manchester

holidays

reviews

Email to a friend | Read later | Your comments

Wednesday, 24th January 2007

Canada: Rocky mountain highs

Beckie Best

Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park, Canada

WAS it the Ice Queen driving the sleigh as we snuggled under blankets sipping hot chocolate and was a fawn with two little horns and curly hair about to pop his head out from around a tree? I wouldn't have been at all surprised.

As it happens the Canadian Rockies, land of enchantment, mystery and legend, has caught the eye of many a film-maker, most recently for Brokeback Mountain. The distinctive Rocky Mountains served as an ideal backdrop.

The mountainous region wedged to the west of Alberta's border is home to many lakes and national parks, namely Banff and Jasper. Throughout this unspoilt wilderness it is hard to believe how well-developed facilities are.

Advertisement your story continues below

You can take your pick out of any of the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, which include an impressive variety of world-class accommodation and locations that don't get any better.

Be it the 19th-century chateau overlooking Lake Louise with spectacular views of Victoria Glacier, or Banff Springs, an alpine castle, nestled among firs and within walking distance of Banff town itself.

Watch the sun's lilac rays flood over the mountains while you indulge in an outdoor hot spring - the perfect setting to ask for his/her hand in marriage, with the desired effect! Or if staying in a 770-room hotel is too grand, you could always opt for something more humble . . .

Jasper Park Lodge originated in 1915; a few tents on the shores of Lac Beauvert that were soon replaced by log cabins and cedar chalets, until one day it was transformed into an alpine village, fit for a queen. And so it was . . . Queen Elizabeth II herself stayed last year in the Outlook cabin where pictures of her own family hang on the walls.

Ambience

Likewise, Canada's largest ski-area has a royal ambience. Lake Louise is named in honour of Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. Continually rated as "North America's most scenic resort" you have to add this to your check-list.

With more than 4,000 acres of terrain and 113 runs to suit any ability, you get the chance to ski on Princess Louise's face, well, one of four mountain faces to be exact! This was the first of three ski resorts we visited, and the best certainly does come in threes . . .

Marmot Basin, Jasper, peaks at 8,534ft, with 84 trails, uncrowded slopes and covered in 100 per cent Rocky mountain powder.

My favourite crown jewel, Ski Banff@Norquay, known as the locals' mountain in Banff, has 28 impeccably-groomed runs where the surface quality makes you look like an expert even if you're an intermediate.

If downhill skiing isn't your thing, don't hang your coat up yet, because where there is snow, it's difficult to decide what to leave out. I'd like to say I seized the bull by the horns - except in this case it was more like six husky-hound crosses taking me for an escapade.

If you quite enjoy being at one with the white stuff, maybe going up in a Bell 212 helicopter and dropped at 4,000ft on bottomless fluffy snow would hit the spot. Rudi Gertsch, guide and owner of Purcell heli-skiing at Golden, British Columbia, whizzes off into the distance like it's still his first time.

Your holiday isn't complete until you've reached speeds of `at least 65kmph' (as it states in the leaflet) at Canada's Olympic Park.

At Jasper Park Lodge - A Canadian Dining Experience, I'd have been perfectly content with a portion of chips and a can of lager, but Canadian chefs are renowned for their inventive cuisine.

As a vegetarian diner, I tried the vine-ripened consommé, with sweet pea shoots and porcini tortellini. For the main course, I entered the realm of culinary sorcery, a fusion of mouth-watering seasonal ingredients. `Mediterranean curry tower, with black rice pallet, lemongrass and chilli emulsion' was delicious. Vodka Ice-Granite shots were served between courses, clearing one's palate for the third savoury course - a triase of root vegetables, smoked bulgar wheat, black olive emulsion and blue cheese foam.

Dessert followed . . . mocha filled beignet and cinnamon latte froth, café diablo mousse and cappuccino crème brulee. As if that isn't enough, there's a grand finale: Vidal Ice Wine.

For more information, please select the links below.