Trail to Peak: The Adventurous Path
Hiking, Exploring, Travel & Adventure
Skating on the Spray
There’s been such excitement in the air here, it’s almost palpable. Social media platforms are a-buzz with effusive posts and comments about the skating conditions we are currently experiencing.
It’s a once in a decade occurrence in these parts. Ice forms PERFECTLY… with a mirrored, black surface so smooth you’d think a giant-sized Zamboni had passed over it countless times.
No snow has accumulated on the wind-swept surface of lakes like Minnewanka, Two Jack and Spray Lakes, so there’s no shovelling to do. You don’t even need to auger a hole to test the thickness of the ice; you can see how thick it is by looking through its glass-like depths. There’s been no freeze-thaw cycle with snow dumps, making the surface uneven and treacherous for skating. The temps are in that +2C to -10C range. There’s been no winter storms, since the ice has formed. There’s plenty of sunshine. It is utter perfection
The ice surface, unmarred by ripples, stares up at you like a black glass mirror. Only it’s the funkiest mirror in existence. Methane bubbles, caught in their slow motion movement as the ice was forming, hang suspended, like little mushroom clouds beneath your feet.
We put in at Sparrowhawk (see the “if you go” pointers at the bottom of this post). Many people were there, but you’d hardly know it. The ice surface is so huge that you could have a 100-on-100 shinny game in epic Canadian fashion.
You can see little people in the photo above… the group on shore was taking a break, fueling up with hot chocolate and cookies while in the distance, people were date-skating in twos, family skating in chatty groups, speed skating with hockey sticks and pucks, and leisurely skating with dogs and strollers. 
Taking off our boots and strapping on our skates, we heard squeals of delight and a loud shwooshing noise as a child was spun around in a circle at break neck speed on a toboggan by his dad.
We set off from the shore and had a blast, Bill skating circles (quite literally) around me as we went.
Putting my own excited posts on Facebook had quite a few concerned friends and family asking about the thickness of the ice… is it safe… how do you KNOW how thick it is? 
The neat thing about the conditions right now is that you can simply see how thick the ice is… looking down at the suspended methane bubbles or looking at the cracks as they extend below your feet you know at a glance that it’s more than the 10″ that’s safe.
What caught me was the extreme beauty in the ice itself.
If you go…
The Spray Lakes are a series of lakes (forming a reservoir) that lie between dams up in the Spray Valley, up above the town of Canmore. Accessed by a gravel road that is a continuation of the road that leads to the Nordic Centre, the lakes are popular in the winter for ice fishing.
Sparrowhawk is the place from which we choose to skate as it is far from the dams, so the ice is safer as the fluctuations in water level, and the movement of water below the ice surface is less extreme.
Sparrowhawk lies beyond the Driftwood parking area (see the map below). Its parking area is closed off in the winter, but you can park alongside the road, and walk down on a short access trail.
If you are not intimately familiar with the mountain peaks and the terrain up there, be sure to bring something (a large bag, a ski pole with a scarf tied to it, a flag) to mark your putting-in spot at the edge of the lake. After skating many, many kilometers along the lake’s surface, it can be difficult to find your spot on the way back… especially because the wind pushing at your back on one of your ways makes for a speedy, time-warped skate, so you can’t use the passing of time from your turn around spot as a good indicator.
One other pointer: skate up-wind first, as far as you can go. It is more exhausting to go against the wind, but the ride you have on the way back, with the wind pushing you along the surface of the ice, is a thrill like no other! Don’t worry about going beyond your half-way point as the way back is exceptionally easy!
One last thing… you have GOT to check out the photos of Paul Zizka, a local Banff photographer, who takes the most amazing night-time shots of northern lights, starry skies, methane bubbles and skaters on the wintry lakes of the Bow Valley area. His work is incredibly inspiring.
Click here for more terrific hiking adventures in Kananaskis Country (Canmore Area). And check out more hikes from Canada and our adventures around the world here.
20 Comments on “Skating on the Spray”
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Trail to Peak: The Adventurous Path 
Wow. I’m jealous of those who can skate. The lake that I could only admire from the shore now is covered with ice. It must have felt wonderful to be skating in the middle of a huge lake. Too bad that Bill’s skates didn’t have toe picks, or else I might have seen him landing those triple lutz. 😉
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Only in your dreams, Keng…. only in your dreams! 😉
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Very cool. Cold, even. That’s the biggest rink I’ve ever seen. I hadn’t heard of “shinny” as opposed to pond hockey and had to look it up. Sounds much more sociable than “real” hockey.
Is learning to skate a rite of passage for folks in Alberta? I did a little back in my Minnesota years but was never very good at it.
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If truth be told, I don’t skate very well, even though I grew up pond skating. (And that’s highly un-Canadian of me!) We went back the next day and the wind was howling through that valley, gusting up to 70km/h! As soon as you stopped, the wind picked you up and hurtled you along the ice. As I can’t stop….. (yup, thats how well I skate!)….I had to do switchback turns to slow down that day, and the return leg required no movement of my legs at all!
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What an amazing experience. Thank you for sharing.
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Thanks for stopping by, Albert!
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My pleasure, as always.
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This seems like so much fun! I don’t think I ever ice-skated (I used to roller blade when I lived in Brussels, but missed the opportunity to skate on one of the winter markets). Great pictures too, and thank you for pointing me to Paul Zizka’s portfolio!
Have a great 2018,
Verne
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Thanks, Verne. Paul’s work is incredible and he’s travelled the world teaching photography classes in wild outdoor spaces… he doesn’t just do spectacular shots of northern lights, ice and mountains here. This past year, one of the places he went to was Namibia…and his shots of the sand dunes and dark skies there are so so inspiring.
Happy New Year to you & your family too. And hapv fun and inspiring others with your writing in 2018.
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Totally mesmerised by this post. My coordination is rubbish and I’ve never skated but how wonderful to slide into your husband’s boots there for just a few moments. Amazing! 🙂 🙂
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It was an incredible moment. Perfect conditions. And sliding into my husband’s boots is something I did quite a bit the next day… literally… when the 70-90km/hour wind gusts buffered is back along the ice… I have such trouble with stopping on skates any time, you see. 😉 So switchbacking, and sliding into him worked well! 🙄
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We walked on a frozen lake last year. I’m not sure I’d be any good with the skating though. Don;t trust my balancing skills with motion. 🙂
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It’s not quite as hard as you’d think… except for the stopping part! You can always skate, pushing a chair for balance, at first… that’s how some people learn.
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A friend of mine has been trying to convince me to do just that! 🙂
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This is so amazing Sherri. I love to skate and dream of finding conditions like this (right time/right place). Awesome photos.
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Monika was away during this time and missed it, poor girl. Maybe in 10 years, give or take, when it happens again, you can pop out on standby for a visit!
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