Breath in. Branch out. Banff.

December 18, 2005

BANFF, Alberta–We were three overworked women in need of a getaway. But what we didn't realize when we arranged our ski trip to Banff was how many other outdoor adventures awaited us in the Canadian Rockies --and how difficult it would be for three Type A's to actually turn off and relax.

We had planned to fill our week with downhill skiing, deep massage and decadent meals --with a bit of gallery-hopping and shopping thrown in. We did all that, but along the way, we tried dog sledding and ice climbing, gave snowboarding a shot and hiked through an ice canyon by day and by night.

We also discovered the therapeutic properties of a Hungarian mineral pool, figured out how to cook venison to perfection in a fondue broth and drove the famous Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper --one of the world's most breathtaking routes.

Joining me on this adventure: Hilary, a diehard skier from Maine who would tackle any slope as long as it didn't require an avalanche beacon; and Maribeth, an intermediate skier from Ohio who's a professional photographer and an expert shopper.

"All that matters," Maribeth said as she patted her credit-card-filled wallet, "is that there's a place where we can do damage." She had her priorities, after all.

We met in the Canadian Rockies because two out of three of us had never been there. It also has some of the best skiing in North America: Sunshine Village is known for its bowl skiing and champagne powder, and Lake Louise is known for its stunning views and 4,200 square acres of skiable terrain, with four mountain faces and everything from cruiser runs to steeps and bumps (Hilary's kind of thing).

Chicks on sticks
We began on the slopes, where we wanted to do a women's ski clinic. But none of the resorts organize special women's programs, so we created our own "chicks on sticks" program.

Each ski area offers private or group lessons, but we opted to hire an instructor from the Fairmont Snow School and let her be our guide for three days.

We chose the ski resort each day and Kim Shippam, our instructor, met us there. Shippam was just 20 years old, but she'd been skiing since she was 2 and had spent nine years ski racing, hitting speeds of up to 98 mph. We trusted her judgment and skills.

Having one instructor for three days provided continuity and other benefits. Shippam quickly learned our skiing styles and "issues," so we didn't have to break in a new instructor each day --she knew what skills we needed to work on and could monitor our progress, offering encouragement when appropriate and tips when necessary. She also knew the terrain and could guide us around all the mountains, bowls and trees. That way, we could cover a lot of ground and get the most out of each ski area.

We spent our first morning at Ski Norquay, a no-hassle locals' mountain on the north side of Banff that's easy to access and is known for its groomed runs and flexible tickets: You can buy a half-day or even just a two-hour ticket, if you want to ease into it. We did, especially after traveling to Banff (located at 4,500 feet) from sea level the previous day.

Shippam gave us tips on proper stances, weighting our skis and breaking old habits, and offered good feedback based on her own experiences.

"Keep your knees bent, so you can absorb the bumps," she said. "And remember, don't lean back or you'll lose your balance. I learned that the hard way when I was racing."

We spent the next two days honing our skills --learning to carve better turns, stay balanced and bend in all the right places --while covering more than 35,000 vertical feet at Sunshine Village and Lake Louise.

Spas and shops
But one of the best parts of the day was returning to our accommodations, the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, a magnificent baronial castle and one of Canada's most famous and historic railway lodges. After our daily ski lessons, we'd head to the hotel's three-story Willow Stream spa for its luxurious Ski Performance Treatment --a combination of massage, reflexology and resistance stretching --and a soak in the mineral pool.

When we weren't on the slopes or in the spa, we spent time exploring Banff --visiting the Whyte Museum to learn about local history, shopping for anything silver or semiprecious, and eating our way through town (highlights included tapas at the new Cafe Soleil and the most mouthwatering tenderloin at the Saltlik steakhouse).

Going to the dogs
After learning that a local couple, Martha and Doug Hannah, run dog-sled tours at nearby Lake Louise, we decided to go to the dogs. The Hannahs have been running Kingmik Sled Dog Tours for 22 years and offer everything from 30-minute Intro to Mushing classes to two-hour tours in Western Alberta.

We opted for the two-hour Great Divide Experience, during which our mushers and dogs --eight huskies per sled --whisked us 12 miles through forests and along paths to the border of British Columbia (which marks the Great Divide) and back. En route, they taught us the art of mushing --how to maneuver the sled and when to yell out key commands like "gee" (turn right), "haw" (turn left), "whoa" and "let's go!"

Ice climbing
After a week of outdoorsy and culinary adventures in Banff, we drove north along the famous Icefields Parkway, a stunning 145-mile route that links the Banff/Lake Louise area with Jasper, a laid-back, frontier type of town. The trip takes 3-1/2 hours if you drive straight through, but ours took six hours with all the photo stops.

The parkway cuts right through the Rockies, offering views of dramatic, chiseled mountains on either side of the road, more than 100 glaciers and dozens of icefalls, as well as the famous Columbia Icefield. The only sign of life along this stretch were the ice climbers clinging to frozen waterfalls along the route.

I had always wanted to try ice climbing, so when we reached Jasper, I tracked down a local climber, Lloyd Gaskell, who took me to Schwartz Falls just outside of town for a short lesson on how to scale icefalls. The Jasper Adventure Centre can arrange ice-climbing instruction, with advance notice, and Gravity Gear in downtown Jasper rents good-quality ice-climbing equipment (1-888-852-3155; www.gravitygearjasper.com).

Schwartz Falls was a 40-foot frozen waterfall just a 10-minute walk into the woods from the main road, so it was easy to access. As we stood at the base of the frozen falls, Gaskell showed me how to strap on and work my climbing harness, ropes, ice axes and crampons, and gave me a quick lesson on rappelling --and dealing with my fear of heights.

It's important to have some sense of fear, Gaskell insisted, or you'll get sloppy and make mistakes. Since I was on a belay device --attached to a rope that went around a tree at the top of the icefall and was secured by Gaskell down below me --I knew there was no chance I would fall. That's why I didn't mind when my feet slipped off the ice, leaving me dangling by my ice axes. With time, I learned how to keep all fours on the icefall so I could climb up about 35 feet.

Snowboards and ice canyons
After a 10-inch snowfall overnight, we decided to give snowboarding a try at Marmot Basin in Jasper, knowing that the powder would make our learning experience a lot more enjoyable. By midday, we were linking turns on an intermediate slope and spending more time on our feet than on our elbows and knees.

Before we left for home, there was still one last adventure: a midwinter hike through Maligne Canyon. Here, Murray Morgan of the Jasper Adventure Centre guides hikers through the limestone canyon --165 feet deep in places --taking them across a thick floor of ice, below dramatic overhangs and past tall, frozen waterfalls.

We reached the canyon via a path that wound through forests of Engelman spruce and lodgepole pines. At its entrance, we strapped rubber soles with metal cleats (a crude type of crampon) onto the bottom of our boots before setting off through the canyon on top of a frozen river.

The Maligne River flows through the canyon and slowly freezes on top. Eventually, the water level beneath the ice drops, leaving big chambers of air up to 25 feet deep. That's why, in areas, Morgan asked us to follow behind him single-file.

The canyon's limestone walls were chiseled and rough in some areas and as round and smooth as a teacup in others, where the river had carved them out and polished them over time. As we walked, we found thick, bulbous icefalls, some of which towered 80 feet overhead and had ice caves near their bases.

After all this world-class outdoor adventuring --not to mention the four-star food and lodging --it was hard to leave Banff and Jasper. As we packed for the trip home, Hilary, Maribeth and I agreed we would visit the area again to work on our snowboarding moves, take ice climbing to the next level --and maybe give heli-skiing a shot.

Kari J. Bodnarchuk is a travel writer from Maine.

If you go: Banff, Alberta

Getting there
United, Delta and Air Canada fly from PDX to Calgary. Restricted round-trip fares begin at about $400. Shuttles will take you via the four-lane, well-marked and plowed Trans Canada Highway to Banff, 80 miles (90 minutes) from Calgary, and to Lake Louise, another 36 miles (40 minutes) beyond Banff. 

Driving the Icefields Parkway
Rent a car (various outlets) for the spectacular drive from Banff to Jasper. It's 150 miles; allow five hours for taking in the scenery and for photo stops (people often spend a full day doing this drive). Jasper is 258 miles from Calgary and 275 miles from Calgary International Airport.

The Snow Train
VIA Rail’s Snow Train to Jasper offers an easy way to take in the great scenery. Trains depart Vancouver (heading eastbound) and Edmonton (heading westbound) three days a week. More info:  www.snowtraintojasper.com.

Kingmik Sled Dog Tours
Kingmik (1-877-919-7779, www.kingmikdogsledtours.com) offers 30-minute ($95) to two-hour ($230) trips. Each sled holds two people and a child, or up to about 450 pounds.

Ice-climbing and more
Jasper Adventure Centre (1-800-565-7547; www.JasperAdventureCentre.com) can arrange ice-climbing, ice canyon-walking, snowshoeing, hiking and other adventures.

Skiing
Ski Banff @ Norquay (403-762-4421; www.banffnorquay.com) is considered the locals’ mountain. It's small (190 acres, versus Sunshine’s 3,170 acres and Lake Louise ’s 4,200 acres), but it has the most expert terrain of the bunch.

Sunshine Village (403-762-6500; www.skibanff.com), just 15 minutes from Banff, is known for its long seasons (November to May), short lift lines (Sunshine has the world’s fastest eight-passenger gondola) and abundance of champagne powder. Lessons: 877-542-2633.

Lake Louise (403-522-3555; www.skilouise.com) has 4,200 acres of skiable terrain, a five-mile run (No. 29, The Ski Out) and some of the most spectacular views of the Rockies . It also offers an entertaining torchlight dinner: Eat mid-mountain at the Whitehorn Lodge, then ski down by torchlight. Lessons: 403-522-1333, skischool@skilouise.com.

Fairmont Snow School (1-800-760-7731, or go to www.fairmont.com, click "ski" and then pull down The Fairmont Banff Springs from the "ski destination map") offers three-hour to three-day lessons for up to six people at any of the three Banff National Park ski areas.

Club Ski and Club Snowboard, run by Ski Banff-Lake Louise-Sunshine (www.skibig3.com) in downtown Banff offers half-day (three hours) and full-day (six hours) private lessons, and a multi-day tri-area program offering one full day at each of the three mountains.

Staying there
The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel (1-800-441-1414, www.fairmont.com). This 19^th-century Scottish baronial-style castle offers luxury and charm with a down-home feel. It's well worth the rates, which start around $275. Plan a day to explore the hotel’s stunning spa, shops, hot springs, gallery and grounds.

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (1-800-441-1414). One of Canada’s grand hotels, opened in 1895 as a base for outdoor enthusiasts. Rates start at about $250. Arrange guided hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and other adventures through the hotel's Mountain Heritage program.

More info: Information about other activities and accommodations in a wide range of prices and package deals is available at www.canadatourism.ca.