Bow Valley Parkway is closed at Morant’s Curve

Skiers on Morant’s Curve in 2010

The retaining wall at Morant’s Curve is being repaired and replaced and the work will continue well into the spring of 2018. The steep slope is falling into the river and needs to be shored up. This will require a closure of the Bow Valley Parkway(BVP) throughout the winter and no traffic will be allowed on the BVP from Lake Louise to Baker Creek. 

This retaining wall has been gradually falling downslope

The Bow Valley Parkway at Morant’s Curve is under construction and closed to vehicle and bike traffic. Photo by Mark Harding

The trail from Baker Creek to Castle Lookout  will be trackset as usual by Baker Creek Mountain Resort.In the photo from 2010 at the top of this post, you’ll notice skiers are directly on top of the retaining wall on a trackset trail. We have not been able to ski on top of the wall for the past few years during the Lake Louise to Banff loppet and I’m assuming it’s because the wall has slipped away and it’s too dangerous to take a snowmobile across it.

In the photo at the side from 2017, you can see Elizabeth is skiing on the road, rather than on top of the wall, as she skis along Morant’s Curve.

Skiing on the road during the 2017 Lake Louise to Banff Loppet

A photograph taken by Nicholas Morant, for which the location was named, was displayed on the $20 bill for many years. I’m old enough to remember it although $20 was a rare thing to have in those days. 

I’m pleased to welcome back Baker Creek Mountain Resort this winter as a supporter of this blog. If you haven’t noticed already, with the new ownership, the hours at the Baker Creek Bistro are much more accommodating to skiers, so when you finish on the trails, you can warm up and have food and refreshments in the bistro.