background information on Banff National Park

Banff National Park is a natural spa, as soon as you arrive through the park gates you will feel the rich qualities of the mountain air - come and see - feel great skiing the Canadian Rockies!!

The focus of the adventure is Banff National Park and the Canadian Rockies. We want to show this beautiful place off! How do we describe exactly where you are coming? Banff National Park provides a romantic backdrop for many a traveler. There is so much beauty to show. This holiday should not only be about riding ‘fatlines’ but be about where those fat lines are. The following will give you background information so you can come a little more knowledgeable before your arrival.

While you are on a fatline riders adventure we will be sure to share our knowledge of the area with you but... to learn more about the Banff National Park and the Canadian Rockies before you come check out these websites:

Banff itself sits at an elevation of 1,383 meters (4,537 feet), making it the highest town in Canada and was established in 1885. The name Banff comes from Banffshire, Scotland, the birthplace of two major financiers of the Canadian Pacific Railways. From time to time you can hear the Bagpipes coming from the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

Banff National Park was Canada’s first national park and the worlds third; Banff National Park is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its size is 6,641 square kilometers (2,564 square miles) and is managed by Parks Canada.

Some of the oldest and best-preserved archaeological sites in Canada are found in Banff. Sites in the Vermilion Wetlands area have been dated to 10,700 years ago.

There are seven national historic sites in Banff National Park, the most in any Canadian national park: Cave and Basin, Banff Park Museum, Banff Springs Hotel, Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station, Skoki Ski Lodge (which we will be visiting for one night on the tour), Abbott Pass Refuge Hut and Howse Pass.

The Town of Banff itself has a population of approximately 7,000 people – with a population cap of 10,000 people. The town of Banff is 4.87 square kilometers in area; the boundaries are fixed by federal law. There are roughly four million visitors that come here every year. That sounds like a lot of people, but when you get here the town has managed to keep a cozy, small town feel. Behind the

bustling international street of Banff Avenue there is a very unique community. The Town of Banff is Canada’s first incorporated municipality within a National Park. If you are interested in more information check out the Town of Banff’s website: www.townofbanff.com.

The ages of the mountains in the Banff National Park are between 120 million – 45 million years old (“middle aged” by world standards). The main rock type is sedimentary (limestone, shale, quartz, sandstone and dolomite). Banff National Park is home to some 1000 glaciers and there are many a beautiful famous glacier-fed lakes to see in the summer months!