Santa Family Photo Days
Get your photo taken with Santa and his elves & receive a complimentary e-card! (Santa hits the slopes at 2pm.)
11 AM—1 PM | Lodge of Ten Peaks, Lake Louise Ski Area

Hockey & Karaoke
Hockey, karaoke and dancing, to please every taste!
5:00 PM | Beaver Bar, Samesun Hostel, 433 Banff Ave.

Heavy Metal Techno Christmas
Archimedean Groove & No World Order II Live
10:00 PM | Bruno’s

3 Days of Christmas
Grant Slavin kicks the Scrooge for 3 straight nights
10:00 PM | Rose & Crown

Dave Lang and the Black Squirrels
Country/Swing
10:00 PM | Wild Bill’s Legendary Saloon

Click to enlarge:

Meanwhile, the ski resorts in Banff National Park are in incredible shape. Below are a couple of webcam snapshots from today. Fresh powder and cooler temperatures are creating some of the best spring skiing seen for years!

Lake Louise [Banff National Park] snapshot from today:

Sunshine Village [Banff National Park] snapshot from today:

I like stopping at the Bow Falls in Banff as they look so different at different times of the year. Here are a few pictures below to give you a idea of what to expect!

This photo was taken November 28 2006. This was a particularly cold start to the winter season so they almost froze over completely.

The photo below was taken in June 2007 when a sudden increase in temperature caused a large amount of snowmelt to drain into the Bow River.

The photo below was taken on June 26 2006 when there was a lot of meltwater from the glaciers and snowmelt.

This photo was taken on June 15 2008 for comparison. At this time of year, the Bow Falls always have a good volume of water.

This photo below was taken on November 26 2006. This was a very cold day and you can see the “steam” rising from the cold waters of the Bow River.

This is a typical photo in the fall / autumn time. With the colder nights, the glaciers start to release less meltwater causing the Bow River levels to be low.

There are two types of bears here: the black bear and the grizzly (or brown) bear. Don’t let the names fool you, you may see a brown or cinnamon coloured “black bear” like the cub with her mother photographed below:

Black Bear

Grizzly Bear

The grizzly bear can be identified by it’s distinctive hump on the back of it’s neck.

A grizzly bear is also larger than a black bear.

Each year, people get too close to wildlife especially bears. I personally have seen families stand in front of a bear cub on the side of the road to take pictures. This is not fair for the bear, especially the mother who is watching and may decide to protect her cub at anytime.

Please don’t put bears, or any other wildlife, in this position, it simply isn’t fair.

The bear safety information below has been sourced through Parks Canada:

If you are driving: stay in your car, and consider not stopping.

If you are not in a vehicle:

• Stay calm. If a bear rears on its hind legs and waves its nose about, it is trying to identify you. Remain still and talk calmly so that it knows you are human and not a prey animal. Bears may also bluff charge: run toward you and turn away at the last moment. A scream or sudden movement may trigger an attack.
• Pick up children, stay in a group.
• Back away slowly, don’t run.
• Leave the area. If this is impossible, wait until the bear leaves; make sure it has an escape route.

To reduce your risk of a surprise encounter:

• Make noise. Clap, sing or yell to announce your presence, especially where a bear might not otherwise smell, hear or see you coming. (Bear bells are not very effective.)
• Travel in groups, on established trails, and during daylight hours.
• Minimize odours by proper storage of food, garbage and toiletries.
• Leave the area if you see a bear or fresh tracks, droppings, diggings; or if you come across a large dead animal (a bear may be nearby).

If you surprise a bear and it defends itself:

Use bear spray if you have it. PLAY DEAD, let it know you are not a threat: lie on stomach with legs apart, cover back of head and neck with hands, keep pack on to protect your back.

If a bear stalks you and then attacks, or attacks at night:

Try to escape, use bear spray if you have it. FIGHT BACK, let it know that you are not easy prey. (This kind of predatory attack is very rare.)

Guides are easily available so if you are not comfortable hiking in the wilderness then local experts can certainly take good care of you.

rocky-peak Holidays is a local company based in Canmore, just 5 minutes outside of Banff National Park and can help you find a suitable guide. There are also group hiking tours available.

Have you had a bear encounter you would like to share with us and our readers? Please post it below!

These pictures were taken just outside of Banff on the old highway, Bow Valley Parkway 1A, between Banff and Lake Louise.  It is interesting as the two cubs were brown, and the mother a Black Bear.  Just to confuse things, a Black Bear, can actually be brown.  In Canada we call the Brown Bear a Grizzly bear.  There are only 3 types of Bear in Canada: Black Bear, Grizzly Bear and Polar Bear.  You will only see the Black and Grizzly in the Canadian Rockies.  A Grizzly can be identified by several features including distinct shoulder hump. This hump is due to large muscles necessary for digging roots, tubers and ground squirrels.

1) “Light up Canmore” on FRI Nov 23 2007 (tonight) from 6-8pm at the Civic Centre Plaza. There will be hayrides, hot dogs and hot chocolate to celebrate this annual event in Canmore.

2) “Parade of Lights” in Banff on SAT Nov 24 2007 at 7pm. Please note that Calgary has cancelled it’s parade due to construction this year, so the turn-out in Banff is likely to be high.

The “Parade of Lights” in Banff will be preceded by “Christmas in the Rockies” which includes an afternoon of activities including Ginger Bread decorating!

3) Photo opportunities with Santa are from 2 to 6pm on SAT Nov 24 2007 in Banff. Just follow the reindeer tracks or the trail of cookie crumbs to find him!

Good luck with finding him and remember to be good!