Originally Posted by
gnomey
Wow, didnt even know abt this Lake O'Hara. Have to read up more. Congrats to you!
Hmm, what you say pique my interest again for June. How soon does the lake turn to turquoise color after ice-off? It sounds like it needs one or a few weeks to achieve that
http://banffandbeyond.com/did-you-kn...aw-until-june/
my guess is based on some of the photos I see here (where there are half-broken ice floating around)
The turquoise colour should be there within a week of ice off. It depends on the concentration of suspended rock flour, which can vary as the flow of water changes. To get an even more vibrant colour, hike one of the trails above it. Looking down on the lake vs. across it provides a very bright colour.
Here's a nice video of the Lake O'Hara area.
Basically, it's on the other side of Mt. Victoria behind Lake Louise. Parks Canada rigidly caps the number of visitors to the area to minimize impact. They run two busses per day, taking in a few dozen people. Anybody can hike in, but it's 12 km up and 12 km out a boring old fire road, just to get to the lake from where all the great hikes begin. Tickets for the entire season are normally gone in under a minute of the season's allotment going on sale. Now I just have to hope for good weather on the day for which I have tickets.