Archive for the ‘Air Trip/Tour’ Category
On a crisp winter day, our coldest day so far, with a brilliant blue sky, I got going early at about 7:15 am and drove about 20 minutes from Banff to the tourist town of Canmore. This mountain town is located about an hour from Calgary, just 5 minutes outside the gates to the Banff National Park and is part of Kananaskis County , one of the main recreational areas just outside of Calgary. The Nakiska Ski area is not far from Canmore and it played host to the alpine events during the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
Canmore is nestled deep inside the Bow Valley beneath the Front Ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Due to the beauty of the surrounding wilderness areas, several Hollywood movies have been filmed here, including movies such as Legends of the Fall and Dances with Wolves.
The development of this area really took off when the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) constructed its railway line through the mountains in 1888, providing convenient access to mining companies looking to tap into the area’s rich coal deposits. Canmore was founded shortly after and attracted prospectors which were soon followed by hotels, restaurants and shops. The North West Mounted Police had an outpost here with a “two man and two horse barrack” and at some point Canmore even had an opera house.
Mining came to an end in 1979, but today Canmore has developed into a major recreational centre that attracts athletes, artists, nature lovers and adventure seekers. That was the category that I fell into today, as I was seeking out a truly unusual adventure: Dog sledding!
Punctually at 8:15 am I arrived at the retail outlet of Snowy Owl Adventures to be included in their 2-hour “Power Hound Express” tour that was to start at 9 am. The retail outlet itself features a variety of clothing, souvenirs, pictures and books with a dog sledding theme. I also rented big insulated boots to make sure my feet wouldn’t get cold on this very brisk winter day.
A group of about 9 or 10 people were ready to get out on the trails, to be pulled by a group of enthusiastic canine athletes. Our group had travelers from various parts of Canada, Texas, England and Holland and everybody was excited to get out there. Chris, our driver, packed us into a van and up we went into the mountains. We drove by several extremely scenic drinking water reservoirs and about 20 minutes later we arrived in the Spray Lakes area of Kananaskis County, very close to the Three Sisters Hydroelectric Generating Station.
The first thing we saw was the trailer with the transport kennels for the sled dogs and five teams of enthusiastic canines were already waiting for us. Jereme, one of our dog sledding guides, gave us a half hour safety presentation and instructions on how to ride the sled. That’s where my first big surprise came in: I didn’t realize that we ourselves would get a chance to drive the sled, I had assumed that we’d simply be packed into the sled and the guides would be driving us.
But no, there are actually 3 options for dogsledding adventurers: you can sit comfortably inside the sled and be driven by a guide; you can drive the dog team one-on-one together with one of the instructors; or you can actually drive the sled dog team yourself with the company of family and friends, following one of the instructors. So for all the real adventurers out there: this is an opportunity to get behind the sled and drive the dog sled team yourself!
To get started I actually decided to play it safe and elected to sit down and let my instructor Natalie handle the driving. Since I was here to document this experience that would allow me to actually take photos and video clips of this unique experience. Three of the dog sled teams this morning had signed up for the 2-hour program and 2 of those sleds were going to be driven by the participants themselves rather than the instructors. Two other teams were scheduled for the 4-hour “Sunfeather Winterlude” program, this half-day excursion is Snowy Owl’s most popular ride.
The safety instruction introduced us to the essential commands to get the dogs going (“Hike!”, or as Natalie would say “Hike up, puppies!”) and to get them to stop (“Whoa” ? in a deep voice) while stepping on the sled’s brake. In between it’s a great idea to cheer on the dogs with enthusiastic comments. Jereme also explained that the dogs are Alaskan Huskies, and most of them are a mixture of huskies or malamutes with other breeds like border collies which makes for a very enthusiastic, cooperative and smart breed of dog.
Jereme mentioned that it’s very important to step on the brake while riding downhill to slow the sled down, and to lean right when heading into a right-hand turn, and to lean to the left when heading into a left-hand turn. The key thing is never to let go of the sled or step off the brake when standing since the dogs can be a bit mischievous and may take off on you. On uphill runs it is recommended that the sled driver get off and run beside the sled so the dogs have to pull less weight.
Well, now that our briefing was coming to an end, the excitement was building, both among the human passengers/drivers as well as among the dogs. 5 teams of Alaskan huskies were raring to go and towards the end of the safety presentation there was lots of barking, yelping, howling and commotion, indicating that the dogs were indeed ready to take us out on our big adventure.
So I sat down inside the comfortably cushioned sled and Natalie zipped me into a sleeping bag to keep me warm. All the teams were now ready to go and Natalie issued the key command “Hike up, puppies!” and off we went through a beautiful narrow forest trail that opened up into a clearing from where you had a gorgeous view of the imposing mountain range behind. Then we went down a series of hills and I got bounced a bit in the sled, fortunately the sled’s and my own built-in cushioning protected my rear end from most of the impact. There were a few spills in the amateur-driven sleds behind us, I guess first-time dog-sledding is similar to any adventure sport in that it takes a bit of time to get the hang of it. But none of the spills were serious and once the initial challenges were overcome it was a smooth ride for everyone and we continued our beautiful journey through the forests above Canmore.
After about half an hour our three teams on the 2-hour program had reached the turnaround point and we arrived at a picturesque mountain lake called Goat Pond that was completely surrounded by mountains. Now it was picture time and Natalie kindly offered to take photos of all the sled teams.
After a brief rest we were ready to continue on and Natalie asked me if I actually wanted to drive the sled myself. By this time I was thoroughly comfortable with the experience, so of course I jumped at the idea. One of the passengers from another sled took my cozy spot inside the sleeping bag, and Natalie and I each balanced ourselves on one of the rails of the sled, while our eager sled dogs were pulling us onto the home stretch. Natalie told me a little about herself, that she is a dog sledding instructor in the winter and a construction worker in her brother’s company in Northern Alberta in the summer. She seems like a thoroughly outdoorsy and adventurous woman who really enjoys what she is doing.
Our ride continued on beside a river until we reached the Three Sisters Hydroelectric Power Station and finally returned to our starting point. Then it was time to pet the dogs and take pictures of our eager transportation providers. The dogs are amazingly friendly and from what I could tell, they enjoyed the experience as much as we humans did.
Our exciting outing concluded with refreshments, hot apple cider and “mystery cookies” beside a fire at West Side Camp where all the adventurers and our instructor had a chance to socialize and talk about our experience. A photographer had also taken pictures of each dog sled team and this was an opportunity to buy some photos.
In addition to the 2 hour and half-day dog sled tours, Snowy Owl Aventures offers a variety of other unique adventures: Snowy Owl also offers an 8 hour full-day program that includes instructions on how to track indigenous animals like wolves, cougars and rabbits. Their 4-hour “Snowy Mountain Experience” takes you back in time to a winter festival in local Inuit and First Nations communities. Their 4.5 hour “Bow Trail BBQ” combines a 2-hour dog sled outing with a Western Style Ride provided by horses, capped off by a blazing bonfire in their “Donut Tent” for storytelling. Their “Ghosts of Fortune Mountain “program extends over 2 days and 1 night and includes touring, kennel visits and hearty meals. The nights are spent in a genuine, heated Sioux Indian Tipi. Last but not least, the “Flight of the Great Snowy Owl” lasts 4.5 hours and takes you by helicopter into the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies before spending a half-day touring by dog team.
Just shortly after 11 am our van driver Chris arrived again with another batch of adventurers from the village and it was time for us to wave a final goodbye to our canine friends and enjoy the scenic ride back into Canmore. Once back at the retail outlet I returned my boots and hopped back in the car to drive back to Banff to pick up my husband so we could go on our final half-day of skiing at Lake Louise.
My two-hour Dog sledding adventure in the morning was the perfect start to an exciting winter day and it’s certainly been one of the most unique and special adventures I have ever had a chance to experience??
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Top 12 Ways to Upgrade to First Class on the Major Airlines
Getting Upgraded to First Class
These days with little profit and extra overheard costs, a flyer with no past history on a given airline has little chance of upgrading to first class. But it can happen if you do your homework. Hence why you are here today.
Method #1: Asking the ticket counter agent nicely or perhaps offering him/her a bribe. Does this work?
In 99% of the time absolutely not. In most cases on most airlines, the ticket agent is not authorized to upgrade passengers unless you have frequent flyer status and even with frequent flyer status, you will most likely need to use miles to get your upgrade. Of course you have to hope they actually have first class seats available for upgrade. With many frequent flyer programs, and with rules changing frequently due to airlines merging with other airlines, or the carrier simply revamping their frequent flyer program, many of the top tier frequent flyers get upgraded before they fly. Thus by the time you arrive at the airport, there is a good chance that the first class seats that have not been sold have been allocated to frequent flyers. Bribing a ticket agent can not only get the agent in hot water, but she will probably seat you at the back of the plane just for being stupid.
With some airlines, fellow flyers I have met have been clever enough to ask the ticket counter agent to kindly add a code to their ticket. Why? Because the code signifies to the gate agent that you as a passenger are potentially eligible for an upgrade. It works with the right airline and of course you will need to know which code to use as each airline uses different codes for different situations that are independent of other carriers.
Method #2 Dress smart and arrive as late as possible
There are plenty of flyers who believe in getting to the airport as early as possible in the hopes of either asking the counter agent for an upgrade or asking the gate agent for an upgrade. Believe me, I have tried thousands of charming ways to get upgraded and the employees are simply following the rules. Oh and they have heard every line in the book. So why would your line be any different?
Of course if you want to press your luck, you can arrive at the 11th hour and ask the gate agent for an upgrade, it will of course help to dress the part and of course hold some status even if its just a basic member in the airlines frequent flyer program. One method that has worked for me in the past is to tell them the reason you are late is because of a terrible experience you had with their competitor, sometimes if they think they have the potential to win the business of a frequent flyer from another carrier, they might put you in first class, space permitted since you are in an emotional state. It can work.
Method #3 Buying an Upgrade
Many domestic carriers in an attempt to earn more business will happily sell first class seat upgrades on a first come first serve basis. Obviously they want to earn as much money as possible and they will release first class seats typically only at the airport and only on the day of the departure. Instead of paying $1,200 for a first class flight coast to coast, you might end up paying 300 for the coach ticket and just 150 each way for the first class upgrade. Certainly better than begging for an upgrade and this is certainly better than using miles in many cases.
Of course this rate may not apply to you, on some airlines they only offer the upgrades to their frequent flyers first and only after they have exhausted all attempts at selling to their most loyal customers will they sell to you. Hint: Get a frequent flyer card as soon as possible. It’s free and will only help you upgrade and of course you start to earn miles with your first flight.
If by chance you paid full fare for your coach ticket, there is still a chance of buying an upgrade, but like everything in this world, don’t expect much with a free or heavily discounted coach ticket.
Method #4: It’s not what you know but who you know
If you just so happen to be related to a family member or are friends with an airline employee, you certainly could ask for an upgrade, but keep in mind that airlines are in the business of making a profit, and if there are upgrades to sell, or loyal frequent flyers to keep happy, don’t expect to be first inline for an upgrade.
On a positive note, keep in mind that suppliers, contractors and airline partners have some pull to get upgraded. It’s not just family of the carrier’s employees.
Method #5: Show a travel agent ID
Again, if and only if seats are available will an airline offer a free upgrade and even though a travel agent might have some pull, you always have to assume that frequent flyer status will help more than just travel agent status. If you have both, you will only improve your chances of an upgrade. It certainly does not hurt to try. You can of course become a travel agent for as little as $50 without having to sell anything.
Method #6: Ask a flight attendant for an upgrade if you a seat available
Typically flight attendants never upgrade passengers and simply asking for an upgrade is not going to work. However, there are legitimate reasons why a flight attendant will upgrade you. Here are a few.
1. An oversold flight ? Typically airlines overbook flights and hope that some passengers will simply not show. If however there are more passengers than seats in coach, your best chance to be upgraded is to get assigned a seat towards the front of the aircraft. If there are no seats left and the flight is oversold, you may also be asked to volunteer to take a later fight. This would also mean compensation but of course not necessarily a first class upgrade.
2. A problem with your seat ? In some cases where your seat has malfunctioned and you can not comfortably sit there, I.E. seatbelt problem or the seat will not stay in the up position, the flight attendant will make an attempt to find you another seat. If no other seats are available in coach yet space is available in first, you will be moved to first class. On the down side, this is a rare occurrence.
3. A problem with a fellow passenger ? If by chance you are sitting next to a passenger and you have a legitimate complaint, the flight attendant can at her discretion, move you to first. This actually happened to me on a flight when I was trying to watch the small screen in front of me, and a senile old woman would not move. I was upgraded.
Method #7: Book with a travel agent
When you book with a travel agent, it is possible, with a valid reason, to have the agent mark your reservation with a comment, such as OSI (Other Significant Information). The record may indicate that you are a VIP or CEO of a big corporation. Airlines like to see this information as they are trying to win more and more business away from their competition. If there is a chance that an important decision maker is flying with them it could potentially mean extra revenue for the airline as they may want to try to win your company’s account.
Method #8: Book directly with the airline
When you book directly with the airline, there is the possibility of also adding an OSI to your record, if you are a travel agent, travel writer, or event planner, it certainly won’t hurt your chances.
Method #9: Upgrade using frequent flyer points or status
If you are a frequent flyer, you can certainly use your miles to upgrade as long as allocated seats are available for upgrade. Not all seats are allocated for frequent flyer upgrades, as the airlines want to hold a certain block of seats for fully paid customers so that they can earn as much as they can for each flight. Using the right miles at the right time is also of importance. Each airline has their set terms and conditions for frequent flyers, miles and upgrades. You will need to determine the best case scenario for each flight you want to take. Short flights are typically not worth the upgrade since you would waste valuable miles.
Of course on many airlines having frequent flyer status will only help to get free upgrades. Typically, the higher the status, the better chance of getting a free upgrade confirmed days before the flight.
Method #10: Be in the know
Airlines in an attempt to woo passengers and business will offer specials frequently throughout the year. You might even encounter a special that allows you instant status in their frequent flyer program. I’m not referring to basic status, anyone can become a member of each airlines frequent flyer program for free. I’m referring to the next level of status. For example, American Airlines has these levels. Member, Gold, Platinum, and Executive Platinum. You can gain Gold status in this example by simply calling a special unpublished phone number and following some basic requirements. I explain more about this on my website.
Method #11: Purchase Upgrades
There are many ways to buy upgrades cheaply. Keep in mind that there are specific rules for who can use them and how they are used. You need to read the fine print carefully. But in most cases, not only is it easy to purchase upgrades, its easy to put them to use.
Upgrades for most major carriers can be purchased on Ebay, in travel forums, and some can be found for sale in classified ads.
In some cases you can purchase an upgrade for as little as eight dollars, but as usual, these upgrades can only be applied to your ticket at the check in counter once you arrive at the airport. Other more expensive upgrade will allow you to confirm your upgrade over the phone before you arrive at the airport.
Method #12: Buy discounted first class tickets cheaply
Contrary to what you may have seen or heard, first class tickets are not always expensive, and there are numerous ways to purchase discounted tickets. The price may not be as cheap as coach tickets but with fierce competition one can buy tickets that are heavily discounted that in comparison to coach tickets, may make sense to spend a little bit more to travel in style.
Typically, a coast to coast ticket on the major travel websites will sell for about $1,200. But using our method, a first class ticket could cost you $600 or less for the same flight. Compared with 300-400 for a coach ticket and you can see why it may be wise to simply spend a bit extra instead of going through hoops to get upgraded.
You can learn more about upgrading and where to purchase tickets by visiting our website at www.firstclasstraveltips.com
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In this continuing series, we cover my decision to move from San Diego to Chita, Siberia to be a professor at Chita State Technical University. We pick up the story aboard the flight from Anchorage to Khabarovsk, Russia.
Day 3 Still
As I lounged in my huge Aeroflot seat, the stewardess announced that we would be arriving in Khabarovsk in the next 30 minutes. Khabarovsk is located in the deep south of the far east of Russia on the border with China. It is the home of the Far East Military of Russia and is the largest city east of Lake Baikal. I was primarily interested in how hard it would be to find a hot shower.
Well, this was it, the first day of my year in Siberia. I had my phrase book, electric blanket, traveler’s checks and a solid rush of adrenaline. Of course, I had never actually taught a class before, but I would deal with that later.
We descended out of the clouds into a rainstorm. The view was still incredible. We were flying into a flat valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Everything was a deep green. A few cabins could be seen on the ground.
There was a very clear view of the airport as we banked through the valley to approach from the West. Umm, aren’t airports usually lit up? This one looked like a ghost town. The runways looked fine, but there were no lights in the buildings. There appeared to be a dearth of activity on the ground. I had never backpacked from a plane to the airport, but maybe this was the way it was done. When in Rome?
Finishing off an incredible flight, our Russian pilot set us down with a light touch. As we taxied up to the airport, I could only think that if the rest of Russia was as good as the flight, it was going to be a great year.
Blink, blink, blink?lights started coming on in the terminal! Despite being no more than 50 feet from it, we were herded onto a transport. We started, did a wide u-turn and stopped at the gate. All I could think of was “The Gods Must Be Crazy.”
“The Gods Must Be Crazy” was a hilarious movie released in the eighties no jokes about my age. The first scenes of the movie are biting satires of our modern way of life versus the indigenous tribes of Africa. In one scene, a woman gets into her car, backs down to the end of her driveway and puts a letter in the mailbox. Ah, progress! The journey from the plane to the airport couldn’t have been much longer.
The airport terminal was pretty industrial. That is to say, no effort was made to sell you fast food, booze, ice cream, “Khabarovsk Hard Rock Café” shirts or duty-free crap you really didn’t need. Frankly, it was a relief.
Russian customs worked pretty much the same way as customs at any airport. You grabbed your bags, bummed pens off of strangers to fill out forms and stood in long line with other tired travelers. Eventually, you got to the front of the line and tried to see how the person standing eight feet in front of you did it.
Unfortunately, my turn was also my first chance to experience the Russian language. I passed my passport, custom forms and visa through the little window. I also tried an innocent smile, which worked about as well as smiling at an IRS agent. Everything went smoothly until the customs agent started speaking rapidly and pointing at my customs form. Something was wrong, but I hadn’t a clue as to what. I turned to Grae with a quizzical look and he came forward to interpret.
All international travelers quickly learn a fundamental rule. The “wait here” line at customs is sacred. To prematurely cross the line is to commit an act of war. Russian customs was no different. Grae was loudly instructed to get behind the line and wait his turn. The customs agent then gave me a stern lecture. To this day, I can’t tell you if he was discussing my forms or the weather, but the tone was definitely stern. The lecture was capped by the universal customs agent expression known as “stupid foreigner?why did I take this job?I really wanted to be a painter?”
Eventually, the issue with the form was resolved. I would like to tell you that I took an active role in this, but I basically stood there while the agent grumbled and aggressively stamped the documents. I did actively pray that the stamp wouldn’t explode, but that was about it. Grae moved through customs without incident and we walked out into the cool, wet air of Khabarovsk, Russia.
To be continued?
