Adaptive Cross Country skiing is alive and well at Mount Washington

   by Keith and Heather Nicol

Cross country skiers know that one of the great aspects of the sport is that it gets us out in the fresh air and is an ideal form of exercise since it strengthens our legs and arms and is also an aerobic workout.  Mount Washington in the Comox Valley has been having a great 2016-17 season so far with a very busy Christmas season and so far January has generally had very good weather for skiing. But people may not know that Mount Washington also has a well established adaptive skiing programme.  Recently I spoke to Steve Latta, the programme’s Nordic coordinator about how it works and who can participate. “We try to get people with a variety of challenges to try x-c skiing and this might include people with spinal cord injuries, amputees, visual impairment and cognitive issues. We have 12 trained guides who help out on a regular basis. Our main focus is helping with the Woody Gundy School programme and last year we had 54 students in our classes over the winter. We also have a number of adults who use our services and we also have a 4 day Ski Festival in early January where skiers get to come to really get immersed in the skiing since they are out day after day. This year we had 6 skiers take part which is about the maximum we can take”.  

Some of the skiers and guides at this year's festival

One of the best parts of the programme is that it is financially attainable for most people. Once people join BCAS (British Columbia Adaptive Snowsports)  for $47 per year all rentals and instruction is free. And Mount Washington offers trail tickets for ½ price to BCAS members under VISAS (Vancouver Island Society for Adaptive Snowsports) guidance.  People can also try x-c skiing with the VISAS “Have-A-Go” programme where skiers can buy a 1 day membership in BCAS for $10. For more information you can phone Steve Latta at 250-871-4488 and you can book a lesson at 250-334-5755.

A sit skier has 3 people to help guide them around the trail

    

   

    

Maple Lake offers skating and other winter activities

   by Keith and Heather Nicol

     We were at a dinner party on Saturday, January 14 and Norm Reynolds mentioned that he had heard that people were skating on Maple Lake near Cumberland. After 6 weeks of abnormally cold weather for the Comox Valley snow was lingering on many lawns and ice was forming on small lakes. With the weather about to change on Monday  (rain and + 6 C) it seemed like a good idea to check this area out on Sunday morning before the forecasted thaw changed conditions. We had not been to Maple Lake before but it is easily accessed off the Cumberland connector by turning on Minto Road and following it past a cemetery and under the Inland Highway to a parking lot. From there the actual road to the lake was quite icy and rough so we gathered up our skates and walked the short distance to the lake. 

Keith checking out the ice on Maple Lake

     We were joined by Steve Faraher-Amidon who also likes outdoor skating. Once on the lake we could see some areas that had been shoveled off for skating but we also saw several people ice fishing and other people out walking their dogs and enjoying the pleasant weather.  The sun was out and there was no wind making this a special setting for a winter outing.  We skated on one pond on reasonably good ice and then checked out another “rink” that had some natural flooding along the edges. This “rink” was larger but the flooded area had not frozen solidly so we skated on the smooth non flooded surface.  If the weather cooperates again this winter skaters might want to check this area out and if readers know of other outdoor places to skate in the Comox Valley let us know. Be sure to confirm that the ice is solid enough by checking its thickness along the shore. The Red Cross recommends at least 20 cm of ice if groups are going to be skating or walking. We will certainly be back to check out Maple Lake if we get another cold snap. 

Steve skating on another "rink" that had natural flooding along its edges

Cross Country Skiing at Cypress Mountain Resort is off to a great start

   by Keith and Heather Nicol

The upper warm up hut was a popular spot on Friday

   On Friday December 30 we headed to Cypress Mountain Resort with our daughter Kristie and her boyfriend Eric to check out the cross country skiing. Kristie has enjoyed cross country skiing for many years and Eric is just getting started with the sport. And Cypress is a great spot to get on snow whether you like to snow shoe, alpine ski, cross country ski or go tubing since it is just a short drive from Vancouver. We met Nordic Manager Mike Thomas on the trails and he told us that Cypress was off to their best winter start in many years with all Nordic trails groomed and ready for skiing.  “We already have a base of over 200 cm” he told us. We had contacted Mike a few days earlier and he told us to arrive by 9:30- 10:00 am since the road up can get quite congested. That was good advice since interest in winter activities seems to have exploded in the Vancouver over the past few years especially over the Christmas holidays. 

We loved skiing on the wide trails

     Cypress Nordic has 19 km of cross country ski trails groomed for both classic and skating as well as 10 km of snowshoe trails.  We really liked the wide trails and the lower trails are relatively flat and ideal for beginners.  As you gain elevation the trails ascend and descend more quickly and the skiing is more challenging.  On Friday we skied many of the lower trails and also skied the Triangle Lake loop which is higher up on the mountain. We had a snack at a upper warmup cabin and were surprised by the large groups of snowshoers that were having a bite to eat as well.  If you are visiting Vancouver and want to cross country ski or snowshoe you couldn’t do any better than visiting Cypress Mountain. And the new Hollyburn Lodge should be opening in the next few weeks” Mike told us as we left “so you will have to come back to check it out.” We can’t wait! For more information see: www.cypressmountain.com 

Keith skiing past snow laden trees

 

Winter at Grouse Mountain offers snowshoeing, ice skating and much more!

by Keith and Heather Nicol

Keith and Kristie at the start of the Light Trail

    On Wednesday, December 29 we headed to Grouse Mountain with our daughter Kristie and her boyfriend Eric to try out the snowshoeing on their Light trail. We were not sure about what kind of crowds we might encounter so thought if we arrived around 6:00 pm we would arrive while many people would be having dinner. It proved to be a good plan and we arrived to light rain at the base but we were soon being whisked into to the snow by the large Grouse Mountain gondola. We arrived on top to falling snow and a winter wonderland. There were people skating on the outdoor pond, many people skiing and snowboarding in powdery snow and lots of people trying out the lighted snowshoe trail.

It was snowing heavily while we snowshoed along the Light Trail

      Although we had snowshoes many people were simply walking in hiking shoes or snowboots and the trail was delightful with the hanging lights and Christmas music playing along the route.  With the heavily falling snow we found snowshoes to be the preferred choice but we certainly saw many people who weren’t using them. The trail is just 500 meters long so is attainable by a wide variety of people. We finished the Light trail at the start of a sleigh ride so we opted to do that while Kristie and Eric tried the 1 km Blue Grouse snowshoe trail. The large sleigh is pulled by a snowcat and winds for 10-15 minutes across some of the flatter terrain near the Peak Lodge. In the lodge you can have a quick snack or elaborate dinner and it is a perfect place to come inside and warm up.  We warmed up with a hot chocolate while Kristie and Eric finished their showshoe jaunt. Grouse Mountain is much more than skiing and we fully recommend heading there to try the snowshoeing, take a sleigh ride and go ice skating.  Kids can also enjoy sliding on their dedicated sliding hill. It is all included in the cost of the Alpine Experience pass (except skiing and riding). Next time we head up we are planning a day time visit so we can check out more of their 12 km of snowshoe trails and we would like to explore their ski runs as well.  For more information see: https://www.grousemountain.com/

The Peak Lodge is a perfect place to warm up, meet friends or have a meal

Supercamps are an ideal way to start the cross country ski season.

 

By Keith and Heather Nicol

At Silver Star you can ski down Main street

      We just returned from a great Supercamp experience at Canada’s largest cross country ski trail network at the Sovereign Lake-Silver Star Nordic facility located near Vernon, B.C. The main Supercamps ran from November 21 to December 4, 2016 and they included 2 weekend camps and two 5 day mid week camps. These camps are worth looking at for many reasons including: early season snow, well qualified CANSI instructors and coaches and a 105 km long trail system that is well groomed for both classic and skate technique. Add to this, presentations by waxing experts, access to a well -equipped weight room, optional yoga and core workout sessions.... what more could you ask for? And did I mention that many cross country ski teams use this area for their early season training camps so you are sharing the trails with some of the continent’s best cross country skiers. Shane Landreville who organizes the Supercamps told us that the number of skiers taking part keeps increasing and many skiers come back year after year. This year there were over 300 skiers who took part and they came from all over North America and even several from England and even Australia!! 

A Supercamp group enjoying the snowy trails

    These camps are geared to everyone from first timers to advanced skiers wanting to improve their technique and get in cross country skiing on a huge variety of trails. If you want a mid season tune up on your skiing you can still take in 2 more weekend camps which are scheduled for January 13-15, 2017 and February 17-19, 2017. For more information see: http://www.xcsupercamp.com/

At Supercamps skiers get to try the trails at both Silver Star and Sovereign Lake (shown above)