Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and New Year!

Western States - I'm in!

The lottery was on Saturday and I got in! Guess I'll need to put my game plan together.

Running close to home

The clocks went back last night and it was great to have an extra hour in bed! It was another warm day today and it made for a nice run near Cascade Ponds. We're lucky in Banff as we don't have to travel to get great views or trails - they're literally outside our front door.

Yamnuska

We had another amazing day of blue skies and warm weather on Saturday so we headed up Yamnuska or "the Yam" as it's affectionately known (a stoney word for "wall of stone"). This is the most easterly mountain in the valley and is a popular area for rockclimbers and hikers.


Looking towards Calgary
However, once we got into the shade around the back of the Yam, it was frigid! It was nice to get back into the warmth of the sunshine again. Brrr!!

Plain of Six, Lake Louise

The last 3 weeks have been amazing here in the Rockies but the weather is changing. Knowing that Lake Louise would be nice n' quiet, it was the perfect day to run to the Plain of 6 teahouse and also add some extra mileage in for a nice 15 km loop. Lake Louise is still looking beautiful and turquoise!
This is Mirror Lake, already frozen.
Lake Louise in the distance
Mitre Peak, Mt Lefroy and part of Mt Victoria - en route to the Plain of Six

Ha Ling Peak

On Sunday, I decided to hike up Ha Ling Peak (2408m).

The view of Canmore from the summit. We've had beautiful weather the past few weeks but it was chilly on the summit! And the trail down was incredibly icy - I fell on my butt 6 times and felt like I'd been beaten up when I got out of bed this morning. I think I'll stick to running in future - it's way safer!

Beautiful Banff

The weather in Banff has been amazing this week so I've been out running during most of my lunch breaks. But today I felt like sitting on a bench next to the river and just enjoying the moment - I'm lucky to live in such an incredibly beautiful place.