We had no longer returned from our holiday in Europe, when we embarked upon a two day adventure to the Assiniboine Lodge, located about 25 km southwest of Canmore. To reach our destination we drove down to Mt. Shark and took the 8 minute helicopter flight into the Lodge. That’s one of only two ways to get there; the other being a 28 km trek on foot or on skis through the mountains.
Assiniboine Lodge, as the name might suggest is located near Mount Assiniboine, just over the provincial border into British Columbia. The Lodge is located in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park and is owned by the Government of British Columbia. Built in 1928 as the first ski lodge in the Canadian Rockies, the comfortable and rustic accommodations are the perfect base to explore the spectacular area. The full service lodge accommodates thirty guests in seven outlaying private cabins and five lodge rooms.
We enjoyed the genial hospitality of our hosts, Claude and Annick Duchesne and we met fellow guests who come from all over to experience this remote and strikingly beautiful locale.
Although we weren’t blessed with great weather during our stay, we did enjoy the scenery, some hiking and of course the company of our fellow travellers, Terry and Barb O’Neill and Ed and Tammy Howell. There was enough clear weather for me to get some photographs, which I’ll share with you in the following slideshow. To scroll through the slideshow, simply click on the right side of each photo.
You will have observed that the lakes are still frozen, quite unusual for July. The areas around the Lodge are pretty much clear of snow but there is still plenty of it among the trees and at higher elevations. We certainly encountered a lot of snow on the hike we took to the Nublet. Conditions are quite different from Canmore, where we’re enjoying normal summer weather. The difference is, of course the elevation. Assiniboine Lodge is at an altitude of approximately 7300 ft (2225 m) above sea level and the Nublet (our hiking destination) is at 8450 ft (2575 m), considerably higher than Canmore at 4200 ft (1280 m). Despite the snow and the cooler temperatures we did see some wildflowers, valiantly striving to enjoy their limited summer
We had a great experience and look forward to another visit to Assiniboine, down the road.
A wonderful series of photos, Peter. A late spring, but you took full photographic advantage of your surroundings.