So it came time for Australia Day. We decided to head out to Banff again for 3 days, staying at the Samesun Backpackers, where Leo had some friends staying also. Banff consists of about 80% Australians so is was bound to be a hectic few days. Due to the time difference we were able to celebrate Oz day for about 40 hours, listening to the hottest 100 countdown two nights in a row. The night of the 25th was a large one. Far too many beers that's for sure! a great night was had at the Pump and Tap, followed by the Dancing Sasquatch. The next day was spent recovering, only to do the same thing the next night. The day after we were thinking of heading out to Calgary but were too hungover so instead spent time at the Banff hot springs recovering before driving back to Golden. A few days later was my birthday, still rather fragile from a large few days, we got a hotel room up at Palliser Lodge on the hill. There was about 10-15 of us there for drinks and yarns and hot tubs etc. A chilled yet good night.

Since then there has not been a whole lot of snow, so a lot more time has been spent hiking up the peaks. After 5 days of no snow, and the mountain getting a bit crusty, we hired out some avalanche equipment and set off for the back country. The first day kicked off to a bad start with Quentin snapping his rented split board after the first run. The rest of the day was spent on mountains near to the resort. The next day was far more satisfying. We set off the same way we left the day before, dropping in to some seriously narrow chutes in search of some deep snow. Each hike would take us between 30-60 minutes up hill, wearing snow shoes and a pack full of shovels, food, water, board and clothing. The hikes werent too bad but still very tiring. Only completing 3 major runs in total for the day, it may seem as though it was a bit too much effort. In saying that, every step of the 4 hikes we made was worth it. The runs we did were definitely the most intense i have experienced. They are that much more satisfying knowing that you have just walked up the entire mountain to reach the one run. There are some photos uploaded which show what we did. Honestly, leaving for Canada, I would never have expected to be hitting runs as intense as these. Safety was definitely an issue. Along for the ride was Dave, a friend we have made who is from Quebec. HE is quite experienced in this area so he taught us how to use our avalanche equipment and how to look at the runs and figure out safepoints and where to go should anything go wrong.

Well we made it out and now we are back at work, I am currently being hassled by Felix, a German guy here who i am working with for that day so i best get back to work. Until next time.