Looking for snow in Canmore!

Monday was Bills day off and so we drove to Canmore in search of snow and some cross country skiing. However, the warm weather of late has melted a lot of snow at ground level although the high mountains still look majestic in their winter cloaks of white. The Nordic centre was making snow and there was only a short 1.3 kms stretch available for skiing. The Canadian biathlon team was taking a break in the day centre, clad in red, smiling and joking. Soon enough their thoughts will be more serious as they seek to win an Olympic medal.

We asked at the information centre about possible walks and were shown on a map the closest. Many of the paths are multi use so hikers will share paths with mountain bikers and horse riders. We found the car park and the footpaths leading to quarry lake but opted to take a different route, we were heading towards the 'Highline Trail' and what a pleasant hike: lots of ups and downs, ice and snow - if this was a mountain bikers route you certainly had to be fit! As usual Bill found a lovely spot for a light lunch which included a view towards Canmore. There was snow in the distance which only added to the view of the high mountains, Mount Lady MacDonald (2605 m), Mount Fable (2702 m) and Grotto Mountain (2706 m). Behind were the Three Sisters (2,936 m + 2,736 m + 2,694 m), Mount Lawrence Grassi (2545 m) and Ha Ling Peak (2,407 m), some of these peaks are accessible to hikers in the summer and we were busily planning what we could do next summer!