.com/.
I crossed the border at the Port of Sweetgrass / Coutts, which is not so much a town as two buildings in the middle of nowhere. The US guards had me pop my trunk, but didn’t really search. I was surprised to even have to stop on the US side, since I was leaving. The Canada guards also didn’t search, and didn’t seem to care about the dog’s rabies certificate, which I had carefully packed, but I was asked to go inside, where there was a twenty minute explanation of how I was planning to be in Canada for months but not work. (I'm a US citizen, but had no Canadian work visa; nor did I have any desire to work while on my vacation). They are protective of their jobs up there.
They asked how much cash I had, what credit cards, etc. One thing they asked for that I hadn't brought was bank statements showing how much money I had access to, after I explained that I would be paying for my stay with both credit cards and ATM withdrawals. They let me through anyway.
Crossing the border on the way back was quicker - no search, only one stop and no interrogation - but they did look at the rabies certificate.
I stayed 3 of the 4 nights en route at Motel 6. I like their cheap rates, and company-wide "pets allowed" policy. The rooms were fine, though I'd rate the comfort of the mattresses as so-so.
It was cool having a convertible with Texas plates during the Canadian winter - lots of folks impressed that I'd driven all that way - except right after the Gold medal hockey game, when I was a little nervous driving it down Main Street amid all that flag-waving nationalist fervor.
Now, the ski report for my fellow skiers:
I mostly skied at Lake Louise, but did take advantage of the variety and visited several other hills as well. I liked Louise best, for its size, good snow, and great variety of terrain.
I only did one day at Sunshine Village, since that wasn’t included on my season pass; it was a cloudy day, and with most of the terrain above tree line, the flat light made things tough.
Nakiska was built for the ‘88 Olympics, and maintains its race emphasis. Almost all the runs are groomed, and many are quite steep. One day there I found a neat little gladed area at the top, that I had all to myself all day. Fortress Mountain is small, somewhat retro-feeling, and can be windy, but on a nice day it has some great terrain. And stand-out scenic views.
Kicking Horse is only in its second year of operation, but lots of folks love it already. Like with Sunshine, I caught it on a so-so weather day, and didn’t enjoy it that much. Tons of advanced and expert terrain. Very few groomed runs, except the 10 km catwalk that winds down from the top.
Panorama badly needs an upgrade to its chairlift system (bottom to top requires riding a quad, a long slow double, a long t-bar, then another t-bar), but otherwise, would have been my second favorite. It was over 2 hours from where I stayed, though, so I didn’t get there too much. Both Panorama and Kicking Horse offer lift access to in-bounds terrain that was once used only by heli-skiers - that’s pretty neat.
Norquay was okay, but really isn’t worth a visit with so many other great hills nearby. Everyone recommended I visit Fernie, but the 4 hour drive from Canmore kept me away.
All the areas get kudos for spectacular scenery, as good as any I’ve seen in the lower 48, except possibly Telluride. All were largely un-crowded, except for the weekend in February when U.S. Predidents Day US coincided with the Alberta Family Day holiday. Locals said tourism was noticably down this winter.
I’d always told myself that I should try snowboarding, but never wanted to give up two or three days of precious ski time to learn. On this trip, with time in abundance, I took the leap. I tried it for four days, including a lesson on day one and two lessons on day two. Despite many minor bruises, I could see where it has some appeal, but after four days, I wasn’t yet quite getting good, so I decided to go back to “two boards” for good.
I also tried snowblades, and had a lot of fun on those. As a skier, I found them much easier to master - by the end of the first day, I even had them on a couple of black diamond mogul runs.
The trip, by the numbers:
Distance Dallas - Canmore: 2,100 miles
Drive time: 32 hours each way (3 days)
Total miles driven over trip: 9,600
Time to cross border to Canada: 30 minutes
Time to cross back to the USA: 3 minutes
Days spent in Canada: 51 this trip, plus 3 in December
Days on the slopes: 40
Days on skis this season: 35
Days on snowboard: 4
Days on snowblades: 1
Powder days (6”+ of fresh): 5
By Resort-
Lake Louise: 28
Norquay: 3
Fortress: 2.5
Nakiska: 2.5
Panorama: 2
Kicking Horse: 1
Sunshine Village: 1
Wildlife seen:
Herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, on 1A North of Banff
Herd of Elk, by Spray Lakes Road outside of Canmore
One lone Coyote, on Wolf Street leaving Banff
Several Deer, by US 89 in Montana
One Bassett Hound, crossing I 27 between Amarillo and Plainview TX
Gold medal score: Canada 5 USA 2
Canadian Dollar: 62.5 cents
Canadian Beer: 5.5% alcohol
We left on a Wednesday morning and arrived in Canmore, AB on Friday afternoon, spending the nights in Ft. Collins, CO and Great Falls, MT. On the way back home, it was Billings, MT and Raton, NM. The drives were nicely uneventful. A few thoughts on the journey...
(1) The new Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver is pretty odd looking. Its wavy outline made me a little seasick as I approached from the South.
(2) Unexpectedly to me, there’s an awful lot of casinos in Great Falls.
(3) The oddest named tourist site I drove by has to be “Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump “. I didn’t stop, but it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which puts it up there with the Pyramids and Stonehenge. Check it out (gotta like this web address) at http://www.head-smashed-in.com/.
I crossed the border at the Port of Sweetgrass / Coutts, which is not so much a town as two buildings in the middle of nowhere. The US guards had me pop my trunk, but didn’t really search. I was surprised to even have to stop on the US side, since I was leaving. The Canada guards also didn’t search, and didn’t seem to care about the dog’s rabies certificate, which I had carefully packed, but I was asked to go inside, where there was a twenty minute explanation of how I was planning to be in Canada for months but not work. (I'm a US citizen, but had no Canadian work visa; nor did I have any desire to work while on my vacation). They are protective of their jobs up there.
They asked how much cash I had, what credit cards, etc. One thing they asked for that I hadn't brought was bank statements showing how much money I had access to, after I explained that I would be paying for my stay with both credit cards and ATM withdrawals. They let me through anyway.
Crossing the border on the way back was quicker - no search, only one stop and no interrogation - but they did look at the rabies certificate.
I stayed 3 of the 4 nights en route at Motel 6. I like their cheap rates, and company-wide "pets allowed" policy. The rooms were fine, though I'd rate the comfort of the mattresses as so-so.
It was cool having a convertible with Texas plates during the Canadian winter - lots of folks impressed that I'd driven all that way - except right after the Gold medal hockey game, when I was a little nervous driving it down Main Street amid all that flag-waving nationalist fervor.
Now, the ski report for my fellow skiers:
I mostly skied at Lake Louise, but did take advantage of the variety and visited several other hills as well. I liked Louise best, for its size, good snow, and great variety of terrain.
I only did one day at Sunshine Village, since that wasn’t included on my season pass; it was a cloudy day, and with most of the terrain above tree line, the flat light made things tough.
Nakiska was built for the ‘88 Olympics, and maintains its race emphasis. Almost all the runs are groomed, and many are quite steep. One day there I found a neat little gladed area at the top, that I had all to myself all day. Fortress Mountain is small, somewhat retro-feeling, and can be windy, but on a nice day it has some great terrain. And stand-out scenic views.
Kicking Horse is only in its second year of operation, but lots of folks love it already. Like with Sunshine, I caught it on a so-so weather day, and didn’t enjoy it that much. Tons of advanced and expert terrain. Very few groomed runs, except the 10 km catwalk that winds down from the top.
Panorama badly needs an upgrade to its chairlift system (bottom to top requires riding a quad, a long slow double, a long t-bar, then another t-bar), but otherwise, would have been my second favorite. It was over 2 hours from where I stayed, though, so I didn’t get there too much. Both Panorama and Kicking Horse offer lift access to in-bounds terrain that was once used only by heli-skiers - that’s pretty neat.
Norquay was okay, but really isn’t worth a visit with so many other great hills nearby. Everyone recommended I visit Fernie, but the 4 hour drive from Canmore kept me away.
All the areas get kudos for spectacular scenery, as good as any I’ve seen in the lower 48, except possibly Telluride. All were largely un-crowded, except for the weekend in February when U.S. Predidents Day US coincided with the Alberta Family Day holiday. Locals said tourism was noticably down this winter.
I’d always told myself that I should try snowboarding, but never wanted to give up two or three days of precious ski time to learn. On this trip, with time in abundance, I took the leap. I tried it for four days, including a lesson on day one and two lessons on day two. Despite many minor bruises, I could see where it has some appeal, but after four days, I wasn’t yet quite getting good, so I decided to go back to “two boards” for good.
I also tried snowblades, and had a lot of fun on those. As a skier, I found them much easier to master - by the end of the first day, I even had them on a couple of black diamond mogul runs.
The trip, by the numbers:
Distance Dallas - Canmore: 2,100 miles
Drive time: 32 hours each way (3 days)
Total miles driven over trip: 9,600
Time to cross border to Canada: 30 minutes
Time to cross back to the USA: 3 minutes
Days spent in Canada: 51 this trip, plus 3 in December
Days on the slopes: 40
Days on skis this season: 35
Days on snowboard: 4
Days on snowblades: 1
Powder days (6”+ of fresh): 5
By Resort-
Lake Louise: 28
Norquay: 3
Fortress: 2.5
Nakiska: 2.5
Panorama: 2
Kicking Horse: 1
Sunshine Village: 1
Wildlife seen:
Herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, on 1A North of Banff
Herd of Elk, by Spray Lakes Road outside of Canmore
One lone Coyote, on Wolf Street leaving Banff
Several Deer, by US 89 in Montana
One Bassett Hound, crossing I 27 between Amarillo and Plainview TX
Gold medal score: Canada 5 USA 2
Canadian Dollar: 62.5 cents
Canadian Beer: 5.5% alcohol