Down Sulphur Mountain

View from Sulphur Mountain, with Tunnel Mountain center picture

Originally I had planned this day, the only free day I have available in Banff, to go skiing. I even took some of my ski clothes with me when I came back to York after the visitation ritual. However, when it came to the point of packing for the trip to Canada, I realised that I didn't want to have to rent skis and other stuff, find the best ski piste and organise transport, all for one single day of skiing on my own; and the weather forecast actually predicted snow into the bargain. So I gave up on that idea, and I am very glad of that now.

Banff Avenue

After meeting with Ekkart yesterday I found out that he is also a fan of walking - unlike me he even took his hiking boots with him; and we discussed walking one or the other of the trails around the town. We did not actually arrange to meet for this, but when I went for breakfast (at 7:30, after having been awake for 5 hours) I met him there and we agreed to go down to the Banff Tourist Information and investigate the possibilities, in particular regarding the open trails and the expected weather conditions. Banff Centre, where we are staying, is a bit outside town but there is a footpath down which brought us to Banff Avenue, the heart and soul of touristic Banff. The place looked rather deserted when we got there; but that was surely a function of the still early hour: seeing the number of steak houses and souvenir shows lining the road there is plenty of activity at other times.

The Tourist Information opened the minute we arrived, and from the available options we chose first to take the gondola up to Sulphur Mountain (so named for the hot (sulphuric) springs at the foot) which was supposed to have very good views; and then after returning if the weather still allowed take a hike up Tunnel Mountain (so named after a train tunnel that was never dug - they eventually circumvented the mpuntain - which if you look at the first pucture above does not seem so hard). Tickets for the bus to the gondola were sold on the bus, but having only bills as yet we could not pay the exact amount; I received a voucher for the difference, to be cashed in at any of four locations in Banff. That's an interesting scheme!

View to the gondola end station (center)

The gondola was not, as I had imagined, a ski lift - indeed, I have not yet seen any evidence of skiing so far: it really only takes tourists up to see the views. (This does not explain the fare of 36$.) Here, too, our timing was surprisingly good: they opened two minutes after we arrived. Plenty of time for the attendant to ask us where we are from (not easy to answer concisely, as Ekkart is a German currently working in Denmark and I a Dutchman currently staying in England) and start up a conversation about European Soccer. Canadians seem to be like Americans in this regard, never a quiet moment.

We are far north here and high up (2650m), which combined with the föhn winds explains the exceptionally clear views. The clouds were starting to come op from the south and starting to cover some of the far-off mountain tops, but it felt like we could look until the end of the world, if the view wasn't blocked by all those high peaks. To walk around the area, why should you go laboriously down and then up again when you can almost touch the next range, 10km beyond? Quite amazing and impossible to put into words, let alone pictures. (Probably this explains the fare.)

After first taking the boardwalk to the next peak and back, we discovered a snow-covered but well-trodden trail that seemed to go down to the lower gondola station, and decided to try that. Soon we met another hiker going up, who assured us that yes, this trail would lead us right down. Nothing for it but to try that. It was a lovely walk, always with the same great views through the ubiquitous pine woords. From the lower station it even turned out to be possible to walk further down to the river rather than take the bus, so after a coffee + lunch + restroom break we went on descending a few hundred more meters, down to the Fairmont Spring Hotel, an astonishing Victorian monstrosity that announced itself to be 125 years old, positively ancient in Canadian terms. This was one of the four locations where I could reclaim my change for the bus fare, and with that taken care of we found our way along and across the river and back up to Banff Centre, in very good time. No snow; out of the wind it feels positively warm, we even saw a few squirrels which I thought should be safely hibernating around this time of year. Quite enough walking for today though, the Tunnel Mountain trail will have to wait.

It is now almost 16:00, and the official workshop programme will soon start. I'll keep you posted!