The view from...Banff

 

It helps that we're staying in the penthouse at the Juniper Hotel - basically a massive bungalow looking right down the valley. Pretty much every minute we've been here and aren't out and about (or sleeping) we've spent sitting on the balcony oohing and ahhing at the every changing colours of the mountains and trees. We've also been on bear watch too - after reports of sightings in the woods across the road - but no such luck so far.  Still we've hardly turned the TV on as a result, and that's got to be a good thing.

 

Banff in the summer feels like being in a giant outdoor gym. Everywhere you look there are people running, cycling, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, rafting and generally being outdoorsy, fit and healthy. And the view's a damn sight more exciting than from my local Fitness First, that's for sure.

 

The town itself seems as busy at it must be during the winter. However, the ski and snowboard shops are filled to busting with end of season bargains - it looks like the recession has hit the pockets of shoppers pretty hard. 

 

There do seem to be a large number of bored kids hanging about who you can just tell are willing the sunny months to pass so they can get their skinny jeans out and head up the hill to do some handplants in the quarterpipe. The shops also seem to be staffed mainly by Antipodeans, who I imagine are working out the rest of their visa after the ski season or are here in preparation of the winter to come.

 

Yesterday we climbed the road behind our hotel to the base of the Mt Norquay ski area.  It's a hair-raisingly steep road with a drop to the side - and the added obstacles of families of mountain sheep who seem to enjoy hanging out in the middle of the road. The black and double black runs looked seriously vertical - even though they're currently lush, green meadows. A deserted ticket office and swinging stationary chairlifts were a weird sight. 

 

But there are some activities you can enjoy in Banff all year round - eating bagels the size of your head, lusting after the piles of freshly made fudge and toffee apples in the shop windows and wishing you had enough money to stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel.

 

I can definitely see why people will stick around a place like Banff after the snow has gone. The pace of life slows down and you can easily burn off the pounds you put on in the winter through your apres-ski nachos and beers with some outdoor activities. The weather's also perfect for lounging around in the sun, evening up your goggle tan and admiring the gorgeous, green forest views, in anticipation of them turning white again.

 

Next we're off to Jasper. We met a Scottish woman on a hike yesterday who reckoned Jasper was even more spectacular than Banff. She also told us she'd seen so many bears that she'd stopped taking pictures of them in the end - yay!