WILL YOU BE A TRUSTED TRAVELER? By Laura Quarantiello © Tiare Publications 404 words

Security checkpoints have become a genuine pain for air travelers. Where once you could breeze right through x-ray scanner and head for boarding gate, now you must endure careful checks of your carry-on luggage and perhaps even of your person. It's legacy of September 11th and a necessary step toward keeping air travelers safe. But delays are increasing and passengers are grumbling. Frequent flyers,especially, are complaining about slowdown and hassle caused by long security lines.

Winter Activities: Tobogganing, skating, or Nordic skiing through rolling windy trails through woods. Downhill Skiing, Snowboarding, Heli-Skiing, Cat Skiing, Snow mobiling, Dog Sledding, and Ice Climbing from mid-November to End of March.

Summer Activities: Pilots from all over world flock to Mount 7 flying site to paraglide and hang-glide. Horseback Riding, hiking, mountain biking, golfing, fishing, and air tours. World class white water rafting, ATVing, motocross, and rock climbing attract international thrill seekers. Bird and wildlife viewing, slow floats, wetland scenic forest tours.

Boating and angling are common activities at recreation sites. Most sites allow car top boat launching only. That means you can hand-launch only canoes, kayaks and boats small enough to be carried on top of your car. Trailered boats can be launched safely and conveniently from those sites with ramp facilities. In most cases, ramps are suitable only for small and medium-sized boats.

A plane or helicopter ride will show you Selkirk, Purcell and Rocky Mountain ranges and their glaciers. You can even land on a glacier for a closer look. Air tours are available year-round.

For local history there's Golden Museum where you can learn about important role that Swiss Mountain Guides played in birth of Canadian mountaineering traditions. Or at Ray's Antique & Collectable Museum you can browse through some old farm equipment and antique tools. Take a guided hike way, way back [some 515 million years] and visit fossils of renowned Yoho Burgess Shale or, if art is your scene, there are many local art shops.

Tours: Cruise numerous small mountain roads. Tour season is [weather permitting] from May to October.

Bird / Wildlife Watching: The Rocky Mountain Trench is a major migratory path, and a great diversity of birds also settles in Columbia Valley. 265 transient and resident species have been counted in Golden so far. Reflection Lake, Edelweiss slough and Moberly Marsh are favourite birding spots. You can do bird watching year-round, although there are more species during migration in spring [April to June] and fall [September to October].

Canoe / Kayak Tours: At Columbia River you can view birds of prey, herons and ducks. Paddle Blaeberry River for more action. The Kicking Horse River is place to be for great whitewater action. For very experienced kayakers lower canyon with its class IV rapids is ideal. Season: May to October.

Climbing: In 1912 six Swiss Mountain Guides and their families moved permanently to Golden. Canadian Pacific Rail had hired them as professional mountain guides for many tourists who wanted to explore Canadian Rocky Mountains. Today there are many ACMG certified mountain guides who live and work in Golden and mountains around. Golden attracts climbers from all over world.

Cross-Country Skiing: Track-set trails are just minutes from town at Golden Golf Course. More challenging trails can be found at Dawn Mountain Nordic Trail System at base of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. Many more tracks set by XC-enthusiasts can be found in Blaeberry and Columbia Valley. The season is from December to April.

Cycling: Golden is centre for 'Golden Triangle' Tour where you cross Continental Divide twice. You can go at your own pace or book a package with one of tour companies.

Dog Sledding: Season lasts from late November to April.

Downhill (Alpine) & Cat Skiing / Snowboarding: The new Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is being developed into a 250- acre resort, encompassing 4005 acres of ski and snowboarding terrain, with views of Canadian Rockies. The new gondola rises to summit of Dogtooth Mountain Range at an elevation of 7705 feet [2350 meters] where new Eagle’s Eye Restaurant is located. The excellent snow conditions will include a vertical drop of 4,133 feet [1260 meters] from top lift, making it second highest in Canada. Ski season is from early December to end of April.

Freshwater Fishing / Ice Fishing / Heli-Fishing: The area's fishing opportunities are endless, ranging from early and late rainbow trout, small cut-throat trout in alpine lakes to char in river and giant ling [turbot] and Dolly Varden in hydro reservoir. Guides can take you to type of fishing you prefer and provide all equipment from boats to heli-fishing. One of more popular lake areas is south of Golden, near Parson and Brisco. Many of lower lakes open early in May, and more fishing can be found at higher elevations as summer arrives. A popular lake is Mitten Lake. Also excellent are Cleland and Jade Lakes, and to west, Blackwater Lake. Stocked rainbow trout up to 24-inches can be caught in these areas. North/northwest of Golden are Susan and Jeb Lakes in area of Big Bend Highway and are usually open by early July. These two lakes are renowned for their Brook trout. Anglers should note that waters to north remain cooler longer in summer and often provide a more vigorous fish than lethargic ones of southern waters. Many of higher alpine lakes, which open at various times later in summer offer exciting and picturesque fly and spin- cast opportunities. The more popular areas include Gorman, Quartz and Silent Lakes - and all trailheads are within 25 minutes of town. Hike-in distances range from several kilometres to much longer.

For river fishing, Columbia opens early in spring providing Rainbows and Char. With a red and white spoon or a wet fly you'll likely nab one. Also available in Columbia are Dolly Varden, Whitefish and Kokanee. Creeks and streams open officially on June 14. and a lightweight fly rod is recommended. In Glacier and Yoho National Parks is superb fishing but you must have a special permit aside from your regular license to encourage catch and release in these areas.