Nestled in the vast expans of the Canadian Rockies, Banff National Park is a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of the most scenic places on the planet.

While the summers are busiest, with visitors coming from around the world to explore the breathtaking mountain environment, winters provide an equally beautiful and often overlooked opportunity to experience nature in its most pristine state.

With world class skiing and snowboarding and unbelievable backcountry opportunities, Banff is hands dow one of the top winter adventure travel destinations in the world.

Mind blowing vistas, bottomles powder and underground wonders.

This week on Epic Trails, we're exploring Banff National Park.

I'm Eric Hanson.

When I see a trail, I see more than a path from point A to point B. A good trail is the ultimate opportunity to explore, to discover new landscapes, and to challenge myself when I don't have a pack on my back.

I'm thinking about my next big adventure because my mission is simple.

My mission is to discover the world's most epic trails.

Funding for Epic Trails is provided by.

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Inspiring, educating and encouraging.

Outdoor adventure.

And by these additional sponsors.

Since 1954, Fraternal Composite Service has crafted annual collages of photographic portraits for Greek chapter and professional organizations.

Madsen frames create dimensional layering, while shatterproof glass preserves images.

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Banff and Lake Louise are stunning places at any time of the year, but there's something particularly charming about the area when it's covered by a blanket of fresh snow.

It was September only a few months ago that I was here last, exploring the area by foot.

And now that it's March.

I'm excited to be back and see a totally different side of the place.

But before setting off into the backcountry, I'm enjoying a quick tour around Banff to see some of the places that I visited before the snow started falling.

I don't kno if it's possible to communicate just how beautiful this place really is, except to say that it feels like a winter wonderland.

But as much as I'm enjoyin the views, I can feel a nervous anticipation building inside for the adventure ahead.

And so, to get things underway, I'm meeting up with Paul of the Miska mountain guides to go over some avalanche safety skills before heading deep into the backcountry.

Eric.

Yeah, yeah.

Hey, how's it going?

Oh, yeah.

I mean, nice to meet you.

Sweet.

Let's head up on the left.

And I'm.

There's a good spot to top the official avalanche trail where we can overlook the valley.

Oh.

Sounds sweet.

Oh.

So we'll be doing we'll be doing backcountry in Lake Louise.

Yep.

And how much terrain do they have back there for?

For us.

And how much competition they have for that terrain?

The terrain at Lake Louise given the stability we have, is pretty endless.

Really?

So we can come up with.

And, kind of head up and overlook some of the terrain, and then just pick out wher we're going to head off of the.

Thank you.

It's pretty spectacular place in here.

Great music.

That's music here.

So the trick with the probe is that's the handle on that, right?

So we want to throw it down the hill.

Yeah.

I'm afraid we're not gonna have much space.

Right.

And as we throw, we're going to hold the top of the handle there and pull.

The sweet.

All right.

Nope.

Whoa!

Okay, so I buried that.

I buried the transceiver down with the shovel head on top of it.

So you'll be able to kind of narrow the numbers down.

So this is where we need to kind of be slow, methodical in here.

Once we've got a point not to waste any time, that probe is going to either be new or handed to you, and it's going to be straight in the middle.

And if we don't hit anything, then we're going to star to kind of work our way round.

And for simplicity, now is just to remember to work in a clockwise direction.

There might be some small ai pockets or something like that.

If you come to a stop in the snow, but it's just a fight to create yourself some space before the snow settles.

After receiving the avalanche safety lesson from Paul.

I feel a lot better prepared to head into the backcountry, and we'll be doing that first thing tomorrow as we hike our way into Shadow Lake Lodge.

Beautiful morning here in Banff.

We're setting out on a snowshoeing track and we're heading out to Shadow Lake Lodge.

Should be an awesome day getting into the backcountry and to supposedly this really awesome lodge.

And, love that the snow is coming down.

Should be great.

Thanks for breaking trail, Paul.

I appreciate that.

There's nothing quite like traveling in the backcountry after a big snowstorm.

Everything is so quiet, peaceful, and filled with beauty.

Got a lot steeper here.

Yeah.

Just had an awesome day here.

Snowshoeing.

Back to Shadow Lake Lodge.

Hike about eight miles to get here.

And, now it's got this pristine wilderness area.

Whoa.

Sinking in beautiful lake here.

Just an awesome setting.

And, since knowing all day.

Can't wait to get inside and go sit by the fire, get some ho tea here.

There's even a sauna.

Made it.

Oh.

Look, I ahead.

Feels pretty good out here.

I'm gonna go back inside, though.

With the arrival of the new day.

The snow has pretty much stopped.

And like ghosts, the mountains we couldn't see yesterday are revealing themselve through a thinning cloud cover.

I just love the mornings in the backcountry.

They're so peaceful.

But at the same time, there's an underlying anticipation for the adventures that lie ahead.

Are we going?

So, we're gonna head in this direction.

I'm 900m through the trees, and then we should hi Shadow Lake and the Shadow Lake.

I didn't try to, like Sweet.

It's a gorgeous morning.

That's beautiful.

Let's do it.

Blue sky.

I couldn't ask for a better day.

Up to you.

Thank you for.

From Shadow Lake Lodge.

There are a wide variety of day hikes to choose from, depending on how adventurous you want to be.

But knowing that we have an eight mile hike out to finish the day, we choose one of the easier day hikes a two mil trek around Shadow Lake itself, which provides a truly spectacular view of the surrounding mountains.

Woo!

As beautiful as it is out here.

I'm surprised we haven't seen anyone else along the way, even though I know how many people are intimidated about hiking in the winter.

But with the right clothing and gear, there's almost never a bad time to be outside.

And snowshoeing is actually a very accessible way for people of all fitness levels to get outside and explore.

Take a little snack break.

Yeah.

Make a platform.

Just like the sun is trying to poke through to.

Get pretty steady with the snow.

You know, if we get a little sunshine.

You think it's going to keep snowing for the whole bit?

I think it should be like this for the next couple of days.

Yeah.

Be consistent.

These are off sometime tomorro afternoon to get to the skiing.

Yeah.

Then the rest of the week is Bluebird sky.

Nice.

And good.

I love it.

This is awesome out here.

I just love the atmosphere when it's snowing.

So peaceful and quiet that although I could easily spend a week up here doing the different day hikes, having made the two mile lap of the lake, we start the eight mil hike out from Shadow Lake Lodge.

Although I'm sad to leave.

I'm excited about what lies ahead because we've got a lot more exploring to do around Banff National Park.

No winter trip to Banf National Park would be complete without taking advantage of the world renowned skiing.

And so Pau and I swap our snowshoes for a snowboard and skis and head to Lake Louise Ski Resort.

So we'll get a practice run somewhere.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I need to knock some rust off of my snowboarding skills.

So practice run.

Just a warm up.

There we go.

So psyched.

This is going to be awesome.

That's pretty smart, though.

Yeah.

Have a look at the base map and.

One of the coolest things about Lake Louise is that it delivers world class inbound skiing and snowboarding.

But it also offers lift access, backcountry terrain for those with the training the tools, and the willingness to put in some extra effort for fresh tracks.

So that's going to let's get back there.

Right on it.

Let's go.

Before heading ou of bounds, we make a quick stop at the Avalanche Beacon training area.

With all the snow we've been getting.

There's no doubt that the skiing and snowboarding is going to be amazing, but there's also an increased avalanche danger.

Since I'll be Paul's personal rescue team.

Paul wants to be sure that I'm 100% comfortable using the tools in my pack.

It seems to me right here it looks like.

Okay, but I think if you have the right safety gear and know how to use it, you can hike the ridges at the top of Lake Louise to reach some incredible backcountry terrain.

And although it's hard wor going up, it's made a lot easier knowing that every struggling step gets you closer to the prize.

We've had a nice weather.

Thank you.

All right.

All right.

Let's go skiing.

Yeah.

All right.

We got the bridge now.

Let's do this.

Although there was a time in life when I did a lot of snowboarding.

It's been a number of years since I've strapped on a snowboard.

And what a place to start again.

Oh, and I got to drop into some of the most fantastic looking terrain I've ever seen.

I'm from Arizona, so this is little bit overwhelming for me.

I'm a little bit nervous and a lot of bit excited.

I think going to be pretty rad.

Okay, Eric, if you traverse out on my ski line and I drop in five meters right of my tracks.

Skiing is pretty good.

And then just make your way down to us.

Copy that.

I'm dropping in at three, two and one.

Two.

Having successfully made it down the first section without an epic faceplant I can feel my body loosening up.

And I start to really enjoy the feeling of floating through the fresh, dry Canadian Rockies.

Powder.

Yeah.

The first time people come out here, when you kind of leave Banff and head towards Lake Louise and then start heading into the mountains and the terrain opens up.

The views are amazing.

You know, you can see right there behind me.

You can drive for another two and a half, three hours and still get to the same terrain.

You know, different mountains, but the views, the views are amazing.

Having the right gear for the backcountry is more than just having the appropriate safety gear in particular.

Climbing skins make traversing and going uphill much easier, which means you're left with more time and energy to enjoy the ride down.

Feel like we're at the top of the world here.

Yeah.

The one thing about this area is there is kind of access for everybody.

You know, it's so eas to get in the backcountry from anybody that wants to kind o get out there and do low level activities, from snowshoeing to cross-country skiing, to backcountry skiing to ski mountaineering to some of the hardest ice climbing in the world.

And it's it's accessibl to everybody, which is amazing.

I'll have a good day, Paul.

Nice work.

That was awesome.

Thank you.

So much fun.

Back with the crowds.

Now.

Yeah.

Yeah, it really does.

Sweet.

Locate within the boundaries of Banff National Park, housing and development in the town of Banf is closely monitored and capped, which has allowed one of Canada's top tourist destinations to maintain its authentic character.

And while Banff is a beautiful and fun place to spend the night, I've got different plans as I'm meeting up with Gordon Sturman of White Mountain Adventures to explor Johnston Canyon Under the Stars.

Hey, Gord.

Eric, how are you?

Nice to see you.

Yeah, it's been a while.

Good.

Yeah I know you're ready.

For what?

Adventure.

Okay, well, let' go out for a night walk.

Sweet.

Last time I saw you, we were flying a helicopter.

That's right.

Yeah, the Canadian Rockies.

Just a few months ago.

What you can't see right now is this whole thing is just a big sheet of ice.

Yeah, all the way down.

But it's covered in snow.

And it all starts right up there at those frozen.

Okay.

Waterfalls.

Yeah.

Look at that.

Water is not clean.

Clear, clear, clear.

I just want to dip my water bottle right in there.

Yeah, you probably could.

It'd be clean enough to drink, but, Giardia is very, very uncommon.

One of the most popular hikes in Banff National Park, the Johnston Canyon Trail wind its way up a spectacular gorge, through tunnels and past towering waterfalls.

The hike is stunning during the daytime, but hiking it at night unde the light of the stars is a mind blowing experience.

Banff National Park is more than just Canada's most popular national park.

It's also Canada's first national park, and it all started here at the Cave in Basin in 1883.

And so I'm meeting up with Megan from Parks Canada to learn more about this historical place.

How are you?

I'm great.

How are you today?

Great.

Awesome.

Welcome to the Cave and Basin, the birthplace of Canada's national parks.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Yeah.

So this was the origina swimming pool at the Caven Basin that led to the creation of our whole national park system.

The water in the cave here is about 30°C.

Through the whole process.

Rain water, snowmelt goes down through the cracks in the Rocky Mountains about 3 to 5km under the ground, about the same height That Cascade Mountain is high.

And then it resurfaced here as nice hot water.

So 30 degrees is a prett comfortable, fast temperature.

Yeah.

And, if you had any health issues, people were coming her to take in the thermal waters.

Well, it's a super cool place.

The waterfall, that cascade there is.

Yeah.

Gorgeous.

Yeah, it's pretty unique.

I know you kind of.

Part of me is sad that, like, partially sad that you can't swim in here anymore.

Like, I appreciate that.

It's protected now, and so i won't get destroyed or abused.

Yeah, but part of m goes, oh, man, it's so inviting.

Yeah.

So imagine the bigger picture.

The Canadian governmen is building the railway across the entire countr to link us up from sea to sea.

It's the winter of 1883.

Three young men decided to stick it out.

Do some prospectin to see what they could discover.

Maybe make some money.

And they were rafting down the bow River when they saw steam rising up from the hillside here.

Imagine you're climbing down a tree trunk and you strike a match.

And the whole cave lights up before your eyes.

That's a pretty cool discovery.

It would have been phenomenal.

I can't even imagine.

Yeah.

There has been indigenou use here for thousands of years.

And we do feel that it's important to recogniz that it is a place of spiritual healing for many indigenous groups of the area.

As my trip to Banf National Park comes to its end.

A soak in the Banff Hot Springs is a welcomed opportunity to cut the winter's chill and relax.

After a few long days of exploring the backcountry.

It also gives me the chance to reflect on what's been another incredible trip to the area.

There aren't many places in the world that are truly world class for seasoned destinations.

And Banff National Park is definitely one of them.

But I've only seen two of the four seasons, which means I'll definitely b back to experience more of Banff National Park's epic trails.

Funding for Epic Trails is provided by.

N4 adventure.com.

Inspiring, educating and encouraging.

Outdoor adventure.

And by these additional sponsors.

Since 1954, Fraternal Composite Service has crafted annual collages of photographic portraits for Greek chapter and professional organizations.

Madsen frames create dimensional layering, while shatterproof glass preserves images.

Photographing nationwide fraternal composite Dicom.