Monojit's Birthday - Waterton Parks Getaway - 12 Feb 2011

Who does not know Monojit and who does Monojit not know - that is a tough call to make, not only in the ambit of Calgary but also wider geographies. I have had the privilege of being Monojit Dhara's friend from the year 2010. Monojit had first approached me for a trip to Seattle in early 2010, but I had not been able to make it. My first trip with him was to Jasper National Park in Jul 2010 and that was a huge succeess. Details of that trip can be found here - http://rahulranecool2.blogspot.com/2010/07/jasper-2010.html

On The Waterton Lake - The Boys Singing For Monojit's Birthday
L-R: Ram, Ganesh, Monojit, Anup, Avneesh
Photographer - Rahul (Self)

12 Feb was something special - it was Dada's birthday (Dada is how we popularly call Monojit). So we had decided to celebrate the occasion in our own special way. And what would special mean to a group of travel-hungry-nerds? Yes it would have to be a long trip outside of Calgary. Dice were rolled by the group to decide the location and Waterton was locked in. Monojit liked the idea and his thoughts became engaged in  cutting the cake on the bonnet of our vehicle near the frozen Waterton Lake in -30 °C.

At A Gas Station On Queen Elizabeth Highway
With The 5.7 Litre Jeep Commander - Trail Rated

The Trail Rated Badge On The Commander

We were supposed to pick up our rental vehicle on the evening of 11th from the National Rental Agency, 10th Ave, Calgary. Monojit and I generally go together in the evening after office to pick up rentals. That week however had been nastily busy and demanding. I sat crouched against my chair in my office and Monojit was at the client's. I somehow managed to get a few minutes off and sped off to the Rental Agency (which is about 10 minutes from my office by walk) to get the vehicle. The Agency was just about to close at 6 PM when I dashed into their office. This time I got a Jeep Commander, a 5.7 Litre Trail Rated, butch looking SUV. I immediately fell in love with this vehicle.

I got the vehicle back and parked it on 12th Avenue, behind my office building. I paid for the meter and got back to my desk. There were plans to go out to the North East for shopping and I was thinking if I would be able to make it with the guys that night. By 7 PM, Monojit, Avneesh and Ganesh came to the office to pick up the vehicle. By then I had totally been drained out, so I thought I too would go out with the guys. That would freshen me up for work and I could sit for some hours at night.

Rest of the evening was spent at Costco, the Sunridge Mall, Best But, Future Shop and the Grocery Stores  in the North-East. We had dinner outside at an Indianised Chinese restaurant near Marlborough Mall and came back home by 11.30. I then sat late until 4 AM in the morning to finish my work. I took a short nap of about 3 hours and got up again at 7 to get ready for the trip.

The weather on the 12th was not awe inspiring. The skies were packed and it was snowing. By now Ganesh had also started driving and it was decided that he would take the wheel for the onward journey and I would drive on the way back. Near the land of windmills before reaching Waterton we had noticed that the wind gusts had become too strong. When we came out of our vehicle for snaps we were hardly able to stand. Even the heavier ones among us could not keep their feet rooted to the ground. We had taken some pictures there with great difficulty. Standing was impossible and we had to hold hands together to keep from flying away. Ram's spectacles blew away as soon as he got out of the car. We sent search parties and spent about 1/2 an hour to search the spectacles but never got them. I could sense the crosswinds trying to uproot the vehicile while I sat at the back and Ganesh confirmed that it was too tough to drive.

Bad Weather Conditions At The Bison Paddock Sanctuary
The SUV had to be engaged in 4 X 4 H

Driving through the rough weather we finally reached Waterton. Before entering the main town, we forayed into the Bison Paddock Wildlife Sanctuary. The drive into the sanctuary is by means of an uncobbled road, which is by all means narrow and constricted by barbed fencing. As fascinating it may get in summer, equally dangerous can it be in winters. The complete path was dabbed with solid ice and to make matters worse the ice was hidden by fresh layers of thick snow. We had to read the SUV's operator's manual to switch the vehicle into 4X4 High mode. Unlike other SUVs I have driven wherein shifting differential modes is easy, the changing mechanism in this SUV was by far too complex.

I took over the wheels at this point from Ganesh. We drove for sometime before stopping at a point to do some photo shoots. Extreme weather conditions with snow and high velocity winds made it annoyingly treacherous to stay out of the vehicle for longer periods. I reversed the vehicle within the constriction with care lest we got stuck. And what happened on our way back was even worse. Monojit went out to take a snap. He was standing aside the open passenger door when suddenly a hurricanish gust of wind came over and it took Monojit off his feet. In an attempt to prevernt getting blown over he caught the door of the SUV. But the ground was icy and he along with the door were blown off resulting in the door to get unhinged at its bottom hinge. We carefully patched the door so it would not come off. That was scary, and we did not stay at that spot any longer.

Waterton Parking Lot Full Of Snow

Our Vehicle In Waterton

Coming out of the ice and snow was a good driving exercise and the SUV lived up to its reputation. It had indeed earned its badge of being Trail Rated. Inch by inch, metre by metre the vehicle pulled us out of the snow and once on firm ground we gained good momentum. We reached Waterton town in a little time and parked our car aside the lake. It was unbelievably chilly and it felt horrible to have your skin exposed to the subarctic wind gusts.

The Boys Ready To Cut The Cake



Avneesh Taking A Group Snap



The Birthday Boy's Delicacy And A Big Candle

It did not take much time for the celebration mood to kick in and people started dancing over the whole place first to choose a spot to cut the cake and then to take loads of snaps. There is a ramp on the lakeside which is used to get into the boats. This was where we chose to cut the cake. The entire lake was frozen and we could easily walk on it, albeit with caution.

Standing On The Frozen Waterton Lake

The Wooden Ramp On The Frozen Lake

Snow Covered Mountains Behind

Prince Of Wales Hotel - Snap Taken From The Lakeside

Village Information Center

Next on our list was The Cameron Lake. This lake is about 17 kilometers from Waterton on highway AB-5E. It is a very beautiful drive up 5E as the road is quite narrow and curvy. This time of the year it was completely beefed with snow. I was feeling as if I had come to Switzerland.

Beautiful Drive Up AB-5E - Towards Cameron Lake

Another Snap On The Way To Cameron Lake

The road is open to traffic until a certain point in winters after which you have to go a considerable distance by foot (which is impossible without skiis) or using skiis (which most of the people do). We parked our car at this spot. As we had no equipment to traverse any further we decided to just look around the place. Quite a few number of people had come there and all of them were geared up for skiing till the lake, which must be about 4-6 kilometers from the spot.



L-R: Anup, Anand And Myself



Near Cameron Lake

 

Monojit And Anand Enjoying In The Snow



Myself - This Jacket Has Helped Me Brave The Coldest Of The Cold

There were many photo-helping people around, in that they themselves would come to you and offer a group picture. And they did not limit themselves to just one picture, but also insisted on taking photos from different angles and retaking if the photo was not up to our satisfaction.

People Skiing - Coming From Cameron Lake

There were some snaps the boys took by climbing on the roof of the vehicle. They must be in Monojit's camera and I have to get them from him. By then my feet had already begun to sense the onset of hypothermia so I did not venture out of the warm confines of the SUV once I got into it.



Took The SUV Through This Narrow Road,
Which Was Blocked At The End



Next we drove to the Prince Of Wales Hotel. Though the road to it was marked closed due to heavy snowfall, we drove past the marker and through the very narrow road full of snow and ice. As the road was blocked further ahead, we could not drive the vehicle till the hotel. So we parked midway and went on foot. While the other folks roamed around the hotel, Ram and me concentrated on taking some pictures.

Prince Of Wales Hotel

Waterton - Surrounded By Ice Capped Mountains

Ram - In The Background The Waterton Lake

It Was A Challenging Job To Reverse The SUV Here



On our way back what we saw scared the hell out of us - numerous trucks blown away by the wind - these were not only small vehicles but large 60 feet lorries. We counted at least 20 vehicles either turned upside down or blown away by a considerable distance. We were very cautious and on the road that allows 110 KMPH, we drove at 60. We made an elaborate stop for dinner at a place enroute before driving back home.

The trip did not end for us there - we had loads of memories to carry forward and Dada had another Birthday party to attend.