Burns Lake, Kananaskis Alberta

Sometimes it’s the familiar places that come to mind when I sit down to paint, this is one of those places. Burns lake was close to our base camp so we routinely took our clients up for the day it was a great way to introduce them to the Canadian Rockies without wearing them out on the first day of their adventure. The climb into this lake on foot is a steep one but worth the effort. Horses must take the long way around allowing those who aren’t up to the climb a way into the basin. The runoff from the top drops over a cliff to fall a thousand feet to the creek below. The climb is a steep one, but how often do you get to climb a waterfall? Believe it or not the trip down on foot is harder than the climb up.

The wash that comes off the mountain at the snow line is shale. Tons of fun to climb up the side and then run down the shale. It always turns into a competition as to who can jump the farthest and stay upright. For those of you who have done this you know how much fun it is and how hard it is on your boots.