Banff and Jasper, Alberta

Classified at Unisco World Heritage Site in 1984, Banff and Jasper National Parks are nested in the Canadian Rockies in dramatic and genuine wilderness. Winter in the parks is harsh and unforgiving. The temperature dips below 20 degrees, the wind howls through peaks and valleys freezing all in place. Enormous glaciers hang over the towering mountain tops, lakes turn into solid playgrounds, ice walls deep canyons in infinite still cascades; and deep snow blankets it with deceiving peace. Bears are in torpor but mountain lions, wolves, elk, moose and bighorn sheep are active, and if elusive, sound the beating heart of the wilderness.