Thought I'd show you where the pic came from.
Its called the Num Ti Jah Lodge and the Banshee crew are pretty tight with the guys there.
If your from BC or the west side of Alberta this stuff is still pretty spectacular even though seeing mountains is nothing new, however if you've never grew up around mountains this stuff pretty much blows your mind.
If you ride up the Gondola at Whistler during the summer season sometimes they pack you in with the tourists that are heading to the top. Seeing their faces as we climb over plateaus and up really steep sections is another chance for me to appreciate where I live because you just don't get this everywhere.
From their website, "Num-Ti-Jah Lodge overlooks one of the most dramatic scenes in the Canadian Rockies. Out of Bow Lake the mountains rise steep and rugged. The blue ice of Crowfoot Glacier hangs suspended over the turquoise water. To the west, the craggy peaks of the Great Divide tower over Bow Glacier."
In Canada you're not allowed to ride bikes in National Parks, in fact you can't cut down a tree with out getting in some serious trouble, but if you're into hiking, fishing or XC skiing then its just a few steps from the front door.
If your hearts set on tearing it up on your mountain bike then a few hours away is Calgary Olympic Park where they have a pretty cool mountain bike park, or in the other direction is Golden and theres also other "legal" areas where you can ride.
Calgary is also home to the largest bike store in Canada, and its where Banshee got it's start. The shop if you could call the 4 floor building -which is already too small the first day the opened- is called Bow Cycle.
Bow Cycle has quite the collection of old classic bikes on display some are actually on loan from one of Banshee's owner who has painstakingly restored them to their once prestine glory. Even though we're a relatively young company the guys at Banshee have quite a long history in the cycling industry.
If you're planning a mountain bike trip to Canada the Num Ti Jah lodge makes a great starting point.
On the way to Whistler you can hit towns like Golden's Kicking Horse Mountain, Vernon's Silverstar, and Kamloops' SunPeaks, all which have lift accessed mountain bike parks, or if you have the time drop down and check out Nelson and Rossland, then check out all the North Shore Mountains, to Squamish and then to Whistler. This will give you a chance to ride 3 parks before you even get to Whistler's as well as chance to taste the different variety of natural terrain that BC has to offer.
Whistlers awesome but you're totally missing out if you think thats all there is, because its only a tiny slice of heaven.
I hope to continue to bring interesting locations for you to check out. I probably won't be doing any travel until the Eurobike show but hope to start on the whirlwind world tour in the next couple of years as its about time I saw all our customers on their home turf.
