Lake Louise January 23, 2024

My hopes were to skate on Lake Louise this morning but after seeing what it looked like yesterday, I had doubts I would be skating here any time soon.  Yesterday, it was covered in snow except for a very small section in the middle.  People were reporting the surface was quite rough with lots of cracks and holes. That recent brutal cold spell took a toll on the conditions. 

Even if I didn’t skate, I still wanted to go out on the ice and capture a photo of the Ice Castle. As I rounded the corner at the head of the lake, I saw the sweeper just finishing up clearing the entire gigantic surface.  He must have started early, it’s the biggest cleared surface ever and the sun wasn’t even up yet. I quickly went back to my vehicle to grab my skates.

Before lacing up, a lady offered to snap my photo at the Ice Castle.

We both laced up and began etching away.  The ice was rough, there were many large cracks and lots of holes and big bumps. There were also smooth sections mostly around the outer edge and along the centre so that’s where I skated.  For the first little while it was interesting to watch the low clouds dance.

Then, I saw a familiar face!  What were the odds that Elladj Balde would be here this morning!  I skated towards him, chatted to him and his wife and another lady.  Just like back in March of 2021, he was kind enough to be in a photo with me. For the second time, I was lucky in my love for skating!

The dark low clouds lifted and the sky turned shades of pink then blue. I continued to skate, time passed, distance covered added up and I was feeling fulfilled.  It was time to get my boots back on and find a place to settle to savour some tea and scenery.

tea time

 view from another bench where I sat for awhile

The flurries started not long after I arrived back at my suite. 

I enjoyed the view from the warmth of inside.

Eventually, I bundled up and sit outside to fill up on more fresh mountain air!