Carrick to Calgary

Here is our slightly-delayed photoblog from our recent weekend in Banff when we were invited along to the Alberta Association of General Surgeons at the Rimrock Hotel. I was speaking at the meeting and P came along to have a nice time in Banff and to get a good soak in the Banff Hot Springs across the road from the Rimrock. The meeting was good, my talk went down well and I made a few new contacts on the surgical scene in Alberta. Our return to the Hot Springs was also excellent, bathing in 40oC water after dark, the air filled with steam while icicles form on your eyelashes. There's nothing quite like it!


The Road to Banff


Downtown Banff in February

The Rimrock is one of the "Small Luxury Hotels of the World" and was notable for its huge icicles and great outdoor lights:


BIG icicles


Just like Christmas

On the Saturday we headed up to Lake Louise for a bit of a walk and a skate.


The road to Lake Louise

For those of you who have seen the Lake in the summer, this is what it was like then:



And this is what it's like now:


Wow!

Apparently it freezes over in the early winter and it's thick enough to walk and ski on right out into the middle of the lake. It'll be frozen until early May. The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise also makes a little ice rink on the lake with a burning brazier on the ice and free hot chocolate.


The Lake Louise Ice Rink

Here's a few ice-skating pics. The ice rink is a bit small, the ice itself isn't as smooth as ice in a proper rink and there are cracks in it which are big enough to catch your blades, but it's OK for a quick shufty round the ice for a few minutes.







The Lake is surrounded by forest, so you can cross-country ski around the edge of the Lake and then come right down onto the ice and ski right across. We went for a walk out into the middle of the ice, although there were a lot of people going much farther, in the direction of the Plain of Six Glaciers. As in the summer, there were busloads of Japanese tourists at the Lake, and most of them were out on the ice, or taking photos of each other lying down posing in the snow! When you're out on the ice, it occasionally shifts and groans a bit, and sometimes there's a loud CRACK! which sends the Japanese tourists scurrying for the edge!


Lake Louise boathouse


The forest

We drove home via Canmore and took a few more photos on the road:


Heading home


Snowy mountains


Cold cows


Fence and horizon


Winter sun

We also saw our first actual 'sundog', which is a small, second sun which forms at the edge of the sun's corona in certain atmospheric conditons. You should be able to make it out on this photo, at about 9 o'clock:


Sundog

We also went for a walk in Bowness Park and found ourselves under the Stoney Trail bridge which we take to work every day when we cross the Bow River.


Under the bridge


Underwater ice

Next up is Atlanta and Vegas!