Article published March 11, 2007
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH
Train excursions in Canadian Rockies offer great scenery, upscale dining, impeccable service
The Rocky Mountaineer train takes a curve along a river as it flows through a canyon with Mount Robson in the background.
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By MARY ALICE POWELL
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE
“When it’s springtime in the Rockies” is more than a song in western Canada. Early April signals the beginning of another season of Rocky Mountaineer train excursions. Before the 2006 season ended last October, I joined a group for the spectacular experience.
The Canadian Rockies passed in review through the windows of the Rocky Mountaineer train on a two-day excursion that was a grand mix of magnificent scenery, upscale dining, and impeccable service in a remarkably relaxed setting.
Mountaineer customers have a choice of four routes in Alberta and British Columbia in western Canada. They also have a choice of Red Leaf or Gold Leaf service. The Mountaineer trips, done at an enjoyable speed, are for daylight scenic travel only through some of the most beautiful parts of western Canada. Passengers do not stay overnight on the train. Rather, the trip package includes hotel accommodations the first night in cities that are half-way marks. The route my 15 travel companions chose was the Kicking Horse route, from Jasper to Vancouver, a distance of 600 miles. Other routes are from Banff and Calgary to Vancouver.
As a Gold Leaf passenger I was seated in a luxury dome car with comfortable high-back seats and nonstop service from morning muffins to afternoon tea and full menu service in a private dining car. The Gold Leaf service is about $600 more for the two days than the Red Leaf service.
As we passed the incredible landscape of British Columbia — seven mountain ranges, waterfalls, streams, and dense forests — and shot through tunnels and over bridges, caring young attendants gave an informative travelogue and made sure no one in our 72-passenger car was hungry, thirsty, or had an unanswered question.
Passengers were always hopeful to spot wildlife — bears, moose, mountain goats, and native birds — as we traveled through the desolate country. The national parks in the Canadian Rockies are said to be a wildlife haven because no hunting is allowed. Sightings of Osprey hawks and eagles brought cameras into action.
We chose the right route on the right day to see Mount Robson all the way to the top. At 12,972 feet, it is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. The attendants may have been happier than we were because they know the entire mountain can be seen only three or four times a year. When it was announced that we were nearing the Robson we all poised at the window with cameras ready. But it is difficult to get the perfect picture through a window on a moving train. After a few hours we learned to settle back in our seats, watch the scenery, listen to the commentary, and buy postcards.
The marked geographical contrasts between the two days were fascinating. From Jasper the first day the Mountaineer passed through stunning mountain scenery with babbling brooks running close to the train track, bright blue lakes bordered by heavy pines, and majestic mountains. On the next day, traveling toward Vancouver, the landscape changed from green to gray when British Columbia’s vast desert was covered.
We followed two primary rivers in western Canada, the Thompson and the Fraser. When the Thompson merged into the Fraser, the difference in the colors of the water in the two rivers was striking. The Fraser was much lighter, and we could see they were running together for about two miles.
After Gold Leaf passengers climbed the spiral brass staircase to the second level car and the “all aboard” welcome was given the first day, champagne was poured. We had no sooner settled into the upholstered chairs when Michael and Shawna, our car attendants, announced breakfast was being served in the dining car. Dining car furnishings and service were remindful of the golden age of railroads. Tables were dressed in white linens and fresh flowers, and waiters wearing well-pressed uniforms politely explained menu options.
From our dining tables we could see the cooks, in starched black and white chef’s suits, preparing breakfast and lunch in limited space in the galley. My choice the first day was a version of eggs benedict: a poached egg on crab with spinach on an English muffin, draped with hollandaise sauce. The next day the choice was smoked salmon slices wrapped around soft scrambled eggs. It is definitely something to try at home. Lunch choices were soup, chicken, beef, pork, or vegetarian entrees. Wine is included.
Each of the Mountaineer routes comprises two eight-hour days of train travel and one night’s hotel stay. The Gold Leaf members are entitled to two breakfasts and two lunches in the dining car, plus extras like warm cookies and milk and cheese and crackers at teatime and warm muffins before breakfast.
Members of our group who had signed for the Red Leaf service said they too were pampered, but not as lavishly. They were seated in a standard coach car without a dome top. Instead of eating in a dining car, food was brought to their seats, and no hot food was included. We had to depend on each other’s service reports because the two groups are kept separate while traveling. We were not allowed to visit them, nor were they permitted in the dome cars.
The separation of the Red Leaf and Gold Leaf passengers continued at hotel assignments. When the Mountaineer stopped at Kamloops, the Gold Leaf passengers were escorted across a red carpet onto a bus that took them to the Plaza Hotel. The Red Leaf group was assigned to the Executive Inn.
But it was a jolly reunion when we all got together for the evening entertainment. The buffet dinner and locally produced musical based on early day Canadian train robberies and romance are included in the train trip price.
Was the Gold Leaf service worth the extra money? Or were those who signed for Red Leaf wise to trim travel budgets? I enjoyed the first-class service and menu choices in the elegant dining car. But, the bottom line is that no matter which group you are in, the Mountaineer travels on the same track and the scenery is the same from the dome observation car or the standard passenger car.
I like what William Van Horne, general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway, said after the completion of Canada’s transcontinental railroad across 3,000 miles of rugged terrain in 1888. “If we can’t export the scenery we’ll import the tourists.”Mary Alice Powell is a retired Blade food editor.
Contact her at: mpowell@theblade.com
If you go...
Rocky Mountaineer Vacations: 100-1150 Station St., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6A 2X7. Toll free, Canada and U.S.A. 1-800 665-7245, Reservations@rockymountaineer.com
Rocky Mountaineer Gold Leaf: $1,109 per person double occupancy, $1,184 single, Red Leaf: $539 per person double occupancy, $614 single
Whistler Mountaineer is a three-hour train service to and from Whistler, a British Columbia resort area, and Vancouver that was started last May. One-way and round-trip tickets are available in dome cars and coach class.
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