Mountains covered in snow in Alberta
At the end of last year, Lisa Sanders and her husband, Steven, packed their suitcases and embarked on a holiday with Canadian Affair to Alberta. Now, as winter approaches yet again, she reflects on her wits in this spectacular winter wonderland and what makes the province so special at this time of year.
Tell us, what were the highlights of your trip?
Honestly, there are too many to name!
In Banff, it was the wonderful Lake Louise and the wits of having afternoon tea whilst overlooking the frozen lake dotted with ice skaters. Simply stuff there and witnessing the enormity of the majestic mountains all virtually us was amazing.
Dog sledding in Jasper was flipside highlight and the perfect way to immerse ourselves in the stunning scenery. We mastered our own sled, keeping overdue a team of very experienced professionals who kept ensuring we were warm enough; it gets incredibly unprepossessed – hand and feet warmers are an wool must! Whilst the unprepossessed weather was rather lattermost at times, it was totally worth it, not just for the scenery but moreover seeing how much the dogs enjoyed it. Whilst ‘mushing’, the dogs were so quiet and you could have heard a pin drop, but as soon as we stopped, they became incredibly noisy and were unmistakably so excited to get going again. We moreover had the opportunity to pet and feed them once the tour had finished, which was a lovely way to top off this wonderful experience.
I’d moreover like to mention our private Icefields Parkway tour as flipside highlight. This 5-hour drive, which took us from Banff to Jasper, included some of the most mesmerising scenery I’ve overly seen. We made several stops withal the way to revere the glaciers and soak up the scenery. It was a trappy day with well-spoken undecorous skies and lots of sunshine.
These organised activities were all incredible in their own right but it’s moreover possible to be unprotected completely off baby-sit by a magical moment. For us, this happened when we saw elk roaming in Jasper, having come lanugo from the mountains. Some of them were enormous and it was so surreal to see them wandering through the town.
What other vita did you have?
It’s unquestionably wondrous how much we managed to fit in!
Riding the Banff Gondola to the top of the mountain was certainly an adventure. Once up there, a rencontre awaited us – pursuit a boardwalk which took us wideness the mountain range and up to the summit. We enjoyed a 360 stratum view encompassing Banff, the snow covered peaks and stunning undecorous skies – all I can say is ‘wow’, the views were veritably sensational.
On flipside day, we enjoyed a guided tour of Johnston Pass in Banff. The trip lasted for a couple of hours and involved donning ice cleats and tracing a walkway through the pass to revere wonderful ice falls. Despite the frozen landscapes, you could still hear the sound of the water rushing through the pass under sheets of ice. The walk took us as far as an ice fall with water thundering overdue the large solid icicles, which provided the perfect location to stop and revere the scenery over a cup of hot chocolate and maple cookie – delicious!
A very variegated type of venture awaited us at the Jasper Lodge, where we took part in an astronomical event. This involved looking through super powerful telescopes at the various stars and planets, which was pretty awe-inspiring. Jasper National Park is the second largest Dark Sky Preserve in the world, so the perfect place to indulge in a little stargazing.
Alberta is well known for stuff home to a diverse range of wildlife. Did you spot any wildlife on your trip?
We saw plenty of incredible wildlife, including coyote, unrobed eagles, and a moose with her young calf.
One particularly memorable moment was when we spotted a winter fox on a thick snow-filled lane. We decided to follow it, keeping our loftiness of course, and staying very quiet. To our surprise, the fox was in hunting mode and we were worldly-wise to witness (and capture) this trappy creature leaping into the air and pouncing into the snow to pull out its prey – some sort of rodent. It was wondrous – I felt like David Attenborough!
What were the locals like?
The locals were all so lovely and helpful. On one occasion, we were standing at a bus stop in Banff waiting for the bus to take us to Lake Louise. There was a bus near to where we were standing but we didn’t realise that it was ours until a local came and told us – whoops! Thank goodness for her help.
We moreover felt very unscratched all the time, which isn’t unchangingly the specimen when you’re travelling and out of your repletion zone. We had some lovely post-dinner evening strolls in Banff and Jasper and, although it was incredibly quiet in the streets, the restaurants were buzzing. Having said that, it was never crowded – the winter season is definitely the right time to go and enjoy this snowy paradise without masses of tourists.
What translating would you requite to someone else looking at visiting Alberta during winter?
If you’re looking for a winter adventure, encompassing wondrous wildlife and incredible scenery, you must visit Alberta in the winter! The first time we visited Alberta was virtually 25 years ago – we had an wondrous time but didn’t spend that long in Jasper and Banff and have been longing to go when overly since. In December 2022, we finally made that dream a reality and it certainly didn’t disappoint. In fact, we would say that this was our weightier holiday EVER, with some incredible experiences that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
We thought heading when to Alberta without 25 years would satisfy our curiosity, but we’ve come yonder with an itch to go when again, as we just had the weightier time!
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Some possibly would oppose that holidaying in Alberta in December is madness given how unprepossessed it is, but don’t let this put you off! As long as you’re clothed thus (with lots of layers) and take tours with those who know and understand the extremities, you will have a truly wonderful time. We cannot wait to go when then someday.
Want to follow in Lisa’s footsteps and have your very own winter venture in Alberta? Be sure to trammels out our Rockies Winter Escape Holiday and get in touch in you’d like to request a quote.
