Location: Alberta, Canada
Participants: Jimmy Quigley, Patrick Latter
Time: 7 Hours
Weather: -10°C

Directions

From Calgary take the Trans-Canada Highway to Canmore. There follow signs to The Alpine Club of Canada. More road detail to follow. Check in with the folks at the ACC before parking in the Clubhouse parking lot. The space is limited so guest will have first rights. You can park further down the road if the lot is full.

Gear

• Hiking Boots
• Food
• Water
• Warm ski jacket
• Warm fleece
• Warm socks (or 2 layers of socks)
• Toque
• Snow-pants or gaiters
• Gloves

Map

Story

The hike begins at the alpine club and it isn’t long until you have a great view of the mountains across the valley. We started the hike at 6:45am, which was early enough to get an amazing red glow touching the opposing mountain tops.

A closer view of the 3 sisters. From left to right, the little sister, the middle sister and the big sister. I’d like to hike 2 of 3 this summer.

It was relatively easy going for the first 2/3rds. Some of the snow had begun to melt and there was well defined trail in the snow.

Once we broke through the tree line the snow quickly deepened as we hugged the left ridge.

We loved grotto for the fact that that it’s basically a very long ridge walk to the summit. Great views the whole way!

We stopped to grab some lunch and take some pictures at the summit. We didn’t stay long as there was very strong cold wind coming over the top and no where to gain shelter from it.

Turns out Lucha Libre masks make for amazing wind breaks.

Heading back down was easy going as we just traced back our recently placed footsteps in the snow.

Jimmy risking his life for another photo op.

Location: Alberta, Canada
Participants: Jeremy Stroman, Cory van der Linden, Tony, Patrick Latter
Time: 5 Hours
Elevation Gain: 726m
Weather: -5 °C

Directions

22 km west of Bragg Creek, you can turn off highway 66 at the Elbow Falls Parking lot. Park on the North side of the road on the shoulder at the winter closure gates. The trail is well-defined and heads straight up (North) from the highway.

Gear

• Hiking Boots
• Food
• Water
• Warm ski jacket
• Warm fleece
• Warm socks (or 2 layers of socks)
• Toque
• Snow-pants or gaiters
• Gloves

Story

The trail starts off in trees and with the fresh snow it made for a slippery climb on the steeper sections. Cleats or crampons would have helped here.

Looking back down at the valley below you could see the Elbow River which leads to falls that are close by.

We choose this particular hike partly due to the accessibility in the Spring and the large number of geocaches on the trail.

As we neared the tree line, we spotted a paraglider that had jumped from the summit.

The snow was quite a bit deeper for the last 150m, but not too much to be trouble.

The final push to the summit was gradual hike through an area with few trees.

We stopped at the top for lunch and took a few pictures on the large cairn.

The Eagle migration takes place in both the Fall and Spring and we were lucky enough to have one pass over head while at the summit. Wish I had brought my telephoto!

With the sun heading behind the clouds we headed back down the trail.

With all the trouble we had on the slippery sections of the trail we were surprised to come across someone with a unicycle on their back! They said they were planning on riding it down from the summit, hard to believe considering the conditions.

I LOVE making photographs in bad weather. These were all taken along the many pathways around the small town of Canmore in the Canadian Rockies. The 4th photo reminded me of a cupped hand reflected in the water.

Directions

Vermilion Lakes is a short 5 minute drive NW of Banff. Take Mount Norquay Rd from downtown towards Highway 1. Then turn left at Vermilion Lakes Drive.

Story

With the fresh snow fall I decided to head to edge of the last vermilion lake. With the warm temperatures lately there was open water in much of the swampy areas here.

Photographic Information

To achieve this effect all you need is a longish shutter speed, 1/20th in this case, and a short controlled pan of the camera in one direction while the shutter is open. To get a long shutter speed during the day without blowing out the image, use the lowest iso possible and the smallest aperture possible, something like f/22.

This first image was taken with no pan of the camera and normal shutter speed.

And now with with quick pan upwards with a long shutter speed.

I took this photo this past weekend on a cold morning in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. On the left you can see ‘Ha Ling Peak’ and the right you can see ‘East End of Rundle’.

Tips

The best time to get photos at the zoo is right when they open: the animals are most active and the light is usually the most interesting. Try to shoot with something at least 200mm and use large apertures to blur the background and isolate the subject. Doing this will have the added benefit of blurring the fence between you and the animal to the point of it disappearing most times. Always try to shoot from the same eye level as whatever you are shooting and keep the eyes in focus. Sometimes you may have to stay at one exhibit for 10-20 mins before you really get a shot worth keeping; so don’t be discouraged.

Links to previous posts on the Calgary Zoo:

The Calgary Zoo I

The Calgary Zoo II

Location: Burstall Pass, Alberta, Canada
Participants: Sarah, Mclean Patrick Latter
Time: 5 Hours
Weather: -3 °C (26.6 °F)

Directions

Drive south from Canmore on Spray Lakes road for about 45km. There will be turn off for ‘Burstall’ and a large parking lot.

Gear

• Cross Country Skis
• Cross Country Boots
• Cross Country Poles
• Food
• Water
• Warm ski jacket
• Warm fleece
• Warm socks (or 2 layers of socks)
• Toque
• Thermal underwear
• Snow-pants or gaiters
• Gloves

Story

I loved the trail we did last week so we decided to do it again but this time on cross country skis instead of snowshoes. The skis made for a much faster/easier trek, especially coming back, as it was mostly downhill.

There weren’t to many surprises until we reached the flats and I nearly skied right over one of these guys.

There were 7 ptarmigans following us down the trail and we hadn’t even noticed. They would run right along side us, periodically stopping at shrubs to eat.

Tips

The best time to get photos at the zoo is right when they open: the animals are most active and the light is usually the most interesting. Try to shoot with something at least 200mm and use large apertures to blur the background and isolate the subject. Doing this will have the added benefit of blurring the fence between you and the animal to the point of it disappearing most times. Always try to shoot from the same eye level as whatever you are shooting and keep the eyes in focus. Sometimes you may have to stay at one exhibit for 10-20 mins before you really get a shot worth keeping; so don’t be discouraged.

Participants: Jeff Trudel, Jimmy Quigley, Patrick Latter
Date: Jan 27, 2013
Distance: 10km
Time: 6 Hours
Weather: -8 °C (17.6 °F)

Directions

Drive south from Canmore on Spray Lakes road for about 45km. There will be turn off for ‘Burstall’ and a large parking lot.

Gear

• Snow Shoes
• Food
• Water
• Warm ski jacket
• Warm fleece
• Warm socks (or 2 layers of socks)
• Toque
• Thermal underwear
• Snow-pants or gaiters
• Gloves

Story

The trail passes through the forest for 4km until you reach the flats.

The snow here was already a meter deep in some areas but with the snowshoes, we had no trouble.

As were neared the base the mountain, the morning sun began to break through the clouds above.

Once we reached the base, we decided to have some lunch.

While it wasn’t brutally cold, the temperatures still began to freeze our water bottles.

Jimmy decided to build a snow cave while we ate. With almost a meter of snow, he was able to build it right into the ground.