Glorious

Moraine Lake is our destination for the day. Up. J, R, B, Murray and I pile into the van with skis, lunch and extra clothes. It is B’s first ski in the mountains. Her running fitness and sense of adventure will pay off.

We are quiet on the drive to Lake Louise. Everyone is gazing at the mountains, the snow and the cerulean ski. Glorious.

View on Moraine Lake Road Trail

We start up the tracks to the Moraine Lake Viewpoint, 7.9 km on the map. It is a steady climb up and up and up. The snow crystals are diamonds sparkling on a pristine blanket.  There is no wind and the sun, in the cloudless ski, is warm turning to hot on our working bodies. We slowly shed layers.

Temple Mountain

We round a corner and Temple Mountain appears in its magnificence. Glorious!

(photo by RM)

There is a definite lack of people on this trail. When we do meet people they are tourists from across the world.  Manchester and Peterborough, England and Boulder, Colorado.

We ski up to the viewpoint and I check my Garmin.  The noted 7.9 kms has turned into a 9 km uphill ski. There is steam rising from Murray’s pate. We stop for a break, a few photos and a snack.

Murray, B, J, Debbie, R

Before everyone gets too cold, we begin our downhill journey.  The tracks are fast and what took us 2.5 hours to climb takes a half hour to descend. My Garmin clocks my maximum speed at 32.7 kph! Pretty fast on skinny skis.

Animal tracks

We see mystery animal tracks in the snow. Deer? Rabbits? Fox? Birds? Snow falling from trees and rolling down the slopes turns into cinnamon buns that make tracks as they roll.  Each snowball’s tracks is distinctive. The snow is deep and is thick frosting on the side of the mountain. Glorious!

We eat lunch in the sun sitting on the back of the van. We watch a woman ski through the parking lot and run into someone’s truck. A reminder to all skiers to take off your skis before the parking lot!

We pile into the van for the drive back to Canmore, all pleased with our outing.  B’s first ski in the mountains was GLORIOUS!