Around the world by rail: part seven After lunch, the service manager calls our attention to the semi-frozen Pyramid Falls; then to Mount Robson (12,972ft/3,954m), the highest point in the Rockies; and then to eight-mile-long Moose Lake. We enjoy the commentary and miss it later in the trip when, if we're not coming to a major station or town, we haven't got a clue where we are. At around 4pm, we glide into Jasper. A fur-trading post in the early 19th century, Jasper prospered with the arrival of the railway in 1911. That it remains a small town (and newly designated Dark Sky Preserve) is due to its location in a national park which controls development; almost all the hotels, shops, restaurants and bars are found in just two charming, low-rise streets. In many ways this is still a frontier town: there are fences to keep elk off the parks and sports fields; bear-proof bins; and until recently, a ban on taking dogs into the forest as wolves were developing a taste for them. Jasper Park Lodge I am breaking my journey here and a young man in big boots and down jacket scoops me up and takes me to Jasper Park Lodge, a sprawling Fairmont property a few miles outside town. Its famous golf course lies under a foot of snow and I am about a week too early to skate on the lake, but my timing is perfect for skiing. Marmot Basin, Jasper National Park's ski area, is open and conditions are perfect: champagne powder across 1,675 acres of terrain, with 86 trails, split between beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert; and state-of-the-art chairlifts, which mean there are rarely queues. When I'm there, there are rarely any other skiers either. It's bliss. I spend the morning with Stefan, and the following morning with Jeremy, both instructors at the Snow Sports School. They think Marmot Basin is awesome. By the end of my visit, I am calling it awesome too (though the catering lets the side down a little). The next day, Bruce from Sundog Tours takes me on a wildlife tour. There are nine packs of wolves in the park (including one that lives close to Jasper Park Lodge) and I would dearly love to see one but I have to be content with elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep. We criss-cross the park, circling snowbound lakes, forging freezing rivers and peering up tracks leading deep into the forest, as Bruce interweaves tales of plucky pioneers with horror stories about bears and wolverines. My three days in Jasper at an end, I reboard the Canadian, today only an hour and a half behind schedule. The rest of Alberta - Hinton, Edson, Edmonton, Viking, Wainwright - is dispatched while I'm asleep, and we spend most of the next day hurtling across the plains of Saskatchewan - Unity, Biggar, Saskatoon, Watrous, Melville.This is Canada's bread basket though today it looks more like its cross-country ski fields. I sit in the observation car, drinking coffee and watching the carriages ahead of us moving sinuously along the track, silver against white. Saskatchewan in winter, Canada's break basket By 4pm it's dark again. On we go into Manitoba - Brandon, Portage La Prairie. At Winnipeg some of us get off for some air but it's so cold it's the briefest of outings. Then Sioux Lookout, Armstrong, Longlac. A waiter sees me looking at a map. "Ontario next," he says. You look at it on the map and think we'll soon be in Toronto. But Ontario is more than 1,000 miles across. It is indeed. We wake up in Ontario, have lunch in Ontario. At teatime - still in Ontario - I step off at Hornepayne for a few minutes before we speed on: Gogama, Capreol, Sudbury, Parry Sound, Washago. Hour upon hour of pine forest and snow, snow and pine forest. Occasionally the landscape opens out into a semi-frozen lake, then we plunge back among the pines and snow. And now it's dark again. Tomorrow morning we will reach Toronto and I will be flying home. I'm looking forward to a bed that doesn't move in a bedroom that doesn't rattle. But will I ever again see anything quite as beautiful from a train as Canada? 'O Canada" only became Canada's national anthem in 1980, 100 years after it was first sung More Canadian rail trips Coast to Coast by Rail with Rocky Mountaineer A 16-day trip, which includes trail travel on the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Banff, sightseeing in Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper, then onward train travel to Toronto, Niagara Falls, Montreal and Halifax, from £3,682 including flights, with Holidays by Rail (0800 033 7960; holidaysbyrail.com). Canadian Rockies & Calgary Stampede Railtour A two-week trip, which includes rail travel on the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Jasper, then by road via the Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise and Banff and transfer to Calgary for the annual Stampede, from £4,500 including flights, with Ffestiniog Travel (01766 772030; ffestiniogtravel.com). British Airways (844 493 0787; british airways.com) flies from Heathrow to Vancouver from £801 in mid-January; and from Toronto to Heathrow from £700. How to book Railbookers (020 3327 1599; railbookers.com) offers an 11- night trans-continental trip from Vancouver to Toronton, from £1,199 per person, including Sleeper Plus class on the Canadian plus all onboard meals, two nights at the Delta Suites in Vancouver, three nights at the Chateau Jasper and two nights at the Delta Suites in Toronto. The Inside Track A two-berth cabin is obviously more comfortable than a sleeping compartment: try to get Cabin F as they are slightly larger than the others but cost no more and are next to the shower. Compartments are pretty cosy and convert into seating areas during the day. There are some single cabins but economy travel in a normal seat for the full trip is not advised unless you are young or very hardy. There were two observation cars on my train of 10 carriages (there are more if the train is longer) but they only seated 24 each so could get crowded. The trick is to make your way to the cars promptly after breakfast or lunch. And don't forget in the winter it starts getting dark around 4pm. There is only one shower per car but passengers tend to take showers at odd times throughout the day rather than hogging it first thing in the morning. Towels, soap and an amenity kit are provided and the water is hot. You are seated in the restaurant car by the steward so if you don't like dining with strangers, this isn't the train for you. Alcohol is extra and you can either charge it to your credit card or pay as you go. Vancouver Delta Vancouver Suites £££ A comfortable, though not particularly atmospheric, Downtown all-suite hotel on West Hastings Street, within easy walking distance of the waterfront and five minutes by taxi from the station. Exceptionally friendly, helpful staff. The Canadian departs in the evening but you can leave your luggage here and have a whole day in the city (001 604 689 8188; doubles from around £95 per night). Vancouver Art Gallery The chic café is great for lunch or snacks, with a fine outdoor terrace in the summer (750 Hornby Street; 662 4719; vanart gallery.bc.ca). Walk part of the Seawall, a promenade almost at the level of the water, which runs for 20 miles from Canada Place round Stanley Park (the best bit) and False Creek to the trendy Kitsilano district. Take the small ferry from Sunset Beach by the Burrard Bridge to Granville Island and its market and artisans" workshops. Take a private guided tour with a well-informed local (777 4141; ToursByLocals.com) and on longer trips visit Grouse Mountain for sublime views. Jasper Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge ££££ Accommodation in the spectacular main building and in suites and cabins scattered around the lake. My suite (101) was comfortable but tired so go for a cabin if you can: Outlook Cabin, where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have stayed, and Gardener's Cottage, are both lovely. Fantastic spa with steaming outdoor pool; golf course (780 852 3301; fairmont.com; doubles from around £150 per night; one-bedroom cottage from around £300 per night). Papa George's ££ A local institution , established in 1925, at the Astoria Hotel. Offers sophisticated home cooking - the spicy butternut squash soup and elk pie pot is just the thing on a cold December evening (404 Connaught Drive; 852 2260; papageorgesrestaurant.com). Go Skiing in Marmot Basin, about half an hour's drive from Jasper. A day's lift pass is £50; ski and boot hire is from £26. Book lessons with the Snow Sports School (866 952 3816; two-hour private lessons from £119; group lessons from £40. Further details at skimarmot.com). Sundog (sundogtours) offer a variety of tours. A three-hour wildlife tour costs £65 per person. Drive the Icefield Parkway. This spectacular corridor of mountain lakes, glaciers and valleys, stretches between Jasper and Lake Louise but you can do just a bit of it. Arrange with Sundog. Further information at travelalberta.com.