Lake O'Hara - Yoho National Park

Last weekend, Keith and I enjoyed a fun-filled 3 days at the Elizabeth Parker Hut in Yoho National Park.  The trail head is less than an hour from Banff, just off of the Trans Canada Highway.  It's a fairly gentle 12 km ski in to this historic hut. The Lake O'Hara area is a ridiculously popular area in the summer months, but you'll find it a whole lot quieter in the winter months.  The mountains in this area, seem to explode out of the earth straight into the sky. 

 

Kind of like this...

And this....

AND this....

Seriously, my neck was sore from all of the rubber-necking I was doing.  The area is stunning and this corner of Yoho National Park is just different from any other place I've been in the National Parks. It's got it's own unique personality.  It's a big world at Lake O'Hara.  Big mountains and big terrain.

It was a cold weekend, but we were lucky enough that it had dropped about 20cm of fresh snow to freshen up the already fresh landscape. The hut was the perfect place to relax on a cold day and we filled it with 12 friends. Between the capacity crowd, the good food and the fire, we had it cooking hot in no time.

Let's Ski There!

The avalanche conditions were running high on this weekend, so we mostly just looked around and went for a little ski.  It's not a place that is famous for ski touring - possibly because the mountains are vertical in almost all directions!  We did manage to make a few turns and had a great day out there.

 Me and Anna

Brenda leads the Posse

Heading back to the Hut

It was a sweet relaxing weekend with good people in an incredible place.  I seriously ate more calories than I burned, and that was the best part of the weekend fun.  I'll be back for some future adventures - it's a location that can't be beat. The Elizabeth Parker Hut and the Lake O'Hara area are pure bliss for anyone who enjoys rugged, beautiful wild places!