Editor: Parks Canada has recently unveiled a proposed management plan for the Lake Louise Ski Area, located in Banff National Park.
As an enthusiastic skier I support the ski area and as a certified mountain guide I run a small business, which includes skiing in the backcountry around the resort. I also support environmental protection within the parks. However, I find it hard to understand why Lake Louise or Parks thinks one part of this plan is a good idea: removing Purple and Wolverine Bowls from the present leasehold and replacing them with West and Hidden Bowls.
If you are a skier, this exchange is a net loss. West Bowl is already a de facto part of the ski area; outside the boundary, but easily accessed from the lifts. Although uncontrolled terrain, with basic training and the proper equipment many have skied that run safely for decades. In fact, increasing use here may create greater danger, as the egress trail will be hazardous without major terrain modifications (which are not allowed in the plan).
Developing Hidden Bowl would create the shortest runs in the ski area – no more than 150 metre vertical before hitting flat ground. Small runs like Hidden Bowl are better suited for ski touring, where skiers hike up the hill to get their turns. It is the perfect spot for guides introducing skiers to the backcountry and teaching avalanche courses. Expansion here hurts small businesses.
If development is to occur, Purple and Wolverine Bowls offer better skiing. They have north facing runs with vertical drops of 250-420 metres. There is a better mix of easy, intermediate and advanced ski terrain, and fewer hazards need to be mitigated by terrain modifications.
Not mentioned in the plan, but shown on accompanying maps is the appropriation of the Corral Creek area. These runs are longer than Hidden Bowl – 175 to 350 m – but those numbers only hold true if trees are cut. The forest is too thick to ski otherwise. This brings us to the environmental impact of the proposal.
The plan calls for “no cut runs” in the new zones; this is contradicted elsewhere as it states a West Bowl egress trail will be developed. Anyone who is familiar with this terrain knows that tree cutting would be essential, because the forest is too dense to ski through in many areas.
Wildlife is also a concern. In 2014 a grizzly bear hibernated within 500 m of West Bowl. Parks closed this terrain as a result. What happens when a grizzly hibernates here in the future, when it is part of the ski area? In both these zones I have also seen bighorn sheep, lynx, and wolverine. More use here will inevitably drive this wildlife further afield.
Consideration is given for a lift in Hidden Bowl as well. This would be visible from the popular Skoki trail that is used by backcountry enthusiasts in winter and summer. In terms of visual impact, lifts in Purple and Wolverine Bowls would make more sense, as they are only visible from the resort itself. In addition, egress from Hidden Bowl and Corral Creek would be along the Skoki trail, mixing backcountry enthusiasts and ski area users.
There are some good things in this proposal. Removal of leased lands within the Whitehorn Wildlife corridor, summer use relocation, the reduction of water withdrawals, a new lift on lower Richardson Ridge within the present boundary and a new lodge at the top of Grizzly Gondola are all sound ideas. However, no matter if you are an avid skier, support small business, enjoy using the backcountry or are an ardent environmentalist, the land swap of Purple and Wolverine Bowls for West and Hidden Bowls is unsupportable. I suggest Parks Canada go back to the drawing board.
Mark Klassen,
Banff
