So everyone we have spoken to about Canada and skiing mentioned Banff. So as not to leave Canada without checking it out, we scheduled a 24 hour stop over there to take in as much as we could, to make sure we had not made a mistake with our choice of ski resort and if it was the most beautiful place, we would know for next time.

We arrived in the evening and made out way to the Hotel. As it was late, we ate at the hotel, which had a Mexican restaurant on site. Frankie chose her favourite Margarita from the menu and we had a lovely meal. As we still had 1 hour left where we could use the hotels built in hot pools/ grotto, we had a late night dip to sooth the ski legs - Bliss. Breakfast was great too and Frankie even got to make her own waffles by tipping the premixed batter into the iron.

As we only had 1 day, we headed into town then up Tunnel Mountain Summit to get a 360 view of the town. The online guide said that crampons were "recommended". As we didn't have crampons we decided we probably didn't need them. We both put one foot on the first step of the trail and soon realised, as we slid back to the road, why they advised crampons. Luckily for us, there were a friendly French couple completing the walk as we were trying to start, who saw us laughing, and told us that they had just completed it also with no crampons and the first 100m were the worst. We pressed on with no crampons, and slowly and surely made our way up to the summit, with only a few meters lost here and there to sliding alarmingly back down the slope as we ascended. The view from the top was great, and well worth the climb.

On the way down, we had some more fun, with some slippery corners, and I got a massive splinter after grabbing a fence to slow the skid (tiny according to Frankie who later removed with some tweezers and a magnifying glass). Almost at the bottom Frankie spotted a cow or actually no its a hairy horse!!! Admittedly I had't seen anything until alerted to the fact that there was something up ahead, but was easily able to distinguish a hairy horse with horns from a deer (must be my countryside upbringing ;-)).

We finished the day with an Italian, dinner sharing some great laughs about the server, who admitted we were his first ever customers.

Banff was a great stop along the way and we're glad we made the time to visit. At the same time, it confirmed Revelstoke was the right choice for us. Although we didn't see the ski slope, some locals said as it was more well known, it's much busier and more expensive. That matches the vibe we got in town. There was a lovely feel, but the streets were filled with designer gear, large resort style hotels and a more it felt more like an expensive French resort, than the down to earth, ski town built by skiers for skiers that we had come to love in Revelstoke. We will however come back for summer, which we have heard is absolutely stunning.