Stroking the bear’s fur while maneuvering a toothpick in my mouth, I began to understand at Lake Louise Mountain Resort that even though Grizzlies rule the animal food chain in Banff National Park, it ain’t easy at the top.

But this wasn’t a petting zoo. If you’re foolish enough to try and playfully ruffle a bear’s hair while positioning him for a snapshot, you rightly dwell at the bottom of nature’s order.

The fur was from a bear that was long gone, though if you’re lucky, you can see a live Grizzly from a distance while riding the Lake Louise Sightseeing Lift and Gondola, up until September’s end at the resort. Bear’s fur left elsewhere on what amounts to scratching posts is collected and made available at the resort’s Interpretive Centre, where you can take a 40-minute Trail of the Great Bear walk and safely learn about the precarious life of Grizzlies.

Find Alberta parks holiday packages and read on to explore the home of the Grizzly Bear and Canadian national parks gondolas. The scenic 14-minute gondola ride at Lake Louise Mountain Resort takes you to its Interpretive Centre on the mountain.

Learn How People and Bears Co-Exist

Educator Ryan Capel, who oversees education services at Lake Louise Mountain Resort, says that while the Lake Louise ski area has one of the highest concentrations of breeding female Grizzly bears within Banff National Park, the bears face stresses because it’s a high-use area for people.

“There is the nearby highway to contend with and the railway line and the number of people who pass through the area, which is more than five million in one year,” says Capel. “So even though Grizzlies are the apex predator within the ecosystem of Canada’s national parks, they struggle.”

Lake Louise Mountain Resort’s interpretive services department offers several presentations by guides.

“At Lake Louise, we are trying to show the human use restrictions we have put in place here,” says Capel. “As an operator of a sight-seeing gondola in the summer, we help to minimize human and Grizzly contact and what’s called habituation, where an animal loses its fear of humans.”

See Lake Louise

Lake Louise Sight-Seeing Lift and Gondola hours of operation run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and all people, including employees, are off the mountain before 7 p.m. The reduced operating hours are observed because that’s when Grizzly bears spend time at the base of our mountain eating and foraging. “That’s one way we act as guardians,” says Capel.

Another means of stewardship is the electric bear fence that keeps people and bears at a safe distance. You can see it stretching beneath as you begin the 6,850 ft (2,088 metre) climb upward on your choice of an open ski lift chair or an enclosed gondola.

I recommend taking the chair instead of the gondola. As my wife Jackie and I got carried upward, I could feel the wind on my face and hear the whirr of the cable and, looking behind us, see the stunning vista of Lake Louise and the Victoria Glacier. Alas, I did not see a bear – this time.

Why it’s the Home of the Grizzly

At Lake Louise Mountain Resort, there is lush vegetation and an abundance of streams and natural springs that keep the sides of the mountain wet and lush, and it’s warm with light, says Capel. Perfect terrain for Grizzlies.

“Grizzly bears are omnivores that eat berries and meat, it’s a great place for them to load up and be healthy,” says Capel. “So, the bears come and go and they are wild but we are not a refuge.”

The best time to see a Grizzly at the resort is between May and October, he adds.

“The open area between the base and the Interpretive Centre is where the chair or gondola goes over, and that area below is closed to human use in the summer,” says Capel. “But that is a wildlife corridor and that is where you would most likely see a Grizzly. To say you will come up here on any given day and see a Grizzly, it’s of course not guaranteed, but it’s fairly good.”

Grizzly Families to See

We have several Grizzly families up here this year, says Capel -- one single bear which could be a male, a mother bear with two young cubs born this spring, and another mother with a single cub which was born last year. “There is another set of two bears which could be male and female, we’re not sure yet,” he says.

The bears come out of hibernation in the spring and as the season stretches into the summer, the bears forage at the front of the mountain, feeding on roots, grasses, dandelions and the buffalo berries that start to come out in August.

The Trail of the Great Bear

This interpretive walk is not intended for you to see a bear, but rather to learn safety and to recognize signs that might indicate a bear in the vicinity.  “We show people tell-tale signs to look for, such as the buffalo berries, which are bright red and orange, with green foliage and medium sized leaves.”

“You look for evidence of tracks that would make you think twice,” he says. “And look for digs where a bear may have torn open a log for insects for protein.”

There is not on-hill accommodation for guests at the resort, though you can have a great lunch at the Lodge of the Ten Peaks. We stayed in a Heritage Trapper’s Cabin at Baker Creek Chalets just 10 minutes away, one of my favourite places to relax in the Canadian Rockies. It's perched on a creek and you can have a cabin to yourself or a suite with a jacuzzi, among other options. The on-site bistro with new Executive Chef Shelley Robinson provides a modern take on modern cuisine.

Sulphur Mountain Gondola in Banff

The Banff Gondola at the top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park is a different high-in-the-sky experience that’s less than an hour away from Lake Louise. There are view decks and interpretive displays. The ride takes eight minutes.