Banff Gondola (Sulphur Mountain)

[shane_c]

Last time we were up to Banff we took the gondola up the mountain. I saw people walking up as well and heard it was free to take the gondola back down if you walk up. Is this true? Has anyone done this hike? How long did it take?

[ricosuave]

yes, its true. did it a couple of years ago.

if youre a novice like i was, itll take 3-4 hours.

ive heard people hoofin it up in 2 or less though - just sick!

[BlackEleven]

Took me about 2.5 hours when I did it.

And its a nice hike too...not too strenuous considering its uphill the whole way. The path winds nicely around the mountain, so its not very steep. Plus you'll save yourself $25/person or whatever the ridiculous fee is for taking the gondola.

[Rubber Ducky]

My sister has done it in just over 2 hours - she's an avid hiker.

Having done it before, I agree with the other posters - it's a nice hike. And beats the heck out of paying the $25 fee.

[Regulator75]

They are going to be changing this very soon. Free to hike up, but $10.00 to take Gondola back down. What a bloody rip off.

[shane_c]

Originally posted by Regulator75@May 17 2005, 02:25 PM
They are going to be changing this very soon. Free to hike up, but $10.00 to take Gondola back down. What a bloody rip off.

Decided to send an email to the Banff Gondola people. They said that starting this Friday (just in time for the long weekend) that it'll be $11.25 to get the gondola back down if you hiked up. As for current conditions they said the snow on the top portions of the hike is melting and that some sections are muddy.

[V]

Why take the ride down? Hiking down a mountain is a lot more fun than hiking up it. Plus it usually only takes half the time.

What's the name of the mountain? Most scrambles I do are in K-country, so I'm not too familiar with the hikes in the Banff area. I might have to try it this weekend.

Never mind - didn't read the title of the thread.

[BlackEleven]

The appeal of taking the gondola down, as opposed to hiking, is that you get a nice view from way up high. So taking it down for free was cool. I think its really lame that they're gonna start charging to take it down now; they must already make a ridiculous amount of money from it as is. It was always one of the rare fun free things to do when going to Banff, and now that's gone :angry:

[Bill Bumface]

I think there are alot more beautiful parts of the mountains to see, but I guess its just me since this seems to be such a popular thing to do.

[V]

I've been looking at some pics of Sulphur Mountain, and all I can say is uggh. So many people, stairs up the mountain, and Sulphur isn't even that high! No thanks. I think I'd rather do Mount Indefatigable or Buller this weekend. A lot more nature and a lot less people.

[Bertuzzied]

Man that really sucks! Which other banff hikes do you guys recommend?

[V]

Mount Indefatigable and Baldy are good ones to get started on. Indy is harder, but I still haven't seen a view that can compare.

Another easy one is Mount Allen. It's about as close to a hike as you can get while still calling it a scramble.

Those three are all in K-country, not Banff.

[Bertuzzied]

Isn't it really snowy on the top of the mountains still? are these hikes opened right now?

[V]

I'm planning on bagging my first peak of the year this weekend, so I don't know, but my buddy's been out a couple of times already and he says there's very little snow out there.

BTW, my buddy has a website dedicated to his adventures in the mountains. Check it out at http://www.fresho2.com/vern/summit-log.php For some reason it doesn't work too hot in FF.

[shane_c]

Originally posted by Dominicwasalreadytaken@May 18 2005, 09:55 PM
Mount Indefatigable and Baldy are good ones to get started on. Indy is harder, but I still haven't seen a view that can compare.

Another easy one is Mount Allen. It's about as close to a hike as you can get while still calling it a scramble.

Those three are all in K-country, not Banff.

We used to be out hiking in the woods a lot when we lived back east. Since moving to Calgary we haven't really been out hiking in the mountains. As much as we'd love to be out there all the time I feel kind of nervous about the bears and cougars. How common is it to see them when you're out there?

[V]

I think the chances of seeing a bear on Baldy or Allen are very slim.

There is a mother grizzly that loves to hang around Indefatigable during some seasons, but the rangers are always aware of it, and close the trail off.

Some people seem to think that bear bells work to ward off bears. I just talk with my hiking partner. The bear doesn't want to meet you any more than you want to meet it, so if it hears you coming you'll be safe.

Don't know much about cougars. To tell the truth, I've never seen one on any of my trips, nor have I heard that they're a real problem.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

I did Heart mountain by Canmore last summer. Very steep but fairly short. Great view from the top.

[JiriHrdina]

Moose Mountain is a good hike/scramble for the casual hiker. You will encounter more people though than on some of the other hikes mentioned above.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally posted by fotze+May 18 2005, 10:34 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (fotze @ May 18 2005, 10:34 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Flames Draft Watcher@May 18 2005, 04:24 PM
I did Heart mountain by Canmore last summer. Very steep but fairly short. Great view from the top.

That was the first and last hike for me. Don't go hiking with German's. It was 4 hours for us, maybe we took a long loop or something. [/b][/quote]
I consider that fairly short. Probably took us about 3 hours. Of course one of my friends is a big hiker and likes to go on multi-day hikes so I have a different perspective on long and short hikes than some.

[V]

Yeah, I'd say 4 hours is pretty average for a scramble. Baldy will take you only 2-2.5, but something like Sparrowhawk or Buller could take over 6-8. Allen is a long scramble, but very easy. I think you actually travel over 13 km on that one.