Learning to ice skate on Lake Louise by Fairmont Chateau

Lake Louise is one of those Canadian destinations that you always hear about. It is one of the big bucket list ticks that practically everyone wants to add to their list. For me, I am greedy and want to experience it in all seasons. This year, we got to tick off the first of all four seasons at Lake Louise: winter. Making a day of it, we made the hour-long drive to Lake Louise from our Airbnb with our backpack, GoPro, and beanies, scarves, and gloves. We hooked up our phones and put on a Spotify playlist, ready to see Lake Louise for ourselves. We knew that it would be entirely iced over and we were so excited to see it. On the way, we took the highway and the entire drive was (no surprise here) so beautiful. Canada has this unbelievable way of pulling you in and making you fall in love with its landscape, even when it is from inside a car speeding along the highway and not being immersed in the landscape itself.

Of course, we would be immersing ourselves in the soft snowy landscape of Lake Louise that day. once we left the highway, we followed the GPS up and into stunning snowy mountains that framed the silvery grey overcast day with the snowy whites and stone greys of the surrounding mountains. Our playlist was playing through the sounds of Tame Impala, Rufus, etc. It was one of those drives that you remember so long after the actual drive itself. Content silence fuelled by the growing excitement at being on our way to the famous lake. The closer we got to Lake Louise, the more the sky opened up. While we did not have entirely clear skies on this day, I think that make it all the more special. We really got to experience that wonderful soft little winter's day in all its glory, even with a little bit of falling snow to add some extra magic!

When we finally turned into the carpark, it was so snowy and cold that we realised when trying to back up into a space that we had frozen over the reverse camera (so that should give you an idea of how cold it was!). Jumping out of the car, we saw this stunning little snowy pathway between the pine trees. And above it was the tops of the Fairmont. This was the second Fairmont we had visited on our trip and aside from knowing that we want to stay in them one day, there is just something awe inspiring about seeing such impressive architecture up close. We locked the car and began to walk through those deep green pine trees, branches tipped with fluffy white snow. This is still one of those moments that made me catch my breath with the natural beauty of it all. The further we walked, the more our excitement at the day ahead of us grew. By the time we edged out of the pine trees on the other side of the path, the Fairmont lay to one side and the first glimpses of Lake Louise lay to the other side. And in between, a little wooden cabin, straight out of a winter movie.As it turns out, that little cabin is 130 years old. The history of Lake Louise goes back hundreds of years. In 1882, Stoney First Nations were guiding Canadian Pacific Railway employee Thomas Wilson through this part of Canada when the rumbling of avalanches led to a question that would leave two Stoney First Nations guides and Wilson to the lake, where they showed him the "lake of little fishes". This was the first time that an individual of European descent saw the lake. He named it Emerald Lake. Calling it a "matchless scene", Wilson was in awe of the natural beauty of the shimmering lake in vibrant tones of blues and greens. In 1890 eight years later, the general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway, Mr Cornelius Van Horne, dreamed of building a hotel for "outdoor adventurer". That hotel was the little cabin and it would be the start of a long and fruitful history for the area and for that famed dream. 

Lake Louise is also the area that is renowned for being the place that kickstarted Canadian mountaineering. In 1896, an expedition to Mount Lefroy sadly ended up with the death of one of the mountaineers, Phillip Abbot. It was this harrowing instance that led to the hiring of the first two professional Swiss mountain guides that would safely lead guests to some of Canada's most striking summits. For years after, Swiss climbers would lead hundreds of ascents in the mountains surrounding Lake Louise. And now, decades later, the Swiss influence is still very much present in the architecture, food, and guided programs available at the Fairmont Chateau. Today, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is a luxury hotel that frames Lake Louise. Over 100 years old and spanning 36,000 square feet, the chateau is remarkable, clean and characteristic architecture outside and grand and intricate detail inside. 

We were itching to explore the chateau, however the pull of the lake steered us to the left. As we reached the section in the pathway where it opened up out to the lake, the snow had been scraped to the side for easier navigation by visitors to the lake and guests of the chateau. I will never forget the second that path opened right up and the full scale of the lake became visible. To the left of us as we walked towards the lake was an icy little bubbling stream with the clearest water that was surrounded by built up snow that looked so fluffy that you could dive into it and keep sliding downwards forever. Looking back at it, the view of the chateau and the blue sky made for such a pretty picture. And when we turned back towards the lake, that little stream opened up into pebbled shallows that gave way to an iced over lake surrounded by the rockies, all of it tinged in soft silvers, greys, whites, and blues. 

'Winter then in its early and clear stages, was a purifying engine that ran unhindered over city and country, alerting the stars to sparkle violently and shower their silver light into the arms of bare upreaching trees.'

Mark Halprin, Winter's Tale

We excited picked up speed, holding onto one another and trying desperately not to slip in our haste to get to that lake. And in the middle of the entrance to the lake? A life-sized ice castle entrance. We had never seen anything like it. I looked at Josh and he had the same excited grin on his face that I am sure that I did at that moment. To get to the castle entrance, you had to walk over slippery ice, so we decided to explore the other ice sculptures in the distance that surrounded the back of the chateau. As we walked closer to these ice sculptures, the detail and grandeur in each and every one of them came to life. It was an ice sculptor competition! Each of the sculptures told its own story. And they were each so beautiful and so striking. Josh loved a giant robot insect sculpture, I loved a giant fish skeleton sculpture, and we both thought that this stunning sculpture of a jester riding a bike was perhaps the best one there (though they were all pretty remarkable, to be fair).

And to top it all off? Fairmont Chateau has an ice bar. A literal ice bar. I stopped in my tracks...and then we hurried over to get a drink. I asked for a jack and coke and (this is hilarious) they ironically did not have any ice. So, I got a hot cider and Josh got a whiskey. We sat down to enjoy our drinks, looking out over the surrounding mountains and the frozen lake and ice castle, peppered with excited people (and dogs!) who were all enjoying the ice and the snow. We both had this infectious, impossible to stop smile on our faces. After admiring the sculptures and having a drink at the ice bar, we went to the chateau to hire some ice skates. The Fairmont is incredibly grand, each detail perfectly created. We eventually found the right entrance to the ice skate hire and put down our details for logging and pick up. We hired them for a solid few hours, meaning that we would have enough time to enjoy it all without having to rush through it while I was clumsily learning to skate. Eager to get out on the ice, we hurried as much as possible to get back to the lake. We switched our shoes for our skates and put our shoes under the seats. We were both so excited to ice skate on Lake Louise. 

Easing our way onto the ice and towards the ice castle, all the glimmering little details of the ice castle came alive, the snow casting a shimmering white blanket atop the castle. In fact, white blankets covered everything in sight. Apart from the part of the lake where we ice skated, of course. I never totally understood the expression 'blankets of snow' before, but I definitely did now. There we were, about to ice skate on Lake Louise, surrounded by glittering ice and shimmering snow and everything wonderful the cold there is. After a little while of exploring around the castle we carefully navigated our way around it and over the little uneven ripples on the surface of the frozen water. It was time to dive into ice skating properly for the first time. I have only ice skates a few times before in high school, be never for long enough that I could do much more than barely hold my balance long enough to juuuust make it to the other side of red rover games (and I only ever made it that far if there was someone else there who was slower and clumsier than me on the ice).So, with that in mind, this was what I defined as my first time learning to properly ice skate. And on Lake Louise, no less! Josh was amazing that whole day. He held onto my hands with his own and guided me around the ice to begin with before we moved on to just holding hands while I started to gain my footing more. Every now and then, I would get brave enough to let go and skate on my own. Then Josh would speed off, gracefully skating literal rings around me while I stared in impressed disbelief, trying to maintain my footing on the ice myself. He would eventually skate back towards me with a smug little smile on his face, always insisting that he was not that much better of a skater than I was, even though we both knew this was not at all true (it was a sweet sentiment nonetheless). Watching him (seemingly) effortlessly glide towards me is one of my favourite memories of that day. After a while I actually started to get pretty good for a beginner. Learning to ice skate on Lake Louise is an experience that I will never forget.

And all around us during this insanely incredible experience there were happy and laughing people also enjoying Lake Louise. From couples on their own to couples with their babies (toboggan baby!) and dogs, to groups of friends and families, and some solo ice skaters, this was a place for everyone. During this whole time there were people snow shoeing and cross country skiing in the distance, as well as sleigh rides. And in the distance, between the snow-topped mountains and glaciers and pine trees, a waterfall that looked to be frozen solid. We did not venture out to the waterfall, however I know that we will next time for sure. It felt like being in the middle of a winter movie or a travel advertisement. Skating around on the ice, we gained speed and I gained more confidence in my ice skating abilities as the day went on. In a place that was so magical, getting to take it all in while the cold whirled around us in the most perfect whisper of crisp winter air. Eventually, we decided to hang up the ice skates for the day and head back to Canmore. We planned to get a delicious dinner and watch some TV in bed with the fire going.

After we eventually went to leave, we went to check out Lake Moraine on the way back for a few hours. Unfortunately, the road was entirely snowed over so access by vehicle was effectively blocked off. We did not have snow shoes with us and had no idea how long the walk to the lake would be, so we left it for another time (just another excuse to go back to Canada, right?). Lake Louise is a mystical place that weaves together the vibrancy of real life and the sparkling intricacies of magic in ways that feel like something out of a dream. And in many ways, it is a place that is magical. Lake Louise is one of our favourite places from this trip and we already cannot wait to come back and experience the wondrous beauty of the lake again. Lake Louise has it all and the elegant charm of Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is the beautiful cherry on top. From the drive there to our last steps back through that pathway to get to the car, a final look back at the magic, this is an experience that neither I or Josh will ever forget. See you again (hopefully) soon, Lake Louise and the Chateau.