Cross Country Skiing – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

Weekend at West Bragg

And what a wonderful weekend it was. I knew I wanted to get to the mountains this past weekend for a little rejuvenation. There’s a crazy week on the horizon, also known as the holiday visit home, so the fresh mountain air did me some good.

Bragg Creek is a quaint little place that was hit quite hard by the floods. And even though the landscape has changed, it’s remains as beautiful as ever, especially when the snow has fallen and the sun makes everything glisten. On Saturday, I headed out with a few friends to cross-country ski at West Bragg Creek. Many of us were beginners, so the goal was just to get out there and have fun. We slowly got a basic handle on the technique, and although the tracks weren’t professionally set like I’ve been used to, the conditions were amazing for skiing. I learned that I need to work on my comfort zone when tackling the hills on cross-country skis as I had several moments of panic. In due time, of course.

The next day, I was back in West Bragg to hike the Snowshoe Trail. We opted not to use snowshoes, and luckily the trail was packed down to make hiking easy. The trail was a short 5 km loop, but since I haven’t been hiking in weeks, it was the ideal distance. After both outings, we ate at the Cinnamon Spoon, which seems to be the remaining coffee shop in Bragg Creek. Unfortunately the cosy coffee place with the awesome hot chocolate closed down recently :(. Let’s hope that the businesses in the area continue to recover okay.

The weekend made me realize: there are no excuses not to get out of the city, even in the winter. (I guess inclement weather is an excuse…). I may not love the winter, but I love doing activities in the winter. Especially the ones that have me exploring the great outdoors.

Oh, and I saw a pair of moose! Just hanging out. NBD.

XC Skiing: From Cascade Valley to the Loppet

Last year I tried cross-country skiing for the first time. I really enjoyed it, and although I didn’t get out to cross-country ski that often last year, I was determined to make a change for the current winter season. A few weeks ago I purchased a set of wax-able skis from Lifesport in Kensington and I’ve been itching to test them out. Last night I waxed up my skis (thanks Youtube for the instruction!), and was ready to go for today. I met up with friends Adriane and Lauren and we were off to Cascade Valley in Banff.

The temperature was cold (-10 Celsius) but the weather was great- super sunny and not very windy. I’m told these were quite ideal conditions. With an attitude of excitement, we stepped into our skis and were off. It took a while before the technique came back to me: leaning forward, shifting body weight completely to one side as you plant and kick off, and the general motion of that which most imagine to be classic cross-country skiing. At first, I blamed my struggles on the equipment: “Did I put the right wax?”, “Did I put enough wax?”, and “Is this the right sized ski with the right amount of camber for me?”. Of course, all of it was fine, and it was just me. Like the saying goes, “A bad carpenter blames his tools”. Slowly but surely, I got into the groove and it was lots of fun!

In the end, we skied for about 2.5 hours. One and a half hours to the river/bridge, and one hour back. The shorter return distance was due to a 3 km downhill, which really tested my ability to stay in control. Which I did not. And this resulted in a few falls during the descent. But alas, everyone falls at least once. Or twice. Or several times. And it’s crazy how much of a workout it was! Even though I exercise regularly and my cardio strength is good, my cardio was tested today. And my entire body was put through the wringer. As I write this, my everything hurts, especially my right hip flexor. Something is not right there.

That said, this is an activity I look forward to continuing throughout the next few months. I think I did pretty well for the first day out and I can only improve from here. The goal: to enjoy the wintry outdoors. I definitely haven’t taken advantage of the amazing winter wonderland that is the Rockies. But the other goal: to complete my first loppet. A loppet is a cross-country ski race similar to running races… but on skis! The ones I have in mind are The Kananaskis Ski Marathon (February 22, 2014- 15 or 24 km) or the Lake Louise Loppet (March 2, 2014- 10 or 20 km). It’s all dependant on scheduling right now, but if I can do at least one, that would be awesome.

A Step to the Loppet

In general, I like races. Running races, obstacle courses, and distances with a goal in mind. So it’s no surprise that I added “Complete a loppet race” to my list… before I really knew what a loppet race was! Think of marathoning, but with cross-country skis. In order to complete a loppet, I guess I should learn to XC ski. And not just learn, but learn well. The course last year was great instruction for practicing the basics of form, stride and technique, and now it’s all about just getting out there and perfecting them.

For two weekends now, I’ve been able to go XC skiing at the Canmore Nordic Centre. The first time at the nordic centre was with Robbie, and it was the first time we had XC skied since taking the course. I’d like to think we were in fine form, but I know there’s much practice to be done. I realized after that session how great of an aerobic workout this sport is! Like, a full body workout. It even manages to work the core quite well! I also learned that one does not simply become a pro overnight! This past Saturday was with my friend Adriane, and after completing the Banff Loop, we decided to take a less-travelled track which was ‘lovely’, as Adriane would say. Full disclosure, I did fall 3 times. I suppose that’s okay for being a beginner, but unacceptable by loppet standards.

So, I have it in my mind that I will get XC ski equipment at some point and train for the loppet next year. I have to be realistic with my injury situation and will need to cut back on my running goals due to the impact they would have on my foot. Instead, I’ve been thinking of low-impact alternatives. XC skiing definitely fits the bill… :).

I Saw A Moose!

Originally, this post was going to be about trying cross-country skiing for the first time. I was going to write about UofC’s Intro to XC skiing program, the beauty of the Mount Shark area in the winter, learning the proper diagonal stride technique, and having a great day in the mountains.

But that story has been trumped by this:

I SAW A MOOSE!!

Why is this so important? Well, I guess it’s not that important. However, I’ve always wanted to see a moose in Alberta. I’ve been to the mountains so many times, and finally it happened. As we were driving back from cross-country skiing along Spray Lakes road, I spotted it in the distance. It was just standing there, on another road, just minding its business. “It’s a moose!”, I proclaimed. we circled back and admired it. Moose (or meese, as they are sometimes called) are amazing looking creatures, and they’re huge! It seemed aware that we were watching, and decided to walk in our direction. I think it was just curious. Although its proximity to the car was a bit alarming at times, we were able to snap some nice photos. I was so excited that I saw a moose. If it’s been unclear… I SAW A MOOSE!

To summarize, I loved cross country skiing, and can’t wait to go again :).