This winter, enjoy a Rocky Mountain high
Not a skier? Not a problem; there’s lots to do in Alberta during the snowy months
You don’t have to strap on skis or snowboards to have fun with your family in the Rocky Mountains. Pack your sense of adventure, grab your tuques and head West to enjoy a dog sled ride, an ice walk, snowshoeing and more. Don’t forget the sunscreen to protect your rosy cheeks from the Alberta sun bouncing off all that snow. It’s all part of winter in the Rockies. Dog sledding in Lake Louise You won’t hear anyone shout “mush” as you sit bundled in a sleeping bag behind a pack of happy dogs taking you on a16-kilometre dog sled ride from Lake Louise to the Great Divide and back again.
As I sit tucked in all warm and cosy — eight Alaskan Huskies running full out ahead of me and the guide standing behind me — I hear commands: “Gee” for right, “Haw” for left and “Woah” for stop. But no “mush.” “That’s only in the movies,” says Megan Routley, owner of Kingmik Dog Sledding Tours in Lake Louise, as she shouts more than a few commands during our 90-minute ride.
We’re on a thick blanket of snow on what used to be the TransCanada Highway. We wave to the people snowshoeing and cross-country skiing on trails next to us and snuggle in, letting the dogs do all the work. And they love it.
“They are such amazing athletes,” Routley says.
The dogs all have different personalities, which helps determine where they’re placed in the pack. Lead dogs are “super confident, just like a CEO of a company.”
Behind them come leaders in training, and then “point,” “team” and “wheel” dogs.
The harnesses, sleds and down sleeping bags are definitely more sophisticated than those manned by early explorers, fur traders or mushers (the term “musher” was likely born from the French “marcher” — to move).
Here in Banff National Park, adventurers have been running dog sleds for nearly 100 years, taking passengers and supplies deep into the backcountry.
When we arrive at the Great Divide — at the B.C. border — we climb out of the sleds, walk around a bit, feeling the snow crunch beneath our feet. Once we’ve taken more than enough pictures and the dogs have had a rest, we head back — taking a turn at the back of the sled with our guides coaching how to stand and what to shout.
After a few musher moments, we climb back into our sleeping bags (two or three family members or friends to a sled), sit back, look up at the mountains and enjoy the ride. Embracing the ice in Jasper After looking up to enjoy the unpar- alleled view of the Rockies, consider venturing into the frozen Maligne River bed in Jasper National Park. With guided Canyon Ice Walks, you and your family (no kids under sev- en, please) will marvel at the exquisite natural ice sculptures below the frozen surface of the river. The water levels drop in winter, leaving stunning ice formations behind.
If you’re looking for something a little more adventurous, try ice climbing a frozen waterfall in Maligne Canyon. You put on the cleats provided and descend a 30-metre frozen wall of ice to explore the deep canyon and check out ice caves and swirling potholes before climbing back up. Warming up in the hot springs Sipping a mug of hot chocolate is just one way to warm up in the Rockies. Try soaking in a100-per cent-natural recipe of minerals — sulphate, calcium and more — at the Banff Upper Springs. The springs — the highest in Canada at1,585 metres — are open all winter long for you to “take the waters,” something people have been doing here for well over 100 years. Skating on Lake Louise It’s not hard to see why Lake Louise has been ranked the World’s Best Skating Rink when you throw on the blades and head out across the ice.
As you glide across the frozen mountain lake, below Victoria Glacier and nestled in the Rocky Mountains, you will enjoy some manmade beauty too — spectacular ice sculptures on the ice. The snow is cleared off the ice every day and you can rent skates at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Chateau Mountain Sports. And if you’d rather shoot the puck around, you can head to a second rink.