It was just as well I didn’t ski on Saturday & instead spent much of it sitting in the back of a car – Alex hatched a dastardly plan to get up at 5.30 Sunday & see if we could get up on to Warrior Mountain (which is on the BC/Alberta border south-west of Upper Kananaskis Lake).  We had left the parking lot on the south-east of the lake by 7.45 & spent seventy minutes skinning across the lake.  The day was very still & it didn’t feel all that cold, maybe about -5ºC.  I was quite surprised to find that my light gloves weren’t cutting it, my eyelashes were starting to freeze together & others’ beards freezing up with moist breath – it was almost -20ºC.  The mist over the edges of the lake was interesting.

From the lake we climbed up to the much smaller Hidden Lake, across that one & up through some evil trees (avoiding the easier drainage so as not to be in slide paths).  (Here’s a map of the area, the marker is where we got to before turning around.)  The trees were dense & the terrain steep, it wasn’t long before I was about at my limit of what I could make it up & still turn 135º for the many switchbacks.

Joel & Lincoln doing a good job of not falling off this tree

Eventually, it all opened up a bit & flattened out, however by lunchtime I was pretty much exhausted.  Still the views were fantastic & go a little way to making up for the rest of the day.

Mt Marlborough

After lunch we continued around & up a little to Aster Lake, at the foot of Warrior Mountain – but it was too late to go any further.

Mt Lyautey – or at least a spur off it

Mt Sarrail

Looking back towards Upper Kananaskis Lake

Aster Lake, Warrior Mountain

Start of the drainage from Aster Lake

We turned around at two o’clock & had to skin down & around & up for about an hour before we got to the top of the thick woods.  After a delay for various telemark binding mechanical issues we started skiing down.  As I feared on the way up, there were too many big trees, I was too tired & it was too steep to be any fun at all.  After a few little falls, I was survival skiing – unable to string consecutive turns together & side-slipping a lot.  The trees thinned out a bit & then got really thick just above Hidden Lake.  I was getting slower & slower by the time we were heading back across the (Upper Kananaskis) lake (no skins this time, much less friction skating across).  Eventually we were back at the parking lot close to twelve hours after we first go there – I was spent.  It turns out I have triceps somewhere (who’d have thought?), all that pushing on poles across the lake back really had them quite sore.

Here are a few of Alex’s photos, best to show some of these as the scenery was the only highlight of the day – two hours of skiing downhill (which I mostly hated) out of almost twelve is just miserable.  I can’t wait to be back on the bike, where at least you get a break on the rolling terrain.

Into the trees of misery, from Hidden Lake

Although the trees were the source of many problems, some times they could be advantageous around tight turns

Trying to pretend I’m enjoying myself

Now that I’m the slow one, there sure are a lot more photos of me – I do like this one

I was impressed Alex didn’t fall in the melt for this picture, although Warrior does look smaller

On the way back down

It was unusually busy in the Sunshine parking lot at the early time of 8.15 yesterday morning, considering there wasn’t that much fresh snow & it wasn’t a long weekend.  It turned out that there were a few races on around the hill.  As I had no ski buddy for the day & after Alex encouraged me to last week (he must have noticed that I really don’t ski that well – it was hardly a secret), I spent the day in a lesson.  I managed my trick again of paying for a group lesson & getting a private lesson as there was no-one else in my class – score.  I also lucked out & got the longest serving Sunshine instructor, Daniel – who was very good (not to mention overly enthusiastic & talkative, as one expects with such jobs).

As it was just me, we had a pretty chilled day at my pace & lots of time to talk about my technique.  My goal for the day (made up on the spot – I hate being asked such things) was to be able to ski where I want to go when it gets bumpy or mogul-ly (funnily enough, that’s not a word), instead of having the terrain dictate my turns, & therefore, my path.  Considering I’ve only being skiing for a year, I apparently have good steering & other parts to my technique – this came as a bit of a surprise, so I took that with a pinch of salt & put it down to instructor’s encouragement.  What I really needed to work on, or so I was told, was completing/coming out of turns – so we spent a lot of time getting me to flex my legs (particularly the outside/bottom one).  This involved a lot of touching the cuff of my boots as I completed turns.  By the end of the day, I was getting around & diving into the moguls much more confidently.  The lesson was also good in that I got dragged down a lot of black runs I’ve never been down before & I made it down the only double-black I’ve done at Sunshine in much better shape.  All in all a great & very worthwhile day – sorry to bore you with the details, but it’s mostly so that I don’t completely forget it.  Apparently, I passed the test-slope for entry in to Delerium Dive, but I find that rather worrying on a few different levels.

We lost an hour’s sleep last night with the start of Daylight Savings (now nineteen hours behind NZ).  Spring seems to have decided to turn up in the last few days – hard to believe when it was -37ºC less than a fortnight ago.  The forecast this week is for mostly sun & daytime highs all above freezing & the lowest overnight low only -9ºC – crazy talk.  So, there are many big puddles around town & much slush.

But it’s still beautiful in town

With a bit of luck, there will be some uncovered (we live in hope) singletrack soon – I just have to get around to changing the tyres & the drivetrain on my bike.

No one really had the motivation to do anything too energetic today, so after a sleep in & a lazy morning, a few of us spent the afternoon mozying around town.  The Big Head (the meaning of ‘Canmore’) is all dressed up for this year’s Ski Nationals.

Canmore has been having a bit of a celebration of that fact – on Wednesday night sitting in the pub eating copious amounts of wings we saw truckloads of snow being trucked in & then dumped on Main St.  For four or five days two blocks have been closed off with XC skiers on the groomed snow replacing the cars & pickups.  It’s a little odd to walk down the street & see a groomer & tracksetter working away.

While we were walking, & later sitting enjoying chocolate chai & bagels, around town this afternoon in the balmy weather the final leg of a small X-Terra triathlon was run/skied on Main St.  We had a spot near the start of the XC skiing (the other legs were swimming [don’t worry, in a pool – not the river] & running) & the finish line.  The competitors had to do five laps of the snow to make up their three kilometres.

After that had died down, the snow was open again for public skiing.  Although the skiing wasn’t great it was quite novel to be skiing down Main St so we got sufficiently motivated (only just) to get our skis & join in for a couple of laps.  It was the first, & probably last, time that I’ve ever skied in jeans – but with so many people around it hardly matter.  At least I didn’t fall & get soaked; actually, the highlight of the skiing was seeing so many people fall over in quite ridiculous ways.

Megan & Finn enjoying the warmth – outside our favourite toyshop.