Lake Louise

 4th January

Last night I had a crazy thought. Actually it had been brewing since we had read Australian news reports about the rubbish snow in Whistler. It just took last night for me to action the thought. I think I was inspired by the idea that Banff and Lake Louise had snow and the fear that we may not get to ski in Whistler.

With Steve needing to rest his ankle, today, I thought we would go skiiing in the Lake Louise resort. Given my insistance of us all having ski lessons on arrival in whistler I am not sure where my confidence came from.

After a quick morning skate on Lake Louise, we headed up to the resort. The skating was a little easier this morning - its amazing what a difference being able to see the ice lumps can make. My Skiiing confidence soon left me when standing on my skii's over looking an unknown slope. Of course Joshua threw himself into it. Belle was the first to fall, but with a bit of determination we got her back on her ski's. 

Joshua headed down each slope without any hesitation at all. He was always first at the bottom. Even when he fell, he was quick back on his feet. Isabelle, who had been the least confident about going last night, managed to make it down the mountain using the old pizza turns. 

Gradually, my confidence improved and I was almost back to parallel turns. Although, Joshua will tell you that I was coming down the mountain so slow that I was actually going uphill to go down. I am not sure I was quite that bad, but I wasnt great. 

Just when I thought my performance was peaking we hit a slope that didnt quite look right. I am not even sure what it was about the look of the slope, but my instincts were right. It was icy and horrible. Isabelle was the first to fall. Trying to get to her, I hit a patch of ice and fell hard. Someone helped Isabelle to her feet, but when she fell again not too long afterwards, she packed it in and walked the rest of the slope to Joshua. 

My fall really knocked me and I struggled to even get myself to my feet again. The ground was so hard I couldnt even did my ski's into the ground to use as a tool to stand. It was a kid who was boarding, probably around 3 or 4yrs, who fell right next to me that finally got my butt into gear again. When he fell, his first instinct was to check I was OK. Eventually I made myself to the side and some flat ground to get my ski's back on. I am not going to lie, the thought if the icy slope may have put me into a panic. I was seeing the kids waiting for me below that got me back out there.

I think it took us about 2hrs to make our way down the first run. Isabelle had hurt her knee badly and my confidence had been knocked. Although I had researched the runs, and the easiest paths, the icy ground and 4yr abscence had certainly de-skilled me. We headed back and descided to hang out at the hotel for the rest of the afternoon.

After checking in with Steve, the kids and I thought we would go for a hike along the paths beside Lake Louise. We had the nicest time with the kids exploring off piste and making their own slides and pathways through the forest. There was evidence of little critters somewhere around as well. The snow through the mountain was untouched and still quite soft so lots of little nooks for the kids to plop into.

It continued to snow into the evening so Belle and I took a quick walk out onto the ice after some dinner and games. I was quiet with hardly anyone around. At one point I looked up into the falling snow - with the litghts hitting the snow at the right angle, it was like I was moving through the milky way - it was quite eretheral.

Steve declared that he would probably not stay at the hotel at Lake Louise again, preferring to stay elsewhere in the town. I am not sure I agree - there is something quite magical about the hotel and being so close to the lake and its environment.

The kids are actually knee deep sitting in the snow.

Joshua tried to climb a fallen log and literally fell into the snow 
and got stuck.

I must have snapped this at the exact moment Belle plonked her 
bottom on the ice thone, because the next second she was on the floor.
Lots of warm bottoms on the same thrown have melted a very nice
seated slope that is impossible to stay seated on.

Oops!