Another cross country ski trail that is almost out the front door of my home away from home is the Tramline Trail that leads to the Moraine Lake Road Trail that leads to the Fairview Trail. Combining these three trails, today I skied one big counterclockwise loop. This is the trailhead kiosk at the far end of the Lake Louise Parking Lot.
just need to clip in then off I go sailing down the Tramline
view as I skied down the groomed Tramline Trail
eventually the trail leads into the trees
While I was still in the open area, I did an about turn to capture this photo as I would not be coming back this way. Doing an about turn needed to be done gingerly with these long skis and a narrow area.
The Tramline crosses over the Moraine Lake Road Trail and carries on down to the village. Instead, I turned right to ski up the Moraine Lake Road. The track was groomed yesterday which made for perfect conditions.
Skiing up this trail, the sun hits the slope on the right and causes sloughing. Much of the right side looked like this. So, imagine this, multiply this by hundreds of thousands of times on a gigantic slope, and it would be an avalanche.
view of the Lake Louise Ski Hill while skiing along Moraine Lake Road
I reached the turnoff for the Fairview Trail. It was time for a little rest and to delayer as the time came for some steeper uphill sections where I would need to herring bone and that takes work. This was also the trail I was most excited for as it passes through a few meadows.
view along Fairview Trail
a selfie with my small camera
(my good camera fell off the coffee table and no longer works)
This tree caught my eye for obvious reasons! Are all those hearts created by Mother Nature or did someone have a hand in the design. I was not able to get really close, I did not want my ski to sink in a tree well. I may need to do some googling to find out what is going on!
views along the way
I skied back and forth through the meadow, it was so peaceful and beautiful, I did not want it to end. Each time I did an about turn, I looked and listened to be sure no one would quickly come upon me while in mid turn. After feeling fulfilled from my time in the meadow, I continued along the few short downhill sections back to the trailhead kiosk at Tramline.
All that was left to do was clip out of my skis and walk across that road to my vehicle.
What a beautiful place to ski! I'm seriously thinking of traveling to Banff and skiing the resorts around there next winter. And maybe arrange a tour to Lake Louise while I'm there.
ReplyDeletePeople come from all over the world to downhill ski at Sunshine and also at Lake Louise. When I used to downhill ski, I skied at Lake Louise and loved it. I have not skied at Sunshine but I have done snowshoe tours with friends and also with a guide around Sunshine Meadows on top of the Sunshine ski hill. There are numerous tours out of Banff to the Lake Louise area and up along the Icefields Parkway. The Icefields Parkway is spectacular to see during the winter months. Keep me posted if you head up this way next winter.
DeleteWhat a great day of skiing.
ReplyDeleteThis loop is my favourite! It takes me much longer than others to complete it as I linger long in areas to take in the beauty.
DeleteS E N S AT I O N A L ! So glad winter finally arrived in all its wonder and beauty!
ReplyDeleteThe mountains were so desperate for snow and could still use a lot more.
DeleteYou truly have a winter wonderland at your doorstep. Thanks for sharing your outings with us. The tree with hearts is a real curiosity ... hope you'll let us know what you discover. Lastly, your good camera fell off the coffee table ... is it beyond repair? ... if so, will you replace it? Happy week ahead to you! John
ReplyDeleteMy new camera arrives today! After investigating having my old one repaired, it made more sense to get a new one which happens to be the same as my old one and was on sale!
DeleteThat is great news. By the way, one of the things I admire about your blog is the way you reply to comments especially to answer questions. A couple of years ago I tried to reply to comments but found it to be so time consuming. I decided to let it go, unless someone asks a specific question. Even though I don't reply to most comments, I do appreciate those of you who do. Thanks!
DeleteWhen I see how many comments bloggers like you receive, I too would find replying to them all to be time consuming.
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