Banff & Jasper National Parks (+Marmot Basin)

After leaving Golden on … [checks calendar because days no longer have any meaning] … Wednesday afternoon, we just made the short drive to Lake Louise. Some new friends from the Revelstoke parking lot told us that no overnight parking is allowed outside campgrounds in national parks so we stayed at the campground right in Lake Louise. Our campsite did not have a bad view.

There was even a walking trail with ski tracks for Sara. Nothing makes Sara happier than being able to XC ski so that was a good score.

On Thursday morning we headed north to Jasper through Banff NP along the Icefields Parkway. The forecast called for 8″+ of snow Thursday night into Friday morning at Marmot Basin so that was our goal. We did not have a particularly early start with the additional XC skiing Thursday morning and we were incredibly lucky because as we started north there was a road sign indicating the Icefields Parkway would be closed at Saskatchewan Crossing at 2:00 p.m. It was 12:45 and we were 80km away on a slow, incredibly scenic road. We made it in an hour and just got on the road before it closed!

The drive from Banff to Jasper is insanely gorgeous. I might occasionally be prone to hyperbole, but the Canadian Rockies are so impressive that I have no qualms declaring they should be on everyone’s bucket list to see at least once. Around every turn is a mountain more impressive than the last. I did not take the time to get out the real camera as I don’t know where I would have even started, but we took plenty of pictures from the van. The only stop we made briefly was at the Columbia Icefield to get a better view of some glaciers. Because the road was essentially closed we felt like the only ones out there. We probably only saw a total of 10 other cars on the road in the last couple hours of the four hour drive, which was a good thing because I could drive down the middle of the road looking out both windows at the mountains!

As Jasper and Marmot Basin are in the national park we stayed again in a campground. Not quite as nice a view this time, but it was a cool, forested campground along the Athabasca River. We went to bed early so we could be up early and get up to the mountain.

We were up on time and got up to the mountain unscathed, though the car spun out on the icy hill and the dumbasses that didn’t keep moving slowly by in the other lane almost ruined us. Fortunately we were able to keep just enough momentum with only a little skidding and made it. Despite the freezing cold we were down in the front of the line waiting for the lift to open. One guy finally made a break to line up in the corral and we all scooted as fast as we could. We made 4th chair.

Marmot Basin is the northernmost ski area in the Rockies.

The estimated 8″ was at least 10″ and probably 12″. On one run my board went under a small wind loaded patch and the snow hit my thigh. It was awesome. It was also damn cold and still snowing so after 3 or 4 runs we decided to take a quick break and warm up. We went back out for three more before heading to the warm van for lunch. After lunch we noticed the higher lift – the Knob Chair – had just opened and we raced over to see where it led. There were fields of nearly untracked powder and we just started lapping it on different lines.

Video! First run off Knob Chair.

Eventually we noticed some skiers hiking out a traverse to another bowl above what we were riding and we followed them out. The traverse was not particularly kind on snowboards but we made it most of the way the first time and found some epic first tracks on the edge of the next bowl. It was so good we decided to try it again before it was all gone. We worked a little harder this time to get all the way out and we made it to a ridge with great lines down the spine of the ridge.

It might have been my run of the year. I had three or so deep turns before I hit a rock or ice underneath the powder and spilled forward, but I kept tucked and felt the board come right back under me. I punched out of the explosion of snow only to find myself aimed straight down the pitch. No problem, though, as it was back to deep powder. I was going pretty fast at this point and needed to slip between some tight trees so I lined it up and shot between them, only to find that the hill fell away just a few feet below. It wasn’t really a cliff and it was only a few feet high, but with the speed I was carrying I just shot off the edge into the snow below. It was probably good that I had no time to think about it because I didn’t have time to tense up or worry about what happened next. The landing area was rather sketchy and thin, but the powder started again quickly below so I just rode it out at full speed until I hit the soft snow again. A couple more deep turns and I was at the bottom. Yeah, that was a good ride!

Riding the powder, hiking some, and working hard on the traverse warmed us up well and we just kept lapping Knob Chair for quite a few runs. We wanted to explore the “new” area at Marmot Basin called Tres Hombres (we allegedly rode the first chair of the day with one of the original hombres) so before we left we made the short hike to the ridge. We found a super fun, moderately steep bowl with plenty of good snow left so it was great way to end the day.

Before heading out from Jasper NP we decided to drive back up the road (still closed from the storm) to Athabasca Falls. It was cool in the winter, but it must be stunning when the river is melted out. The entire Athabasca River flows into a gorge that can’t be more than about 40′ wide. Now the falls have frozen and the water just surges up in a few places underneath. It is quite a geological marvel.

After our final sight-seeing we headed north. No more planned stops until Alaska!

Last night we randomly turned in to the Hinton Nordic Center in William A Switzer Provincial Park. We were a little concerned about the road as it had not been plowed and there was 8″ of snow. There were some tire tracks and the van did fine, great actually. We had no trouble even though I know there were few places we dragged on the piled snow. The Hinton Nordic Center appears to be an impressive, community-run nordic area with many kilometers of groomed trails, a biathlon course, and a luge run. They even have a small dog-friendly loop that we could explore.

It was a crazy cold night. When we went to bed the temperature was 0 deg. and I’m sure it got colder during the night. Despite our best efforts the water was frozen again in the morning. I got to try out my heat-tape solution to this problem and discovered it was not actually a solution. It finally thawed during the day, but when we are eventually back in the garage I will have to figure out a better solution.

Naturally Sara dragged me XC skiing in the morning. After sleeping in for a while the temperature was up to a whopping 4 deg. Though the road was not plowed the groomer had come through so we had first tracks on the new snow.

Now we are headed north for real. We have our mile-by-mile guidebook for the Alaskan Highway. Only about … 1600 miles to go. 1600. Miles.