Snowboarding & Winter Fun In Banff & Calgary, Alberta

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Here is a view of downtown Calgary in the background from Calgary International Airport (YYC).  Calgary had a pretty nice airport.

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The Calgary Tower was built in the 1960s, and during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, the cauldren was placed on top of it.  Our hotel, the Marriott Downtown Calgary, was right next door.

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The views from the Calgary Tower were awesome at night!

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There was a glass floor too so one can look below at the street.  This was similiar to what I saw in Chicago at the Willits (Sears) Tower.

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Here is the observation deck of the Calgary Tower.

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On the way to Lake Louise, we saw a frozen lake that people were walking on.  It was so cool to walk on a lake, but it was slippery!

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I am getting dressed for snowshoeing at Lake Louise.  I got some boots that are rated to -40'F!

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This is a view from the gondola going up to the top of the Lake Louise Ski Area.

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I am pictured at the Lake Louise Ski Area with a view of the frozen Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier behind me as I begin my snowshoe expedition.

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Here are some runs at Lake Louise.

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The mountain scenery in the Banff-Lake Louise area is unlike anything I've seen before!

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This is the Fairmont Hotel at Lake Louise.  They had some awesome ice sculptures!

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I was in Canada during the 2014 Winter Olympic games that were held in Russia so they had lots of olympic theme ice sculptures.

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Here is an ice castle that was built onto the frozen Lake Louise.

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The Victoria Glacier can be seen in this picture above the frozen lake.

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I am ready to try snowboarding for the first time at Norquay in Banff in this picture.

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I am about to go down the training hill....hope I don't break anything :)

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I was given the gold medal for best snowboarder that day at Norquay.  JK.

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This is a picture of the town of Banff.

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The Banff Upper Hot Springs were so cool!  The water temperature was 104'F, and it was freezing outside.  The hot water felt great!

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This is the Fairmont Banff Springs Resort.  It was built in 1888.

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Here is a harpist in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel.

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Apres Snowboarding.....Anirban Roy enjoying a Gibson's & Diet.  Gibsons is a Canadian Rye Whiskey.

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The Fairmont Hotel was like the inside of castles that I saw in Europe.  Imagine this being a meade hall from the Middle Ages.  LOL.

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I am trying to do my "kingly" pose as I sit in the chair that would most likey be reserved for the British Sovereign.  My Queen is no where to be found :)

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This is a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who is also the Queen of Canada.  Canada is a constitutional monarchy that recognizes the British Sovereign as their head of state.

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I am doing some scotch tasting here at the Fairmont.

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I tasted the Glemorangie, Hennessey VSOP, and Alberta Springs whiskey.

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This is Ft. Calgary.  It was the original settlement that became the City of Calgary.

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They are making a traditional Canadian treat here....maple sugar candy on snow.  One waits 30 seconds or so after it is on the snow, and then one scoops it up with the stick.  It was great!

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This is a photo of downtown Calgary taken from the grounds near Ft. Calgary.  There was plenty of snow on the ground.

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We went to an indoor driving range too when we were in Calgary.  They have plenty of those since it is so cold in the winter.

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This is Tim Hortons which is like a cross between a Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.  I loved their donuts!

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In Canada, one gets gas by the litre.  It was weird.  The whole metric system thing just ticks me off.  Why can't the rest of the world adapt to the US standards of measures.  I had to change the settings in the car to get miles and 'F.

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This was my "puddle jumper" from SFO to SMF.  This propeller aircraft took 20 minutes to get from San Francisco to Sacramento.  There was no direct flight from Sacramento to Calgary.


    Fresh off my trip to India, I decided to go to Calgary in Alberta, Canada for President's Day weekend to experience some winter sports in the Banff area.  I heard how beautiful Banff was so my friend and I decided to check it out.  My flight took me from Sacramento to San Francisco first on a EMB-120 propeller aircraft.  The short flight only offered a "water" beverage service.  The flight was so early too.  I took at 5:20 AM.  After arriving in San Francisco, I had a short break before my flight to Calgary.  United used a CRJ-700 aircraft on this route which surprised me since I figured they could at least have used a B-737 instead of the smaller regional jet aircraft.  After arriving in Calgary, I had to wait a little for my friend to arrive.  Calgary Airport was really nice, and they had lots of friendly volunteers in "cowboy attire" walking around and seeing if anyone needed any help.

    After getting our rental car at the airport, we departed for the Marriott hotel in Downtown Calgary.  The rental car was so cheap too for the whole weekend.  We actually made out great too because of the exchange rate with the US Dollar.  After arriving at the beautiful Marriott hotel, we went to the Calgary Tower which next door to the hotel.  The Calgary Tower's observation deck was 525 meters above the ground.  I am not a big fan of the metric system, and I have no clue what that is in feet.  LOL.  Calgary was pretty cold, and I had to do some driving on snowy and icy roads.

    The next morning, we departed for Banff National Park.  On the way, we stopped at a frozen lake, and we were able to walk around on it.  Then, we continued to Lake Louise where we went snowshoeing.  Afterwards, we went to the frozen Lake Louise where people were ice skating and playing hockey.  We got great views of the Victoria Glacier.  Then, we went to Canmore where we were staying.  It was a three day weekend in Alberta also so the restaurants were packed, and we had to settle for a local burger place that was actually really good.

    We went to Norquay Ski Resort on Sunday for lessons.  I took snowboarding lessons, and the conditions were great.  There was light snow in the morning.  After the snowboarding, we had lunch in the town of Banff before going to the Banff Upper Hot Springs.  The Banff Hot Springs were really nice.  The water was around 104'F.  Afterwards, we hung out at the Fairmont Banff Springs Resort.  The place looks like a chateau from Europe, and it was built in 1888.  We had dinner there at the Italian restaurant where I was able to try veal Osso Bucco.  The veal Osso Bucco is really good.  The marrow was so delicious.

    On Monday, we toured the Ft. Calgary attraction before going to an indoor driving range.  Afterwards, we had to head to the airport for our flight back home.  I had an awesome time in Banff, and I think I would definately go back.


Last Updated:  March 6, 2014 9:12 PM
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