With a decent amount snow having fallen in the mountains, Beth and I decided to take advantage and head back out to Lake Louise for the day. In order to make the most of the day, we woke in the small hours of the morning to catch an early bus from the city center.

The sun rising behind us made for a pretty picture as we headed west.

I snowboarded for the day, while Beth relaxed in the Lodge of Ten Peaks, since her knee is still a little unstable to be sliding down mountainsides.

Beth rode the the gondola up the mountain with me, then left me to my boarding while she headed back down the gondola again. This was under the strict instruction from the lady at the ticket counter that walking back down the mountain rather than taking the gondola would inevitably result in her death by impact from a passing skier.

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Upon strapping my feet in, I began to have second thoughts. Perhaps I should have stretched first. Perhaps I should have practisced on the bunny slope. Luckily, it didn’t take too long before the muscle memory kicked in and I was sliding tentatively down the mountain.

The conditions were actually similar to New Zealand, where I learnt to board in 2013. Nice clear day, comfortable temperatures and some nice groomed green runs. However, once I made it further up the mountain, the well traveled, hard-packed snow softened up and presented some even better boarding. I ventured over to the back bowls and Larch for the afternoon, hitting more blue runs and gaining confidence. The scenery was spectacular as well.

A long day, but well worth the trip. We’ll be back for more, Lake Louise!

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