106 Banff

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Canada: Alberta

Thursday 17 November 2005

Climbed all the way to the top, erm...

Today we had planned to do a walk up Sulphur Mountain from where you can get great views down across Banff and the surrounding valleys. The trail starts just outside of town at the car park for the hot springs and the gondola that also goes up to the top of the mountain. We have had conflicting information from Parks Canada. The person we spoke to yesterday said this trail was closed. When we went in this morning to get more information (yesterday’s person was not too helpful) we were told it was open.

When we got there, there was a gate shut across the foot of the path, to me a sign the trail was closed. Stef disagreed so I tried to call to confirm. Whilst I was phoning Stef was watching the light and he concluded that we needed to get to the top quickly to get good views as today is a brilliantly clear day. The walk is only 5.5km but has an elevation gain of 655m so we knew it would be a couple of hours to the top. To catch the light we opted for the gondola instead.

We slightly choked at the cost ($45 for two) but paid our fees and went up. On the way we both decided we were glad we had not walked. Beneath us, the path switched backwards and forwards across the mountain gently, or so it seemed, climbing upwards. It would have been a beautiful walk through the woods but as that side of the mountain was in shade I reckon we would have frozen before we got to the top, the temperature today was still sub zero.

At the top there is a walking trail that you can follow across to a small weather observatory that was built by the Federal Government. A horse trail to the top was built in 1902 and 1903 and the observatory, which is a small stone hut, was built from local stone carried up by pack mule. The observatory is a snug and cosy looking refuge. Very basic it has bunk beds, a small stove, a chair and that is about it.

A local man, Norman Sanson was instrumental in ensuring the observatory was built on Sulphur Mountain and he was then engaged to take the required meteorological readings. For his job he had to climb to the top every two weeks but he usually went more frequently. Often alone he would sometimes get stranded at the top when the weather closed in. On 1 July 1931 he made his one thousandth trip to the summit and was joined by friends for a celebratory breakfast at the top. The observatory has since been used for other research projects including a cosmic ray monitoring station.

The views from the top were spectacular. We could see down to Banff, a small picturesque village that reminded both of us of ski towns we have seen in Europe. Lake Minnewanka sparkled in the distance, a huge body of water that is about forty kilometres away. We also had fabulous views of all the surrounding mountains and peaks and picked out a few for our friend Mark who is a keen winter climber.

Back at the base of the mountain we headed for a soak in the hot springs. The springs were well known to the local Native people as a sacred place where illnesses could be cured and health maintained. The springs were discovered by workers building the Canadian Pacific Railway and their discovery led to the creation of Banff National Park, Canada’s first. European visitors first came in 1884 and a bath house was built in 1886. This house, and its replacement, both burned down. The current building dates back to 1932.

The baths are outside, a kidney shaped pool about twenty metres long. Today the water was at a very relaxing 40C which meant that even though the outside temperature was sub zero you were still lovely and warm in the water. So warm in fact that after about twenty minutes we both had to move to a shallower section to cool down. It was a great way to relax and just gaze up in wonder at the Rockies surrounding us. On the path leading up from the car park to the bathhouse is an open spring tumbling down into a pool. Here you can see the steam rising off the water and there are strange spongy looking plants growing at the bottom of the pool. There was a distinct smell of sulphur in the air.

We rounded off our day in style with our first ever Korean meal. As we walked into the restaurant a big group of Chinese, Korean or Japanese tourists walked out (there are a lot in town) so we hoped we were in for an authentic meal. Stef had a sort of spicy stew with Kim chi (a type of cabbage), soya and pork. I had barbecued marinated beef which was superb, not just for the food but also for the experience.

In the middle of each table is a hole and in the hole is a gas ring. A big metal plate was brought to the table and heated on the gas. Then my beef turned up and a chef cooked it at the table, leaving it on a low heat to keep warm while I ate. I do not know what it was marinated in but it was really morishly tasty and came with a sort of bean paste which was also delicious. Rice, tea and a plate of pickled vegetables (too much vinegar by far for me) rounded off the meal.

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