Sulphur Mountain Gondola
The Sulphur Mountain Gondola on Mountain Avenue some 5km south of town trundles 700m skywards at a stomach-churning 51 degrees to immense 360-degree views from two observation terraces and an ugly but surprisingly good-value summit restaurant, Canada's highest (daily: mid-May to late June & mid-Aug to early Sept 8.30am-8pm; late June to mid-Aug 7am-9pm; early Sept to early Oct 8am-6.30pm; early Oct to mid-Dec 8am-4.30pm; $18; tel 762-2523 or 762-5438 for 24-hour recording of opening times, which change slightly from year to year). If you're without transport the only options for getting here are to walk (dull and tiring) or take a taxi from downtown. In summer Brewster Transportation (tel 762-6700) run a short tour shuttle to the gondola from the town centre (mid-May to mid-Aug daily on the hour 9am-4pm and until 6pm mid-Aug to early Oct): the price ($25) includes the cost of the gondola ticket and return bus shuttle (leaves gondola terminal hourly on the half-hour). It takes just eight minutes for the glass-enclosed four-passenger cars to reach the 2255-metre high point: eleven million people have come up here on the gondola over the years. From the restaurant a one-kilometre path, the Summit Ridge Trail , has been blazed to take you a bit higher, while the short Vista Trail leads to the restored weather station and viewpoint on Sanson Peak. Norman Betheune "NB" Sanson was a meteorological buff and first curator of the Banff Park Museum, who between 1903 and 1931 made around 1000 ascents of the mountain - that's before the gondola was built - to take his weather readings. Note that if, like him, you slog the 5.5km up from the car park , you can ride the gondola down for free. Far too much of the food from the summit restaurant, unfortunately, ends up being eaten by bighorn sheep which, protected within the parks and unafraid of humans, gather here for handouts. Don't encourage them - feeding wildlife is against park regulations and can land you with a stiff fine.
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