AUTUMNAL ALLURE

Intermittent snow greeted us as we cruised down the picturesque Icefields Parkway from pretty ski paradise Banff in Alberta. All along the scenic mountain drive, verdant pine and spruce forestland and staggering peaks awed us with their sheer dimensions of massive landmass and pristine water bodies that have been in ecological harmony for ages.

. Our first locale at the gently cascading Bow Falls just outside Banff town radiated a fine environment of serenity and stillness. A well-turfed golf course alongside, created an eye-calming viridian canvas as added attraction to the frame. Our drive up the inclines into the sprawling Banff National Park brought us to the mirrored ruggedness of Bow Lake where faultless reflections of towering heights create a multi-dimensional kaleidoscope of frames that root you down with admiration.

. Nature’s playground

. The snow-crowned Alberta Rockies nurture in their womb some of the world’s most spectacular Alpine glacial lakes contrasted by coniferous forests and scores of deep hiking and trekking trails. The magnetising vistas and peak challenge encountered by serious adventurers is a deeply gratifying experience. In all their glory, these lakes are like none other on earth.

. Autumn and winter bring in a unique clan of high altitude die-hard buffs who spend days upon the slopes exploring intimidating facades of the Rockies in different explorations.

. Aqua magic

. The chill rocky embankment of the unbelievably surreal mirrored water expanse silenced us totally. The fluorescence of deep translucent emerald, fleeting turquoise and liberal strokes of Prussian across the aquatic canvas dazzled our eyes. We were on Lake Louise. One of the most beautiful lakes on earth. That is a definitive statement….

. We sat on the rocks, gazed into every element composing this mind-stilling panorama, meditating in total awe. Except for fleeting bird song that brought smiles to our souls, nothing moved. The world stopped here, the snow-draped cliff sheaths, the towering summits, all bowed to the transcending, pristine aquatic brilliance below them. This was a permanent act frozen for hundreds of years. Thickly snow-blanketed pines ushered our SUV right into the bosom of one more ephemeral water site. Smaller and petite, this one honoured nature’s glorious colours in virgin incarnations. Lake Moraine was even more breathtaking and sublime in its compact environment. We were informed that a mighty avalanche years back had sledgehammered the cliff sides down the rocky lake-front.

. The resultant smaller peaks that were born now, offer hill climbing challenges to avid outdoor buffs. Lake Moraine lives up a magnetising mind-soothing energy we felt nowhere else. On the timber jetty were bright canoes forming a cheery foreground to the placid ecology in front of us as we reflected on Mother Nature’s shifting frames that humans could never ever create. The surround sound silence and chill wintry breeze created an emotional pull that lured us through the surreal beauty of this stunning corner of the world.

. Living up the three R’s

. The smooth Gondola ride up to picturesque Sulphur Mountain on a fairly snow-less day offered us awesome frames of rolling mountain slopes across the Bow Valley and scenic Banff town below. Two sulphur hot springs at a lower altitude are an attraction. We stretched it ahead on the winding timber boardwalk to the observatory point heralded by restaurants, and hiking trails by the bend. Further ahead, the Cosmic Ray Station and the old Weather Station draw in history enthusiasts for a more in-depth insight into the natural attributes of the area.

. Catching up on another legendary site, we learnt that three enthusiastic railway workers in 1883 discovered The Cave and Basin National Historic Site — the origins of Canada’s first national park. An artificial tunnel took us to a natural cave and a carefully preserved thermal swimming pool.

. Rejuvenating

. We felt humbly privileged and proud that our mind and body energising was realised through unspoken truths that rarely emerge from ordinary occurrences in life. It needed the pristinely ethereal, ephemeral and enlivening environment of such heavenly getaways to kindle and actualise inner awareness of our inherent connection to our planet.

. The scenic Icefields Parkway led us to other spectacular lakes in the Banff National Park surroundings. HectorLake, Herbert Lake and Waterfowl Lake presented eternal sights etched into seamless geographical identity for centuries and we felt a sense of deep contentment. We cruised leisurely along an endearingly panoramic highway with dark, tall conifers, taller spruce on the higher slopes contrasted with thrilling flaming yellow foliage against deep white summit tops. Autumn was metamorphosing tones, it snowed in right earnest.

. Along the glazed reflections of Waterfowl Lake and a brief stopover at mystical Bow Lake, we framed the inimitable, mirrored beauty of the Rockies, the dramatic Crowfoot Glacier above and the penetrating shimmer on the water’s fringe. Some welcoming hot chocolate warmed our tummies as we then drove up the steep winding mountain road to our challenging destination — the breathtakingly imposing Columbia Icefield.

. Adventure par excellence

. Over the white horizon, snow-capped summits of the Rockies clasped the gigantic and intimidating, millennia-old Athabasca Glacier sprawled across the limitless expanses of the valley in the Jasper National Park. A luxury coach transported us on the wet ice-hardened tracks leading to the base of the Columbia Icefield glacier base station. We hauled ourselves up on the massive Monster behemoth of a Mercedes bus, the Ice Explorer with hyper large tough terrain wheels and terrain burning tyres.

. Our genial Australian driver cracked up a virtual scare surrounding the onward glacier sojourn. He warned us repeatedly to stick to designated safe areas for walking and exploring the glacier surface. The Icefield Explorer dropped us on the almost 5-km-long mammoth Athabasca Glacier. The snowy frozen river spread out its open-armed ‘welcome’ between tizzy summits tinged with snow flares and sub-zero winds. The -9 degrees Celsius freezing cold nudged us to tight wrap our woollen jackets and caps as we carefully walked across the thick snow-layered shimmering and blinding white glacier.

. Sub-zero spectrum

. On this amazing, breathtaking locale on earth high up in the Rockies, we were completely awed into total silence as we took in the sheer magnitude of Nature’s incomparable, unquestioning prowess that was brazenly raw, yet alluringly beautiful to behold. We smiled gleefully at the peeking, fleeting sunlight high up between clouds and the peaks around seemed to bow in mute appreciation of the incomparable spectacle enacted unknowingly through the ages.

. A good half hour on the gargantuan glacier expanse offered us a cherished meditative and introspective experience.

. The monster Ice Explorer bus brought us back to the base and then onwards we headed up to another jaw-dropping experience around the raw, naked cliffhanger formations, deep gorges and death-defying crevices of the Sunwapta Valley.

. A naked, gravity-defying encounter we will remember for a long time.

. Tizzying sweeps

. An open-to-heaven, semi-circular sweeping glass-bottomed walkway extended precariously into the spiralling cantilever heights in this panoramic locale. The dynamically engineered iron and glass floor Skywalk dares visitors to saunter-or-walk across the see-through all-glass pathway that looks down defiantly over the vertical, breath-gasping views of the valley. The suspended architectural wonder emboldened us to stay on the snazzy glass-and-steel outcrop for close to thirty minutes. The locales left us with a feeling bespoke gratification.

AUTUMNAL ALLURE

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