tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66302402333865957592024-03-12T18:02:23.898-06:00Gap Year CanadaGap Year Canadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05944256266619520599noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-18179404695063891152014-04-03T12:16:00.001-06:002014-04-03T12:16:10.503-06:00Adventurous RidersGreat to see the Danish lads adventuring into the backcountry (and glad they were safe!)<br />
Eypt Lake is an incredible and exhausting tour, their lines looked incredible.<br />
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A bit more accessible, Delirium Dive at Sunshine Village offers expert terrain with lift access.<br />
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DELIRIUM DIVE AND WILD WEST: THE COUNTRY’S MOST EXTREME OFF-PISTE SKI EXPERIENCES.</h3>
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<br />From the top of the Continental Divide lift, follow the signs to the check-in gate. You will not be able to proceed unless you meet the requirements listed above. Once through the check-in gate, it is a small hike up to the Delirium Dive entrance.</div>
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There are a couple of ways to enter Delirium Dive. Just below the summit, there is a five- to six-metre band of rock that crowns the top of the Dive. Negotiate through the cliff’s small weaknesses or simply drop in. A more moderate approach is to go down the access stairs that negotiate the cliff top to slightly more tame ground.</div>
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Delirium Dive conditions change constantly and there is avalanche danger that may require closure on short notice. </div>
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Check out the video Mads and Alex did of the di<br />
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<b>http://vimeo.com/89576044#at=0</b><br />
<br />Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06945425577597127657noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-77155995053976575142013-11-06T12:22:00.004-07:002013-11-06T12:22:59.923-07:00Cedar early season update!<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I arrived in Banff almost three weeks ago but I already feel like I’ve been here forever! After a late flight and a two-hour bus journey from Calgary, I rocked up to Cedar Chalet and luckily two of the boys were still awake to carry my bags up to my room – which was pretty sweet! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Banff is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We are living on Otter Street which is about a five minute walk into town and really close to all the other Gap Year Canada houses. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After arriving and spending a few days settling in and meeting each other, we started to become tourists in Banff. We went to a programme that made us Ambassadors for Banff and got us a tour of Lake Louise for $5 instead of $55. We drove up the Bow </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Valley Parkway, stopping at various points on the way to look at the view. Banff really is amazing! We have seen a few Elk and lots of deer, the deer especially like chilling in our garden. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When we got to Lake Louise we could really notice the change in temperature and the lake looked really clear and the mountains were amazing. On Friday night we visited Mel’s, which is sort of a local for Sunshine Staff, cheap drinks and free popcorn so you can’t really go wrong. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I started work last Friday as a liftie up at Sunshine Village. It was a pretty cold start and we have mainly just been training and getting to know how the lifts work. Although there is a bit of snow up on the hill, there still isn’t enough and they think that the opening date will be delayed for a week which is a shame as we can’t wait to get out there and ride. Saying that however, today we are getting snow in Banff town for the first time and they are expecting 15cm! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So Thursday was Halloween in Banff. Coming from the UK, where Halloween is typically just dressing up as something scary on a night out, I couldn’t believe the effort people went to in their costumes and decorating their houses! My costume was just a Canadian hockey player, but I put the least amount of effort in and a selection of costumes in our house included Snoopy, Ghostbusters, Ke$ha, a pirate and Angry Birds. Cedar house had some drinks before making our way over to Wolfpack for pres. It was really good, lots of people and booze before we all made our way out at about 11pm. As we were unorganized, none of us had tickets and everywhere was really busy. A group of us went to a club called Auroa before decided it was too packed so took the party back to Cedar house! </span></div>
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The rest of the time we have mostly been watching movies, chilling out and preparing for when we can get out on the hill. We have already met some amazing people from Gap Year, old Gap Year and others from all over the world. Banff really is an amazing place and I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to be spending the next year here! <span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Written by Elle</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Photos by Ed</span></div>
Gap Year Canadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05944256266619520599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-75044068623488635582013-10-10T17:00:00.000-06:002013-10-10T17:00:11.831-06:00Winter 2013-2014 arrivals: Welcome to our 9th season in BanffWe look forward to welcome you to Banff, and Gap Year Canada's 9th season!<br />
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It is always so inspiring to watch how independent everyone becomes throughout the season. <br />
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Whether you are arriving for the season from Calgary, other parts of Canada, or further away in Europe, the UK, Australia or New Zealand...moving to a new town, starting a new job, moving to a new house is all a difficult step. <br />
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For those from out of Canada we will assist you when you arrive with getting your SIN number set up, Alberta Healthcare, and Banking so you are ready for the first day of work with the correct paperwork.<br />
Maps of town will be in all the houses, weekly events in town will be posted on the Facebook group site. We encourage your parents to follow the blog (great tabs down the side to webcams, local weather, or ideas if they are coming to visit), and "like" the Gap Year Canada facebook page as we will<br />
strive to post photos throughout the season of the group at work, play and home as we know often times you can get too busy to keep them in the loop.<br />
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Canadians arriving obviously do not need a work visa, however please note you will need a police check to show your employer on your first day of work. This can be requested at your local police department. It is worthwhile keeping a copy for your file, should you decide to stay on for the summer, a summer employer may request one.<br />
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<u>Alberta Healthcare</u>: if you are from out of Canada, you are eligible for Alberta Healthcare from the day you arrive in Canada, if you are from another province, you can apply after three months. Although everyone requires travel insurance for your Working Holiday Visa, Alberta Healthcare will save you money out of pocket as it covers: Doctors and Hospital coverage if you are injured. You will need to use your own medical coverage for Ambulance, Dental, Prescriptions and Physiotherapy or other services if required.<br />
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Alberta Healthcare applications are in your chalet and the office in Banff will have a list of all Gap Year Canada applicants for other required documents we provide them to prove your residency in Alberta. Take your passport/visa and your application in person to register.<br />
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<u>Social Insurance Numbers: </u>SIN numbers are processed the same day at the Service Canada office in Canmore. Bus schedule and details are posted in your chalet. You need to get to Canmore to have this set up prior to your first day of work<br />
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<u>Banking:</u> Appointments have been set up at the Bank of Montreal (see the facebook w13-14 with the airport transfer schedule with your appointment time) If the appointment does not work (you need your account prior to your first day of work) please email Donna.lavery@bmo.com to reschedule<br />
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<u>Packing/Chalets:</u><br />
For further predeparture information please consult the checklist for further information on packing, your postal address etc. As per the accommodation section, please remember to bring your own pillow, towel, and fitted sheet (single for single occupancy, and double fitted sheet for couples or single upgrade bookings)<br />
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<b>http://www.gapyearcanada.com/forms/Handbook2011web.pdf</b><br />
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<u>Airport transfers</u>: Brewster Airport transfers (Expore the Rockies) or the Banff Airporter have been booked based on your arrival times. After collecting baggage proceed to the check in desk for transfer to your chalet in Banff. You will be emailed your shuttle details and should have your chalet address on that booking, although the driver should have your drop off location on file as well, ensure you are dropped off at the door of your chalet, as no doubt you will have some heavy luggage. Either your housemates, Noel, Nancy or our house manager will meet you at your house to give you keys, and show you around...depending on the arrival times and numbers arriving on the same shuttle.<br />
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More info to come in a group email regarding arrivals to Calgary airport, clearing immigration if you are on a working holiday visa, and what you should have in your file to make that process easy.<br />
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We promise our next posts to be much more interesting, but as parents we do know that your parents may be a bit concerned about some of the fine details. It doesn't matter if you are 18 or 38, they will worry that you arrive one piece, worry if you are sick, worry if you aren't sick but out on the town 7 nights a week, which could lead to worrying that you get don't up for work in the morning to get to work. So, make sure you keep them in the loop, or pass this information on so they can check out life in Banff via the blog or Gap Year Canada facebook page.<br />
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<b>http://officialgapyearcanada.blogspot.ca/</b><br />
<b>https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gap-Year-Canada/7833723978</b><br />
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They are welcome to\ Skype "GapYearCanada", email (info@GapYearCanada) or call us directly on +403 763 7015 should they have any questions, concerns or emergencies come up.<br />
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Cheers!<br />
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Nancy & NoelGap Year Canadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05944256266619520599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-79336370778241692492013-03-12T13:32:00.001-06:002013-03-12T13:32:28.238-06:00Banff in a nutshell<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Living within a fifteen-minute walk of anything in town (big plus for the heavier evenings), and being surrounded by the typical Canadian scenery is not fully appreciated until you’re amongst it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I was a late arrival and moved into Banff towards the end of November, living in the Wolfpack house with some thirteen other people. My first memories of the coming gap year began with drinking cider on a completely empty stomach and meeting a house full of British folk. Coming from Melbourne where a five minute hailstorm was considered snow, snow in Banff was nothing less than amazing.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My first impression after exploring outside is that it was…cold! Canadian winter is nothing like an Australian winter where the occasional 20*C would imply shorts and t-shirt weather. Since arriving I am still yet to experience a positive temperature. However the -20*C days are quickly adapted to, and the holiday heavily focuses on the skiing and snowboarding. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Currently working at Sunshine Village as a lifty, I moved out here with the intention to learn snowboarding for the first time. After the notoriously boring SSV training videos, I was handed my staff pass (season pass for the mountain and also Lake Louise) and sent to work on the Goats Eye lift. Lifty life is arguably one of the best jobs on the mountain; two hour ride breaks each day, being outside, easy going job requirements and working with similarly minded people…Its hard to complain when your guaranteed fresh tracks on the big powder days. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My first white Christmas is another experience that I will remember for a while. Spending my Christmas day snowboarding in bluebird weather after waking up to -31*C in Banff was a polar opposite to what we would see in Melbourne. The traditional turkey dinner was also enjoyed (thanks to Dan). After the Christmas rush came New Years celebrations. Whiskey, twister, house parties, good music and a street party in town with literally thousands of people resulted in me ushering in 2013 waking up on a couch in a giraffe onesie… It’s safe to say New Years Eve is one of bigger nights in Banff! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In a nutshell, Banff is an amazing place to spend the winter and I couldn’t be happier spending my gap year here.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Tom. </span></div>
Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06945425577597127657noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-61554344181960398512012-11-13T19:28:00.000-07:002012-11-13T19:28:00.175-07:00Halloween in Banff<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rFfXNi0oWh8/UKMBUBQjBcI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/i3rHChOrQIs/s1600/387935_10151196961966713_884230577_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rFfXNi0oWh8/UKMBUBQjBcI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/i3rHChOrQIs/s400/387935_10151196961966713_884230577_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Halloween a holiday we normally don’t put
much effort into celebrating in Europe - Or where I’m from at least. But when I
got over here in 2010 and had my first Halloween in Banff, I soon discovered
it’s not just a party-day, NO, everyone takes the costume part of Halloween very
serious. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I had my first day of work on a Friday,
Halloween was on a Sunday, which putted me in a dilemma, when my boss told us
that the people who showed up drunk on our second day of work, the Monday after
Halloween, would be fired. So I decided not to dress up and stay rather sober.
Which honestly was really boring. So year 2012 with all the great Gap Year
Canada people had to count for something. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">First of all, I got myself a costume, not
the best or most creative, I was a Pink Crayola… And the Cedar House, where I
was living, is a great house with great people, and we decided to have our own
little exclusives-club of a pre-drinking party for Halloween. I was amazed with
all the great and different costumes people came up with, very colourful
indeed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">And another thing I was amazed by was the
amount of booze that the Cedar people could drink before 10.30pm, where most
decided to go to Will Bills. I think until this day, Halloween 2012 have been
the best party and pre-drinking I’ve ever had in Banff, and that says a lot
since I’ve already had a winter season in Banff and spend all summer here. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U4zN8VqvTj4/UKMBVFRVb3I/AAAAAAAAAEU/nQGCx6ENAwg/s1600/550114_10151189686246713_656742529_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U4zN8VqvTj4/UKMBVFRVb3I/AAAAAAAAAEU/nQGCx6ENAwg/s400/550114_10151189686246713_656742529_n.jpg" width="400" /></a><span lang="EN-GB">So all in all I just want to say THANK YOU
Gap Year Canada and Cedar House, for an amazing couple of weeks, and one of the
best endings I could ever have wished for at my Internship and stay here in
Banff!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">One thing though, If I should anything bad
about this Halloween, it would be; I regret, that I didn’t leave Cedar House
early enough, so that I could have celebrated Halloween with the rest of the
Gap Year Canada at Will Bills. Where I was not allowed in because of a massive
line-up at 11pm. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Note to myself and everyone else who are
thinking of being here for Halloween 2013, go out earlier than 11pm. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-30393753840817557512012-10-22T22:45:00.001-06:002012-10-22T22:45:21.749-06:00Snow - Finally
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9MJIPNrjuh8/UIYgkOsUR3I/AAAAAAAAADw/bOQkX3NUlBw/s1600/IMG_3566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9MJIPNrjuh8/UIYgkOsUR3I/AAAAAAAAADw/bOQkX3NUlBw/s320/IMG_3566.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">So, finally we got some snow here in Banff, which all of us
hopefully are more than stoked about. That means that it is time to go
snowboarding and skiing soon, and that you guys will start work soon, if you
haven’t already. It’s going to be an epic season out here – I can already feel
it. </span></div>
<div class="ListParagraph" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt left 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Lucida Grande";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">Yes, I must admit that I am SO
f***ing jealous of all of you guys right now. I got a bit less than 2 weeks
left here in Banff, and I wont even get time to shred some pow pow before I
leave. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WzAjaHl_L6g/UIYgmvH6elI/AAAAAAAAAD4/hu5WMfXs5Lc/s1600/IMG_3567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WzAjaHl_L6g/UIYgmvH6elI/AAAAAAAAAD4/hu5WMfXs5Lc/s320/IMG_3567.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">So for all of you lucky people who are staying out here in Banff,
you better take advantage of all the snow Banff is getting, else I’ll come get
ya! . </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">But to be honest, I am just glad that I got to see the snow on all
the mountains before I left. Everything is so much prettier out here when it’s
covered with the white fluffy crystals we are calling snow. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">And you probably can’t wait for winter to start right now,
eventhough I’ve heard people are already complaining about the cold… HAHA… in 6
months when it’s like today, +2 deg Celsius and sunny with a chance of snow
(typical mountain weather), you’ll be walking around in t-shirts and have a
laugh over all the tourists who has layered up and are freezing like you are
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for me it still looks a
tiny bit funny when I see all of you marching around in all of your ski and
snowboard gear in October – we only got a couple of inches of snow and are just
below freezing point. – I admit that I’m wearing a lot of clothes myself,
summer made me weak, but I’ll not fully dress up to just go outside a door.
Wait for it, it’s going to be much much colder!</span></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oJvAvJrHluk/UIYgpqNMgEI/AAAAAAAAAEA/t8e388XC0xE/s1600/IMG_3568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oJvAvJrHluk/UIYgpqNMgEI/AAAAAAAAAEA/t8e388XC0xE/s320/IMG_3568.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">But let’s enjoy my last two weeks. I hope to meet as many as
possible before I go, and remember to enjoy Banff and all the snow you’ll get
here. I’ll miss this place whenever I’m not here. And I really hope that you
will have as fun as a season as I had 2 years ago – or maybe even more fun.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-67024715716932479042012-10-17T15:20:00.000-06:002012-10-17T16:30:12.626-06:00Day 5<div style="text-align: left;">
I've been in Banff about 5 days now after being on the longest flight I've ever taken to date, it wasn't as bad as I was expected and with the in-flight entertainment it went relatively quickly. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e1ETF9gxxqc/UH8XMELYQHI/AAAAAAAAAFs/HbKZSp1ywPE/s1600/IMG_8888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e1ETF9gxxqc/UH8XMELYQHI/AAAAAAAAAFs/HbKZSp1ywPE/s320/IMG_8888.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I love Banff it is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever been let alone lived. I am living on Grizzly Street, in a house a short walk from the centre of town with pretty amazing views. This is the view from our street.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Yesterday we rented a huge 7 seater Ford Flex for $150 and went on a road trip to Lake Louise and the surrounding areas, we took the Bow Valley Parkway instead of the highway and it was definitely worth the longer drive time. It's a beautiful winding road which traces the river and the rail tracks for about 60km and there is plenty of wildlife and views along the way.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UwKpfoP35Hk/UH8ZOn8lM_I/AAAAAAAAAGk/2mYXFK3UnTk/s1600/IMG_8955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UwKpfoP35Hk/UH8ZOn8lM_I/AAAAAAAAAGk/2mYXFK3UnTk/s640/IMG_8955.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NcqQP5CZ6o4/UH8YIeIYz_I/AAAAAAAAAGI/4SwAny8kSAM/s1600/IMG_8931_pt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NcqQP5CZ6o4/UH8YIeIYz_I/AAAAAAAAAGI/4SwAny8kSAM/s320/IMG_8931_pt.jpg" width="320" /></a>When we got to Lake Louise the temperature drop was massive in comparison to Banff and we even had some snow fall as we were there, even though it was pretty cloudy and not much blue sky or sun to be seen it was a pretty breath taking sight. We also tried to see Lake Moraine, a slightly lesser known lake in the area, unfortunately even though major snow is yet to fall the access road was closed off.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ABYRdE-ayG0/UH8Y1XhX_FI/AAAAAAAAAGc/do8p0C1CyL4/s1600/IMG_8951_pt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ABYRdE-ayG0/UH8Y1XhX_FI/AAAAAAAAAGc/do8p0C1CyL4/s1600/IMG_8951_pt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ABYRdE-ayG0/UH8Y1XhX_FI/AAAAAAAAAGc/do8p0C1CyL4/s640/IMG_8951_pt.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kG-4KVR3BuI/UH8Zhs_JB0I/AAAAAAAAAGw/2NEcDD6qPkU/s1600/IMG_9000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kG-4KVR3BuI/UH8Zhs_JB0I/AAAAAAAAAGw/2NEcDD6qPkU/s320/IMG_9000.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
On the way back from the Lake Louise area we again decided to take the Parkway route over the highway as earlier on we had seen our first black bear of the season and were keen to see another, unfortunately we weren't as lucky the second time round but we did see a large Elk who wasn't too camera shy and didn't seem to mind us being within 10m of him. Done so much cool stuff over the last few days, seen a lot, can't wait to get a clean shot of a grizzly.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13018578130473840429noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-74697081951419675502012-09-25T11:57:00.001-06:002012-09-25T11:57:38.534-06:00Arriving in Canada
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">So guys, I know there’s hundreds of questions, and that you are a
little nervous to leave home… But honestly there is nothing to be worried
about. Canadians are the sweetest and most helpful people (probably in the
world), or that is just how I find them. So I’m gonna tell you a little about
what you’ll be needing when you are arriving to Calgary. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">First of all, yes it is exciting, and I know you can’t help it, I
was a bit anxious the first time I got over here, to Canada, as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as long as you aren’t lying on the
declaration form you have to fill out on the plane and you’ve got your working
holiday form printed out and an updated passport you should be pretty good. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">You’ll arrive to Calgary Airport, have the declaration form,
passport and working holiday paper ready when you go through customs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">- Then they’ll probably ask you: “What you are going to do in Canada?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">- You’ll answer: “I’ve got a working holiday visa” (and then show the
custom-guy)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">- And then you’ll continue: “I’m here on a gap year program with Gap
Year Canada, where I’ve pre paid my accommodation and already got a job with …
bla bla … and so on…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">- Then the custom guy will probably just say something like:
“Alrighty, you sound like you are ready to go through immigrations, it’s that
way…” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Okay, this is maybe a bit of a short version of what will happen
when you go through customs, but they are normally really nice and helpful, and
as long as you have got you passport, working holiday paper and declaration
form with you, there shouldn’t be any problems at all. You all got everything
set up prior to your arrival, and if you are one of those people, who gets
super nervous take a little note with you with the address of your house and
Gap Year Canada’s information. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Immigration are pretty much just a loooooong boooooring wait to get
up to another counter where you’ll have to then repeat all that you just said
to the guy in customs and then get your visa printed and stapled to your
passport.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">So honestly there’s nothing to really be worried about… It takes a
bit of time getting through the first time… and it is boring… but other than
that, you should not worry at all. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">When you’re done with all the customs and immigration stuff, you go
get your suitcase and then walk through the doors out to the rest of Calgary
Airport, which is not at all that exciting or busy as airports could be. Then
you just take a right turn, and walk up to the Brewster information desk, which
is maybe a 50 meter walk…. And the people working there are super nice and
helpful, they will help you with your airport transfer. And if you missed your
transfer, they will just book you for the next one. So there is again no
worries to be later or that you have to hurry or anything if you plane arrived
a bit later than scheduled or immigration just took ages to get through.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">There will always be a next bus that you can get on, so the worst
that can actually happen is, that you will have to wait a couple of hours in
Calgary airport for the next transfer… Which isn’t too bad.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">When you are on the bus, you’ll have around one and a half hour
drive out to Banff, and you’ll be dropped of outside the house you’re going to
live for the next 8 months or so… </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">So really… It’s not that bad at all… Just take it easy, and don’t
lie to the customs or immigration people… they probably won’t like that. And
then you should be in Banff in no time! Can’t wait to have you all here in
Banff! </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-34341842932904633262012-09-05T14:16:00.002-06:002012-09-05T14:16:47.686-06:00Prior to your arrival
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Yes, I know this is a bit boring, but I’ll try to do my best and
make this as FUN as can be <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Wingdings;">:)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Wingdings;"><br /></span></span></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;">Flights</span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">You’ll hopefully arrive at Calgary International Airport at some
point. Ensure which ever carrier you use, that you check baggage allowance, and
change in flight fees. Often we have many participants that decide to extend
their stay for the summer. So maybe just don’t buy that return ticket before
you know that you’ll be needing it. I fell in love with Banff, that’s why I’m
back here now, and stayed until late July before I had to go back to Denmark
and Uni after my winter season.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Travel Insurance</span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">An important thing to have! Compare prices to ensure you have good
coverage, and you are covered for snow sports for the duration of our winter
season, early November to the end of May. Use the facebook group to connect
with others while researching best options and pricing for insurance. Those
that have a working holiday visa are eligible for Alberta Heathcare and you can
apply (it is no charge) when you arrive. Alberta Healthcare will cover doctors,
and hospitals but not presecriptions, dental work, or ambulance (touch wood
none of you will need one!). For the few Danes out there, I can gladly
recommend Europæiske, <a href="http://www.er.dk/"><span style="font-family: Arial;">www.er.dk</span></a>.
(maybe you can use them as well if you’re English)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Health</span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Some of you will be away for up to a year, maybe even longer, So,
it’s probably worthwhile getting to the dentist and doctor for a check up prior
to departure to ensure you are in good health, which could save costs in
dentist/doctor visits here in Canada. It’s just a thought. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">Airport arrivals & transfer details</span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Airport transfers from the Calgary International Airport directly to
your chalet in Banff will be scheduled the first week of October. Please post
your flight details into the file in the group on the Facebook group.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/GapYearCanada201213/doc/253529931416544/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/GapYearCanada201213/doc/253529931416544/</a></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;">Arrival Details</span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">When you finally get to Banff we will meet with all of you to run
through the essentials to ensure you are prepared for the season. Social events
will be posted through Facebook to everyone in the group so you can meet and
connect. So if you have any ideas for things that you would like to do, please
tell me, then I’ll try to arrange something.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">We will ensure all of you are set up with local Social Insurance
Numbers, a bank for employers to pay wages into and if applicable, Alberta
Healthcare which will keep your insurance claims to a minimum.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Bla bla bla.. I know it gets a bit boring, but it’s good to know,
isn’t it?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Parcels & Mail</span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">There is no home delivery in Banff, Post Office Box can be set up
and a key can be shared amongst the group, or anyone can send parcels and post
to:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Your
Name</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>General
Delivery</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Banff
Post Office</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Banff,
Alberta</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>T1L
1H1</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">General Delivery mail requires you to go in person with your ID to
collect post or packages, they will hold post and packages for two weeks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Identification</span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">It is kinda wise to bring a picture ID to use when you’re go out in
the evenings and have an alternative to carrying your passport. And a passport
just isn’t the coolest thing to run around with when you’re drunk… If you have
a drivers license, bring it, so you can keep valuables like your passport safe
at home.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Mobile/Cell phones</span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">If you have a newer unlocked phone you can bring it with you and get
a SIM card in Banff to hook you onto the network without having to set up year
long contracts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Otherwise there
are pay as you go options through Rogers, and Virgin Mobile. Although a mobile
phone is not necessary, it seems many people have not lived without one for
many years!</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">AND</span> one last thing, Please bring an extra police clearance,
sometimes your employee would like to have a copy, don’t ask me why, you need a
clean record to get your visa…. Hmm…</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-70774909709988187882012-09-05T11:42:00.001-06:002012-09-05T11:42:08.944-06:00My suitcase isn’t big enough!
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<br />
<div class="heading1" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">My suitcase isn’t big enough!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Yea I know, I thought the same thing, when I was moving out here for
my first season. So I OVERPACKED, stuffed my suitcase and my all-in-one ski bag
to bursting levels.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB">Packing</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Packing for a full season or year, yes it’s difficult, especially
with the stupid baggage and weight restrictions on airlines these days! But use
it, think this is my new best friend, because if you are bringing all the stuff
that you really want to, you are going to smack yourself after a month, when you
get here. Because who really needs all the stuff that they have in their
closet? I didn’t!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I brought a stuffed suitcase, just under the weight limit of 20kg…
which was fine… BUT, I just got myself a pair of skies, new boots and all that
crap, because I really wanted to be ready for this season. And of course I was
not just going to carry around a pair of skies and a pair of boots in the
airport, No, I bought a BIG all-in-one skibag too, where my poles, boots,
helmet, and avalanche gear could fit. Then I stuffed that bag as well with 30kg
of gear. Mainly just ski gear, all brand new or from my season in France. 2
jackets, 2 pairs of skiing pants, 10 pairs of skiunderwear and middlelayers of
different thickness, and yea, I don’t even know what I couldn’t find a good
reason to bring, because it’s going to be sooooo cold in Canada. (I needed an
excuse to bring all the stuff I thought I would need)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">But to be honest, looking back, you only really need one set of good
ski wear, if you got an outdoor job maybe bring an extra set of warm underwear.
But you are coming to Banff, not going to the end of the world, where you’re
out of reach from any kind of clothing store. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">So pack your suitcase like you’re going on a 1-week skiing holiday
in France rather than paying for excess luggage. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Banff is a casual environment, you won’t need much, and washing
machines are in all of the houses so try and repack and sort your luggage
before you go.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Though! Remember to make room for a towel, pillow and fitted sheet.
All the chalets are all fully furnished and have wireless internet, So, what
more do you really need then? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-GB">Gear</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">If you have your own gear, it is worthwhile bringing! BUT, if not,
wait until you’re in Banff to shop. There are great deals on ex-rentals, which
are perfect to learn and use(or wreck) at the beginning of the season. And
throughout the season you will improve so much, that you will probably buy
whatever new gear you will fancy anyways. I did! Mmm, Big Fat POWDER skiis.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">There are also a few gear swaps at the beginning of the season, which
is a great source for inexpensive skiis and snowboards. And Banff has some
pretty sick shops, and lots of variety for warm layers that you will use all
season, and we definitely have better bootfitters and gear knowledge than most
English, Danish or other non-skiarea-local shops has.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 65.2pt 130.4pt 195.6pt 260.8pt 326.0pt 391.2pt 456.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">SO, what I’m trying to say is; pack light, wait to buy you gear
until you’ve been out here for a while and you know, what exactly you
want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-35738033884136358262012-08-16T09:58:00.001-06:002012-08-16T09:58:34.531-06:00www.freeskiing.dk<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><a href="http://Freeskiing.dk/">Freeskiing.dk</a> is a Danish blog about freeskiing and skiing in general. They hope to raise or increase their readers interest for skiing. They love skiing and to write about skiing and they hope to make even more Danes aware of the joys of skiing. <a href="http://Freeskiing.dk/">Freeskiing.dk</a> tries to cover as many aspects of skiing as possible, whether it's how to do your cork 7, how to ski deep powder or how to initiate a carving turn for beginner. It's all about skiing and the people, at <a href="http://Freeskiing.dk/">Freeskiing.dk</a>, just love skiing.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>And that's why we got a chance to post an article about skiing in Banff:</i></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote style="font-family: Calibri;" type="cite">
<a href="http://freeskiing.dk/job-ski-canada/" target="_blank">http://freeskiing.dk/job-ski-canada/</a> </blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-22261349834854558322012-08-14T13:18:00.001-06:002012-08-14T13:18:39.971-06:00Mt. Rundle
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Notes to myself: (Before starting to hike a
9-10 hour advanced hike/climb)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Cut your
toenails, walking down a mountain for 3-4 hours putting pressure on your toes,
it’s not pleasant, you might loose a couple! (I got 2 blue nails)</li>
<li>Blister bandage,
hiking/climbing up hill for 5-6 hours are putting a lot of pressure on your
heels, result if your are not prepared, an inch diameter big blisters on each
heel.</li>
<li>Hike Sulphur 10
times before, so that you can do it without any needs of a break. And then
mentally get ready for something 10 times as hard!</li>
<li>And
Juice/vitamin water/energy drink just doesn’t kill thirst as good as water!</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Okay, I think that I would be ready now, if
I knew this in advance of my Mt. Rundle hike. But… I didn’t, so I just putted
on my hiking boots, brought 2 litres of juice (I thought the sugar would be a
good thing), and half a litre of water and a vitamin drink. 3 litres of
drinkable stuff, sounds good to me. Sandwiches, granola bars, trail-mix, and
fruit were packed nicely in my backpack with bug spray, sunscreen, bear-spray,
gloves, and a soft-shell. Honestly I didn’t think I could be more ready than I
was. But I was wrong!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cFbEfqGvR4g/UCqhKSWMFOI/AAAAAAAAADE/tzO0k010Mbc/s1600/Rundle+.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cFbEfqGvR4g/UCqhKSWMFOI/AAAAAAAAADE/tzO0k010Mbc/s1600/Rundle+.tiff" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: DA; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB">My sweet hike on Mt. Rundle</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">We started out nice and early in the
morning, and were on Banff Springs Golf Court at 9am Sunday the 5<sup>th</sup>
of August 2012. I was so ready to hike Mount Rundle, I have thought of this day
since my first season in Banff, and how sweet it could be to say, “I’ve been on
the top of that mountain!”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The first part is nice and easy, it was a
bit steeper than I expected, but easy and doable, and it was nice and cool in
the morning shade. The first 2 hours were manageable easy, I were in need of
few breaks to catch my breath, but nothing that scares me, compared to what
would come! After a good two hour hike we got to point </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Adobe 고딕 Std B";">➌</span><span lang="EN-GB">, and the terrain
of the trail changed from a normal good hiking trail to more of a scramble, it
was hiking up hill, just step for step. It was from this point I started to get
exhausted. But didn’t feel like giving up. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2FO9JPD8QHA/UCqhe8-ccJI/AAAAAAAAADM/Wpb7HUZyJgw/s1600/IMG_3242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2FO9JPD8QHA/UCqhe8-ccJI/AAAAAAAAADM/Wpb7HUZyJgw/s320/IMG_3242.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Adobe 고딕 Std B";">➍ T</span><span lang="EN-GB">he forest ridge was to me a pretty hard hike, I needed some breaks,
but I was eager to get to the top or just get out of the trees, so that we
could see the summit at least, and the thought of turning around was not even
crossing my mind (yet). When we finally got above the tree line I was a bit
shocked that we weren’t closer to the summit. Must admit that the thoughts
“OMG, I’m never gonna make it to the top!” crossed my mind. But we continued…</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Adobe 고딕 Std B";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Adobe 고딕 Std B";">➎ T</span><span lang="EN-GB">he dragon’s back scared me! Not that I think I gave that
expression, but I suffer from a bad fear of heights, and the thought of you’re
scrambling around on loose rock pieces and half a meter on each side of you
there is a f******* drop. I was pretty focused, I was not going to fall
anywhere. I was on all four making sure that I wasn’t loosing my balance. It
didn’t really help that I was exhausted and the sun was backing me a live!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was on this patch that I was
starting to doubt if I was ever going to make it all the way to the top!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I think that we spend 4 hours if not more
from point </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Adobe 고딕 Std B";">➌</span><span lang="EN-GB"> to the point where the trail turns to the right just before you
reach the summit. It is possibly the hardest most exhausting thing that I have
ever done before in my life. And I’m not sure if I will ever do that to myself
again, even tough already today, 2 days after it doesn’t seem like the worst
thing. I remember that I was telling myself, that I needed to write this blog
post while I still remembered how horrible I felt that day, I should probably
have done it that day. Because right now I might be able to be convinced to
hike it again. Because it is a pretty cool thing to say you’ve hiked/climbed a
mountain, and you feel pretty good about yourself, when you get over the
I’m-so-sore-I-can’t-move-period. And the view from the top of a mountain is
just a thing that can’t be described, not even by showing the pictures, it’s a
feeling of accomplishment and a extraordinary view that’s only for the few that
actually gets to the top!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gowEkXVCKN0/UCqhfem1F8I/AAAAAAAAADU/PcZgMid5xBk/s1600/IMG_3274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gowEkXVCKN0/UCqhfem1F8I/AAAAAAAAADU/PcZgMid5xBk/s320/IMG_3274.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">- But just because I say now, that I might
be convinced to hike Rundle again, don’t get disappointed if I’m not going to hike
it with you in October, when you get here. I might need to wait a year or two
before I try to hike Mount Rundle again. But If my nice hiking friend Oscar was still here in Banff by October, he would probably have done it with you, he was keen on doing it again the next day! I think he left his head on the top of Rundle! He's a crazy person!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF3TsF71-Z8</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-55591565266546219882012-08-14T13:02:00.002-06:002012-08-14T13:02:46.561-06:00If you got a car for the day
<br />
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-weight: normal;">Two of my ‘must see’-places here in Banff
National Park is a short drive outside of Banff. This is a good reason to
befriend someone with a car or spend the money it costs to rent one for a day
or two.</span></div>
</span><br />
</h2>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB">Johnston Canyon</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-paGfuGedEaY/UCqfb62AmnI/AAAAAAAAACk/USAxmvvWpNE/s1600/IMG_2942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-paGfuGedEaY/UCqfb62AmnI/AAAAAAAAACk/USAxmvvWpNE/s320/IMG_2942.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lower Falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It’s a 20 minutes drive from Banff towards
Lake Louise. The first time I was out there was in my first week here in Banff,
where I was deadly bored, just living at the HI Hostel, and we pretty much
didn’t do anything else but drink (the first couple of weeks, or my 3 first
weeks, where I was just waiting and waiting to get started with the winter
season, start my job being a lifty at Sunshine Village, tend to get a bit
boring and expensive!). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">SO! One day, two of the amazing girls that
I got to know in the first week of my stay here in Banff, rented a car and
started touring around to all these cool places that you need a car to get to.
We started out with Johnston Canyon, which is this long passage with walls of
stone rising up on each side of you and this amazing clear turquoise-blue water
below you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It is hard to describe how beautiful it is
walking around out there. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">When I brought my mom out there this
summer, and she have not heard of it before, she was doubting if it was worth
the time, when she only had few days in Banff and wanted them to be the best,
and see all the most important things that Banff has to offer. But even though
she has been here before, and thinks she knows a lot about Banff I brought her
out to Johnston Canyon, it’s a place you just need to see. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nDES5rGeaoo/UCqff_Qg76I/AAAAAAAAACs/29PxzuyP958/s1600/IMG_2984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nDES5rGeaoo/UCqff_Qg76I/AAAAAAAAACs/29PxzuyP958/s320/IMG_2984.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upper Falls</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">My mom didn’t regret it at all, she kept
saying that it was the most amazing place she has ever seen, and that she was
so glad that I brought her there. And I loved being back, it always changes
from time to time, and the first time I was there I spent an hour or so just
walking to the Lower Falls and back. When I was there with my mom we decided to
walk all the way out to the Upper Falls, because she didn’t believe that we
could spend half an hour on walking 1.1km. We spent around 3 hours on walking
around out there taking pictures and just enjoying the most spectacular scenery
I’ve seen in Canada. The route to the Upper Falls is only 2.7km, 5.4km
roundtrip. You can choose to walk even further out if you have the time. I
haven’t done it yet, but will definitely be up for it!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">On the way back from Johnston Canyon this
summer was also the place I saw my first bear of this season. So, I definitely
recommend that you visit Johnston Canyon sometime while you’re staying in
Banff.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB">Lake Louise</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WWrp9LHy0Xo/UCqfmYgX7BI/AAAAAAAAAC8/kdrvKCQR1EQ/s1600/IMG_3083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WWrp9LHy0Xo/UCqfmYgX7BI/AAAAAAAAAC8/kdrvKCQR1EQ/s320/IMG_3083.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Louise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Living in Banff you’ll have to visit Lake
Louise at some point, if not to see the Fairmont Hotel and the view over the
lake and glacier, then at least to ski there. I will recommend though, that you
go before the snow falls, or when the snow has melted again. It gives a better
view over the glacier, so that it doesn’t just look like a big pile of snow on
the mountaintops.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">This summer I hiked up the Lake Agnes Tea
House, which is a really easy and nice hike. You get the view over Lake Louise
and the glacier a bit from above, and you get to Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes,
which are so beautiful too. I really can’t emphasize this enough, but I think
it is SO important that you get out and hike as much as possible to see the
extraordinary nature that you are going to live in. The Lake Agnes Tea House is
closed from the 10<sup>th</sup> of October until start of June though, but
bring your own lunch, and have a little picnic with good friends at Lake Agnes,
or if you are still on Banff in June you could hike up there and get a nice
bite of food or a cup of tea.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6eMKN7s9pAc/UCqfjB3Z6qI/AAAAAAAAAC0/CpCKogi09Qs/s1600/IMG_3072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6eMKN7s9pAc/UCqfjB3Z6qI/AAAAAAAAAC0/CpCKogi09Qs/s320/IMG_3072.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Agnes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The hike is about 7km roundtrip, and took
me about an hour to hike up and about the same amount of time to hike down. We
enjoyed a nice cup of tea in the Tea House, where there is no electricity, so
they heat up the tea over an old fire-stove and all the food that they are
selling up there the people who works there are carries up every day, by the
same trail you might hike up there by. So respect to the guys and girls who are
working up there all summer long!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-63006659057454615552012-08-04T17:22:00.001-06:002012-08-04T17:22:16.760-06:00Easy Hikes To Kill The Time<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">The Banff area has lots of small easy hikes
that you can easily do in a day, when you’re just a bit bored and want to get
to now the local area better. I’m not going to give you a boring trail
description that you can get from one of the many the hiking folders you can
pick up at the info centre. I’m going to describe my first attempt on these
trails/hikes.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB">Tunnel Mt.</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The first couple of weeks I was trying to
get use to the altitude here in Banff, compared to my 80 meters above sea level
at home in Denmark. I see my self being pretty fit, but that appeared false,
when you bring me up to 1300 meters above sea level. My roommate who have lived
here in Banff since the winter season start in October was going to hike Tunnel
Mt. and I was keen on going with him, because Tunnel was one of the few hikes
that I didn’t get around to, when I lived in Banff the last time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Tom Bob and I were just hiking at a normal
pace, towards the trail start. Tom Bob was explaining to me how the start of
Tunnel Mountain trail probably would scare some people of, who aren’t used to
hiking at higher altitudes. That comforted me a bit, when we got to the upper
parking lot. I was already dying, if it was because of the 30 degrees heat on
that day or just the 200 meters walk from the lower parking lot to the upper
parking lot, I am not sure (I blame it on the altitude and heat now that I have
hiked it a couple of times, and easily get to the top without breaks). But that
day I had to take several breaks whenever we got to a nice shady place on the
trail. When I look back on it, it is a bit embarrassing that I had to stop
every 5-10 minutes to have something to drink and catch my breath. It normally
takes half an hour or so to the top, that day I think we spent 45 minutes. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4dCIQhJ5_SU/UB2q-gbaXdI/AAAAAAAAABs/sCPJT9dor7M/s1600/IMG_2790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4dCIQhJ5_SU/UB2q-gbaXdI/AAAAAAAAABs/sCPJT9dor7M/s320/IMG_2790.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">When we FINALLY made it to the top we had a
nice break in the sun, had a little sunbathing session, and enjoyed the amazing
view over Banff town and the surrounding mountains.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The walk down of Tunnel Mountain was easy
and I enjoyed it compared to the hike up that day. And I on the way down
promised my self that before I leave Banff in November I will be able to run up
that little mountain, that took my the breath away from on my first hike. (I
can tell you already now a month later I can easily hike it without needing any
breaks – and in a pretty good pace, so I hope that I will be able to run it
before I leave!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">But I’m looking forward to hike Tunnel Mt.
with some of the coming seasoners for the winter season 2012-2013, and know
that I will not be judgmental, because I can still remember my first time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2>
<span lang="EN-GB">Sulphur Mt.</span></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rANJQUcEmmg/UB2sekbwheI/AAAAAAAAAB4/OCuVewnv1dg/s1600/CIMG2057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rANJQUcEmmg/UB2sekbwheI/AAAAAAAAAB4/OCuVewnv1dg/s320/CIMG2057.JPG" width="320" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"> </span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">The first time I hiked Sulphur Mt. was in
March 2011, there was still a foot of snow on the trail, but my best friend was
here visiting from Denmark, and I wanted to show her as much of Banff as
possible, so of course she had to see Banff from above. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I remembered Sulphur Mt. being so hard,
that I would probably never do it again. But the two of my roommates were
hiking it 3 days later than I had hiked up Tunnel Mt. and I could not resist
walking with them, when they agreed to wait for me, if I felt like dying again.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Again it was a stupidly hot day, 27 degrees,
so we brought lots of water, and got ready for the hike. We walked downtown to
take the bus out to the start of the trail (only because we’re lazy, but I
would recommend doing that), it is a long walk out to the trail and gondola.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vqWJ2daPvOQ/UB2tPY7QNAI/AAAAAAAAACQ/zrwnqEQunbU/s1600/IMG_2819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vqWJ2daPvOQ/UB2tPY7QNAI/AAAAAAAAACQ/zrwnqEQunbU/s320/IMG_2819.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first 2 kilometres/30 minutes of
Sulphur Mt. did not cause me a hard time at all. It was hot, yes, and we needed
some breaks to just drink some water but we were not exhausted. After the 2.3
kilometres we came to a little detour trail, we could see people walking around
out there and decided to try it out, we were in good spirit, and I had not been
complaining a bit about the hike yet. Actually I was doing really well. When we
got to the end we saw a little spring, where we filled up all our water bottles
with icecold spring water, SWEET, and we put our heads under to cool down a bit
from the heat that was surrounding us.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">After the little break we were more than
ready for the rest of our hike, we were close to be half way, if we should
believe the trail sign in the bottom that says 5.4km to the top. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I remember the last half an hour out of the
1 and a half hour being the hardest. So we have done a 3<sup>rd</sup> part of
the trail we concluded and started hiking again. Easypeasy hike the follow half
an hour, but when we hit that 4km point, where the trail has a steeper point we
all started to get tired, and I was for the first time in the need of a break
to catch my breath. It was good to know that there was only 1.4km left, and we
could continue in high spirit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I started a trail tracker/GPS when we
started the hike at the gondola/bottom of Sulphur Mt. and I am still not sure,
if my GPS is fucked or the trail sign at the bottom is telling the wrong
distance, because the sign said 5.4km my GPS said 7.03km to the top. No matter
what, we got a bit frustrated when my GPS passed the 6km mark, and we were
still not at the top. But no way that we were turning around now, we could at
least see the top, and it only took us another 15minutes to get up the last
1km. So my second time on Sulphur Mt was a good hike and definitely easier than
the first and than I remember it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b6nDq5T4a4o/UB2sqmpb8rI/AAAAAAAAACI/lO2FrWB1sxw/s1600/IMG_2831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b6nDq5T4a4o/UB2sqmpb8rI/AAAAAAAAACI/lO2FrWB1sxw/s320/IMG_2831.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When we got up there we walked around to
the different viewpoints and just enjoyed the view and sun, just chilled out.
We spent a bit less than 1 and a half hour on this 7km or 5.4km hike, and I’m
gladly doing it again, know that I’ve erased the first horrible time I hiked
Sulphur from my memory.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">After we had enjoyed the sun for half an
hour and got a bit to eat in the cafeteria at the top of Sulphur Mt. we decided
to walk down on the opposite site of Sulphur Mt. to try something new. (Again
the sign isn’t really that correct if I should believe what my GPS says. Sign:
8-something, GPS 10km to down town Banff, 11km to Cedar House.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB">It is a REALLY beautiful way to walk down,
there’s no trees around the trail like on the opposite site, where most people
hike Sulphur from, so the view is just amazing. It is harder to walk down then
you would think though. After our little spontaneous “let’s hike Sulphur Mt.”
and then ended up with hiking Sulphur Mt. and walking down the other site, in
total 7km of hiking up, 11km of walking down, plus how much we walked around on
the top…… I was DEAD! I went straight to bed at 9pm., fell asleep and the day
after I was so sore. But I will definitely do it again, if anyone is up for it!</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-34451698706622069402012-07-08T16:17:00.002-06:002012-07-08T16:17:45.010-06:00My review of the 3 mountains<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">If you are
living in Banff, but not working at any of the 3 ski resorts that are close by,
I would say, that it is a good idea to have either The Rocky Mountain Lift
Pass, so that you can use most of the resorts in The Rocky Mountains, or another
opportunity is the BIG3 lift pass which is to Norquay, Sunshine Village and
Lake Louise, the 3 resorts in the Banff area (Which also gives you discount at
some other resorts).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I worked at
Sunshine Village in the winter 2010/2011, and I will try to give you a
description of what I think of the 3 mountains here in Banff. Some of the
information can be a bit old, since I wasn’t here last season. But I have been
trying to keep up. :)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Banff, Sunshine Village:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I worked as
Lifty and loved it, it gave the advantage of a 2 hours 'ride break' each day
and we had 2 days off per week. Besides, we got our lift pass for free to
Sunshine Village and Lake Louise and furthermore 2 days free at around 18 other
resorts in The Rocky Mountains. Which gave me and all the other SSV employees
the opportunity to visit many other resorts throughout the season. The
LL-employees gets the same deal through their work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The lifty work
was at times freaking hard, like the days where you have to shovel a meter of
snow out of your loading area and safety area, other days it is just sitting
down staring for hours. :)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sunshine
Village is a really nice resort, the slopes are fine, I honestly didn’t use
them much, but there is a lot of crazy and fun terrain, with good drops and
then there is Delirium Dive, one of the world's 10 best powder bowls!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Besides that
there’s a large park, Rogers Terrain Park, many of my friends loved it, I was
not the biggest park skier this year due to old injuries. But the park has many
fun features, and everything a terrain park should have is there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sunshine
Village is open from November until the end of May.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_178380217"></span><span id="goog_178380218"></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlxQUpRs8rk">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlxQUpRs8rk</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Banff, Norquay:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Norquay is
the resort that is closest to Banff but smallest, they are not a part of The
Rocky Mountain lift pass. So if you're working at Norquay, your lift pass only
allows you to ski at Norquay, but you can always just buy a season lift pass to
the other mountains, or get the spring lift passes to Sunshine Village or Lake
Louise that are really cheap when your a local.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Everyone
who worked at Norquay were super happy about working at Norquay, they had a
great atmosphere amongst the employees and all I know who worked up there would
like to return and work at Norquay again, rather than work at Sunshine Village
or Lake Louise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The
mountain is quite small and some of the slopes are really steep. Compared to
the size of the resort, they have got a really nice park, that is right at the
bottom of the hill, so it is so easy to get there – especially if you are up
for some night skiing or snowboarding!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">If you live
in Banff, and are working at Sunshine or Lake Louise, Norquay has nightskiing 2
nights every week, and you can buy a lift pass for only evenings, so you can ski
Norquay too. There is also Norquays monthly 85cent day, which means a one-day
ticket costs you just 85cent. Norquay also has the cool acrobag every weekend,
if you need to practise some of your jibbing and don’t feel like crashing in
the park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I
unfortunately wasn’t skiing much at Norquay, but those who did loved it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Norquay is
open from December to April.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://vimeo.com/36627508#">http://vimeo.com/36627508#</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Banff, Lake Louise:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It is the
largest resort of the 3 that are close to Banff. If you work at Sunshine
Village, you can use Lake Louise as much as you want, and it is the same the
other way around, so people working at Lake Louise can use Sunshine Village as
much as they want. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The
mountain has a lot of nice long runs compared to sunshine, and some of the best
powder bowls that I tried throughout my season! It’s a 40minutters drive from
Banff, but it is worthwhile to get up there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Their park
was the best of the three in the Banff area, especially the early season, where
they were quicker to put up some features and making a progressive park from
small to large features to build confidence. Lake Louise opened a good but
small park in December. But it all depends on how much snow there’s coming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">If you are
considering working at Lake Louise, I would recommend you still live in Banff,
the season people from Lake Louise were a bit trapped in Lake Louise, as it is 45
minute drive from Banff, so if you were in Banff for a night out, you would
need to know someone to crash with, or be lucky enough to pull each night ;-).
I don’t know much about living or partying in Lake Louise, as I never stayed there
over night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTOAlRasqes">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTOAlRasqes</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Another
thing is that many chose to live in Canmore, a town 20min drive from Banff,
from where buses to all the resorts go to too. I would recommend Banff, above
all, because it is an awesome town and you have easy access to all the
mountains, bars and all that you pretty much need to have an awesome season
experience! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-73316715490180269272012-07-08T16:13:00.000-06:002012-07-08T16:13:37.938-06:00My Canada Day<!--[if !mso]>
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<h3>
<br /></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><a href="file:///Users/rikkepilgaardkrogshedemeldgaard/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_image008.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>As a European soccer fan my Canada
Day started with a trip to the bar, watching the final between Spain and Italy.
Banff was already packed with tourists and so were all the bars at 12.45pm. Honestly
it ended up with me leaving the bar 30 minutes before the game ended, so I
could watch it at home with my roommates, who were as excited about the game as
me, instead of the Canada Day hype. As much as we love our Canadian friends
they had to wait until after our soccer game.</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9PUb6s0MMGY/T_oFTdrsetI/AAAAAAAAABU/RidXdtUFSE4/s1600/IMG_2745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9PUb6s0MMGY/T_oFTdrsetI/AAAAAAAAABU/RidXdtUFSE4/s320/IMG_2745.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">After</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">
the game ended at 2ish a few of my cool housemates and I went downtown to get a
feeling of the Canada Day fuzz. Banff Ave was PACKED or worse than that, you
couldn’t get one way or the other. We were on the lookout for a watergun, so we
visited all the toystores and the dollarstore, where we finally found a cool
super-soaker (which later on showed that it definitely didn’t “supersoak”
anything but our balcony floor), but we found a watergun and got it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">It was time for our next project of the day,
get a good spot for the parade, that started at 5pm. Banff Ave was already
closed down for traffic, and we were thinking that an hour before the parade
even started we could be lucky to find a patio spot at either the Elk and
Oarsman or the Brew Pub. We got a pretty good window spot at the Elk and
Oarsman, and got ourselves a huge plate of nachos to kill the time with. The Elk
and Oarsman have some pretty good nachos by the way, and you can get a plate
big enough to share! (Also try $8 Steak Tuesdays) When we finished we decided
to try our luck and find a better spot on the ground, so that we could watch
the parade closeup. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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Ave was packed all the way from Cascade Plaza to the river, and we didn’t get a
great spot, but we could at least see what wast going on. Looking back, we
should probably have skipped the nachos and just been standing on the street
for hours like all the tourists to get one of those front row spots. But the
Parade was amazing it was an hour show with all kinds of marching bands and
small weird breaks, like Auroras’ (local Banff night club) foam party float.
Yea, I am pretty sure if you like me, have never seen a real American parade
before you’re going to be amazed as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xvCDdvPuISo/T_oFQh3vJsI/AAAAAAAAABM/WHbnaVvkTXE/s1600/IMG_2736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xvCDdvPuISo/T_oFQh3vJsI/AAAAAAAAABM/WHbnaVvkTXE/s320/IMG_2736.JPG" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-AU" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">Since Canada was the same date as my
birthday – Danish time – my lovely housemates and few of my old Banff friends
had a little come together at our balcony to have some pre-drinks before the
BIG fireworks show. A couple of drinks are necessary for a good Canada Day I
would say. And we were super lucky with the weather for once (Banff Summers can
vary with the weather from beautiful sunny days to short powerful rain storms),
but great weather got the streets filled with happy Canadians dressed up in red
and white tattooed with maple leafs all over their bodies. And generally you
can just feel the festive mood that everyone is in this day also if you’re not
Canadian. I for sure had a great Canada Day here in Banff. You should
definitely stick around for Canada Day, if you don’t have anything better to do
after your winter season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812379634143489672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-62784198147931484012012-06-19T11:50:00.001-06:002012-06-19T11:50:13.001-06:00<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It was a cold dark April morning but excitement filled the air at 344 Beaver St, Banff. Suitcase upon suitcase upon ski bag was being piled up in the front room with worrying glances being shared between the soon to be passengers of the notorious ‘Dorris’ the Dodge Ram campervan. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After a few stalls and some more worrying glares we set off on an 11-hour drive from Banff to Vancouver. There was sleeping, sightseeing and a couple of close calls, although at no fault of either of our expert drivers. You don’t really appreciate how expansive Canada is until you take the time to drive it…everything is huge!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">John (one of our expert drivers) confidently negotiated city streets of Vancouver, to safely deliver us to our hotel where we met up with family and friends. We were all pretty tired, not least our heroic drivers and with the adventure continuing tomorrow we turned in for a sleep in the city.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The next day bore a beautiful sunrise over Vancouver soaking the city in soft light; we knew we had an awesome day ahead of us! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our destination…Saturna Island!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Saturna Island is part of the Gulf Islands close to Vancouver Island, it is a mere 31km</span><span style="font: 13.0px Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">² </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> and home to only 350 people. Two of those people you may already know…</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Noel and Nancy kindly invited our group of close friends to enjoy some time at their oasis getaway, obviously we gratefully accepted. We drove from our hotel to the port of Tsawwassen where we boarded Dorris onto the ferry. Usually there is only one ferry a day to Saturna; fortunately for us it was at sunset gifting us with awe-inspiring views of the bay areas. Upon arriving we met with Noel at the Saturna Lighthouse pub that was conveniently located a few yards from the ferry port!</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K-Gtl6_daHE/T-C7vl9ljXI/AAAAAAAAArI/1jPx_O9kcQM/s1600/IMG_2639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K-Gtl6_daHE/T-C7vl9ljXI/AAAAAAAAArI/1jPx_O9kcQM/s320/IMG_2639.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9I2fGxc6txI/T-C7xBszP8I/AAAAAAAAArQ/4MlCjtvVbNk/s1600/IMG_2649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9I2fGxc6txI/T-C7xBszP8I/AAAAAAAAArQ/4MlCjtvVbNk/s320/IMG_2649.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We arrived at the cottage on Saturna after dark, we could tell we were somewhere special but it was not until the following day we realized how breathtaking our surrounding were. The cottage sits maybe 20 meters from the sea, easily a stones through. It overlooks an uninhabited island and a vast expanse of sea; in the distance you can see the U.S.A whilst oil tankers casually drift past on the horizon, a stark reminder of how lucky we were.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Whilst in Banff I lost count of how many breathtaking views I witnesses, this pattern didn’t stop on Saturna. Day after day I was stunned by the beauty of the natural surroundings, everything is peaceful everything is calm. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Saturna really is an outdoors enthusiasts dream; untouched by modernism the whole ethos is that of sustainability and caring. Everything is recycled; one woman told us that she only has to throw out one bag of garbage a year! Everything else is recycled or used to make compost. It was so refreshing to see, people who cared about where they lived and did something about it. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">During the days we worked for our keep but had plenty of opportunities to explore what the island had to offer. We kayaked to untouched bays, explored uninhabited islands and got to know the island’s locals.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Everyday we caught our own dinners, fresh lingcod, crab, mussels and shrimp were a plenty! Noel was more than happy to take us out on his powerboat, an experience in itself, yet we also saw Seals and large groups of Sea Lions. We took crab/shrimp traps and multiple fishing rods to provide for dinner; I had never been fishing in my life and after only 5 minutes I had caught a 20-inch lingcod…amazing!! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We all took turns in teams of two to cook a gourmet dinner for the rest of the gang. This was no chore by any stretch; we all thoroughly enjoyed cooking what we caught and making an effort to impress the rest. We unanimously agreed that we hadn’t eaten so well all year!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Most nights after dinner included a roaring fire and friendly games and banter. Numerous board games and homemade quizzes were played, sprinkled with hilarious embarrassing stories from both ourselves and our host…all helped along with a few drinks of course!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Saturna for us I think was the perfect end to a season in Banff and the perfect beginning for a life in Vancouver. It is a world away but yet so close, unknown to most it is a haven for those wanting to immerse themselves in calm and nature.</span></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06945425577597127657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-8641589777127303942012-05-02T22:37:00.002-06:002012-05-02T22:37:21.483-06:00May powderApril showers bring powder in the mountains,<br />
a bit of green grass in town and the snow has all melted in Banff<br />
and 10cm overnight at Louise and Sunshine to keep the riders happy!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ExcIRNkZacY/T6ILQGdDWII/AAAAAAAAAq0/mrDtG74TGc8/s1600/May+pow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ExcIRNkZacY/T6ILQGdDWII/AAAAAAAAAq0/mrDtG74TGc8/s320/May+pow.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06945425577597127657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-90312168534973848592012-05-01T10:39:00.000-06:002012-05-01T10:39:58.309-06:00Spring ridingThis can be some of the best skiing and riding we have all season.<br />
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It is no longer dark when everyone sets off to work in the morning, the lifts stay open longer, the patios are filled on sunny days.<br />
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Plenty of snow on the mountain, yet the ice has melted on the river, bikes are out in town as are the longboards, shorts and flip flops.<br />
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Most locals have not yet taken the winter tires off their cars as we all know we are still due for another spring dump of snow...but summer is close!<br />
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<br /></div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06945425577597127657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-13353492799048919612012-05-01T10:32:00.001-06:002012-05-01T10:32:30.595-06:00Winter 2012-13 planningPanick is starting to set in as visa's are being filled up faster that those darn ACPO police clearances are getting churned out!<br />
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Here's to hoping that all those of you that were planning on being in Banff with us next season have filled in, signed, sealed and delivered all those bits to the Canadian High Commission and we will be all sitting in Tommy's having a celebratory Kokanee six months from now!<br />
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<div class="header" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #cccccc; background-image: url(http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/images/template/bg_rightnav.jpg); background-origin: initial; background-repeat: no-repeat repeat; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; height: auto; min-height: 30px; position: relative; width: 195px;">
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<a href="http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/working_holiday-vacances_travail.aspx" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: underline;">Working Holiday</a></div>
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<div class="content" style="background-color: #ececec; border-bottom-color: rgb(236, 236, 236); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(236, 236, 236); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(236, 236, 236); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(236, 236, 236); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px; padding-top: 7px;">
Quota: 5,350<br />Working Holiday places remaining: 776<br />Updated: 30/04/2012</div>Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06945425577597127657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-81352929152606188582012-03-09T17:02:00.001-07:002012-03-09T17:02:42.627-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><b>The biggest storm in 40 years dumped 123cm of snow on Banff-Lake Louise in 5 days!</b></span><div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> Saturday skiing was epic 25 cm of fresh snow keep us locals happy!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> Sunday was better again; although high winds kept the upper mountain closed, there was another 25cm of fresh snow</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> Monday; another 20-30 cm of fresh snow overnight!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> Tuesday: EPIC! About 40cm of snow overnight....the snow at Sunshine, Lake Louise and Norquay many were saying was as good as a good day of heliskiing can get...fresh tracks, blue skies, and more fresh tracks for hours on end..no line ups and hardly any people!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Everyone got out to experience the excitement of a huge powder day.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Now that everyone has had a taste for champagne powder...we are waiting for the next magical dump!</span></span></div>Gap Year Canadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05944256266619520599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-54423458601272090822012-03-05T08:41:00.004-07:002012-03-05T08:41:58.098-07:00<br />
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<b>March= spring? Not in the Rockies! Bring on the powder.</b></div>
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A solid weekend of fabulous snow accumulating at the mountain with more than 80cms since Friday!</div>
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Weather warning in effect for another 20-30 today...yes please!</div>
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Waist deep in most areas, and some say shoulder deep in the bowls!!</div>
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See you at Sunshine!</div>
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<br /></div>Gap Year Canadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05944256266619520599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-81958640823757481612012-02-21T18:12:00.001-07:002012-02-21T18:12:44.551-07:00<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IYfWkCKoKsI/T0QGPLWK03I/AAAAAAAAAqg/LeYo2XkpCQ0/s1600/Dan+Singleton.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IYfWkCKoKsI/T0QGPLWK03I/AAAAAAAAAqg/LeYo2XkpCQ0/s320/Dan+Singleton.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan Singleton - No.1 Wolfpack</td></tr>
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It's great to hear what past Gap Year Canada "Gappers" are up to these days, even better is when we get a surprise visit!! Dan Singleton (the scottish looking dude on the left) was Gap Year Canada's very first applicant back when it all started in season 2005. Is it great to be back in Banff for a visit? We believe after a season in the mountains, everyone is drawn back to Banff at some point!Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06945425577597127657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-78063826606043099572012-02-19T21:27:00.001-07:002012-02-19T21:27:34.893-07:00<img src="webkit-fake-url://3E48089D-AAC9-4AB3-9497-D7C08C54C384/image.tiff" />Looks like they like our blog! thanks for following!Gap Year Canadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05944256266619520599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6630240233386595759.post-37498275140741962422012-02-19T21:19:00.001-07:002012-02-19T21:19:44.429-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">An update from Michael, out this season on the Early Season Instructors program:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Thinking about taking a gap year or just a change of scene?</span><br />
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I undertook the Snowboarding Instructors Course based at Mount Norquay, this included the training, exam fees along with guaranteed employment!</div>
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After i passed my level 1 i went straight into teaching representing Norquay's ski school. It's fun working with others who share a passion for snow sports!</div>
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As for the training you receive when you are out here, it is unmatched, working for a ski school there is always some way to challenge or test your riding. So if you are up for working at a snow resort, earning money doing it AND becoming an unrivalled mountain slayer then you'll love this </div>
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As for everything else you can think of is organised for you, from where/who you live with right through what mountain you work at! </div>
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I did my level 1 CASI certification and intended on just coming to Canada for the year, but now i'm taking my Snowboard Level 2 and Park Level 1 and planning to stay the summer too the experience was that good!</div>
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As a gapyear, as a life choice or just a different experience to what you are used to, taking a year out through Gap Year Canada is a must do!</div>Gap Year Canadahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05944256266619520599noreply@blogger.com0