Ski resort has chills Florida can't match

Banff, Alberta, knows that Canadian winters are tough, but this year ''biting cold'' has a whole new meaning.

By JEANNE MALMGREN

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 11, 2001

Winter is usually the season of smugness in Florida. While the temperature up North plummets, we love to brag about our great weather.

This year we're not bragging. We're whining.

Whining because cold fronts are making it all the way down here. Whining because we don't own a coat anymore, or gloves, or a good warm hat. Whining because tile floors are cold. Whining because we've had to cover the shrubs in the yard night after night.

And it's only January.

If you think we have it bad, consider Banff, Alberta, a town used to the cold. Average January daytime high there is 19 degrees. Annual snowfall is about 140 inches. If you like ski weather, Banff is the place to be. But with the Canadian winter come risks we cannot fathom here in wimpy Florida.

This season, cold-crazed cougars are stalking the citizenry of Banff. Within a 24-hour period last week, a cougar attacked a dog on a residential street (the dog lived), then confronted a woman walking her dog several blocks away (both owner and pet lived). It all happened near the ritzy, fully-booked Banff Springs Hotel.

About five hours later, in early afternoon, a 30-year-old woman was cross-country skiing on a well-used public trail just outside town. She was about 100 yards from the trailhead and a parking lot. A "well-muscled" male cougar jumped out from a tree where it was hiding and attacked the woman from behind. She died instantly.

Wildlife officers shot the cougar a few minutes later, as it stood on the woman's body.

This was scary even for Banff, where residents typically lower their guard this time of year because bears are hibernating.

It seems cougars aren't the only winter threats there. Wildlife officials quoted in news accounts said cougars are competing for tasty deer and elk with "a healthy, 11-member wolf pack" that is roaming Banff National Park, on the edge of town. To escape the predators, hundreds of "aggressive" elk have moved into people's back yards.

"We are trying to facilitate the movement of carnivores around the town of Banff," said one park ranger.

Comforting.

Just in case, though, experts are advising the good people of Banff what to do if a cougar charges. Unlike in a bear attack, you should fight back. Stare the cougar in the eyes and establish dominance by opening your jacket and making yourself look bigger. This technique may save your life.

Or not.

Remember that the next time you're out in the yard, draping blankets over the shrubbery.

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