Day 8 – Jasper

Once more into the snow dear friends! With our train ticket to Vancouver booked and the thought of temperatures no longer in the minus (Vancouver is a balmy 2 degrees) we decided on one last jaunt into the snow. Saving the coldest for last we went on a dog sled armed with 3 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of trousers, 3 t-shirts, a jumper, a jacket, gloves, scarf, hat, hand & feet warmers and some thermal underwear I was ready. Unable to move but ready. 

We had initially wanted to go crazy on the snowmobiles but had been given the old British Rail classic of 'wrong type of snow, guvna', so we settled on the dogs. It was an absolute cracker of a day, I amused myself by constantly screaming 'unleash the hounds of hell!' which I think came from a 1970's Hammer Horror film or it might not. Either way, I was having fun and wearing enough clothes to keep a Sudanese refugee camp in business for 6 weeks I was warm too.

Ciara and I took turns driving the sled through 9 kilometres of snow and ice and even had time to fit in a barbecue for lunch (note: barbecues + knee deep snow = hypothermia). The dogs were great and the next time London grinds to a halt due to an inch of snow I will be visiting Battersea Dogs Home.

In the evening we dined with 3 Australians we had gone dog sledging with in the aptly titled 'Dead Dog Bar'  and ordered a plate of nachos which turned out to be bigger than the mountain we had skiied down 2 days ago.

Day 7 – Jasper

We dragged ourselves from our heated, comfortable room to another -10 day.  The bloke in the tourist information aggravated the shit out of me by punctuatuing each sentence he delivered by punching me on the arm. 

We went on a hike to a renowned local view point, however, the snow and ice combined so that not only could you not see the trail, you could not see much of the edges either and as a 100 metre drop onto the frozen lake (followed by submersion in said lake after the ice had broken) didn't appeal we were forced to turn back.

We had been warned by locals that wolves, cougars, bears and squirrels were all to be found in the area and we should take necessary precautions. For Ciara this meant arming herself with a snowball and a pointed stick, for me it meant walking behind Ciara and being able to run faster. It seems Ciara's arsenal did the trick as no beast dare attack us.

We bought a pizza and some booze and watched 3 DVDs – My love affair with the snow is over.

Day 6 – Banff to Jasper

Our last morning in Banff was spent at the Hot Springs. which was superb, The walk to the pools make you turn a shade of blue that would be enough to pass a screen test for a Smurf movie but jump into the water for 40 degree luxury. However, you are then stuck in the predicament of having to get out and freeze you chaps off or just die happy in the hot springs. It was when I asked the life guard if he would mind bringing me some food and a drink that he got a mood on and threatened to start charging me rent if I stayed much longer that I reluctantly moved on.

Later in the afternoon we took a 4 hour bus ride North to Jasper. We waited 45 minutes for it to turn up by which time my toes had long since stopped responding. 'Are you cold in the back' asked the driver, 'No mate it's perfect back here - IF WE WANT TO MAKE ICE CUBES – TURN THE FUCKING HEATER ON!'

We found a great place to stay in Jasper called The Bears Den – hot enough to boil a monkeys bum, 100's of DVDs, all the comforts of home. My love affair with the snow is starting to whither.