Mid winter report
Trip Start
May 24, 2008
1
9
12
Trip End
Jun 2009
Whitehorse,
Yukon,
Canada
Monday, March 2, 2009
Christmas was a busy time for us. We were out for dinner quite a few times over the holiday season so we didn't even cook a turkey. We did a little hosting ourselves.
We found a lot of folks go 'out' to family or take off on holiday for warmer climes.
The temperature dropped in mid Dec to the mid -30s and didn't get above for 4 weeks. Lowest was -45C
The cold snap lasted for a month and was one of the longest in 15 yrs. (I seem to remember last summer was the coldest in 35 yrs) Yes I know Neil... suck it up!
We didn't get a lot of skiing due to the cold but snowshoed quite a bit. We waited till the full "heat" of the day and then hiked up to exposed ridges where the sun was shining. Cedar loves this activity in that we go slower than she does so she can tear around through the bush. She's going to be 12 in Feb and is still going strong.
We took our turn at getting "out" in mid month and travelled to Whistler/Callaghan Valley to ski and watch the World Cup Cross country races. This was the test event for the 2010 Olympics next year. We know we won't be able to go next year so this was our Olympics. The best skiers in the world would be there. We'd get the same effect without all the crowds and security.
We got lucky with the weather as it was above 0C and sunny the whole time we were there. We went from frost bite to sunburn all within a couple for days.
This was our first trip to Whistler in winter so we took our Tele skis and spent a day on the hill.
Our T@B camper
Temps at the top were over +10 so we sweated all day as we were over dressed. Whistler itself is BIG. Even mid week in Jan there were lots of folks on the hill. Snow was Ok as there was no powder due to the weather.Skiing was OK as well and I'd have to say that Revelstoke is a better hill or at least more intimate.
We did the whole tourist thing and took the new Peak to Peak gondola from the top of Whistler Mtn over to the top of Blackcomb something like 4.4km span with a height of 436m above the ground .
http://ww1.whistlerblackcomb.com/p2pg/
It was impressive but not for the faint of heart as the spans and elevation are huge.
Of course the staff that keep just about every establishment open are from Aus. It was unique to hear an English/Cdn accent. [I know Michelle.....:)]
We spent three days at Callaghan Valley skiing and watching the WC races. The facility itself it quite unique for Canada in that the Biathlon, Cross Country and Ski jumping venues are all close to each other.
Imagine the Canmore Nordic Centre with Biathlon and XC and then add a jumping stadium just off the east end of the XC stadium. It really is quite impressive. The feeling amongst people we talked to was that this may be a white elephant after the games as it is so far from a large population centre (approx 2h from VCR.). Most of the spectators were relatively new to racing, judging from the questions we fielded from people around us.
The garage
The spectator area is small and apparently the tickets for XC are hard to come by. We skied the recreational trails and found them to be a bit challenging for beginners as most of the trail system appears to follow creek beds which means, skiing either up the valley or down the valley. We enjoyed the skiing. We skated as we didn't want to mess with warm waxes at +0 temps. It was truly weird skiing with no gloves, hat, wearing only ski pants with no long johns , one layer of long underwear top with no shell after skiing with two layers plus vests, jackets, balaclavas, mitts.
The races, themselves were outstanding. We watched Individual and team sprints as well as the Classic/Skating pursuits. As the host country, Canada got to enter more skiers than normal so some of the younger skiers got to race with the big guns. Young Alex Harvey (Pierre's son), and George Grey got onto the podium in the team sprint an exciting race with an even more exciting finish.
While we were away, the Whitehorse temps went up to +10 (new record high) causing the snow to ice up and roads to get really icy. We arrived home to less snow but warmer temps and a long term forecast of regular temps with daytime highs of -13C, one heck of a lot better than the -30s of the past month.
Of course the snow was iced up so skiing was crappy so we snow shoed and enjoyed the warmth. Luckily the snow followed closely to the thaw and as of this writing we have 2X the normal snowfall. The snow is bottomless though so we have to stick to our established trails.
Our driveway with lots of snow
Stepping off the trail gets one up to their ass in snow whether on skis or snowshoes.Our curling is doing well. The mixed league has changed somewhat in that a few teams are not curling in the second 1/2 as Yukoners seem to go 'out' in Jan/Feb. We have added a new player, a young woman, Maegan, from ON who has curled a lot and now appears to be our third. We have ended up on the B side of our competitive night and still can't seem to find the winning way although we curl well, the others curl really well. Clearly, the new shoes and stabilizer aren't doing their jobs! We still are teaching curling once a week to school kids. There is a really strong School program here. Hugh is coaching, once a week, a 12yr old curling team getting them ready for a March Jr bonspiel.
With the warm weather of Feb. we have been skiing and snowshoeing right out the front door. Our little loop gets lots of use from everyone in the neighbourhood.
We've entered the Managers Air North Challenge at the XC ski club. We have to ski all the 75kms of the ski club's trails in Feb., to be eligible for prizes. It took us 6h skiing on the Mt McIntyre loop with a 2h/1500' rise to the top and a leg burning descent on a skidoo road. Because the is no logical way to ski the trails without repeating some, we figure we've skied 100+km
We also skied downhill at Mt Sima right here in town and had a better day @$29.00 than our $89 time at Whistler. Go figure! We had a fresh dump overnight and skied powder on every run with next to no one else on the runs.
The snowcovered homestead
We weren't the only Telemarkers on hill either and a lot had AT gear so we know there are folks out there that go into the backcountry once the snow settles in the spring.February is dog sled race season. We helped out at the Carbon Hill Sled dog race at Mt Lorne in early Feb. It was great to be up close to the dogs and mushers. A lot of these teams race in the Yukon Quest which started on Feb 14. We went into town to see the start. It was -31C but the sun was out as were the spectators.
The race is still on as of right now and everyone follows it.
The Sourdough Rendezvous starts this week as well. We figure it is kind of like the Stampede in that folks dress up in 1890s costumes and there are events all week long. Instead of Family day/ Louis Riel Monday we have Rendezvous Friday as the holiday. We have our outfits, ready to party.
Feb 24/09
We went dog sledding yesterday at Muktuk Kennels. This kennel has 127 dogs. A virtual dog city.
It was really cool to help hook up the dogs then after careful instruction take off onto the Takinini River for a two hr run.
We had six dogs pulling us. Poor bastards had to pull me..... Cheryl and I took turns 'driving' while the other sat in the basket of the sled. They really are well trained but dogs being what they are tend to be a little rowdy and a few fights broke out amongst some dogs on the teams. Not good for the traces. They would be all tangled up and the guide would have to come and sort it all out.
Dita
These dogs are small and wiry, not anything like Cedar in size. They were very friendly and are treated with care and respect by the handlers. I've posted some pictures on Facebook and will add them to the Picassa link I posted back in the Fall.
The days are getting longer now and it's only a few weeks until the Equinox. We're gaining 5 ½ m/day so over the course of a week we get an extra 40minutes of daylight. We get quite the opposite feeling of last Fall when we were going the opposite direction. Everyone marvels at the extra daylight. The locals say this happens every year (the marvelling part...).
The snow still keeps coming. We are at approx 2x the normal snowpack. There are fears of localized flooding on some rivers and lakes once spring hits. The snowpack is very similar to the prairies where we used to call it sugar snow. It's very granular like sugar and isn't consolidated. Ski , snowmobile, or walk off the packed trail and you end up floundering. In the mountains, they call this depth hoar which makes for very unstable snow conditions if you try to ski down any slopes. All I know is that I wish I had a snowblower for our driveway. We have to clear 75m of driveway as well as the parking areas after every snowfall. We finally called in a neighbour with a Bobcat to plough out the drive as we couldn't keep up. Even at the ski club we've had to hook up two machines to get another out of the rhubarb after it has slid off the trail while packing.
We've gotten notice from our landlords that they are returning one month early so we'll have to move out for May 1. We of course just extended our renters lease to the end of July in Canmore so we are adrift for three months. We hope to stay up here till the end of July. We have no firm plans of trips so if you are thinking of coming up this way......
Knowing more folks, we may get a house sitting opportunity but what ever happens....
