skiing in Canada

[cindysue]

it is supposed to get down to -10* in Fernie, Canada this week. This may seem like nothing for the cold weather divas here, but this California princess is probably in for a shock!

Leaving tomorrow morning early early, fly to Seattle, fly to Vancouver (3 hour layover), fly to Cranbrook.

Will learn to snowboard for the first time - please no broken bones -

and then there is the pressure of meeting BF's best friend of 25+ years and his wife.

should have a good story to tell upon my return......

[Trekhawk]

Have a wonderful time you lucky thing.

[Surlygirl]

brrrrrrr. Bring your woolies.

[Steph_in_TX]

At those temps, you'll want every bit of skin covered and good warm layers. We skied in Colorado just before Christmas and it was about -10 our first day. I wished for my cycling tights for my base layer! I've never felt the snot in my nose freeze before. Just bundle up, it'll be fun!!

[Grog]

Hummm, -10, that's warm (Born and raised in Quebec speaking here.)

Base layers (close to skin) are important. You'll want a good layer + ski pants at the bottom, and more layers on your top parts.

MITTENS. Buy a pair of mittens. They don't have to be expensive, just water resistant. If you pay 30$ you'll have a GREAT pair. You'll find them everywhere around Fernie. With a tiny pair of gloves under them, they will be fantastic and warm. And when you need to use your fingers, you can take off your mittens without freezing your extremities...

TOQUE. Cover your head.

Enjoy the snow! Fernie is supposed to be fantastic!

p.s. The first time I skied here in the West, in Whistler, it was about that, -10, and I was really excited. I had never skied above -15 I think...

[yellow]

Will learn to snowboard for the first time - please no broken bones -

Oh noooooooooo! Going over to the dark side!
If you have wrist supports like for inline skating you might want to bring them along. The time I tried snowboarding I was wishing I'd had some. Pray for soft snow...all that falling on your bum and hips is no fun on the hardpack.

[SJCzar]

Good Luck. I just had my first snowboarding experience last week (after years of skiing) and went back for another go at it yesterday. I bought a pair of R.E.D. shorts that have removable pads and plastic shields for your rear end after my first outing. Definitely worth it to me. I wish I'd had them the first time.

No matter how frustrating it seems the first time, you'll be surprised how much you improve the next time around. Don't forget to bend your knees.

[cindysue]

thanks everyone,

what a lovely trip! I have never seen so many mountains and trees! I will try to load some pictures this weekend.

Fernie was fabulous. And boy, did it take awhile to get there. The tiny commuter airport was 100 miles from town ($160 cab ride ). Once I flew in from Vancouver, I went to check in at the counter for the small airline. So friendly! They asked me for my last name. And then without a glance at her screen, she said "Cindy?" Never even checked my I.D.

This friendly service carried over the entire trip.

So after arriving on Wednesday night - and seeing the beautiful sunset, I met up with my boyfriend's friends (so nice!), went out for dinner at a place called Rip'n Richards, then came back for a fairly early night's sleep (they had been heli-skiing in the Chilcotin Mountains for 4 days before I got there).

Next day we decided to go x-country skiing. They real estate broker who our friends had bought their condo friend suggested we go to a private lodge called Island Lake. Turns out you can't access the place by car - you either have to get snowmobiled in or hike it. Not able to ski up the steep grade to the lodge, we took off our skiis and hiked it. It was a good workout and we were hungry by the time we got to the lodge. But remember I said it was a private lodge. We get there and the place was practically deserted (they only allow about 35 peope to stay there at any one time - although we only saw about 3). So, the gal says to us - sorry, the kitchen is unprepared for you. She takes pitty on our sad faces and offers us some tea. My boyfriend then proceeds to beg for food , and she manages to dig up some small sandwiches, two cups of very yummy carrot ginger soup, and some cookies. - And wow - she was sooooooo gracious! I haven't had service like that since I went through Lompoc, CA on my bike tour last summer.

After lunch we skied around the lake, then skied back down that steep grade. My legs were pretty sore by this time. Went back to the condo, showered, and got ready for dinner. We went to a restaurant called Mojo Risin in an old historic hotel featuring French Quarter New Orleans cuisine. Wierd place - it basically looked like your granny's old house, with an old fashioned china cabinet in the corner of the restaurant, old lacy curtains, a rocking chair with a urinal carved out in the seat (it was in the bathroom), and a bunch of other wierd stuff. Dinner was fabulous and the service was phenominal. Our waiter genuinely catered to us and always with a smile. You just don't get that kind of service anymore (well at least not in most of the places I've lived!).

Next day, I decided I'd learn to snow-board!

The morning started off well. My BF helped me get my rental equipment (apparently I'm "goofy" which means I'm right foot forward on the board). We got there about an hour before the lesson would start so I had him help me with some of the basics before I made a total fool of myself. It was fun and scary at the same time. I finally managed to make it down the short hill without falling, and then he was off to ski the real mountain. The lesson started and I had difficulty trying to ski with only one foot binded in (especially since my BF had just taught me with both feet binded in) but I guess this was to familiarize us with the board slowly and also allow us to get on the ski lift (you can only have one foot binded in to get on). The ski-lift was not a chair, but rather a saucer type thing you had to hold on to while going up the hill. I just couldn't get it the first several times, fell off, and ended up having to hike it up the hill for our lesson. We finally got to bind both feet in and I was doing well getting down the hill. I finally made it up the ski-lift - but it was more difficult than skiing! We continued to learn some basic skills for the first two hours, then we broke for lunch where I proceeded to eat a big veggie burger and fries! After lunch it was time to learn turns! But, I was sooooo scared I would break a bone! Plus my quads were killing me by this time. I was completely frustrated because I was too scared to do the turns (imagine skiing backwards down a steep hill while both feet are clipped into a board). This combined with my throbbing thighs was just too much for me. So i thanked the instructor and headed for the bar

the rest of the gang met up with me two hours later and we were off once again for a shower and some dinner. The next day, I was just too sore to do much of anything, so four of us (out of six) had breakfast out in town, then walked around the lake area. Oh so Beautiful! Went back to the condo where BF and I proceeded to just lay on the couch for several hours until everyone came back from a day of skiing. Dinner again that evening and then time to leave the next day.

I will definitely go back - Fernie apparently has excellent MTBing and hiking, etc. in the summer....

[Trekhawk]

Wow sounds like you had an amazing time. Seems like the kind of holiday where you have to come home for a rest.

Dont forget to post some pics if you get a chance I would love to check out the scenery.

[bikerz]

Welcome back Cindy - sounds like a fun time!

[snapdragen]

You were close to my favorite part of BC - the Kootenays. Kaslo, Nelson and New Denver are my haunts.

[cindysue]

allright get your minds out of the gutter...

I took this picture because we came to a fork in the road and couldn't decide if we should go left or right. I chose left and then we saw this tree stump and Andrew said it was a sign that we made the right decision. Turns out we did - we were told later that the other road was a much steeper hike!

those are our skiis on his back. It was too steep to X-country ski so we hiked most of the way up...

[cindysue]

this is a picture of the private lodge I talked about in my earlier post

[cindysue]

Here's a picture of downtown Fernie. Love that old miner's town look

[cindysue]

Here's a picture of our friend's condo. What a view!!!!!