Shadow Lake xc ski

From Shadow Lake Lodge

A cold snap gave us a break, so we headed up to Shadow Lake in Banff National Park. The parking area is just off the TransCanada Highway about 30 minutes west of Canmore, AB. It was about -15C when we started out a 11 AM on a Thursday in early January.

The trail was trackset sometime ago, but in pretty good shape. So far, the winter has been rather stingy on the snow, and heavy on the polar air. So starting out, there was a fair bit of pine needles, but that quickly diminishes as you ski up into the hanging valley of Red Earth Creek. We saw one other couple coming down (early risers!), and after that, nobody. At about 6km, after a bridge crossing, you come to a backcountry campground. The trail is trackset for about another 1-2 km, and then it's just been snowmobile packed. At about 11km, we had a quick bite with tea, then bootpacked up the Shadow Lake trail until it levels off (about 150m). Much easier!

The remainder of the trail rolls up and down to the Shadow Lake Lodges (not opened as yet for the winter months). Alpine touring skiers with fairly fat skis had been up and down this trail recently, which was kind of nice for our longish straight BC 65 (metal edge) skis to fit into. The snow along those tracks was about 25-40cm deep, and very unsupportive due to the cold weather we've had. Your poles often went to ground.

It was five years ago that Carol and I got engaged on the deck of Shadow Lake Lodge. We were lucky to have some solar warmth, and perhaps -8C on that deck to enjoy some tea, cookies, and maple whiskey. There were old tracks headed towards the lake from the lodge, but we were fairly content to sip the fortified tea and enjoy the views of Mt Ball in the distant.

From there, we backtracked down the trail, onto the fireroad, and back into the Bow Valley. All tolled, it's a 28km return trip (5.5 hours with our short breaks), and a terrific way to spend a chilly January day in the Canadian Rockies.

Red Earth Creek fireroad

The Shadow Lk trail

A Snowy Creature along the way

Trekking to Everest Base Camp

View from Kala Pattar (5545m) of Everest, the Khumba icefield, and EBC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zlkoEIm2yM

The link above takes you to a video on YouTube that was created using mostly still photography of our excellent trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC) in Nepal. We did this trip in conjunction with visits to Thailand and Tokyo. We spent a few days in Kathmandu, where we met up with our guide, Danuru Sherpa ("Dawa"). He led us through the permitting process, and showed us around before flying to Lukla to start our trek. We were on the trek from October 19 until November 2, 2016. By then, the monsoons are usually done, and the skies are clear.

I would highly recommend Dawa. His English is excellent, he is very conscious of your comfort and safety, and having lived there all his life (and led climbs up Everest at least 13 times), he knows everything and everyone. Our accommodations were always secured, and he has his own guest house in his home village of Phortse. You can email Dawa at sherpa2008danuru@yahoo.com.

The people along the way are terrific! It is a trip of a lifetime, although probably not for everyone. It is important to have the proper gear (gets cold!), the proper meds, good fitness and ample hiking/training with those boots and your pack. And bring lots of US$!

The video compresses 2 weeks into 20 minutes. Enjoy!

2016-17 Winter finally settling in.

Having taken a rather extensive holiday into some warmer climates, it was a bit tough to come back into short days and quickly afterwards, very cold weather. As usual, there is no sign of climate change where we live. Early December brought lows into the -30C's, and highs of -20C's. Surely the pine beetle is in demise! Snows have been reasonable for December at altitude, but somewhat less in the Bow Valley where Canmore resides. That said, it has certainly been cold enough to make snow at the Nordic Centre, and surrounding ski resorts.

The cold weather sent us into Elevation Place (in Canmore) to make use of their world class climbing wall facility. It's been busy there! Since it has auto-belay routes, you don't even need a partner. If you have a partner, the routes range up to well beyond my capability. But, it's actually quite a social place to hang out!

Sunday, Dec 11, we ventured out to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park to check out the coss-coutry ski conditions there. Much to our surprise, the tracksetting was excellent from the Elk Pass parking lot to Elk Pass, and the Blueberry Hill lookout. Nice soft snow, albeit somewhat slow due to the cold temperature. The daytime high, though, did hit -15C, which is quite tolerable when there is no wind, and you're working on your stride and gliding. It won't be long before all the trails there are in great shape.

We've been out back country skiing (alpine touring) where you can start out at 1900m+ from the road. That has included Bow Summit on the Ice Fields Parkway in Banff, and Robertson Glacier in Kananaskis Country. Powder skiing in those places was very good for December! We'll continue to investigate....

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Hoping Santa brings more snow!!