Farewell To Ganesh - Golden and Kicking Horse - 26 Mar 2011

At The Golden Eagle Gondola, The Kicking Horse Mountain Resort

This year we were about to lose the company of one of our pals - Ganesh Sarag. He was packing his bags for India. I still remember my first trip with Ganesh, which was to Vancouver in Jul 2010. Ever since, we have been thick buddies and have done may trips together. 

It was time to bid farewell to Ganesh and it had to be in a grand way. And this idea of a trip to Golden came to my mind. Though Golden is just 266 kms from Calgary, which is about 3 and 1/2 hours by road, we decided that a night halt there would be much fun, rather than making a day trip. We picked up our Yukon, a full sized SUV from the National Rental Agency on the evening of 25th Mar. We were a group of six - Ganesh, Monojit, Anand, Ram, Anup, Rahul, which is me.

It was dusk when we started and the bitter yet sweet chill of the still cold Calgary weather was prevalent over the thick fur coats that shielded our bodies. The road East of Calgary as well as the West, the South and the North alike, have by now been hard wired to the gray cells of each and every member of our group by virtue of the number of trips that we have done in the past year, so much so that each one of us can be considered to be virtually a moving GPS station. And with that confidence I pressed my foot on the pedal and off we set out West on the Trans-Canadian Highway (HWY-1). One of the non living objects that does the rounds with us, and that can boast of being the best friend to each one of us, is my IPod, and its companion the AUX Cable. I have the most diverse collection I have ever seen on any pod so far, that is all well organised into genres and what not. The Hindi songs in my pod from the 80s and 90s did their job in setting up the evening tempo among the crowd. "Gazab ka hai din", "Papa kehte hain", "Pehla nasha" among others were the trend setters.

A brief stop was made at the Petro-Canada Gas Station just as we got onto the Highway from Calgary. The purpose was to take coffee and some beer for the night. The highway was ripe with fresh rain and snow. Driving on the highway at top speed felt like playing a video game. The Yukon is a heavy bull and does not fumble at all, given any kind of conditions. Though I was a bit cautious not to roll over too much on to the side, I had my foot firmly pressed on the metal and the vehicle was doing a healthy 118 KMPH. I was speeding past past other vehicles on this day, which is reverse of the what happens on other days when there is no snow. I believe the snow is a good traffic cop, in that, it does what it has to, without the hassle of pulling someone over the shoulder, unlike how a real cop would.

We reached Golden at night and took two suites at the Travelodge. We had stayed in the very same hotel, the first time we had been to Golden in April 2010. That was also the time when we had made our first maiden Trans-Canadian journey into British Columbia. Dinner formalities had already been completed at a local joint. It was a good get-together with all friends happy to have made it to bid adieu to Ganesh. We gossiped for a long long time before finally rolling off into the sleeping mode. Everything, starting with politics, work and ending with life was discussed. People were more than glad to share their opinions and the talks became heated at points before returning to normal. But it was fun.

The Morning Of 26th Mar - In Front Of Our Suites - The Travelodge, Golden, BC

The next morning we were to go to the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. This place is about 14 kilometers from Downtown Golden. It is a haven for skiers. There are skiing tracks of varying grades and difficulty. We did not go to the skiing facility at the very beginning itself, instead, we drove amid the lovely narrow snow filled pathways that were doted with holiday chalets and lodges. After doing a few rounds in the pathways, I parked the vehicle. We then roamed around the facility and could see skiers come down one of the trails that was on our side of the mountain, which was adjacent to the side where the Skiing Resort was. We did a fair bit of walking around the campus. From one point we could easily see the Gondola Cars (cable cars) that originate at the Ski Resort. Then there was a piece of open snowy land, which opened out into one of the ski trails that came down this side of the mountain. It was such a beautiful place for taking portrait photographs but the sun was coming at such angles that the camera had to be specially trained to take snaps in such extreme conditions.

Group Snap In the Parking Lot

A Gondola Car Going Up

Few Of The Many Tourist Lodges Doting The Landscape

It Was Tough To Take This Picture Due To The Sun

A Snow Capped 'I Do Not Know What'

Strolling along the way, the boys found crystalline drippings of water that had formulated into sharp pointed substances. Some among us were pretty amused with these and there were small games played on the street where the guys enacted pointing the things into the other.

Snow Knife

Folks Playing With The New Found Tool

Me

After finishing this leg of the tour, we headed to where the Ski Resort was. There was a good amount of crowd gathered there for skiing.We immediately took passes for the tour up the mountain in the Gondola. It was a pleasant experience to go up in the cable car though I have been in such cars before in India and Canada. The weather below at the base, though cold, was sunny, but as we progressed up, it became cloudier. While on the way up, we crossed many ski trails beneath us. I marveled in awe at how steep some of those really were. There was a bit of rain on the way, which splashed on the glass of the Gondola, making photography, and viewing in general, less pleasant.

Ganesh (In The Background - The Ski Resort)

The Cable Cars Going Up To Golden Eagle

The Base Terminal For Gondola

It must be a good 20 minute journey all the way up to the top of the mountain. It is conversational and worth a thought, to think how such a massive line must have been put in place in such non pardoning weather and on such difficult terrain. Every few metres, there is a supporting stilt that houses pulleys and equipment necessary to propel the Gondola and keep it in action. Whenever the car passes over one of these, it makes a rocking thud to begin with, followed by a metallic hum, indicative of deeply tunneled heavy wire moving between entrenched studded metal cogs.

Ram and Monojit, Snap Taken From Inside The Cable Car

At The Far End - Cable Cars Going Up

Me Again

Ram

It was a relief for me when we reached the top. I was low on sleep (we all were) and being a driver, who can't afford to sleep in the car, I had developed an excruciating feeling of nausea, and in the confined environs of the Gondola, I was feeling claustrophobic. There was a bone whipping cold wind atop the mountain which warmly greeted us when we got down at The Golden Eagle - yes the station at the top is known by that name.

Another Few Metres To The Top

The Golden Eagle Garrison At The Top

There are a dozen of trails that emanate from this point. And there are other mountain tops that are connected by cable cars from this place. People generally want to take snaps at such places, which is understandable. But sometimes you are asked to take retakes, which can upset your nerves when you are clicking in such extreme cold. It quite often does not take long for these signals to reach your brain from your hands, and that's when it starts to get irritating. 

Some Of The Trails That Go Down From Golden Eagle

L-R: Me, Anup, Ganesh, Ram, Monojit

Good Nomenclature For The Trails

I Believe The Snow Never Melts At These Heights

The Golden Eagle Entrance

Tough To Keep The Eyes Open In Light That Strikes Off The Snow

After spending some time atop, we rode back down, taking a car down from the same Golden Eagle Station. Then it was a lovely drive back to Calgary. And here, it is customary for us, sometimes, when we have rented a car, to go atop the lookout, North of Downtown. You can see a mind blowing view of the city from here.

The Downtown Of Calgary At Night

Memorial Drive

To sum it all - it was a fantastic short trip that we shall remember as 'The Farewell To Ganesh'.