Rocky Mountains – Fit Frog

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Chester Lake Snowshoe, the best Christmas present of all!

December 4, 2014

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Give the gift of the Rocky Mountains this Christmas! I snowshoed Chester Lake in The Kananaskis Rockies, yesterday and it was absolute perfection. And abundance of glittering powdery snow, and mountain peaks all around. MERRY CHRISTMAS I say!

For details on snowshoe trails in the Kananaskis, check the Alberta Parks website. You can also join us, on our many snowshoe outings in December through March.

BE PREPARED, BE SAFE and HAVE FUN!

1. AVALANCHE AWARENESS- Be aware that the snowshoe trails in the park are created to keep you away from avalanche terrain. If you do not know what an avalanche slope looks like, DO NOT go into the mountains on snowshoes. You can easily walk into avalanche terrain without knowing it. Check the Avalanche Canada website.

2. Have the Gemtrek, Kananaskis map and the Snowshoe trail map. There are many, many, many alternative snowshoe trails created by people enjoying the powder. This can be confusing if you are not paying attention and navigating. There is signage for snowshoe trails created by the parks, so keep watching for those signs.

3. Take lots of clothing and lots of food. Read through our checklist on what to bring on snowshoe and ski days. And here is a list of where to rent snowshoes.

Where to hike in the Rockies and Calgary after the Alberta flood?

August 15, 2013

lori

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Helen Lake Trail, Banff National Park

I have been researching trails to hike after the June flooding and thought I would share my findings. The most up-to-date information on where to hike after the flood can be found at this link . It is a wonderful resource of all the post-flood trail conditions in Kananaskis and Banff National Park. Thanks to Rachel for putting this together!

Douglas Fir Trail, Edworthy Park, Calgary

And for those of you who want to hit the urban trails, most routes from my guidebook, Calgary’s Best Hikes and Walks, are doable. The major changes to the pathway system that affect urban hikes are the three missing pedestrian bridges over the Elbow River in the southwest. The bridge at Sandy Beach Park is the most inconvenient change since it is a critical link. It is easy to navigate around the other two missing bridges by using the road bridges.

I’ll continue to provide updates as I work on my new book, Calgary’s Best Urban Hikes, and as I hike the mountain trails!

Enjoy the wonderful weather out there! Lori

Snowshoe the Rockies (with the kids!)

January 17, 2013

lori

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It’s time to play in the snow! Grab your friends and your family, a duffel bag full of clothes, your backpacks, some snowshoes, a crazy carpet, a shovel (for building snow forts at the trailhead!) and a heck of a lot of yummy food and thermoses of hot drinks; you are going snowshoeing in the Rockies!

Snowshoeing is as easy as walking! It’s simply left, right and repeat. There is no skill needed, no technique. But you do need to have some cardiovascular fitness because it can be challenging when you step off the beaten trail. And that, by the way, if the best part (the whole point) of snowshoeing! Get into the deep, powdery snow! Play, fall down and pounce. Snowshoeing generally follows some well know hiking trails, but snowshoeing is not as much about destination as it is about playing in snow.

There are some wonderful snowshoe routes in the Kananaskis Rockies as well as in Banff National Park and Yoho National Park. The main thing to know about choosing a wonderful snowshoe route is to be aware of and to avoid avalanche terrain and to ensure that you have the topographical maps (and know how to use them!) so you do not get lost or end up in avalanche terrain. And remember, cellphones rarely work in the the mountains so the motto, “BE PREPARED” is a good one to follow.

Our next snowshoe day is this weekend, January 20th and our next FAMILY FUN club Fit Frog snowshoe is on Saturday, Feb. 9th! Both outings will be full of powder pouncing and route finding and having fun in the snow. And if you are keen to take a weekend away, join us for a Family Fun getaway in YOHO National Park based in tiny Field, BC on February 15-17, 2013.

SNOWSHOE PRESENTATION
If you want to know more, or see a slide presentation to help you learn all you need to know to get started snowshoeing, get in touch and I can come and speak to your group!

Come on out and join us! Make winter your new favourite season!

Snowshoeing the Paint Pots in Kootenay National Park

March 27, 2012

lori

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The buffet breakie in Banff was the perfect start (my son’s words) to another active spring break day in the Rockies. When you consume that much food at breakfast you HAVE to be active! We snowshoed the Paint Pots trail (and beyond), on Hwy. 93 south. What a perfect area for snowshoeing! The trees are spaced nicely apart so we could wind our way off trail, up, down and around. The snow was sticky and perfect for snowballs. The sun came out and it was hot! It is easy to avoid avalanche terrain in this area since the Paint Pots trail is in the valley and while steep slopes are not too far away, we had no problem finding abundant terrain to snowshoe, far from any avalanche danger.

The Radium Hot Springs made for the perfect post-snowshoe outing. At 39 degrees celsius, it was too hot to swim around, but ideal for some relaxation. Post pool it was on to “Invermere on the lake”. Spring is not the ideal time to visit Invermere since it is in between their snow and lake seasons, but since we had never been to Invermere, we wanted to see what it was all about. As we did our walkabout after dinner, we could have shot a cannon down most streets and not hit a single person. It was just us and the Mule deer out for an evening stroll. Tomorrow we’ll explore more of Invermere and area. We are on the lookout for a nice hiking trail, some good coffee and some fresh baked goods on main street.

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A family spring break in the Rockies!

March 26, 2012

lori

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My family and I are spending spring break in the Rockies! Our kids are 10 and 7 years old and are very used to being on foot, self-propelled, active, on their holidays.We make the outings fun by being flexible; it’s about time exploring outdoors on the trail, pathway, or sidewalk, not simply the destination.

An important part of self-propelled activity for our family is having lots of tasty food along and many rest breaks to enjoy the sights and the snacks! Yesterday our lunch consisted of leftover rice, salmon sandwiches,turkey sandwiches, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, ketchup chips, ruffle chips, lots of really good dark and light chocolate, homemade monster cookies, oranges, apples, carrots and tea. Phew! I didn’t realize how much food we took until I wrote it down. No wonder my backpack is always so large and heavy!

We left Calgary and headed west for 45 minutes to the Mount Yamnuska trailhead on Hwy. 1A, just east of Canmore. Yam is a wonderful early season hike but yesterday it was still a bit snowy and icy. I recommend that you carry some icers to attach to your boots if you head out on the Yam hike anytime soon. We spent a few hours on the trail, trying to stay upright, and then headed to Banff. Ahh, a hotel with a pool! Swimming was followed by a fantastic meal at Nourish Bistro. This vegetarian restaurant has such variety in flavours, and beautiful presentation. And the music they play is so interesting and varied. One of the chefs is a DJ and creates the soundtrack. The bohemian feel and their attention to detail in this hole in wall spot is a welcome respite in touristy Banff.

A buffet breakie fuelled us up for a few hours of xc skiing in Lake Louise today. Spring conditions made it a fast ski and I was down to a t-shirt for most of the day. We did the Fairview- Moraine Lake Road loop near the Lake at Lake Louise.

The snow is falling now and we are gearing up for a steakhouse meal at Melissa’s at the request of my kids. Vegetarian is okay for one night, the kids say, but now a burger and fries are in order. It’s all about balance. Bring on the Alberta beef!

p.s Melissa’s has the best burgers in Banff! What a wonderful spot for families.