Banff earns its reputation as great destination for outdoor enthusiasts

05-14-2000

 

BANFF, Alberta -- The primary factors behind Banff's well-deserved ranking as one of the world's most magnificent destinations for outdoor enthusiasts have little to do with human development.

 

A century ago, the Banff Springs, known as the Castle of the Rockies, was the world's largest hotel. (David Bear)

 Banff's beauty is timeless and beyond measure. As if distilled from the clear blue skies, its great sweep of towering peaks amid the Canadian Rocky Mountains gathers the meltwater from a dozen glaciers into streams and rivers which spread across marshy valleys before starting their long journey east to Hudson Bay. These are bounties that change with the speed of glaciers and the inevitable march of seasons.

But while Banff's natural blessings may be timeless, mankind has certainly been influencing its eco-equations, for better and for worse.

Banff's fame has been growing for more than a century. On Nov. 7, 1885, representatives of the Canadian Pacific Railroad hammered home the golden spike that signified completion of the first track across the country. Three weeks later, the Canadian government set aside 10 square miles around five scenically situated hot springs on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, 80 miles west of Calgary, Alberta, creating that country's first national park.

Both events were largely motivated by railroad organizer William Cornelius Van Horne.

Having rushed Canadian Pacific's rail line 2,900 miles across the country in just 46 months, Van Horne was a force to be reckoned with. He believed wealthy Europeans and Americans would ride CP's rails to experience the wonders of the stunningly beautiful mountain wilderness. "If we can't take the scenery to the tourists," history records him as saying, "then we'll bring the tourists here."

 

	If you go ... Banff Lake Louise Tourism: 403-762-8421 or on the Web, www.banfflake louise.com. Banff Springs Hotel: 403-762-2211. Banff Center: 800-298-1229 or 800-884-7574 or www.banffcentre.ca. Visiting Canada http://www.cic.gc.ca/englisH/visit/index.asp Upper Bow River Fly Fishing Company: 403-760-7668; on the Web, www.upperbowfly fishing.com.

Van Horne certainly had a grand vision in mind when he selected a site for his hotel above Rail Siding 29, at a point where the glacially-fed Bow River rumbles over a series of steep, stony steps and through a valley framed by snow-capped peaks. The sprawling, summer resort hotel he had built was intended to be the grandest of the chain of luxury lodgings Canadian Pacific would construct along its right of way.

The Banff Springs Hotel quickly became known as the Castle of the Rockies, especially during the first three decades of the 20th century, when a monumental, thousand-room Gothic chateau offering every imaginable amenity gradually replaced the original wooden lodge. When the new building finally opened in 1928, Banff Springs was the largest hotel in the world.

During those glory years, illustrious guests flocked from around the globe, attracted by the Springs' elegance, the healing waters, the park's abundant but accessible natural wonders and a succession of colorful Canadian Pacific Railroad posters depicting those charms.

From May through October each year, well-heeled guests scaled the snowy peaks and glaciers, led by mountain guides that Van Horne brought from the Swiss Alps. Guests soaked in the hot springs, hiked and horse-backed through the pristine valleys and fished the trout-teeming streams, returning each evening to the tuxedoed splendors of the hotel.

Banff National Park quickly became Canada's leading tourist attraction. Acreage was added, and five other Canadian National Parks -- Jasper, Yoho, Glacier, Revelstoke and Kootenay -- along with several Provincial Parks in Alberta and British Columbia were eventually created.

This park system came to encompass more than 10,000 contiguous square miles of Rocky Mountain wilderness on both sides of the Continental Divide. Canadian Pacific established other Eastern Front resort enclaves in this vast wilderness, at Lake Louise and Jasper.

A village took root along the rail lines at the base of the Castle of the Rockies. Also known as Banff, it provided services and diversions for the Springs' wealthy clientele. Because the village was situated entirely in a national park, however, its development was always closely controlled and kept within the bounds of propriety.

The Depression changed the fortunes of the Banff Springs Hotel, and following World War II and the development of jet airliners, the great CP Rocky Mountain Hotels suffered a slow decline.

In 1969, however, CP made a decision to turn the Banff Springs Hotel into a year-round resort. In addition to massive renovations designed to restore the hotel's luster, a conference center was added, along with a European-style spa that offered guests an extensive menu of water therapies. Several ski areas were laid out on forested park slopes. In retrospect, it was a wise decision.

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Banff National Park has become a four-season destination for outdoor activities. During winter, which in these parts can start in early November and last well into May, the park offers more than 6,000 acres of downhill skiing on some of Canada's best powder. There's a superior sampling of other winter pastimes, from ice skating and cross-country skiing to ice climbing.

Traditional spring, summer and autumn activities include horseback riding, mountain climbing, rock climbing, hiking, fishing, camping and canoeing. In addition, there are now heli-sightseeing, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, golfing and rides across glistening Columbia and Athabasca glaciers on giant, wide-wheeled motor coaches.

And there are plenty of cultural diversions. The Banff Centre, which originated as a drama camp in 1933, has grown into one of Canada's leading arts institutions, a creative facility that attracts an extraordinary array of artists, musicians, thinkers, performers and craftspeople from around the world to its symposia and workshops. Dance, drama, music, film, new media and a host of other talents are on display throughout the year. Comprehensive mentoring and support programs attract young artists from around the world to hone their skills for competition and performance. A conference center built in 1997 now hosts 30,000 guests each year.

The new Mountain Arts Centre encompasses a broad range of programs for anyone who loves mountain settings. For example, its Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project is a three-year study to better understand the habits and movements of the magnificent ursines across a 200-mile swath of mountain wilderness. In August, the Banff Centre will offer a four-day learning vacation that will let amateur animal watchers get in on the action.

The Mountain Summit, an international mountaineering conference to be held Oct. 30-31, will attract a who's who of the world's peak climbers, including Sir Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner and David Breshears.

In October, I attended a travel writer's conference held at the Banff Springs Hotel and, between meetings, had a chance to sample some of the area's considerable outdoor attractions. I floated down the Bow River fishing for rainbow trout and hiked up to and around Lake Louise. I joined a naturalist and park wildlife control officer tracking bears in the woods. I rode horses and dodged herds of elk. I also toured the sprawling campus of the Banff Centre and enjoyed a fine dinner in one of the village's several dozen restaurants. One evening, I was even treated to a magnificent show of Northern Lights, which draped shimmering, luminescent bands of pink and turquoise across the night sky.

Unfortunately, the timing of my trip fell in between seasons, several weeks late for the optimal animal encounters and several weeks early to enjoy winter activities. While my time to explore Banff was too limited for me to claim authoritative insights, I formed some very favorable first impressions and departed with a strong desire to return and explore the area's attractions more fully in the future.

It was, however, exceedingly clear to me that Banff's reputation is not exaggerated. In fact, no other destination I can think of offers Banff's combination of natural wonders and outdoor activities with the refined creature comforts and extensive cultural possibilities.

Certainly, North America boasts numerous park preserves which encompass still-beautiful wild realms, places where the deer and other native species roam free. Some parks offer grand lodges and luxurious accommodations, along with a wide range of seasonal outdoor activities.

There are other destinations which feature refined entertainments and world-class cuisine. Places that offer both, however, are rare.

It's a difficult act to balance.

The fact that both the self-governing village of Banff (and its 8,500 year-round residents) and the sprawling Banff Springs Hotel lie within the boundaries of a national park presents real conundrums between the pressures to develop and the mandates to preserve wilderness settings and habitats.

New construction in the village is tightly controlled, with no land for new development. In fact, to maintain a residence in the village, people actually have to live and work there; vacation homes are not permitted.

Housing, feeding and entertaining the millions of visitors who arrive in Banff each year from around the world creates other issues. Educating those visitors on how to enjoy the area's natural wonders without threatening or being threatened by its wild inhabitants is a constant challenge. In fact, every year visitors are injured trying to feed the wild elk, which wander in and around the town and hotel grounds, as free as Dharma cattle in India. Bear traps are set up on the golf courses and ski slopes to try to prevent unfortunate animal encounters.

The railroad and Trans-Canada highway, which cut through the park, form another barrier to the natural migrations of wildlife. Private development outside the parks' perimeters threatens to frustrate the preservation efforts.

In truth, the conservation of the complex ecosystems of the Northern Rockies involves the continued coordination and cooperation of dozens of governing bodies in different parks, provinces, states and countries. Wild animals pay no attention to artificial borders.

A bold plan now under consideration calls for the creation of a continuous wildlife corridor that would extend for some 2,000 miles, from Yellowstone Park in northwest Wyoming all the way north to the central Yukon. Whether or not it becomes a reality may in the long run determine whether these natural treasures survive.

The inspirational landscapes and soothing hot springs that first inspired William Cornelius Van Horne to set his tourist sites amid these magnificent peaks and valleys are little changed by a century of civilization.

For the complex dance of flora and fauna that gives life to these vistas, it is another matter entirely.

[Back to Articles Main]