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Friday, March 10, 2006
Hello from Banff - A Howling Adventure:
Dog sledding with Snowy Owl Tours
On a crisp winter day, our coldest day so far, with a brilliant
blue sky, I got going early at about 7:15 am and drove about 20
minutes from Banff to the
tourist town of Canmore.
This mountain town is located about an hour from Calgary, just 5
minutes outside the gates to the Banff National Park and is part
of Kananaskis
County , one of the main recreational areas just outside of
Calgary. The Nakiska Ski area is not far from Canmore and it played
host to the alpine events during the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
Mural on a Canmore building
Canmore is nestled deep inside the Bow Valley beneath the Front
Ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Due to the beauty of the surrounding
wilderness areas, several Hollywood movies have been filmed here,
including movies such as Legends of the Fall and Dances with Wolves.
The development of this area really took off when the Canadian
Pacific Railway (CPR) constructed its railway line through the mountains
in 1888, providing convenient access to mining companies looking
to tap into the area’s rich coal deposits. Canmore was founded
shortly after and attracted prospectors which were soon followed
by hotels, restaurants and shops. The North West Mounted Police
had an outpost here with a “two man and two horse barrack”
and at some point Canmore even had an opera house.
Mining came to an end in 1979, but today Canmore has developed
into a major recreational centre that attracts athletes, artists,
nature lovers and adventure seekers. That was the category that
I fell into today, as I was seeking out a truly unusual adventure:
Dog sledding!
Punctually at 8:15 am I arrived at the retail outlet of Snowy
Owl Adventures to be included in their 2-hour “Power Hound
Express” tour that was to start at 9 am. The retail outlet
itself features a variety of clothing, souvenirs, pictures and books
with a dog sledding theme. I also rented big insulated boots to
make sure my feet wouldn’t get cold on this very brisk winter
day.
The trailer that holds the transport kennels
A group of about 9 or 10 people were ready to get out on the trails,
to be pulled by a group of enthusiastic canine athletes. Our group
had travelers from various parts of Canada, Texas, England and Holland
and everybody was excited to get out there. Chris, our driver, packed
us into a van and up we went into the mountains. We drove by several
extremely scenic drinking water reservoirs and about 20 minutes
later we arrived in the Spray Lakes area of Kananaskis County, very
close to the Three Sisters Hydroelectric Generating Station.
Our safety instruction begins
The first thing we saw was the trailer with the transport kennels
for the sled dogs and five teams of enthusiastic canines were already
waiting for us. Jereme, one of our dog sledding guides, gave us
a half hour safety presentation and instructions on how to ride
the sled. That’s where my first big surprise came in: I didn’t
realize that we ourselves would get a chance to drive the sled,
I had assumed that we’d simply be packed into the sled and
the guides would be driving us.
But no, there are actually 3 options for dogsledding adventurers:
you can sit comfortably inside the sled and be driven by a guide;
you can drive the dog team one-on-one together with one of the instructors;
or you can actually drive the sled dog team yourself with the company
of family and friends, following one of the instructors. So for
all the real adventurers out there: this is an opportunity to get
behind the sled and drive the dog sled team yourself!
The calm before the storm....
To get started I actually decided to play it safe and elected to
sit down and let my instructor Natalie handle the driving. Since
I was here to document this experience that would allow me to actually
take photos and video clips of this unique experience. Three of
the dog sled teams this morning had signed up for the 2-hour program
and 2 of those sleds were going to be driven by the participants
themselves rather than the instructors. Two other teams were scheduled
for the 4-hour “Sunfeather Winterlude” program, this
half-day excursion is Snowy Owl’s most popular ride.
Photo taken from the comfort of my well-cushioned sled
The safety instruction introduced us to the essential commands
to get the dogs going (“Hike!”, or as Natalie would
say “Hike up, puppies!”) and to get them to stop (“Whoa”
– in a deep voice) while stepping on the sled's brake. In
between it's a great idea to cheer on the dogs with enthusiastic
comments. Jereme also explained that the dogs are Alaskan Huskies,
and most of them are a mixture of huskies or malamutes with other
breeds like border collies which makes for a very enthusiastic,
cooperative and smart breed of dog.
A true canine beauty
Jereme mentioned that it’s very important to step on the
brake while riding downhill to slow the sled down, and to lean right
when heading into a right-hand turn, and to lean to the left when
heading into a left-hand turn. The key thing is never to let go
of the sled or step off the brake when standing since the dogs can
be a bit mischievous and may take off on you. On uphill runs it
is recommended that the sled driver get off and run beside the sled
so the dogs have to pull less weight.
Well, now that our briefing was coming to an end, the excitement
was building, both among the human passengers/drivers as well as
among the dogs. 5 teams of Alaskan huskies were raring to go and
towards the end of the safety presentation there was lots of barking,
yelping, howling and commotion, indicating that the dogs were indeed
ready to take us out on our big adventure.
Heading towards the mountains
So I sat down inside the comfortably cushioned sled and Natalie
zipped me into a sleeping bag to keep me warm. All the teams were
now ready to go and Natalie issued the key command “Hike up,
puppies!” and off we went through a beautiful narrow forest
trail that opened up into a clearing from where you had a gorgeous
view of the imposing mountain range behind. Then we went down a
series of hills and I got bounced a bit in the sled, fortunately
the sled's and my own built-in cushioning protected my rear end
from most of the impact. There were a few spills in the amateur-driven
sleds behind us, I guess first-time dog-sledding is similar to any
adventure sport in that it takes a bit of time to get the hang of
it. But none of the spills were serious and once the initial challenges
were overcome it was a smooth ride for everyone and we continued
our beautiful journey through the forests above Canmore.
All bundled up for this exciting winter adventure
After about half an hour our three teams on the 2-hour program
had reached the turnaround point and we arrived at a picturesque
mountain lake called Goat Pond that was completely surrounded by
mountains. Now it was picture time and Natalie kindly offered to
take photos of all the sled teams.
After a brief rest we were ready to continue on and Natalie asked
me if I actually wanted to drive the sled myself. By this time I
was thoroughly comfortable with the experience, so of course I jumped
at the idea. One of the passengers from another sled took my cozy
spot inside the sleeping bag, and Natalie and I each balanced ourselves
on one of the rails of the sled, while our eager sled dogs were
pulling us onto the home stretch. Natalie told me a little about
herself, that she is a dog sledding instructor in the winter and
a construction worker in her brother’s company in Northern
Alberta in the summer. She seems like a thoroughly outdoorsy and
adventurous woman who really enjoys what she is doing.
Our ride continued on beside a river until we reached the Three
Sisters Hydroelectric Power Station and finally returned to our
starting point. Then it was time to pet the dogs and take pictures
of our eager transportation providers. The dogs are amazingly friendly
and from what I could tell, they enjoyed the experience as much
as we humans did.
Our exciting outing concluded with refreshments, hot apple cider
and “mystery cookies” beside a fire at West Side Camp
where all the adventurers and our instructor had a chance to socialize
and talk about our experience. A photographer had also taken pictures
of each dog sled team and this was an opportunity to buy some photos.
Refreshments by the fire after our exciting ride
In addition to the 2 hour and half-day dog sled tours, Snowy
Owl Aventures offers a variety of other unique adventures: Snowy
Owl also offers an 8 hour full-day program that includes instructions
on how to track indigenous animals like wolves, cougars and rabbits.
Their 4-hour "Snowy Mountain Experience" takes you back
in time to a winter festival in local Inuit and First Nations communities.
Their 4.5 hour "Bow Trail BBQ" combines a 2-hour dog sled
outing with a Western Style Ride provided by horses, capped off
by a blazing bonfire in their "Donut Tent" for storytelling.
Their "Ghosts of Fortune Mountain "program extends over
2 days and 1 night and includes touring, kennel visits and hearty
meals. The nights are spent in a genuine, heated Sioux Indian Tipi.
Last but not least, the "Flight of the Great Snowy Owl"
lasts 4.5 hours and takes you by helicopter into the wilderness
of the Canadian Rockies before spending a half-day touring by dog
team.
Just shortly after 11 am our van driver Chris arrived again with
another batch of adventurers from the village and it was time for
us to wave a final goodbye to our canine friends and enjoy the scenic
ride back into Canmore. Once back at the retail outlet I returned
my boots and hopped back in the car to drive back to Banff to pick
up my husband so we could go on our final half-day of skiing at
Lake Louise.
My two-hour Dog sledding adventure in the morning was the perfect
start to an exciting winter day and it’s certainly been one
of the most unique and special adventures I have ever had a chance
to experience……
Related Articles:
An overview of our discovery of the
Canadian Rockies
Arrival in Calgary and our
whirlwind tour of the city
Discovering Canada Olympic Park,
one of Calgary's most visited attractions
Our fabulous dinner at Il Giardino's
and a connection with one of Calgary's most successful entrepreneurs
- an Italian-Canadian immigrant success story
Comfort, luxury and our celebrity
breakfast at the Historic Twin Gables B&B
Calgary's Kensington area and a
meeting with a local entrepeneur who went from Vietnamese boat person
to successful restauranteur
Arrival in Banff & exploring
a local landmark: the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Our first skiing experience: perfectly
groomed trails at Norquay
High altitude skiing on the
Continental Divide: Sunshine Village
Exploring Canadian history: the
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
Skiing in the largest ski resort in
the Canadian Rockies at Lake Louise
A real adventure: dogsledding in
the Canadian Rockies
A gondola trip to the top of
Sulphur Mountain and discoveries of Banff
Our final walk through downtown
Calgary - discoveries of downtown
An interview with Tourism Calgary:
what to see and do in Calgary
An interview with
Tourism Banff Lake Louise
Useful Websites:
Tourism
Calgary
Tourism
Banff Lake Louise
Canada
Olympic Park
Ski the Big 3:
Banff, Lake Louise and Sunshine
Banff
National Park of Canada
Useful books about Calgary and the Canadian Rockies:
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