Tag Archives: Banff

Canadian Rockies: Climate change

Posted on December 30, 2014 by BarryH

I haven’t been coming to the Canadian Rockies long enough to know what the norm is in terms of weather. So this is a snapshot looking back 5 years. In the UK we have ‘weather’, pressure systems blown in in … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged Banff, Bow Falls, Bow River, Breugel, Canada, canadian rockies, climate change, frozen river, ice, ice hockey, LS Lowry, Spray River, winter | 2 Comments

Canadian Rockies: cold fingers and icebows

Posted on February 2, 2014 by BarryH

Usually I ski 3 days and then have a day off to let my legs have a rest. On ‘rest’ days I usually go walking which is more my métier. However, during the last week I skied 5 consecutive days. … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Landscape, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Banff, banff canada, canadian rockies, cold hands, icebow, skiing, snow sculpture | 2 Comments

Canadian Rockies: a walk along the Bow River at Banff

Posted on January 25, 2014 by BarryH

Thursday was another day off skiing. I don’t have the stamina or the lift pass to ski every day. I took my skis in for a service – sharpen the edges and wax – and set out to follow a … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Banff, banff canada, Banff Hot Springs, Banff National Park, Bow Falls, Bow River, Canada, Cascade Mountain, Cave and Basin, Mount Edith, Mount Rundle | 2 Comments

Canadian Rockies: to the top of Tunnel Mountain

Posted on January 20, 2014 by BarryH

Tunnel Mountain used to be called ‘Sleeping Buffalo’ by the indigenous Nakoda people because from certain directions it looks like ………. a sleeping buffalo. Knew a thing or two about naming places did the original inhabitants of North America. Now … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Landscape, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Banff, Canadian Pacific Railway, Cascade Mountain, First Nation, Mount Rundle, Nakoda People, Sleeping Buffalo, snow, Tunnel Mountain | 3 Comments

Independence, risk and narrow escapes.

Posted on November 7, 2013 by BarryH

I was brought up in an area of Salford near Manchester described in a book by Robert Roberts called ‘The Classic Slum’, an appellation coined for it in the mid 19th Century by Friedrich Engels who had interests in cotton … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Mountains, Reflections, Winter | Tagged Banff, canadian rockies, Classic Slum, Derbyshire Peak District, Friedrich Engels, hiking, narrow escapes, Peak District, potential dangers, providence of God, risk, risk assessment, Robert Roberts, snow, Sundance Canyon, teenager, trekking, walking | Leave a comment

Whistler in brief

Posted on February 11, 2013 by BarryH

Whistler is very different from Banff in many respects. It has a resident population of 10,500 compared with Banff’s 7,500 yet styles itself a village and nurtures that image. Banff retains the character of a ‘frontier’ town, a place which … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Banff, Brew Pub, First Nation, lights, Olympic Square, ski runs, skiing, street art, The Stroll, Whistler | 1 Comment

Survival: skiing, snowboarding and ice hockey

Posted on January 26, 2013 by BarryH

A small part of the church service which I went to in the Banff Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning was to exchange with the person next to or close to you something which you regarded as a blessing during the … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Grumpy Old Men, Mountains, Reflections, Winter | Tagged Alpine Rules, Banff, ice hockey, Lake Louise, Presbyterian Church Banff, skiing, snowboarding, Sunshine Village | Leave a comment

Rockies Rambling around Banff

Posted on January 21, 2013 by BarryH

Though the sight of the deer carcass on the frozen river was a sobering reminder that the Canadian Rockies are not just picturesque and benign but are nature in the raw (the previous blog post), Thursday’s rambling along the Bow … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Banff, Banff National Park, Bow Falls, Bow River, Cascade Mountain, Fairholme Range, Mount Rundle, river ice, Spray River, sulphur mountain, Tunnel Mountain | Leave a comment

Confessions of an inadequate skier

Posted on January 18, 2013 by BarryH

And so to the skiing. Up at the Crack of Doom on Monday morning (05.30) in order to make an 06.30 start for the 2 hour journey from Calgary on the Trans Canada Highway westward past Banff and then to … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Health and humour, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Banff, Lake Louise, Lookout Mountain, skiing, Sunshine Village | Leave a comment

Bah Humbug!: Christmas and beyond

Posted on December 4, 2012 by BarryH

I regret that I don’t and never have, enjoyed Christmas. Required jollity is not my thing. Nor is the hyperventilating commercialisation which tries to drag behind it a vague connexion with the birth of Christ which the church does its … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Grumpy Old Men, Winter | Tagged Bah humbug, Banff, banff canada, Bow River, Canada, canadian rockies, Christmas, Grotto Canyon, Lake Louise, sun dog | 3 Comments