We head over the rockies to Lake Louise, the Icefields, Glaciers and golf in Banff Springs, Alberta
Distance 530 Miles. Total Distance this trip to date 1735 Miles (2,800K)
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
AND THE GLACIERS
30" VIDEO of MOUNTAIN DRIVING - watch this full screen if you can amazing views.
AND THE ICEFIELDS
Bob " I am approaching this part of the trip with enthusiasm, not only because I have always loved the mountains but also there are so many truly spectacular places that I can show to Eugene. It always makes the re-experience of something or someplace better when you can share the excitement of someone seeing or experiencing for the first time. But there is a small nagging voice in the back of my mind that is telling me the higher elevations will mean less oxygen in the air, which is going to make my breathing problems more acute. As we have so far in the trips and will continue to do in the future; we take the longer, slower but more scenic route. The mountains do not disappoint and we are surrounded by beauty in every direction almost from the start of the day. "
"We get lucky with the rain and the much heavier downpour that I had feared does not materialize although it is cold as we approach the highest elevations such as Pennask summit at 1,728 meters or 5,760 feet. Eugene is particularly impressed with Lake Okanagan and the surrounding area. I tell him a bit about the legend of the Ogopogo monster that resides and haunts the long narrow lake and it’s quite deep lake waters. We stop at a Starbuck’s to warm up in the town of Kelowna located on the Lake’s shore but we do not have a sighting of the creature. At this point the rain has pretty much quit and we make almost the last half of the ride with only glowering skies. Eugene has really become a fully competent biker. We encountered very heavy and potentially quite dangerous crosswinds on the high peaks and passes before reaching the Okanagan Valley and Eugene handled them without difficulty."
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"The next day we ride over Rogers Pass elevation 1,330 meters, (4,360 feet). I point out a large number of avalanche chutes along both sides of the road as well as the numerous avalanche sheds that have been constructed to protect both the highway and the railroad. This part of the highway follows the route of the famous Canadian Pacific Railroad line that was the very first built through the mountains and connected Eastern Canada with the western Province of British Columbia. It is getting colder the higher we climb in the mountains but the breathing is at least marginal without emergencies, although I am having to use the inhaler quite a few times each day. "
BEFORE WE HEAD OVER THE MOUNTAINS - I NEED NEW TYRES .
WE HAVE A LONG WAIT AND BOB IS VERY TYRED!
OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS
THE IMAGES OF MOUNTAINS AND LAKES ARE JUST AMAZING
AND THE GLACIERS
30" VIDEO of MOUNTAIN DRIVING - watch this full screen if you can amazing views.
AND THE ICEFIELDS
Bob " I am approaching this part of the trip with enthusiasm, not only because I have always loved the mountains but also there are so many truly spectacular places that I can show to Eugene. It always makes the re-experience of something or someplace better when you can share the excitement of someone seeing or experiencing for the first time. But there is a small nagging voice in the back of my mind that is telling me the higher elevations will mean less oxygen in the air, which is going to make my breathing problems more acute. As we have so far in the trips and will continue to do in the future; we take the longer, slower but more scenic route. The mountains do not disappoint and we are surrounded by beauty in every direction almost from the start of the day. "
"We get lucky with the rain and the much heavier downpour that I had feared does not materialize although it is cold as we approach the highest elevations such as Pennask summit at 1,728 meters or 5,760 feet. Eugene is particularly impressed with Lake Okanagan and the surrounding area. I tell him a bit about the legend of the Ogopogo monster that resides and haunts the long narrow lake and it’s quite deep lake waters. We stop at a Starbuck’s to warm up in the town of Kelowna located on the Lake’s shore but we do not have a sighting of the creature. At this point the rain has pretty much quit and we make almost the last half of the ride with only glowering skies. Eugene has really become a fully competent biker. We encountered very heavy and potentially quite dangerous crosswinds on the high peaks and passes before reaching the Okanagan Valley and Eugene handled them without difficulty."
Okanangan Lake
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"We spend the night in a very nice Best Western hotel in Sicamous, “The Houseboat Capital of Canada” according to the sign at the edge of town. I did see a lot of houseboat at anchor but none actually being enjoyed by vacation revelers. Might have something to do with the +4 degree C (+39 degree F) temperatures. We also get to have our second very poor and almost inedible dinner in British Columbia. Once again I have recommended salmon to Eugene since the fish is found in such abundance in BC that, “they have got to know how to prepare it well”.
THOMPSON PASS CANADIAN ROCKIES
THOMPSON PASS CANADIAN ROCKIES
"The next day we ride over Rogers Pass elevation 1,330 meters, (4,360 feet). I point out a large number of avalanche chutes along both sides of the road as well as the numerous avalanche sheds that have been constructed to protect both the highway and the railroad. This part of the highway follows the route of the famous Canadian Pacific Railroad line that was the very first built through the mountains and connected Eastern Canada with the western Province of British Columbia. It is getting colder the higher we climb in the mountains but the breathing is at least marginal without emergencies, although I am having to use the inhaler quite a few times each day. "
Finally we arrive in Lake Louise
From the brochure "Lake Louise", known as the "Jewel of the Rockies." and is set in a small glacial valley, surrounded by impressive ice-capped mountains. The lake is widely known for its spectacular turquoise colour, derived from fine rock particles called rock flour, created by the shifting of the Victoria Glacier. These particles are suspended in the glacier water and reflect the bright turquoise colour."
We go straight to the lake at the Chateau Lake Louise, The Fairmont Hotel property which was previously one of the grand Railroad Resort Hotels of the Canadian Pacific Railroad - a sister hotel of The Empress in Victoria - which we had stayed in a few days earlier. Eugene meets a former colleague from RTE and Greystones who is holidaying with his family.
Bob tells me about the hotel and lake.
"I push Eugene to do all the things that I always enjoyed so much when I was in this area. One was hiking up the mountainside to the teahouse located high above, another is the tour of the Columbia Ice Fields and glacier. But both of these I have to experience vicariously through Eugene. My health just will not allow such activities ever again. Sometimes that is hard to take but the positive side is that I am here and able to share his joy, enthusiasm and wonder at the numerous natural marvels of the Canadian Rockies."
I take a fit of enthusiasm from Bob's description of the trek up the mountain to the Tea House. Lake Louise has been dubbed "The Hiking Capital of Canada". We only have 2 nights here and we hope to go up to the icefields for a daytrip tomorrow. Even though it is late, wet and I am a bit tired after the 4 hour drive (300k) over the mountains - I set off up the 3 hour round trip hike - 7k (385 m elevation gain) - to Lake Agnes. I am the only one to arrive at the teahouse at 6p.m and they are closing up for the day. But they kindly serve me a take out tea and cookies to enjoy the views from the deck.
Watch the Video or see pics below (Duration 1'.30")
trek up to tea house lake Agnes from eugene murray on Vimeo.
I came across this lake half way up the trail.
Bob again " I am really looking forward to arriving at the Post Hotel in Lake Louise, which I knew well in my time living in Calgary. It is owned by two brothers from Switzerland in partnership with Chinese billionaire Li Ka-shing. (That’s a long story and too much for here)
The restaurant at the Post and its wine cellar are justifiably famous and among the best in the world. I have a favorite Veal Zurich that I hope is still on the menu. This part of the trip is frankly an indulgence since the Post and the food are certainly worth the money, but are not priced at the low end of the scale. However, I have never left the place without feeling that I more than had my money’s worth and I do not expect to do so this time. I am not disappointed. Nor is Eugene who tried the 6 course "Taster Menu"!
While most of the Lake Louise/Banff experiences are wonderful, they do have a bit of bittersweet quality. As I said I push Eugene to do the tour of the Columbia Ice Fields and glacier. The weather was quite marginal with intermittent rains and very low temperatures. The day that we set out for the icefields and the glacier tour was particularly unpleasant. We had donned our rain outfits and headed out in a downpour. I only made it about 15 miles before I was willing to call it quits. Eugene soldiered on and some 6 hours later, after I had already been into the pool and hot tub twice, showed up at the room shivering but brimming with wonderment at the sights he had seen. To his good fortune the weather had relented a bit after I had left him so it turned out not quite as difficult for him as I had feared. It did occur to me, as it began to get quite late in the day and he had still not returned, that my having to explain to his wife Avril how Eugene had came to an ignominious end at the bottom a glacier most likely would not be a pleasant conversation since I was warm and dry at the time. Fortunately that encounter was not required.
From the brochure "Lake Louise", known as the "Jewel of the Rockies." and is set in a small glacial valley, surrounded by impressive ice-capped mountains. The lake is widely known for its spectacular turquoise colour, derived from fine rock particles called rock flour, created by the shifting of the Victoria Glacier. These particles are suspended in the glacier water and reflect the bright turquoise colour."
We go straight to the lake at the Chateau Lake Louise, The Fairmont Hotel property which was previously one of the grand Railroad Resort Hotels of the Canadian Pacific Railroad - a sister hotel of The Empress in Victoria - which we had stayed in a few days earlier. Eugene meets a former colleague from RTE and Greystones who is holidaying with his family.
Bob tells me about the hotel and lake.
"I push Eugene to do all the things that I always enjoyed so much when I was in this area. One was hiking up the mountainside to the teahouse located high above, another is the tour of the Columbia Ice Fields and glacier. But both of these I have to experience vicariously through Eugene. My health just will not allow such activities ever again. Sometimes that is hard to take but the positive side is that I am here and able to share his joy, enthusiasm and wonder at the numerous natural marvels of the Canadian Rockies."
Watch the Video or see pics below (Duration 1'.30")
trek up to tea house lake Agnes from eugene murray on Vimeo.
I came across this lake half way up the trail.
Bob again " I am really looking forward to arriving at the Post Hotel in Lake Louise, which I knew well in my time living in Calgary. It is owned by two brothers from Switzerland in partnership with Chinese billionaire Li Ka-shing. (That’s a long story and too much for here)
The restaurant at the Post and its wine cellar are justifiably famous and among the best in the world. I have a favorite Veal Zurich that I hope is still on the menu. This part of the trip is frankly an indulgence since the Post and the food are certainly worth the money, but are not priced at the low end of the scale. However, I have never left the place without feeling that I more than had my money’s worth and I do not expect to do so this time. I am not disappointed. Nor is Eugene who tried the 6 course "Taster Menu"!
While most of the Lake Louise/Banff experiences are wonderful, they do have a bit of bittersweet quality. As I said I push Eugene to do the tour of the Columbia Ice Fields and glacier. The weather was quite marginal with intermittent rains and very low temperatures. The day that we set out for the icefields and the glacier tour was particularly unpleasant. We had donned our rain outfits and headed out in a downpour. I only made it about 15 miles before I was willing to call it quits. Eugene soldiered on and some 6 hours later, after I had already been into the pool and hot tub twice, showed up at the room shivering but brimming with wonderment at the sights he had seen. To his good fortune the weather had relented a bit after I had left him so it turned out not quite as difficult for him as I had feared. It did occur to me, as it began to get quite late in the day and he had still not returned, that my having to explain to his wife Avril how Eugene had came to an ignominious end at the bottom a glacier most likely would not be a pleasant conversation since I was warm and dry at the time. Fortunately that encounter was not required.
The Columbia Icefield is about 325 km² in area, up to 1,200 ft deep and receives about 300 inches of snowfall per year.
The video below shows the trip up to and tour of the icefields - I speak to the young Australian tour guide.
Duration.2'50"
Before we take off the next day for our game of Golf in Bannf I take a photo of Bob with Andre one of the 2 brothers who started the Post Hotel. Bob has stayed here quite a few times and got to know Andre who came here from Switzerland as a ski instructor and was technical director with the national Ski Team for a number of years.
WE GO GOLFING IN BANFF
We leave Lake Louise and go 40 miles down the road to the Fairmont Banff Springs Golf Course. It is overlooked by another of the Fairmont Hotels.
There are breathtaking view in every direction and second. The course winds along the Bow River under the snow-capped peaks of Sulphur Mountain and Mount Rundle.
Bob is really up for it - he is a natural golfer and has played a lot in his time. He can still play in spite of his breathing problems - We take a buggy and he plays really well and wins the money - ouch! he plays well from the start and I fail to catch him in spite of three closing pars, which he matches.
I took this photo from the teebox on the 15th hole
Looking back up at the teebox and hotel from the fairway
For thos of you interested in Golf - here is a short video taken during our game
Duration 1'30"
Postscript to this Post - bike related problem as we head from Vancouver to Lake Louise.
"Before we left Reno I had the local Triumph dealer give Eugene’s bike an oil change and a complete safety check. They, like most dealers, charge a ridiculous fee for this but I just thought it had to be done and was particularly concerned about the tires. The mechanic told me that he thought they looked OK for now but that we should keep an eye on them and that they might need to be changed. I was hoping to avoid this since you almost never get the actual cost of tires back in a sale of a used vehicle. So far all had gone well but since we were parked and having to wait for a while, I gave the Honda’s tires a close inspection. I thought they looked pretty worn and Eugene really did not have an opinion so I asked our fellow biker to take a look. He was not at all uncertain and thought they should be changed immediately. We agreed that sooner was better than later in this case as well as safe being better than sorry. Our weather luck had been pretty good so far but we now were heading for the mountains and the chances of encountering more wet roads was very high. Once we got to Ean’s in Vancouver we called around to all the Honda dealers and motorcycle tire distributers we could find and could only uncover one place that had the size tires we needed in stock. They were located in a town called Langley, which according to Wikipedia apparently has nothing else to commend it. It did have the virtue of being on the route we would be taking on our way to Lake Louise. We cut our visit with Ean short and headed out the morning after our arrival and following a great barbeque and tour of the Ean estate. Unfortunately the dealer was not able to get the tires changed immediately and we spent most of the day hanging around."
It took 5 hours to get 2 new tyres onto the bike
Once we finally we back on the road with safe tires we were only able to make it as far and Hope, BC a small town nestled immediately at the foot of the already towering peaks. I suggested Chinese for dinner since there is such a big Chinese presence in British Columbia that I thought the food would have to be good if a Chinese restaurant was to survive given knowledgeable clients. Apparently the contributions to BC culture from the rich Chinese heritage has yet to find it’s way as far as field. The food was awful but did have the additional advantage of being far over-priced. It rained hard during the night and we awoke to a light but persistent rain and clouds darkening the horizon that promised worse to come. I was thankful we made the tire change.
THE NEXT POST WILL BE FROM THE MAJESTIC VOLCANIC GEYSERS AT YELLOWSTONE - we see the mysterious Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump - and EUGENE FINALLY GETS TO SHOOT THAT AK47!
It took 5 hours to get 2 new tyres onto the bike
Once we finally we back on the road with safe tires we were only able to make it as far and Hope, BC a small town nestled immediately at the foot of the already towering peaks. I suggested Chinese for dinner since there is such a big Chinese presence in British Columbia that I thought the food would have to be good if a Chinese restaurant was to survive given knowledgeable clients. Apparently the contributions to BC culture from the rich Chinese heritage has yet to find it’s way as far as field. The food was awful but did have the additional advantage of being far over-priced. It rained hard during the night and we awoke to a light but persistent rain and clouds darkening the horizon that promised worse to come. I was thankful we made the tire change.
THE NEXT POST WILL BE FROM THE MAJESTIC VOLCANIC GEYSERS AT YELLOWSTONE - we see the mysterious Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump - and EUGENE FINALLY GETS TO SHOOT THAT AK47!
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