NSURIT@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Any suggestions out there for this first trip to the Banff/Jasper area.
> Will stay a few days at Emerald Lake in Yoho Park followed by a few in
> Banff.
Yoho's gorgeous. Do *not* fail to avail yourself of the many good info
websites for this entire area -- Google has an embarrassment of riches
when it comes to the Jasper/Banff/Icefield Parkways area.
> What I'm interested in is where as a photographer would you suggest I not
> miss. Hopefully some of those may be places without 10,000 other folks.
They're all good (which is why you'll probably have to fight off other
touristas, depending on time of year when you're going). My favourite
time of year is mid-September, when most of the tourists have
disappeared, the weather's still warm, the trees are turning autumnal
colours and you're unlikely to see anything else but dazzling blue skies
and magnificent peaks. Every time I've been there, I've run into
European and Japanese tourists that were green with envy that I only
lived about 90 minutes away by car.
Along the Icefields Parkway (Hwy. 93 between Jasper and Banff) lies the
Columbia Icefields, the single-largest agglomeration of frozen
freshwater in North America, and containing approx. 2% of the entire
planet's reserves. You can take a tour up on the glacier's toe (below
the headwall) via SnoCoach, which is like a SnoCat on steroids and a
weightlifting regime. There's only two-dozen or so SnoCoaches on the
planet, and only a couple are being used anywhere else 'cept the
Icefields. This is a safe way to go onto the toe of the glacier. If
the weather's right, there won't be any cold wind descending from the
headwall, and then it's incredibly warm (but make sure you have a
muscular pair of sunglasses -- lots of reflection and UV!). You're also
encouraged to drink the meltwater, since it's legacy ice that's melting
-- it's sorta what melted snow probably tasted like two thousand years
ago...
It is most definitely *not* recommended that you try to go onto the
glacier toe without at least a seasoned guide. Every year, tourists
fall down the crevasses (many of which are up to ten stories deep) and
get killed. They have an air rescue service there which can go from
first alert to rappeling down the side of a crevasse to try and save
someone in under four minutes, but they usually arrive too late.
Nothing like sliding down the mouth of a crevasse getting your skin torn
off by all the exposed grit, dropping eight stories into a pool of
freezing meltwater (trauma, and that's assuming you don't bounce off the
sides or ledges as you fall), and then having to tread water that's two
stories deep at 0.5 degrees Celsius for three-and-one-half minutes while
the rescue crew tries to get to you, assuming the call went out the
*instant* you fell in. It's no wonder the survival rates are so low.
Jasper (the northernmost of the National Park townsites along the
Parkway) is much less touristy than Banff, but they're both beautiful,
and you can get some world-class cuisine in both Banff and Canmore
(about twenty minutes east of Banff, and well worth the drive), just by
staying off of the main strip in Banff (anywhere in Canmore's good, and
Jasper's pretty good just off of the main strip, too). The Bison
Mountain Bistro & General Store [http://tinyurl.com/ysqbgk] on Bear
Street in Banff, ferinstance, dishes out what one reviewer called
"pretension-free Rocky Mountain comfort food." Their Macaroni and
Cheese (yes, I'm *serious*, and some people have accused me of being an
unrepentant foodie) is good enough to remember for the rest of your life
(mind you, it's made with white wine, Comté & white Cheddar cheese, and
crispy, double-smoked bacon lardons, amongst other good things).
Another place in Banff that's good for an unreconstructed meat eater is
the Grizzly House [http://banffgrizzlyhouse.com/] on 207 Banff Avenue
(yeah, it's more-or-less the main drag), which serves hot rock meat
fondues, including bison of course, as well as bison tartare. Yum. I
can feel my arteries hardening already. ;-) Oh yeah, if you wear
glasses, you'll need to wash them in soapy water at the end of the
evening, from all the airborne fondue oil and/or butter smokin' out on
those hot rocks. And you'll need a shower. And a change of clothes.
And it's all *worth* it!
Canmore (GoogleMap it) is *well* worth the side trip, both for the food
and for occasionally awesome, partially-clouded or fog-enveloped views
of the Three Sisters, three mountain peaks just south of the townsite.
Plus, the old townsite (on your right as you're heading southeast) is
incredibly picturesque, while the new areas (mostly to your left) ain't
nothin' special (too many condos for the nouveau riche from Calgary!).
You have to drive *into* the townsite to appreciate it, though -- not
much of a view from the main highway. If you're turning off towards all
the new condos climbing up Harvie Heights, you're going the wrong way.
Other Photo Opps.:
Well, Lake Louise, of *course* -- possibly one of the most-photographed
locations in all the Canadian Rockies. I believe another person
replying to you called the hotel there the "Grand Hotel" -- it's
actually the Chateau Lake Louise, and while it's too expensive to eat
there for dinner, after a day of hiking the trails around the lake,
having English High Tea on the stone deck overlooking the lake and
glacier is one of the sublime experiences of any trip through. It's
still relatively expensive (more so since the Canadian dollar has risen
almost to parity with the U.S. dollar), but they do it right. More
scones and clotted cream, anybody?
Anywhere along the Icefields Parkway (again, I'm serious -- you'll wanna
stop about every thirty seconds, assuming the weather's decent). I've
lived here for over thirty years, and I still have that reaction
traveling the Banff and Jasper ways. If there's a sign that says
"Picturesque viewpoint" or somesuch anywhere, stop if you have time --
you won't be disappointed. I'm still working on setting up a bike tour
along the Parkway. A group of friends went without me a few years ago,
and I'm still ripped about missing it.
Oh man, there's still so much more I could tell you! If you want more
info, don't be afraid to drop me an e-mail, and if you'd like, I can
also give you my phone number in Calgary and you can call me if you're
up for it (wouldn't be the first time I've driven into the Rockies to
meet somebody for a beer or food...).
Hope this whets your appetite...
Garth
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