Spectacular Nordic Skiing at Silver Star Resort near Vernon, B.C.

by Keith and Heather Nicol

The cross country sessions were very well attended

      We recently returned from 5 days of Nordic skiing at Silver Star Resort. Silver Star which is just a 20 minute drive outside of Vernon in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley.  The Okanagan is known for its good weather and we enjoyed bright sun and warm temperatures for our CANSI National Seminar from January 18-22, 2013. The purpose of the CANSI national seminar is to bring cross country and telemark ski instructors together from across country to share information on many aspects of teaching these sports. The Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors (CANSI) certifies ski instructors in both cross country and telemark skiing and this national seminar has been growing steadily over the last number of years. This year at Silver Star there were over 40 people taking part in the cross country portion and over 25 in the telemark component and there were skiers from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland and all points in between taking part. There were sessions on all aspects of Nordic skiing including skating, classic and hill techniques on cross country ski equipment as well as many aspects of teaching telemark skiing. Sample sessions included skill reviews, how to adapt your skiing to different terrain and general ski improvement.  I would encourage any current CANSI member to attend future seminars since it is a great way to meet other ski instructors and learn from some of Canada’s top instructors and coaches.  

The telemark sessions had perfect conditions

    Silver Star was an ideal venue for these events since everything is close at hand. We simply headed out from our chalet each morning to ski lifts for the telemark sessions or to the ski trails for the cross country workshops. There was no need to drive anywhere since everything is within walking distance. The wide cross country skiing trails were very well groomed and there is a network of over 50 km of trails to choose from. Silver Star Alpine Resort has several chairlifts which service a big variety of terrain from double black steeps to easy cruisers. Another great aspect of Silver Star is how many winter sports are blended so nicely. For instance, as you ride the Silver Queen chairlift you can look down and see people ice skating, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and even tubing.  In fact a lift ticket gives you access to all of these activities. For more information on Silver Star see:  http://winter.skisilverstar.com/ and for more information on CANSI see: http://www.cansi.ca/en/. Thanks again to the organizers of this great event!

The view was superb overlooking cloud filled valleys

   

Silver Star on Dwellable

Vernon on Dwellable