Yesterday was a day off from school so we headed out to the mountains. We knew the ski mountains would be busy with everyone off from school, so we decided to do a combo day - hike Troll Falls (a 1 minute drive from Nakiska) in the morning and then go skiing in the afternoon. (That is definitely a bonus with our Nakiska Season passes; we didn't have to worry about feeling like we weren't getting our money's worth.)
The weather was perfect in Kananaskis - right around freezing. It even started to snow a bit during our hike, which gave it a 'winter wonderland' vibe.
The hike to Troll Falls ended up being perfect for the kids - by the time it was all said and done it took us about 2 hours to hike from the parking lot and back. However, that included some extra exploration on the hike and then hanging out at the Falls when we arrived. The trails are packed, as it is a popular winter trail, so no snowshoes or other equipment was required. However, we did see some people pulling sleds for younger children that might have come in handy a couple of times on our hike.
Looking for Trolls
The incentive on the hike for the kids was to look out for trolls! People have hidden trolls along the pathway and they loved to find them as we went. They also then had to pretend to be trolls and hid in the trees for us to find.
The kids also found a loose limb that allowed them to ride it like a horse, which they found absolutely hilarious.
When we arrived at the Falls, there were a ton of trolls along the cliffside wall, which they had to go and identify who each one was. However, as we were walking up to the waterfall, Clara remarked, "It looks like Elsa came along and froze it." Both kids were really impressed with how the waterfall was just 'frozen in time.'
Once we reached the parking lot, it was well past lunch time, so we had a tailgate lunch with some sausages and hot dogs. The hot lunch definitely hit the spot!
Ski Time
Afterwards we headed to Nakiska for some ski runs. As expected the line ups were insane because of no school. However, the line ups started to ease up about 2:45, and shortly after 3 p.m. there was barely a line. So we still got in some quality skiing for the last hour of the day. Connor LOVED that he was able to go on the ski lifts. We even headed up the Olympic Chair as a family, which he remarked, "All of us are on the ski chair?!?" He had to ski in between my legs on the way down, but he thought it was amazing!
The combo day ended up being perfect, as the kids didn't tire of one particular activity, but we still were able to get a full day in the mountains with sunshine and fresh air!
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