The Banff Gondola

 

We had heard that for absolutely the best views of the Canadian Rockies, it was essential to take a gondola ride to the top of one of the peaks.  We decided on the Banff Gondola.

 

We made the journey early one morning, so it was still a little misty at times.  The enclosed gondola took us up Sulphur Mountain, to an altitude of 698 m/2,292 ft.  The Banff Springs Hotel is visible to the bottom left of this photograph.

 

The snowy peaks were all around us.  Much of the view was still in shadow at this time.

Upon reaching the top, we were at the Upper Summit Terminal, where we were able to appreciate the fantastic views.

There we discovered the Banff Summit Walk, which extends for about a kilometre along the ridge to the Cosmic Ray Station, a high-altitude geophysical laboratory; which is a National Historic Site of Canada.  It commemorates Canada's  contribution to the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58.  More information can be found here.

All along the ridge, we saw stunning views of the surrounding peaks.

 

As well as the winding river in the valley below.

This is a photograph looking back towards the Upper Summit Terminal.

Who could fail to be impressed by such breath-taking scenery?  My lasting memories of this trip are of those majestic mountain peaks and beautiful glacial lakes.