| You’re warm from an hour or so of snowshoeing when you catch your first glimpse of Bow Glacier Falls. The cascade, frozen solid, clings to the wall of rock directly ahead. Further away to the left and right mountains rise up, creating an enormous natural amphitheatre.
You’ve never been anywhere so quiet. The crystalline sky is so blue it seems unreal. It’s the perfect spot for a winter picnic, with hot soup from the thermos in your knapsack. After lunch, you return the way you came, climb a small rise and there it is: the flat expanse of Bow Lake, ringed by mountains, with your starting point a tiny speck on the far shore. You could easily imagine that you’ve time-travelled back to the 1930s, and you’re Bow Valley pioneer Jimmy Simpson looking toward his original log cabin.
But reality is even better. You won’t have to worry about warming the place up and cooking when you get back, because you’re looking at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, the 25-room log building that Simpson and his family built between 1937 and 1950. Inside the fireplaces are already crackling, and you’ll be holding a giant mug of hot chocolate minutes after you arrive. At that point your biggest challenge will be deciding whether to linger over your drink before heading back to the busier world, or to stay the night after enjoying a relaxed three-course dinner in the dining room.
Located just off the Icefields Parkway 40 kilometres north of Lake Louise, Num-Ti-Jah is a portal into a different kind of winter experience. From here one can sample the backcountry without getting too far from the comforts of the lodge’s dining room and library. While experienced, well-equipped adventurers depart from here for multi-day trips across the Wapta Glacier, those interested in just a few hours of cross-country skiing or snowshoeing can taste the outdoors and still look forward to warming up in rustic luxury afterward.
"Rustic" means the original log building still has some exposed plumbing inside, and the guest rooms are cozy but basic. Think of it as your Uncle Jimmy’s cottage, only with staff, high-end linens and a professional kitchen. Don’t look for phones or TVs in the rooms – you’re safe from that here. And whether you’re playing pool or reading by the fire, you’re always under the gaze of stuffed moose, deer and pine martens (Num-Ti-Jah means "pine marten" in Stoney). Anyone with a taxidermy phobia will need to think twice about visiting.
On the luxury side, the lodge offers ongoing art exhibitions: the current show, "Source," celebrates the International Year of Water with work by 32 artists. Then there are the paired wine tastings in the evening, the fireside appetizers, the regular Food and Wine Weekends, a very good table d’hôte dinner menu, and breakfasts sustaining enough to fuel more snowshoeing.
When Num-Ti-Jah left the Simpson family’s hands in 1996, it found passionate young innkeepers in Lee O’Donnell and his wife Becky. They live on Bow Lake full-time, with their not-quite three-year-old daughter and their yellow lab retriever. When I called to verify some facts, O’Donnell called back on the lodge’s satellite phone and waxed enthusiastic about his many programmes: from springtime avalanche awareness days to heritage fireside chats with local adventurers and pioneers; from ptarmigan viewing to outfitting couples for a "romantic backpack picnic snowshoe."
The lodge welcomes families, both regulars and newcomers, for Christmas. Num-Ti-Jah’s New Year’s Eve, O’Donnell stresses, is just a slow eight-course meal punctuated by stargazing – the opposite of a raucous party. O’Donnell realizes he can’t match the resources of resorts like the Rimrock when it comes to things like the size of his wine cellar, so he substitutes personalized experiences and quiet warmth.
"The essence of a lodge is great rooms where people gather," he says. "But if you don’t want to do that you can always find a quiet corner."
That’s just what Num-Ti-Jah is: a quiet corner of the busy Bow Valley. It makes an affordable day trip that blends outdoorsiness, history and indulgence (although Calgarians need to leave early to make the return journey in reasonable time.) A weekend trip might be more of a splurge, though still at the "moderate" end of the resort scale.
Snowshoe rentals at Num-Ti-Jah are $10 per day. Overnight rates including three-course dinner and breakfast are $140 per person based on double occupancy. For more information see www.num-ti-jah.com. |
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