The trek to Skoki lodge, in the back country of Banff National Park can be a hard slog for the novice on skis but a fairly easy journey for the experienced. Unfortunately my friends and I opted for split boards (a snowboard that can be split and used as skis) which made our travels a hard slog as we were novices and didn't know how to ski to start with. However we figured it would be worth it to use out snow boards at our destination. After 6 hours we reached the famous Skoki lodge much to the delight of our battered and exhausted bodies. This image was taken early on in the journey of my friend Chad Ashton, when we were still smiling.