So it has been snowing in Banff...

This is just the snow that fell while we were up the mountain boarding! Lovin' it!

Tony Romas - Banff

So, today was our 7 year anniversary. Time flies when you're havin' fun! We went out to Tony Roma's for dinner.

Sean had the baby back ribs and 8oz Top Sirloin Combo

Shannon had the Grilled Chicken Spinach Stack

And for dessert, we topped it off with a Chocolate Brownie Sundae.
Yum!

Tubby Dog - Calgary

Still not too sure about these hotdogs, but here are the photos anyway...

Sean with the A-Bomb - cheese, bacon, mayo, mustard, ketchup and potato chips.

Franco Manca - Brixton

Just finally worked out how to download photos off my phone (thanks to Sean), so here is a photo of one of the best pizzas in the UK...yummmmmmmm!

It is from Franco Manca, in the Brixton Markets. If you haven't been there yet, you must!
The pizza is made from slow rising sourdough and is baked in a wood burning oven. Had this one on one of my days off before we headed off to Canada.
Get involved people!

Johnson Canyon

We took a day off from snowboarding to visit some of the sites surrounding Banff. We drove to Johnson Canyon, approx. 25km from Banff to check out the Upper and Lower Falls.

There is a cantilever catwalk to the falls, which was in pretty good condition. We didn't need snowshoes or ice cleats.

There are many smalls falls along that way that in themselves were pretty impressive.

The Lower Falls are a 1.1km hike, with an elevation gain of 30m.


The Upper Falls were 2.7km from the carpark, with an elevation gain of 120m.

You can really appreciate how big they are once Sean is in the photo too.


There were a couple of guys Ice Climbing when we got to the Upper Falls, so we had a chat with them and stayed around for a bit watching.

Panorama!

Visitors!

So, it is that time of year again, January. Also known as the time of year we see Devin. This year he and his sister came to visit us at our home in Banff. We picked them up from Calgary on New Years Eve and they stayed with us until the 5th Jan.

Our home in Banff, the Blue Mountain Lodge B&B.

Out for dinner at the Banff Brewing Company, where Bison Burgers we on the menu, along with a selection of locally brewed beers. We also went to the Elk and Oarsman for the legendary $8 steak sandwiches and Elk nachos, yum!

During their stay they visited Sunshine, Kicking Horse and Lake Louise for boarding. See Devin above in the Kicking Horse Powder!

Lake Lousie Ice Sculpture

Us with Devin at the top of the Top of the World lift, Lake Louise.

Devin also managed to hike to the summit of Cascade Mountain while in Banff. He did the day trip with Pascal, Sebastian and Elena.

Great to have friends come and visit us on our trip, hopefully more to come. Hint Hint.

Panoramas

A few different panoramas we have taken so far on this trip.

View from the Top of the World lift, at Lake Louise Ski Resort

Banff Avenue Bridge

Lake Louise

Kicking Horse

Highway 1 between Banff and Lake Louise

Hike to Egypt Lake Shelter

The Egypt Lake Shelter is located in one of the most popular backcountry areas in Banff National Park. It is located ~13km from the Sunshine Village Ski Resort Carpark. We hired snowshoes and backcountry backpacks and headed out with friends from the Blue Mountain Lodge B&B (Pascal, Sebastian, Elena and Linda).

Conditions weren't ideal, with fairly heavy snow falling all day. The aim was to hike up to Healy Pass and then snowboard the 3km down to the shelter, spend the night and then return to Banff the following day.

The hike was tough with our packs and boards on our back. When we got up out of the forest, the conditions had worsened and we were sinking up to our waist in snow, even with snowshoes on! Over 5cm of snow had fallen during the day and it was decided unsafe to continue to the pass. We turned back and ended up walking back the final part of the trail in the dark. Finally arriving back at Sunshine at 6pm, exhausted, but very glad to have made it back safe.

It was quite the adventure.

Sebastian and Elena, at the start of the day.
Still smiling after 10km uphill in the snow.

Exhausting work.

The snowshoes took a bit of getting used to.

Road Tripping Play Lists - BC- British Columbia

The second playlist, for British Columbia, is as follows:

1. Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
2. Bombtrack - Rage Against the Machine
3. Bad - Michael Jackson
4. B.C. People - Xavier Rudd
5. Baby Blue - Little Birdy
6. Baby Please Don't Go - Van Morrison
7. Bat Out of Hell - Meatloaf
8. Big Me - Foo Fighters
9. Better Be Home Soon - Crowded House
10. Beverly Hills - Weezer
11. Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
12. Burning Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
13. Buy Me a Pony - Spiderbait
14. By The Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers
15. C'mon Aussie C'mon - Shannon Noll
16. Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles
17. Catch My Disease - Ben Lee
18. Celebrity Skin - Hole
19. Choirgirl - Cold Chisel
20. Cherry Pie - Warrant
21. Chop Suey - System of a Down
22. Come As You Are - Nirvana
23. Come Bite The Apple - Mother Love Bone
24. Common People - Pulp
25. Corduroy - Pearl Jam
26. Crazy Train - The Waifs
27. Criminal - Fiona Apple
28. Crystal - New Order
29. Creep - Radiohead
30. Come Out And Play - Offspring

The Drop - The Canyons Park City - Jan 2010

It has taken almost a year to post this. I've finally worked out youtube settings from sony vegas, but the wait has been worth it. Featuring Jase (BJ), Simon, Maja, Devin, Christine and Sean (vocals / camera work only). It was a black diamond that was icy and is much steeper than it looks but is very entertaining. Enjoy!

Lake Louise Ski Area & Mountain Resort

Lake Louise Ski Area & Mountain Resort, Lake Louise AB

The Rockies' Biggest, Canada's Best - One of North America's biggest resorts!
VERTICAL: 991 metres (3,250 feet)
SKIABLE ACREAGE: 4,200 acres
* Top Elevation: 2,637 metres (8,650 feet)
* Longest Run 8km
* 9 Lifts

On the road to Lake Lousie, and early start, the moon was still up. About 55kms from Banff.

Sean at the top of the Grizzly Express Gondola.

Looking from Easy Street to the Base Area, with the Rockies in the background.

The opposite view to that above, looking back up Easy Street.

Top of the Top of the World 6 pack Express Lift.

Sunshine Village Ski & Snowboard Resort

Sunshine Village Ski & Snowboard Resort, Banff AB

VERTICAL: 1,070 metres (3,514 feet)
SKIABLE ACREAGE: 3,358 acres
ELEVATION:
* Top Elevation: 2,730 metres (8,954 feet)
* Bottom Elevation: 1,658 metres (5,440 feet)
* 12 Lifts
*Annual Snowfall: Up to 9m (30 feet)

Gondola to Goats Eye and Sunshine Village centre. It takes about 20mins from the carpark to the Village centre. Sean has raced the Gondola (Shannon) via the ski out and it is much faster to ski out.

Top of Wawa looking towards Goats Eye mountain.

View of the Rockies from the top of Continental Divide express quad.

Shannon on Strawberry Express quad with Mount Standish in the background.

Christmas Day!

Our first day of power at Sunshine, over the last 3 days we got 30cm. It was so nice and fluffy today, pity its a weekend and we had to share it.

White Christmas in Canada

We spend Christmas morning up at Sunshine snowboarding, then headed 'home' to the Blue Mountain Lodge for Christmas Dinner and (a few) beers.