Avalanche Awareness Days are Here! Check Out an Event at a Canadian Rockies Location Near You

It's winter and once again the Canadian Rockies are having a bad avalanche season that the Canadian Avalanche Centre thinks may get worse. As I write, the avalanche forecast for Kananaskis tomorrow is high above treeline, considerable at treeline and moderate below. I was going to lead a snowshoeing trip up Black Prince Outlier in Kananaskis, but decided to move the trip to the safer and relatively flatter Chester Lake.

You can never learn enough about avalanche safety, and it's never too earlier to teach your kids. Fortunately, Avalanche Awareness Days are coming to a number of Canadian Rockies locations. Each event has different activities, ranging from shovelling races and avalanche terrain talks to demonstrations of dog rescue teams doing their things.

For more information, go to the events section of the Canadian Avalanche Centre website.

Avalanche Awareness Days Dates

Banff--January 18-19, 2014
Kananaskis/Burstall Pass--January 19, 2014
Nakiska Ski Resort--January 18, 2014
Lake Louise Visitor Centre--January 16, 2014
Lake Louise Ski Resort--January 18-19, 2014

For more avalanche education information, read these posts:

Kids Outdoor Skills: Age-Appropriate Avalanche Safety Education
Kids Outdoor Skills: Avalanche Safety Video for Teens

Tubing with Kids in Banff: Norquay is Just as Good the Second Time

You know you're doing something right when you go to a tube park and your 9-year-old says he wants to walk up instead of taking the magic carpet.

Last year when we went tubing at Lake Louise, walking up wasn't as big a commitment. But Norquay is hands down the tube park with the most vertical in Banff National Park. It's also steeper. That adds up to a good workout, even for an outdoor dad who's used to hauling his butt up mountains.

The reward was worth it, though. Whether you hurtle down one of the seven runs solo or as three tubers holding onto each others' tubes for dear life, you get a pretty wild ride. At the end of each run at least one of us walked away with a face that felt frozen into place by the rush of winter air we'd just blasted through.

After a couple walks up the hill, the magic carpet proved to be a valuable addition to the tube park since the first time we went to Norquay in search of tubing fun a couple years ago. Exercise and active kids are good, and so is just focusing on the fun of an activity without feeling like you have to maximize its fitness value. This was one of those days, and when my 13-year-old asked if we could take the magic carpet I didn't complain. You'd be amazed at how sitting on a tube and letting gravity pull you to the bottom can leave you breathless.

Also in tubing's favor: it costs less than skiing and has zero learning curve. Even for a skiing family like us, sometimes it's nice to leave the skis and boots and poles at home (not the helmets, even though they aren't required) and hit the slopes sans all the stuff.

3 Things to Rember When Your Kids' Sports Come Between Your Family and the Outdoors

There are many benefits to kids playing organized sports. They learn teamwork, discipline and how to operate within the defined framework of rules. They develop their fine and gross motor skills, get active, and build confidence and self-esteem. Organized sports can be a lot of fun, too.

There are also many benefits to taking your kids hiking, snowshoeing, skiing and an endless number of other outdoor activities. They learn self-reliance and reliance on the group. They learn through unstructured experience. They develop their fine and gross motor skills, get active, and build confidence and self-esteem. They also develop a relationship with the outdoors and the environment that connects them to the world around them, and that can ground them in hard times and good. It's fun. I could go on, but you get the idea.

As an outdoor dad and a soccer coach dad to my two amazing sons, I can personally attest to how hard it can be to balance the organized and the outdoors. Organized sports, exactly because they are organized and scheduled, all too easily take priority. Especially when you're the coach. And when one of your sons plays on Saturdays and the other plays on Sundays. A game at 1 p.m. on Saturday and another at 11 a.m. on Sunday makes it difficult to drive an hour or more to the mountains, get in enough hiking or snowshoeing to make it feel worthwhile, and drive home.

At my older son's last indoor soccer practice before Christmas, we had a parents vs kids game (the 12- and 13-year-olds let themselves get tied by a bunch of old men). Afterwards, a few of us dads got talking about how being a soccer parent changes your life. They know I take my boys out to the mountains a lot, and asked how I balance that with practices and games three days a week. I'm not sure I gave them a very good answer at the time, but it got me thinking. How do I balance the outdoors with organized sports? These are the three things I came up with and that I have to consciously remember to remember:

1. The drive is worthwhile

Even a couple hours in the mountains is worth the drive. Just like I can see the pride in my sons' faces after a good game, I can see how at ease and relaxed they are after a couple hours in the mountains. Just as importantly, I can feel how my own batteries are recharged.

2. You don't always have to drive far to get your kids out

I'm willing to drive a little further to get away from the more crowded and popular trails closer to the city. In Kananaskis and Banff, the further you drive, the more snow you find in the winter, as well. But if we've only got a few hours after a game, there are plenty of good trails 30 to 45 minutes away in West Bragg Creek, the Elbow Valley, the Bow Valley and the Kananaskis Valley. My boys and I have had as much fun snowshoeing down a snowless-but-frozen Canyon Creek in Elbow Valley as we have floating on a meter of fluffy powder another hour's drive west in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.

3. Take what you can get, when you can get it

Some days, even that 45-minute drive to West Bragg Creek to snowshoe just isn't possible. But a quick and fun snowshoe or walk up Nose Hill, a five minute drive from my house, is. On those days, I have to remind myself to take what I can get. Calgary is fortunate to have a wealth of large urban nature parks to play in, as well as a river pathway system that provides lots of opportunities to play in nature. Even taking the dog to an off-leash park like Edworthy, with its trails through the aspens and ravines, provides a solid dose of Vitamin N when soccer makes a trip to the mountains impossible.

2013's Top 3 Places to Watch the Larches Turn Gold in the Canadian Rockies

Ah, September in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. When the larches turn golden and the parking at Moraine Lake overflows for kilometers down the road, giving you and your kids the opportunity to get in a good hike before you even reach the trailhead for Larch Valley.

Personally, I'd rather poke my eye with a larch needle than fight the crowds that descend on Larch Valley this time of year. Luckily, there are other great places to see larches turn gold. Some are arguably better for experiencing larches, and all are less crowded. Here are my top 3 larch viewing hikes for families and kids this year.

1. It's all about the larches: Pocaterra Cirque and Ridge in Kananaskis

Although Pocaterra Cirque and Ridge in Kananaskis are gaining in popularity for larch viewing, the trail is nowhere near as crowded as Larch Valley. And because Highway 40 between the winter gates and Highwood Meadows only opened on September 9 after being closed all summer due to flood damage, a lot of people think it's still closed.

The real reason to go to Pocaterra Cirque this fall are the larches, though. In my opinion, they're at least as good as Larch Valley. If your kids are a little older (maybe 12 and up) and your family is fit, you can do the Pocaterra Ridge walk, where

you'll find larches on the north end that are decidedly better than Larch Valley.

Last September when we did Pocaterra Cirque, we even walked past a herd of big horn sheep on the way back to the cars.

For details and my full post about Pocaterra Cirque and how to get there, click here.

2. You want to see golden larches, but the setting is just as important: Tryst Lake

That yellow stuff on the edge of the lake is fallen larch needles.

Note: Since I wrote this post last week, the Tryst Lake area has been closed and reopened due to bear activity. Check it's status in the "Notes" section at the bottom of the Peter Lougheed and Spray Valley Provincial Parks trail report.

A week too late. All the larches have lost their needles.

Tryst Lake isn't known for its larches. It's known for being a beautiful alpine lake in a beautiful alpine setting. Its larches don't rival those of Larch Valley or Pocaterra Cirque, but its lack of people--you may have the trail and lake to yourself--and setting more than make up for any lack of golden needles. As with Pocaterra Cirque, many people think the Smith Dorrien/Spray Trail is still closed due to flood damage, so there may be even fewer people at Tryst Lake, if that's possible. An added bonus is the high likelihood that you'll see one of the area's resident moose at the parking lot or the old road that the trail starts out as.

For details and my full post about Tryst Lake and how to get there, click here.

3. You'd like to see a golden larch, but the rest of the scenery is the main attraction: Burstall Pass

Looking down at Burstall Pass, the unnamed glaciers, alpine meadows, Mt. Sir Douglas...

The landscape of Burstall Pass is amazing, fantastic, sublime. There are also some larch trees mixed in with the other trees.

Nearing the pass. The larches are the lighter green
trees, some starting to turn gold.

So if you're looking for a good September hike and like to see a few larches turning gold, but that's not the first priority, Burstall Pass is a good choice. That's not to say the larches aren't impressive, just not as impressive as Pocaterra Cirque or Tryst Lake. The emphasis of Burstall Pass is definitely on the views of unnamed glaciers, alpine meadows and the surrounding mountains, Snow Peak, Mt. Birdwood, Commonwealth Peak, Mt. Sir Douglas....We hiked up and over the pass on September 14, 2013, on the way to Snow Peak, and the larches were just starting to turn, so the next couple of weekends they should be prime larch viewing time at the pass.

Having said all that, this is a trail for older kids, maybe 10 or 12 and up. If you top short of the top of Burstall Pass, you can see the larches and the rest of the scenery, but it's still around 14 km (roundtrip) and a couple hundred meters of elevation gain.

A lone larch on top of the pass

Starting from the Burstall Pass day use area, follow the trail (it starts as on old logging road before narrowing to a true trail) for about 4 km. At that point you'll come out of the trees and find yourself in an alluvial plain covered with low bushes and braided creeks that you'll have to find your way across. Roughly follow the trail signs, which can be easily seen above the brush thanks to orange reflectors on top. Before re-entering the trees on the other side, make sure you look left to see the Robertson Glacier. Once in the trees, another 3 or so kilometers will take you to the pass. From the parking lot, the top of the pass is an elevation gain of about 450 m.

Distance: About 15 km return
Elevation gain: About 450 meters
Hiking/Exploring Time: 4 to 6 hours
Driving Directions: Trans-Canada west to Highway 40. Follow the 40 south to Kananaskis Lakes Trail and turn right. In a couple of kilometers, turn right again on the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Trail. In 22 kilometers turn left into the Burstall day use area.

Click here to see a driving map.

Larch needles in spring on the Wedge

Kids Hikes in Banff, Kananaskis, Kootenay and Beyond

Kids Hikes in Banff, Kananaskis, Kootenay and Other Areas in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

If you're looking for a good trail to take your kids hiking in Banff National Park, Kananaskis, Kootenay National Park or somewhere else in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, you'll find it here.

Banff National Park

Click here to check trail conditions in Banff National Park.

• Hiking with Kids in Banff: C-Level Cirque, the Whole Trail
• Hiking with Kids in Banff: The old mine building halfway up the C-Level Cirque Trail
• Hiking with Kids in Banff: Consolation Lake
• Hiking with Kids in Banff: Tunnel Mountain 

Kananaskis

Click here to check trail conditions in Kananaskis.

• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Burns Ridge
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Cat Creek
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Corri-Robb Trail
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Fullerton Loop
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Jura Creek  
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Little Lougheed
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Pocaterra Cirque
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Ptarmigan Cirque
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Sparrowhawk Tarns
• Hiking with Kids near Canmore: Stoneworks Canyon
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Tryst Lake 
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: The Vaults of Mt. McGillivray
• Hiking with Kids in Kananaskis: Watridge Lake & Karst Springs

Kootenay National Park

Click here to check trail conditions in Kootenay National Park.

• Hiking with Kids in Kootenay National Park: Stanley Glacier

Hiking with Kids in Banff: Consolation Lakes

One of my fondest memories of my childhood is going to Moraine Lake and climbing on the huge rubble pile at the end of the lake. Back then, it was just an untended rubble pile with no paths. You had to find your own way up, and that was half the fun. Now, an engineered path leads to a viewing platform at the top and if there aren't signs telling you not to climb on the rocks there might as well be.
Click here for more kids hikes in Banff, Kananaskis, Kootenay and other areas of the Canadian Rockies.

Luckily, there are other childhood joys still to be found at the lake that graced the Canadian $20 bill for years. One of these joys is the trail to Consolation Lakes, which starts at the Moraine Lake parking lot and winds around the base of the rubble heap before crossing the rubble field at the base of the Tower of Babel (scrambling to the top is on the to-do list for my kids this year; climbing helmet required) and disappearing into the trees. True, there's often group size restrictions in effect, requiring everyone to hike in minimum groups of four due to the bear activity in the area. And the 6 km return trail is hidden in the trees for most of its length,

obscuring the view of the valley your hiking through. But the reward at the end is all worth it.

Upon exiting the trees, the trail deposits you in boulder field with big grey rocks that kids--and you--can climb over, squeeze under and scramble around for hours. It's one of those treed trails that toddlers can manage (well maintained, minimal elevation gain) and that won't bore older kids before they reach the rocks. For adults that don't like to let their inner, rock climbing kid out, the two Consolation Lakes are set in an amazingly beautiful alpine valley. I'd comment on the lakes, but to be honest I was so busy

playing on the boulders that I don't remember much about the lakes.

Distance: About 6 km return
Roundtrip Time: 3 to 4 hours
Elevation gain: 60 m
Driving Directions: From Calgary, drive west on Highway 1 and take the exit for Lake Louise. Go straight through the four-way stop, drive up the hill and turn left onto Moraine Lake Road. Park in the Moraine Lake parking lot.

Click here to see a driving map.

Hiking with Kids in Banff: C-Level Cirque, the Whole Trail

In the past, I'd led a kid's hike to the abandoned mine building part way up the trail to C-Level Cirque in Banff. The kids had a blast playing around the roofless concrete structure and woods around it, but I'd left feeling like I'd left some business undone. So when the flooding of June 2013 severely limited the hiking options in Kananaskis and Banff, I decided to take the kids back and do the whole trail.

Click here for more kids hikes in Banff, Kananaskis, Kootenay and other areas of the Canadian Rockies.
 
Setting out from the Upper Bankhead parking lot, we arrived at the old building within half an hour. There, we took off our packs, had a snack and explored for another half hour. Maybe it was because the kids had been there before, or because they were three years older (8 and 13), they had fun but the worn concrete shell of a building just didn't seem to hold their interest like it had the first time. So, with nary a complaint, we put our packs back on and followed the trail up.

Like the trail to the building, the trail beyond stayed in the trees the entire way to the cirque although it wasn't quite as steep. We knew we were getting close to the cirque when the trail took a left turn and the trees began to open to reveal glimpses of Lake Minnewanka to the left and Cascade Mountain straight ahead. Then, almost without warning, the trees opened to reveal the cirque itself.

Although not the most scenic or impressive cirque--the bowl carved into the mountain by the

end of a glacier--in the Rockies, C-Level Cirque gives you the definite feeling of having gotten up into alpine. It also had the fixings of a good kid's hike: rocks to scramble on and snow to slide and dig around. More than enough to keep the kids busy for an hour until it was time to start back to the car, which would take us to the post-hike ice cream cone in town.

In some ways, the hike down was the best part of the day. Fifteen minutes after leaving the cirque, we were met by a grouse and her young blocking our way. Or were we blocking it?

Distance: About 8 km return
Roundtrip Time: 3 to 5 hours
Elevation gain: About 450 m
Driving Directions: From Calgary, drive west on Highway 1 and take the exit for the townsite/Lake Minnewanka. Turn right towards Lake Minnewanka and drive for 3.5 km to the Upper Bankhead picnic area on the left. The trail starts at the far end of the parking lot near the picnic tables and garbage bins. The road to Upper Bankhead is closed from November 15 to April 15 to give wildlife a breather.

Click here to see a driving map.

Hiking with Kids in Kootenay National Park: Stanley Glacier

Stanley Glacier is one of those trails I've wanted to hike for a while, but that never made it far enough up the list to actually do it. But after I realized that my two sons (then 6 and 11) were more than ready for a bigger challenge, it was a natural pick for a kid's hike.

Click here for more kids hikes in Banff, Kananaskis, Kootenay and other areas of the Canadian Rockies.
 
A few kilometers west of the Alberta/British Columbia and Banff/Kootenay border on Highway 93, the trail starts uphill almost immediately. You cross a small bridge and suddenly you're switch-backing through a forest in the process of regeneration after forest fires in 1968 and 2003. Depending on your mood, the scene can seem surreal: At your feet the forest floor is lush, green and flowing; above the ground, charred tree trunks sway in the breeze.

After initially quickly gaining elevation, in three quarters of an hour (at kid speed) or so the trail

starts to ease and you find yourself at the mouth of a valley sided with sheer rock on either side. This gradually narrows as the plants covering the ground and the trees thin until you find yourself above the treeline. Shortly after passing the last tree, you're greeted by a sign announcing that you've reached the end of the trail. Although the option exists to continue hiking further and see the glacier close up, we decided to stop, have lunch and explore. Although the kids would have been game to keep going, the puppy we'd brought along was pooped. Any further and she'd have had to ride along in a pack. As it was, we thought we'd lost her until we found her sleeping under one (see photo below).
 
Distance: About 8.5 km return
Roundtrip Time: 3 to 5 hours
Elevation gain: About 400 m
Driving Directions: Take the Trans-Canada west from Calgary to the turn off for Highway 93 to Radium. Head towards Radium for about 12.8 km and turn into the Stanley Glacier parking area.  Click here to see a driving map.

Flooding in Banff and Kananaskis: Where to find up-to-date information on road and trail conditions

The floods that hit Canmore, Banff, Kananaskis, Waterton and other areas of the Canadian Rockies will be felt by the outdoor community for the rest of the summer, and probably well beyond. With all the misinformation flying around the Internet--and credible up-to-date information often difficult to find--I thought I'd put together a list of links where you can find the trail and road condition information you need to make decisions about getting out to the mountains.

General Mountain Conditions

• Highway conditions--http://511.alberta.ca/ab/en.html
• ACMG Mountain condition reports--http://acmg.ca/mcr/archives.asp & http://acmgmountainconditionsreport.blogspot.ca/
• Reports on conditions throughout the mountains as reported by ACMG guides.

Banff National Park

The Banff townsite is open. Check the links below for the latest information on how to get there and what you can do once you're there.

• Comprehensive flood-specific information including road and trail closures--http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/ne/neuf-news.aspx
• Trail conditions--http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/tcond/cond_e.asp?oPark=100092

Canmore

If there's a central page for flood related information, I couldn't find it on the Town of Canmore website. You'll have to click around to find specific information, but it's there:

• http://www.canmore.ca/
• Canmore attractions status updates from Tourism Canmore--http://www.tourismcanmore.com/explore/insiders-guide/canmore-attractions-status-updates

Jasper National Park

• Comprehensive information on flood-related, seasonal and other closures--http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/jasper/ne/urgence-emergency.aspx
• Jasper Trail conditions--http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/tcond/cond_e.asp?oPark=100244

Kananaskis Road and Trail Conditions

• Comprehensive flood-specific information including road and trail closures--http://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparksca/advisories-public-safety/advisories/southern-alberta-flooding-situation.aspx
• This page also contains information on other provincial parks.

• Kananaskis Trail conditions--http://www.albertaparks.ca/kananaskis-country/advisories-public-safety/trail-reports.aspx
• Map of road and area closures--http://www.albertaparks.ca/kananaskis-country/advisories-public-safety/kananaskis-closed-areas-%28including-highways%29.aspx

Kootenay National Park

Kootenay isn't reporting any damage or closures from the flooding.

• Kootenay Trail conditions--http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/tcond/cond_e.asp?oPark=100253

Waterton Lakes National Park

Waterton had some flooding damage and road closures, but remained open and accessible.

• Information on road and trail closures--http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/scond/Rec_Rep_e.asp?opark=100429
• Waterton Trail Conditions--http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/tcond/cond_e.asp?oPark=100429

Yoho National Park

Yoho wasn't affected by the flooding.

• Yoho Trail conditions--http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/tcond/cond_e.asp?oPark=100438

Hiking with Kids in Banff: C-Level Cirque's old mine building is a good bet for an early season kids hike in Banff

Due to its relatively low altitude, the lower section of the trail to C-Level Cirque is often free of snow before most other trails in Banff. While most kids will be able to make the hike all the way to C-Level Cirque when the entire trail is clear, the abandoned mine building at the midway mark makes a good early season kids hike.

Click here for more kids hikes in Banff, Kananaskis, Kootenay and other areas of the Canadian Rockies. 

Inside the building

Starting at the Upper Bankhead picnic area, we headed directly up the well maintained trail, visions of Scooby-Doo and Shaggy exploring an abandoned mine dancing through the kids heads. Three-quarters of an hour later we were there. Normally this would only take half an hour or so, but the trail has some steep sections so we took plenty of short breaks. Another factor is that the trail to the old mine building can be a little tedious for kids. Because it never leaves the trees, it lacks the adventure of rockier, more open trails that naturally engage kids.

But once we reached the old building, the kids were more than engaged. There's nothing like an old abandoned building to grab a kid's imagination. While the adults settled in for lunch or enjoyed the view from a break in the trees where the mine had dumped slag, the kids ran in and around the remains of the building, created their own games and got themselves covered in coal dust. The building is left over from the Bankhead mine that supplied the CPR and town with coal from 1903 to 1923, and bits of coal can still be found strewn throughout the

area. There are also open mine shafts nearby that are fenced off, but warrant a word of warning to kids to stay clear.

After giving the kids an hour to play, we were lured further up the trail by the sound of spring avalanches booming down Cascade Mountain. Unfortunately, as the trail gained elevation we encountered enough snow to make it impassible for little legs. No matter. The old building had been the high point for the kids, and they were ready to head down. I'd hoped to stop at Lower

The view of Lake Minnewanka

Bankhead to check out the somewhat better maintained ghost town where the miners had lived, but it was not to be. Just as we adults had been lured further by the sound of avalanches, the kids were being pulled by the far stronger force of the post-hike ice cream bribe I'd promised them.

Distance: About 4 km return
Roundtrip Time: 2 to 4 hours
Elevation gain: About 125 m
Driving Directions: From Calgary, drive west on Highway 1 and take the exit for the townsite/Lake Minnewanka. Turn right

Heading back to the cars

towards Lake Minnewanka and drive for 3.5 km to the Upper Bankhead picnic area on the left. The trail starts at the far end of the parking lot near the picnic tables and garbage bins. The road to Upper Bankhead is closed from November 15 to April 15 to give wildlife a breather.

Click here to see a driving map.

Hiking with Kids in Banff: Climb Tunnel Mountain and Still Have Time to Go for Ice Cream

It doesn't matter how old you are, there's nothing like the view from the top of a mountain that you reached by putting one foot in front of the other.

Click here for more kids hikes in Banff, Kananaskis, Kootenay and other areas of the Canadian Rockies. 

The start of the trail

This year I'm going to introduce my 8- and 13-year-old boys to scrambling, but in the past I've avoided trails with the potential for rockfall. A 5-, 6- or even 7-year-old will be doing good if he realizes he sent a rock rolling down at the hikers below him, never mind remembering to yell "Rock!" to warn them. And at that age, they'll be knocking down a lot of rocks.

So between rockfall hazards and the significant elevation gain required to summit most mountains, the number of peaks accessible to my kids has been limited. One that was perfect for my then 6-year-old youngest son was Banff's Tunnel Mountain. Located directly behind the Town of Banff, its 2.5 km trail switchbacks and winds 250 m up to the summit. Actually, it's more of a flat top than a summit, but then Tunnel Mountain isn't officially a "mountain". Don't tell your kids, and they'll never know. They'll think they climbed an actual mountain. Take them for ice cream after, and they'll be asking to climb it again.

The trail switchbacks and winds up the mountain

From the parking lot on St. Julien Road, our crew of everything from a 4-year-old to a 12-year-old and their parents headed up the short steep section of trail that
leads up to...Tunnel Mountain Drive. After crossing the road the climb really began, as did the moans of "I'm too tired" and "Can we go back to the car?" This is where two of the benefits of leading kids' hikes for my outdoor club came in handy. First, I was leading the hike so we couldn't go back. Second, within minutes Michael went from bored to running up the mountain with another kid. When they weren't racing each other to see who could get to the top first, they were scrambling up slabs on the side of the trail.

Then, suddenly, we were at the top, looking out over the town and the Bow Valley beyond. When I congratulated Mack and Michael on climbing their first mountain, all I got was "Really?" As the realization of what I said sank in, the smiles on their faces grew. They were on the top of something called Tunnel Mountain. They'd climbed a mountain.

The hike up took just over an hour. The hike down took half that. As we neared the parking lot, we noticed small clearings with some of Banff's resident elk grazing in them. I'd say that was the perfect way to end such a great hike, but my kids would probably disagree. In case I'd forgotten, they reminded me that they only climbed the mountain because I'd promised them ice cream after.

Distance: About 5 km return
Elevation gain: About 250 meters
Hiking/Exploring Time: 1.5 to 4 hours
Driving Directions: Drive west on Highway 1 and take one of the turn-offs for the Town of Banff. Find your way to Banff Avenue. Turn east onto Wolf Street. When you reach the T-intersection, turn right onto St. Julien Road, bear left and continue for 0.4 km to the trailhead parking area on the left.

Click here for a driving map

Tubing with Kids at Lake Louise: Spin Yourself Silly at the New Lake Louise Tube Park (with video)

There's something very basic about sliding and spinning down a hill on an inflated rubber tube. It taps into the fun center of your brain regardless of your age. No skill is necessary, the required gear is minimal and anyone with a sense of adventure can do it.

We'd been to the tube park at the Norquay ski hill in Banff and had a blast, so when my 8- and 13-year-old boys had a day off school last week we decided to give the tube park at the Lake Louise ski hill a try.

Walking up was faster than taking the magic carpet

A much larger resort than Norquay, the boys were immediately impressed by Lake Louise's relatively sprawling lodge. The last time I was at Louise I parked at the ski out and snowshoed through the resort to Boulder Pass behind it. Before that, I'd skied the same trail to the historic Skoki Lodge, a backcountry destination that dates back to the 1931. But I haven't been skiing there for years. So I was probably just as impressed by the newer, much larger log complex that now serves as the main lodge. The boys and I all agree that our next ski trip should be to Louise.

After a bit of exploring, we found the ticket office, bought our passes and were off. Upon getting our tubes from the attendant at the base of the tube runs, the first thing we noticed was that the tube run was shorter and not quite as steep as Norquay's. This was confirmed on the run down, which was somewhat slower than what we'd experienced at Norquay. But what the Louise tube park lacked in speed it more than made up for with the noticeable absence of lines. For the first hour we were the only people on tubes. Determined to pack in as many runs as possible, 8-year-old Michael quickly figured out that it was faster to walk up the hill than to take the magic carpet.

What the hill lacked in speed was also made up for by the spins. At Norquay, the attendants only let us go down in ones and twos. At Louise, we went down in chains of three, experimenting with new combinations to see which produced the best spin. By the time the next group of tubers joined us, we'd settled on Michael (the lightest) on one end, me (the heaviest) on the other, and Mack in the middle. This was definitely the optimum configuration, sending us down the track in wide, swooping arcs that bounced us off the sides and accelerated when I was on the outside of the spin.

How many runs we tubed I have no idea, but by the time we left I'd gotten my exercise for the day. Pulling a tube up a hill over and over again is a great workout. I also filled my spin quota. You know you're getting old when the even the thought of one more twirling run makes you queasy. But for the boys, the extreme spinning was at least as good as the higher speeds at Norquay. Walking back to the lodge at the end of the day, Michael announced, "I'll probably get a job here when I'm older. It looks like those guys were having a lot fun spinning us."

For more information on tubing in Banff, check out this post:

Tubing with Kids at Mt. Norquay: You don't have to ski to have fun at this ski hill

Two satisfied tubers

Tubing with Kids at Mt. Norquay: You don't have to ski to have fun at this ski hill

Do you miss the good old days when all you needed to have fun was an old inner tube and a snowy hill? Tired of all the newfangled toboggans and sleds that cost a small fortune?

Snow tubing parks are popping up at ski hills everywhere. True, they use tubes specially manufactured for the purpose instead of recycled tire tubes, but they slide just as well. An added bonus is they usually have a rope tow of some kind to haul the tubes back up the hill, so you don't have to pull them yourselves. And the runs are separated from the people walking up, so you don't have to worry about your kids being bowled over by an out-of-control Krazy Karpeter.

So we decided to leave the skis at home and give the tube park at Mt. Norquay a try. Located at the bottom of the double-black diamond North American run, the tube park didn't look too daunting from the bottom. But after climbing up to the top and looking down, the intimidation factor set in. The North American is so named because it was once the steepest ski run in North America. When you're standing on it, you can reach out and touch the hill. Back in the day, before Norquay expanded and it consisted of a few black diamond runs (there was no such thing as double black yet; yes, I'm that old) and a couple greens, I got my 35,000er pin by completing 27 runs in one day down its quad killing moguls. Now, standing at its least steep section, I could feel the burn in my thighs and ache in my knees return. There was no mistaking the feeling: I was more than a little apprehensive at the thought of speeding down the carefully groomed run in an inflatable device. I hadn't felt that way at a ski hill in years, and it was exhilarating.

Our youngest son Michael (8) shared my apprehension, so on the first run we went together, holding onto each others' tubes until we came to a stop on the burlap covered run-out on the bottom. After experiencing the speed rush of that first run, he was ready, willing and able to go solo. Mack (12) needed no parental guidance. He was ready to go it alone right from the start and even asked the attendant to give him a spin. I was also ready to brave the hill on my own, and we spent the rest of our two-hour pass alternating between solo and tandem runs. On your own, the speed and cold air racing past your face was a blast. But tandem, the weight difference between the boys and myself turned a little nudge from the attendant into a wild, lopsided spin that bounced us off the sides of the runs. To say it was fun would be an understatement.

At the end of two hours, my quads were indeed a little tired from trudging up the hill over and over. The boys had gotten a good workout too, something I hadn't expected when we set off for our tubing adventure. But it makes sense. Walking up a hill, whether you're hauling your own tube or it's being pulled up for you, is great exercise. And how else could you convince kids to do a hill workout?

Taking a well-earned rest on a snow sofa at the end of the day.