Category Archives: around home

around home, Canada, snow

Powder Day finally & Ethel

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Snow had been forecast for the start of the weekend all week & just to keep us guessing, the forecast was actually correct more than a few days out.  As I woke up at my normal get-up-for-work time & I had no one else to pick up, I was out at the hill ridiculously early.  The snow was fair coming down as I left Canmore, tapered off a bit around Banff & then came back once on the access road.

One of the only advantages that I can see to riding the gondola alone is that it gives you plenty of space to stretch, so that’s what I did before sitting in the day lodge for a little while waiting for the chairs to open.  Before this morning, I was completely unused to skiing powder with any degree of competence; so, I started off on the smallest lift – actually, I always start there being a creature of habit & some sentimentality.  It was good fun having to ski in a slightly different way & I was thankful for my big wide skis.  The light was really flat & I finally understood what this means – it was so hard to see any sort of contour in the snow.  Often I would hit a little rise, jump or drop without seeing it – my knees got a good workout.  It was also hard to pick the steepness of the slopes & all of a sudden it could change & be a little surprising.  Nonetheless, it was a blast & I enjoyed putting some of the first tracks down a few of the runs.  I’m not sure I should have headed up Divide so early as it was pretty windswept & the crust was easy to find.  Wawa provided my best runs of the day.

After an early lunch, I headed off to the Goat’s Eye area & quite enjoyed it over there.  By now I was starting to miss having someone dragging me off to different runs.  My ability is not such that I’m overly keen on throwing myself off unknown black runs – but I gave a few new ones a go.  By the early afternoon most of the powder had been scoured out in to big piles – I found it interesting going from hard packed snow & then all of a sudden hitting a big clump of powder.  This I blame for my only good bail of the day.  By two o’clock I’d had enough (twenty-six runs in five hours is not bad going) & I enjoyed the ski-out for the second time in a row – what’s going on with that?  I’m not entirely sure why I carried my camera around all day, but I did & felt obliged to take at least one picture.  So here’s my car, which was clear of snow when I left it, looking nice & clean on the top half.  And that ends the best day I’ve had skiing yet.

As suspected, I bought a SPOT first (before the GPS & helmet-cam).  I think this was mostly because I could just wander downtown after work yesterday & get it – GPSs & helmet-cams offer significantly more options & will therefore require research.  So now can I check-in & also have a way of getting help if I ever need it in the back of beyond.  I don’t think it’ll get much use for a few months, but come roadtrip time it’ll get a thrashing.  For now, you can see where I’ve been in the last couple of days – first in Canmore, ice-skating on the pond & today, the Sunshine parking lot.

around home, Canada, friends, snow

A short ski & a long soak in the hot pools

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I managed to drag myself out of bed after another restless night’s sleep ready to head up to the slopes again.  This afternoon while I was vacuuming I realised that my mid-night attempt some weeks ago to jam the heating vent under my bed closed had slipped out – with the help of daylight & being fully awake, I’ve rectified this & hope to sleep a little better now.  After the last two days packed with skiing of various forms, a slightly lazier day was planned.

We were at the parking lot well before nine & it seemed reasonable busy, but getting off the gondola the village was pretty sparse.  Luckily for us, all those we had seen below seemed more interested in the day lodge or the parking lot.   Alex (that’s new-Alex, I’m sure it would save a lot of confusion if I just called everybody Bruce) & I were both more than happy to take it easy on the groomed runs we could find.  Again with no new snow around, it was a beautiful day – & I had a willing photographer.  So here’s a view you’ve seen before, but with me (I assure you) standing by.  We had some difficulty picking out our skin tracks from the previous day, but I was finally able to provide evidence that we had actually gone across the meadows.

I think it was shortly after this photo was taken that we hit a run that had been chopped up a lot since Saturday.  I did a very passable impression of someone trying to hurl themselves off their skis at speed on hard pack, but somehow managed not to.  Time to change runs.  Best run of the day (for me) was the last one off Goat’s Eye & then the ski-out (which for the first time ever was almost enjoyable, as it was only 11.30 & empty).

The afternoon was even more chilled out, with Alex continually trying to warm up, an introduction to Barpa Bill’s (great burger), a little shopping at Monod’s before the final attempt at recovering circulation – a good long soak in the Upper Hot Springs.  Another great thing about only skiing half the day is that the Hot Springs are not very busy – & you can actually see the view as it’s before five o’clock & consequently it’s not dark.  A short little drive around town was what passed for a tour of Banff & it was off home with still plenty of time left to do those boring weekend chores that have been mostly neglected since the skiing took priority.  Apparently I have to go back to work tomorrow – that may be a bit of shock; and it’ll be January the Fourth – happy anniversary Mum & Dad.

around home, Canada, friends, snow

Sunshine Meadows touring

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Up too early after all that skiing & hardly sleeping, I picked up Alex & we were back out at Sunshine by nine o’clock.  This time we took the gondola up, one lift & then went out of bounds on to the Sunshine Meadows for my first decent ski-tour this winter.  It was slightly warmer than the previous day, & the still-rising sun slowly warmed us as we skinned across the meadows.  This was a similar route to that which Alex, Megan & I hiked at the start of July to kick off our three-day hike to Mt Assiniboine & Mt Shark.

It all looks a little different to what it did in the summer (but just as beautiful):

Anyway – back to the snow.  We were aiming for Citadel Pass & slowly worked our way towards it picking whatever route looked good – it was difficult to see any previous skin tracks to follow.  This made some of the climbing a little difficult as all of a sudden whoever was trail breaking would fall an unexpected foot or so in to a void.  Well, it was difficult for me at times being unused to such occurrences.

Alex skinning across another flat patch

We had a few downhill runs here & there.  I think these were just to show me that I can’t really ski all that well off-piste.  I took a few more dives – at least landing in soft snow doesn’t hurt.  We veered off from our path to the Citadel (that’s that big hunk of rock in the centre of these pictures) & headed up another ridge that looked nice.

The route we chose didn’t look so inviting half way up, so we turned again & skied back to Howard Douglas Lake (which we had skinned across no so long before) before skinning up to our lunch spot.  The skin on my left ski managed to frustrate me no end as it managed to come off five times, even after I’d tightened the fastening mechanism.  At half past one, I was fair starving so pleased to sit in the sun & mostly out of the wind that had picked up here.  It didn’t seem too cold, but at -10ºC it turns out your sandwiches freeze to the bottom of your lunchbox.  After I made a few more rookie errors on the small run down we had, we turned & headed back to the meadows & the ski resort.  Most of this was skinning, but there was a little cruising downhill.

Here are a few pictures, courtesy of Alex (I can’t keep writing ‘shamelessly stolen’, even if it’s true).

That’s me taking it easy & not falling over for a change

Oh look, I’m putting my skins on again

Eventually, we were back across the meadows & heading in to the resort boundaries (that’s that blue sign there).

After six of so hours of this excursion, I was exhausted & my feet were starting to hurt.  When I found the small blisters on the top of my feet (above the arches) I learnt the importance of loosening my boots while skinning.  For a pretty busy day as Sunshine (the beauty of where we were was that we didn’t see another soul for five hours), we managed to time it right & missed chaos on the ski-out.  So tired, I couldn’t really be bothered making turns so snow-ploughed most of the way back to the car.  Another great day here in the Bow Valley & 2011 doesn’t seem to have slowed down yet.  Thanks Alex for taking me back-country & not having to put my shoulder back in.

around home, Canada, friends

If 1-1-11 is anything to go by

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This year is going to be a cracker – a sentiment that has been echoed quite a few times today already.  I couldn’t believe how many people (a couple of thousand at least) were out skating on the pond at around -20ºC, but the ice was chocker for New Year’s Eve.  The fires around the side were pretty popular & my skating is slowly getting better – even if I did take my first, & due to the date – last, fall of the year.  After the rather cute fireworks & suitable oohs & aahs, it was time to retire for a nice big sleep before the first ski of 2011.  Here’s a picture shamelessly stolen from Alex, that goes a little way to showing how crowded the ice was – avoiding all those people had its moments.

I was pleased to see the weather forecast was predicting slightly warmer temperatures & even more pleased to have a ski buddy in town who wasn’t working.  Alex (got to love the friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend connection when you are travelling; another Aussie too, have I met a single Kiwi since I’ve been living here?) [& yes, that is another Alex, just to confuse things] is over here putting in a few months of intense boarder-cross training & competition.  The twenty centimetres of snow over the last week had the hill in a much improved condition than previously this season.  Skiing a whole day with only one other person & that person being much more experienced than me was great for my skiing.  I went on a whole heap of runs I haven’t been on before & was regularly challenged by some of the terrain I found myself on.  Not really related to that, I somehow took my biggest dive yet – I hit one of the few sections of crusted powder left untouched a little too fast & somehow lost my skis & went flying a couple of metres forward.  Thankfully Alex didn’t see that & could only watch as I, rather bemused, turned & recovered my skis & poles.  Goat’s Eye was also perhaps the most improved part of the resort & there were quite a few runs to be had down there in relative peace & quiet.  Other/original-Canmore-Alex (to me anyway) also joined us for a couple of runs.

Back in town we headed to the Hotel (more of a pub really) for (new)Alex’s first poutine & some beers.  I believe I have already declared my love of poutine here before a number of times – this particular incarnation didn’t disappoint either.  Now after a little relaxing, dinner cooked & eaten it’s off to bed to rest up so I can do it all again tomorrow.  Well, not quite the same – Alex (original, I’m getting confused already) & I are going backcountry off the back of Sunshine to Citadel Pass.  I’m not sure I really know what that means either – but then I am slightly tired.