Lake Louise

On 20th April Nick and I took a little road trip to see Lake Louise, which we thought would be slightly melted.  Unfortunately to both our disappointments it was very much still frozen, and the Fairmont hotel on the side of the lake was very very ugly looking.  All in all the road trip was a bit of a let down compared to our original expectations.  We still have a month left in Banff so we will make a return journey nearer the end of May and hopefully it will have started to melt by then.

We walked on the lake, and then decided to follow the trail round and saw some amazing water falls and the beginning of the glacier which is at the far end of the lake.

This is my favourite picture of Nick...

Nick took some brilliant pictures of the waterfalls...

My Perfect Thursday by Nick Wilcock

One of the two not quite perfect things that happened was that I had to get up very early.  But we did this so we could go skiing.  I went skiing with my friends Laura and Chris.  I took some blue skis with me.  They were very big, and they were constructed thus to allow them to float in deep powder, and yet carve on piste.  I enjoyed my big blue skis. 

It was quite cold at Sunshine and it was snowing quite a lot and after the second run of the day Laura went home because she had a sore leg and didn't want it to hurt anymore when her friend Caz comes to stay with us and this was the other not perfect thing that happened on this most special of Thursdays.  Chris and me did lots of skiing in the trees and at the end of the day hiked across Wawa ridge to find some powder and then we went home.

Being a bit sleepy I had a nap, and yet did not wake up with the oft associated grogginess; another sure sign of a good Thursday.

Thursday derives from Thunor's Day, or Thor's Day, and as a great thunder storm building over the plains of the Serenghetti, my Thursday had amassed a mighty charge that reached a crescendo as we wound our way up Sulphur Mountain toward Eden restaurant, and our destiny.  

Eden remains the only 5 diamond restaurant in Western Canada, and this was a reputation well deserved.  As it was in the Rimrock where Laura worked she wanted to make the most of her discount and check the place out.  I couldn't have guessed how good it was going to be, all the food was cooked perfectly, and arranged real pretty like.  The scallops were my favourite, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, much like an armadillo.  This picture is of me freaking out over how good they were.  The guys there properly sorted us out too giving us an extra cheese course, a couple of free drinks, and gave us half price off everything else.  Everyone should eat there if they are incredibly wealthy or work there.

    

Panorama Ski Tip

Last Thursday Nick and I went on a road trip to Panorama ski resort, which is just a 2.5hr drive from Banff.  We drove through Kootenay National Park, which felt like a long drive but was only an inch on the road map!  The route also took us past Radium Hotsprings, which looked amazing!  Just wished we'd remembered our swim stuff.  The hot pools were surrounded by huge rock faces.  The day we chose to go to Panorama was brilliant.  The sun was out and they'd just had a fresh dump of powder.  We even managed to have lunch outside.

After lunch we ventured to the summit of the mountain.  Near the top of the chair lift we could hear bagpipes, and then as we skied off the chair lift ended up in the middle of a wedding!  I wondered how they got the elderly relations down the hill afterwards, but later on we saw a ski patroller skiing down with a sledge of "oldies" behind him.

The weather in Banff has been changing dramatically now that Spring has finally arrived.  The snow has almost gone, the sun is out and bears are now an actually threat.  The first one was seen last week, and considering he hadn't eaten for months and months he still looked huge.  We've decided we're going to invest in some bear spray, just in case we happen upon one when we go for walks.

Today we went skiing at Sunshine, and it was so warm.  Tonight we're going to the local english pub to watch the football, and tomorrow night we're going to the Eden restaurant at my hotel.  I handed in my resignation last week, so wanted to eat there while I can still get my 30% discount.  The menu looks amazing, so we'll make sure we take plenty of photos to make you jealous and hungry :-)

Breakfast at Coyotes and a Week of Amazing Skiing!

Last week Nick and I were invited to breakfast at Coyotes Deli and Grill by Pat and Larry, my Canadian relations.  They took a little detour from Calgary to Banff to see us on their way back home, which was really really nice of them.  Especially considering they had a huge drive ahead of them.  We both had huge yummy pancakes!  It was really lovely to see Pat and Larry, and we'd like to say thanks for treating us to breakfast.

After breakfast we decided to try and burn those pancakes off and had a game of squash at the local gym.  Nick won but we had some great rallies, and I even managed to win one game :-)  To carry on our sporting endeavours, we took the french couple, Sabrina and Chris, on a badminton.  The trash talking began well before the game took place, but our British compatriots will be happy to hear we took those Frenchies down hehe.  I'm sure the competitiveness will not end here, and future matches are in store.

Last Thursday Sabrina, Chris and I went to the Royal Canadian Legion for a spot of bingo... we didn't win anything but it was really fun and we'll definitely go back for $1 a card for the whole night!

Considering its now past the 1st April, last week we had a crazy dump of snow, with 18cm of fresh powder at Sunshine on Thursday.  Nick, Chris, my workmate Sara, and I went to Sunshine super early to try to get there before the crowds.  We ended up being able to put fresh tracks in down Goats Eye mountain, it was epic.  Possibly the best skiing day of the year so far!