Banff in last 2 weeks of November | Golden Skate

Banff in last 2 weeks of November

Sam L

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Hi doing some trip planning again. I had a thread back last year when I was tentatively planning to do Banff. That never happened. I’m looking again this year but in a different time of year. Late November. Question is is it too early to skate on Lake Louise?
 

NanaPat

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Country
Canada
I don't have any personal experience, but here is an article about when Lake Louise THAWS.

http://banffandbeyond.com/did-you-know-lake-louise-doesnt-thaw-until-june/It says this about the lake freezing:

The lake usually begins to freeze again in November and then is covered in many feet of snow until the thawing cycle begins again in the late spring.


If the lake only starts to freeze in November, the ice probably isn't thick enough for the snow-clearing equipment.

Wait, I found a better article

http://banffandbeyond.com/ice-skating-on-lake-louise/

According to this one:

Every year the locals anxiously await for Lake Louise to freeze solid enough to start the skating season. There’s nothing more magical than gliding across the ice with the magnificent backdrop of Victoria Glacier. Depending on the temperatures the rink is usually ready for use in the first week of December.

There are more details in the article.
 

Sam L

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Hey thanks for that. I saw the articles. I am looking for more personal experiences? From what I understand by the time the lake is frozen enough to skate on there’s snow on it which needs to be cleared and this doesn’t happen until December. Although the lake itself starts to freeze before.
 

NanaPat

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Oct 25, 2014
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Canada
Note that the article says "usually" and it is from a few years ago, so an early December opening is far from guaranteed.
 

Sam L

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Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Note that the article says "usually" and it is from a few years ago, so an early December opening is far from guaranteed.

Are you talking about climate change, as in it may take longer for the lake to freeze these days? That was my original concern. But I thought December is the coldest month? Or is it January?
 

NanaPat

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Canada
I was talking about both variability and climate change. Climate change (warming) is having a very marked change on glaciers. Don't know how much it's affecting lakes in alpine areas.
 

Sam L

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Joined
Mar 23, 2014
I was talking about both variability and climate change. Climate change (warming) is having a very marked change on glaciers. Don't know how much it's affecting lakes in alpine areas.

Ok so maybe January is a safer bet?
 

NanaPat

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Oct 25, 2014
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Canada
Ok so maybe January is a safer bet?

Probably. But don't blame me if you go on the one warm day in January! Or if it's snowing so hard they can't clear the ice! The lake's frozen status lags behind the temperature. The days are also longer (and the sun higher in the sky) in January, which is a big plus.
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
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OK, so I started writing a reply to the Original Post shortly after the thread was posted. And, after leaving it for a few days due to watching the European Championships, I finished it there now. But, now that I have returned to the thread and have clicked on NanaPat’s links, I realise that you are talking about a different Banff to the one I thought you were talking about. :palmf:

But, I’ll post my reply anyway, in case anybody is interested in going to that part of the world.

Although I’ve never been to the north of Scotland (the furthest north I have been is Stirling), I decided to research a reply anyway as I have heard Mike Dixon talking about Aviemore a lot during the Biathlon coverage, but I never knew where exactly it was. So, this was an excuse to look it up.

To be honest, I was puzzled as to why you would choose Banff over the main settlement in the north-east of Scotland, Aberdeen. Yes, Banff is closer to the Highlands if you want to explore there, but from what I can see online, there doesn’t seem to be much to do in Banff itself.

As a larger town, Aberdeen has a lot more to offer. And looking at the map, it seems to be better connected to places you may want to go to. Travelling south along the coast road for about an hour and a quarter will take you to Dundee. There is a lot to see and do in Dundee. Not least for us that are interested in figure skating, because the Dundee Ice Arena is one of the main coaching centres in the British Isles, not just Scotland.

Back to Aberdeen's connections, and you’ve got the ski resort of Aviemore directly to the west. And Banff is around an hour and a quarter away to the north (or an hour and a half if you take the coast road).

But, when I was checking the travelling times there now, I discovered that you can’t travel directly from Aberdeen to Aviemore. You have to go most of the way to Banff, and then head back inland.

So, bizarrely, Banff probably is a better option. OK, so the 2 and a half hour journey time to Dundee probably rules out a trip there. But, if you want to skate, Aberdeen does have it’s own NISA recognised rink.

Elgin, an hour west along the coast road from Banff, also has an ice rink. And it has a lot more things to see than Banff as well. Personally, I think it would be the best option for somewhere to base yourself, as it is pretty central to all the major places that you might want to visit.

  • Inverness is an hour west along the coast road from Elgin
  • Banff is an hour east along the coast road from Elgin
  • Aviemore is an hour and a quarter inland (i.e. south) from Elgin
  • Aberdeen is an hour and a half from Elgin if you take the inland route (2 and a half hours via the coast road)

Inverness is the main settlement in the north of Scotland, and the door to the Highlands. And being closer to Inverness is a big benefit if you want to go skating. Because the Inverness Ice Centre has FIVE rinks. Yes, you heard that correctly, FIVE rinks. That’s more rinks than the whole island of Ireland has!

So, that is what I have found out doing a bit of basic searching on Google. I am sure that you will find out a lot more if you do deeper research.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a great time!

CaroLiza_fan
 

Sam L

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
OK, so I started writing a reply to the Original Post shortly after the thread was posted. And, after leaving it for a few days due to watching the European Championships, I finished it there now. But, now that I have returned to the thread and have clicked on NanaPat’s links, I realise that you are talking about a different Banff to the one I thought you were talking about. :palmf:

But, I’ll post my reply anyway, in case anybody is interested in going to that part of the world.

Although I’ve never been to the north of Scotland (the furthest north I have been is Stirling), I decided to research a reply anyway as I have heard Mike Dixon talking about Aviemore a lot during the Biathlon coverage, but I never knew where exactly it was. So, this was an excuse to look it up.

To be honest, I was puzzled as to why you would choose Banff over the main settlement in the north-east of Scotland, Aberdeen. Yes, Banff is closer to the Highlands if you want to explore there, but from what I can see online, there doesn’t seem to be much to do in Banff itself.

As a larger town, Aberdeen has a lot more to offer. And looking at the map, it seems to be better connected to places you may want to go to. Travelling south along the coast road for about an hour and a quarter will take you to Dundee. There is a lot to see and do in Dundee. Not least for us that are interested in figure skating, because the Dundee Ice Arena is one of the main coaching centres in the British Isles, not just Scotland.

Back to Aberdeen's connections, and you’ve got the ski resort of Aviemore directly to the west. And Banff is around an hour and a quarter away to the north (or an hour and a half if you take the coast road).

But, when I was checking the travelling times there now, I discovered that you can’t travel directly from Aberdeen to Aviemore. You have to go most of the way to Banff, and then head back inland.

So, bizarrely, Banff probably is a better option. OK, so the 2 and a half hour journey time to Dundee probably rules out a trip there. But, if you want to skate, Aberdeen does have it’s own NISA recognised rink.

Elgin, an hour west along the coast road from Banff, also has an ice rink. And it has a lot more things to see than Banff as well. Personally, I think it would be the best option for somewhere to base yourself, as it is pretty central to all the major places that you might want to visit.

  • Inverness is an hour west along the coast road from Elgin
  • Banff is an hour east along the coast road from Elgin
  • Aviemore is an hour and a quarter inland (i.e. south) from Elgin
  • Aberdeen is an hour and a half from Elgin if you take the inland route (2 and a half hours via the coast road)

Inverness is the main settlement in the north of Scotland, and the door to the Highlands. And being closer to Inverness is a big benefit if you want to go skating. Because the Inverness Ice Centre has FIVE rinks. Yes, you heard that correctly, FIVE rinks. That’s more rinks than the whole island of Ireland has!

So, that is what I have found out doing a bit of basic searching on Google. I am sure that you will find out a lot more if you do deeper research.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a great time!

CaroLiza_fan

OMG that is so hilarious and so sweet. :laugh: Thank you. I've been to England but not Scotland. It's on my list, trust me, The Scottish landscape is magnificent.
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
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Oct 25, 2012
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OMG that is so hilarious and so sweet. :laugh: Thank you. I've been to England but not Scotland. It's on my list, trust me, The Scottish landscape is magnificent.

I would love to visit further north in Scotland too, for the same reasons. It looks amazing on TV, so imagine what it must be like in real life. It must be breathtaking!

But what about Lake Louise?

I've never been to that part of Scotland, so I don't know anything about what lakes might be there! :laugh:

Admittedly, I know about the ski resort of Lake Louise, and have watched a lot of Women's Alpine Skiing World Cup races from there. But, I didn't realise that skating took place there as well, so I never made the connection when Sam L started talking about wanting to skate.

And I didn't know Lake Louise was at a place called Banff. For that matter, I didn't know there was another Banff. But, now I do!

Still, I have learnt a lot through this exercise, some of which I have used in another thread. And some of which I will use if I visit that part of Scotland. So, it was not a fruitless process by any means.

CaroLiza_fan
 

NanaPat

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Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Country
Canada
Banff AB and Lake Louise AB are actually about a 45 minute drive from each other.

To make things more interesting, there are three places called Lake Louise that are near each other, but not exactly the same (as short drive but a substantial distance on foot).

There is the actual lake, Lake Louise, with the lake, hiking trails, a massive parking lot, Chateau Lake Louise, and the skating. There is Lake Louise Village, with shopping, accommodation, restaurants and campgrounds, that is near where you turn off the highway for the lake. And there is Lake Louise Ski Area, which is across the highway from the village.
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
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Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Country
Northern-Ireland
Banff AB and Lake Louise AB are actually about a 45 minute drive from each other.

Oh. Sorry about that. :eek::

You know, that is one thing I hate, when people say that somewhere is at the main centre of population of the area, when it is actually a good distance outside it; at a different settlement; or even in a different county/province/state/etc.! And it is commonly done with airports. Here are some examples I have actually used:

  • In Northern Ireland, "Belfast International Airport" is actually 15 miles away from Belfast in the village of Aldergrove. At least they are both in the same county (County Antrim, although a good chunk of Belfast - including the rival Belfast City Airport - is actually in County Down).

  • In Scotland, "Glasgow Airport" is actually 30 miles away from Glasgow in the town of Prestwick, which is even in a different county! (Prestwick is in Ayrshire, while Glasgow was traditionally in Lanarkshire)

  • In Belgium, "Brussels South Airport" is actually 30 miles away from Brussels in the city of Charleroi, which is even in a different province! (Charleroi is in Hainaut, while Brussels was traditionally in South Brabant)

:hpull:

To make things more interesting, there are three places called Lake Louise that are near each other, but not exactly the same (as short drive but a substantial distance on foot).

There is the actual lake, Lake Louise, with the lake, hiking trails, a massive parking lot, Chateau Lake Louise, and the skating. There is Lake Louise Village, with shopping, accommodation, restaurants and campgrounds, that is near where you turn off the highway for the lake. And there is Lake Louise Ski Area, which is across the highway from the village.

My goodness! No wonder foreigners like me get confused! :drama:

Well, I suppose you can understand why all these places would name themselves after the major natural feature that is nearby.

By the way, I found out the reason Banff in Alberta is called that is because the guy that built the railway that the town grew up around was from a village in Banffshire, Scotland. So, there is actually a connection with my witterings. :laugh:

CaroLiza_fan
 

Sam L

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
And I didn't know there was another Banff.

So my dates are pretty much set now to be in February 2020. I can't wait.
 

Sam L

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Banff is booked. I'm going via Vancouver and Calgary. I'll spend 2 nights in Lake Louise and 2 nights in Banff. Can't wait. I'm so looking forward to skating at Lake Louise. I would like to have my Axel by then.
 

NanaPat

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Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Country
Canada
Banff is booked. I'm going via Vancouver and Calgary. I'll spend 2 nights in Lake Louise and 2 nights in Banff. Can't wait. I'm so looking forward to skating at Lake Louise. I would like to have my Axel by then.

Where are you staying at Lake Louise?
 

Sam L

Medalist
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Where are you staying at Lake Louise?

My sister told me about HI hostel where she stayed at so I’m thinking that but I haven’t booked and I’m open to suggestions? I would like to stay somewhere cozy and with a fireplace. I also won’t be driving and catching a bus so somewhere central.
 

NanaPat

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Joined
Oct 25, 2014
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Canada
My sister told me about HI hostel where she stayed at so I’m thinking that but I haven’t booked and I’m open to suggestions? I would like to stay somewhere cozy and with a fireplace. I also won’t be driving and catching a bus so somewhere central.

The hostel is good if you can get a reservation. I would definitely start now. When we stayed there, we shared a 6-bed room with four people we didn't know. We grabbed the loft, which was the only semi-private part of the room. I believe they do have some smaller rooms, but they get snapped up. It is in the village, so it's a short drive or long hike to the actual lake. There are only a few places to stay in Lake Louise (trivago lists 7, but two of them are more than 10 km down the highway) very much unlike Banff.
 
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