(Canmore, Alberta, Canada)
For the fourth day of skiing, we went a little further afield to the Lake Louise ski area. I went skiing there in 2019, and was looking forward to revisiting the “Traumpiste” that we found in the area’s back bowls.
Once again, we had a very intense day of skiing. We were quite tired at the end of it. This was partly due to the amount of skiing we did, but also the conditions. There was a blizzard, so we really had to focus on what we were doing (and keep our knees bent just in case we hit some unexpected bumps).
I am pleased to report that the Lake Louise resort renamed the “Brown Shirt” piste that I found troubling in 2019. It was such a shame that this great piste had such a dismal name. It is now called “Brown Cow”. Alas, the poor visibility meant that skiing this steep, unmarked and ungroomed piste was somewhat less than ideal. We didn’t return for a second try, despite knowing that all the fresh snow would create amazing conditions once the visibility improved.
Our favourite itinerary for the day turned out to be a couple of black-rated pistes (#59 and #12) close to the main gondola. The visibility was OK and there wasn’t much traffic on these steep and snowy pistes. Without blizzard conditions, I can see how these could get icy and unpleasant very quickly.
The drive home was an adventure, as the roads hadn’t been properly cleared. I was glad that we were in a heavy 4WD vehicle,
We intended to return to Lake Louise for the final day of skiing. However, the roads were still dodgy once we approached Banff that morning. Even worse, traffic was getting backed up because of the sheer number of people who wanted to go skiing at Lake Louise (no doubt because of the previous day’s blizzard). We made a quick decision to turn off Highway 1 at Sunshine Village and ski there instead.
This turned out to be a great decision. While the skies were once again overcast, Goat’s Eye Mountain was relatively untouched for the entire morning. I can’t say how much mileage we achieved, but it was a lot. And the conditions were really good despite the gray skies. We even managed a bit of glade skiing in the trees (see photos above).
While the afternoon didn’t quite live up to the morning, I was still pleasantly exhausted at the end of the day. The TP Town lift still had good soul and reggae music, and the heated seats were most welcome as the temperatures dipped to around -8’C.
I left Alberta the next morning, and of course the sun shone brilliantly in response. But I was still very happy with how the skiing turned out. It’s great to rediscover something that at one time seemed lost forever.
But that’s not the end of the trip! Stay tuned for the details of a brief but very enjoyable stopover on my way back home!