Carrick to Calgary

Another snowboard report...

Having taken one snowboarding lesson at the COP, practiced on the the bunny slopes at the COP twice and come down the Big Hill at the COP three times, last week I went to a real ski resort and decided to attempt to snowboard down from the Continental Divide, Mount Lookout, which is 8954 feet tall!


The Continental Divide (at the top of the mountain)

The HERBs had invited me for a day at Sunshine last Thursday and I had waxed my board and booked the day off. On Wednesday, though, they cancelled as Richard had to work after all. Undeterred, I decided to go anyway, and hit the road at about 10:30am. It was a long drive to the resort (90 mins on Highway 1) and then it took another 30 mins to get suited up and ride the Gondola to the top, but once I was there I got almost 5 hours on the slopes.


In the Gondola


Snowy Hills

I spent most of my time on the green and blue runs on 'Strawberry Hill', which is where P had her first and only (so far) traumatic ski experience in December (see Monday, December 06, 2004 'Ski Saturday'). I too had a pretty scary time going down Strawberry on skis back then, but this time on a snowboard it seemed a lot less scary and after a few runs I had the measure of it and was practicing my turns and edging with no problem. The runs at Strawberry are excellent for snowboarding, as they have plenty of different routes possible, lots of trees and turns and have a steady downwards slope to keep you moving. Remember, if you're on skis you have the poles to push yourself along the flat boring bits, but on a board if you stop you're sunk, so you need a bit of a gradient just to keep moving.


The Strawberry Lift


Strawberry on the way up


At the top of Strawberry

Check the trails here.

It was so warm that I had to reduce myself to 2 layers of clothing, losing my jumper and going with T-shirt and waterproof jacket only. Even that was still a bit too warm, and I spent most of the day with the jacket open. I had to remove the insulation and the ear-muffs from my helmet before I got heat-stroke! My new knee-pads worked a treat, though and I didn't pick up a single bruise all day long (although maybe I'm just falling less, or falling better). My helmet saved the day when I fell badly on one blue run - I went down hard enough to daze me a for a few seconds and the helmet has an impact mark on it now! I also discovered that my boots have an extra strap hidden inside which goes across the front of your ankle to stop your heel rising up, and this makes a lot of difference when you're trying to get the board up on its edge at speed.


The Superpipe


Trails in the Snow

I also learned a few important lessons about the chairlift -

1. don't fiddle with your gear when you're 30 feet up in the air in a little metal chair. I was messing with my gloves and managed to drop one right onto a blue run. Luckily, I managed to board all the way down to within 2 feet of it, but it was hard work.

2. always check your leash, which is a little safety device which keeps your board attached to your leg in case your boots or bindings come loose and the board falls off your leg. A loose board on the slopes is like a runaway train, as it tends to point downhill at once, and then accelerates very quickly indeed, reaching an impressive speed before slamming into someone at the bottom of the slope. I was so keen to get on the chairlift that I just buckled myself into my bindings and then hopped on. Only when I was halfway up did I realise my leash was undone, and my board was only secured by the bindings on my left foot. I was glad to get to the top of that lift...

I did have some trouble with my cheapo goggles deciding to come apart half way through the day (fixed them up) and I couldn't be bothered wearing my chunky wrist protectors (too much hassle taking them on and off). It was amazingly bright up there and I'm fairly sure I would have ended up snowblind without some sort of eye protection. I boarded most of the day with my 'daypack' on (containing food, water, extra clothes, phone, keys and wallet) but when I took it off for a while (stowing it in a locker) suddenly I felt a lot lighter and more balanced and was boarding a lot better!

The lifts stopped running at 4:30pm, so for my last run of the day I decided to head up on Angel chair to Lookout Mountain. The lift takes you up about 3/4 of the way to the Continental Divide, at a ridiculously steep angle and then there's a long green run all the way back down. I thought it would be a fun way to finish the day, but I had miscalculated slightly...


On Angel Chair


Up to Lookout


Ridiculously steep

Up on the Divide, winter is still in full swing, with snowy mountains as far as the eye can see. At the end of a Thursday in late April there are also very few people up there, and so I was almost alone on a run I'd never come down before. The air is also a bit thinner and it's a bit colder than it was below.


The Rockies in late April


Route 34

The green run down (Route 34) wasn't much fun, as it was right on the edge of the mountain, and if you slipped right you were heading straight down a steep black run, so it was a constant effort to keep the board going down and to the left. After the first steeper bit, the run levels off and is almost flat, which is OK for skiers but not so much for boarders. It might be OK if you could keep up a good speed, but my legs were getting cold and very tired, kind of like jelly, and once I fell over I lost all my speed and found myself stuck on the flat. I had to take one leg off the board and skate my way to the next hilly bit, which was about 1/4 of a mile away. So there I was, shuffling along on Lookout Mountain, not another human being in sight, completely silent, surrounded by the icy peaks. It felt really lonely, like being on another planet and I started to wonder if I had the strength left to make it down. I stopped to rest for a minute and noticed that all the lifts had stopped running and the chairs were swinging in the breeze. Hundreds of feet below in the tiny village, they had turned the lights off in the Day Lodge and taken all the tables and chairs inside. There were no people in sight. It was definitely time to go home.


Fallen down


I'm lying on the snow...


... but I'm looking at the sky

I made it to the next slope and started off on the board again, but my legs were aching and every few hundred yards I flopped back on the snow for a rest. Not really falling, but just landing on your bum for a minute or two until your legs stop burning again. After about 15 minutes of this, I saw a skier in red approaching. He was one of the Ski Patrol and he was wondering if I was a bit tired and would I like a snowmobile ride down to the village? Of course, this is how they rescue grannies and the like who can't make it down off the mountain, and I politely declined. He told me that I was the last rider on the mountain, and that he couldn't go home until I went home, but I assured him I would be down in 5-10 minutes, and headed off downhill again. I seemed to have gotten a second wind, and I got up some more speed on my edge for this section. Then I came around a corner and almost collided with a groomer, basically a sort of snow tractor which smoothes the snow out for the next day's skiing. I managed to slow down and steer around it, and then headed down to the village on the freshly groomed snow. This bit was just marvellous, lovely freshly-groomed flat snow, no bumps or ruts at all and it seemed like the board was on auto-pilot, humming along down the hill. I could have kept going all day! Finally I made it back down the hill to the village, finishing up by swinging the board around onto it's heelside suddenly, bringing it to a complete halt in a spray of snow! Wow!


At the end of the day


Heading home again

So I'm definitely getting better at snowboarding. At the end of the day I was wrecked and I was still sore for a day or two afterwards, but I'll be back again. One thing is that I forgot how strong the sun is at the top of Sunshine, and I think I got a slight case of sunstroke and definitely a bit of a tan by the end of the day. So next time I'll have to bring the sunscreen!

J

Just a brief post to say that the Calgary Hitmen have crashed out of the playoffs, losing 4-3 to the Brandon Wheat Kings last week. They squandered their 3-1 lead and lost the last 3 games in a row. The Wheaties go forward to play the Prince Albert Raiders for the Eastern Conference title. Oh well, maybe next year, guys.

To those of you who follow this blog avidly, you'll be pleased to hear that I haven't gone away - I just haven't been partaking in any of the interesting activities taken up by Mr White. I can't be doing with feet that are out of control, and hence snowboarding, skating and skiing aren't really my thing. In fact, ice and snow don't feature too highly on my list of favourite things at all....so its just as well that we live in Calgary and not somewhere like Newfoundland or Nova Scotia, which over the past winter, got regular dumps of 50cm or more of snow in one go - wow! As you know, Calgary doesn't get an awful lot of snow, and if it does snow here, we tend to get warm Chinook winds that melt it all within a couple of days. However, as we found out a couple of weeks ago, that doesn't mean that all the white slippy stuff disappears from the mountains...

We had decided to head up to Ribbon Creek at Kananaskis to go for the first walk of the season - now, while the guidebook did suggest that it was better for walking in spring and summer, we naively assumed that mid-April counted as spring. Given that the day time temperature was about 15 degrees C, this seemed like a reasonable assumption...

So all booted up, with knapsacks on - off we went, striding purposefully up a good wide path. The views were pretty stunning, but as we got further up the path, it started to dawn on us that it was a bit wintry up there...



When we rounded the next corner, it became painfully apparent that it was still winter, and that spring hadn't really sprung. The path, which had started off wide and made of gravel, degenerated into a wide path made completely of ice, with running water flowing merrily over the top of the ice...not a great surface for walking on (unless you're Mr White who has taken skating lessons).

Mr White - standing confidently on ice...



Me - not standing confidently on ice...




However, we perservered - reasoning that it could only get better further up the path (now there's a set of 'Irish' logic for you!). Having said that, there were places where the path got a little better (i.e. you could see some path poking up through the ice)




And we were able to get to the bottom of a big mountain, where there was once a logging/mining camp...




However, on the way down, about 15 minutes from the carpark, we came to a bit of downhill path, where the ice was path wide and there was no edge, or no flat bit with trees to edge your way along. This is me contemplating sitting on the ice and skiting my way to the bottom, and then thinking better of it...



So...very much against the spirit of environmental friendliness, which states that you should stick to the paths, and should not damage the ecology of the area, we decided that there was nothing for it but to scramble up the hill on the left hand side of the path (as you look at the photo) and try to see if we could find another way down. Now, again, I'm not one for scrambling up steep hills covered with scree, spiky plants and sheep droppings, but when it comes to that or coping with ice, hill scrambling it is! Luckily, it worked out fine and we found another way down.

So the moral of that story is - April in the mountains is NOT spring, and spring up there happens in early June.


Now, what about spring in the city? In places, it feels springlike, but there's not much in the way of plant life yet to confirm that suspicion. Trees are starting to bud, and in places, there are a few very small flowers poking their way up through the soil. We took ourselves up to Nose Hill Park yesterday to have a look to see what a 'natural environment park' in the middle of suburban Calgary looks like. The weird thing about this park is that it is HUGE - 1127 hectares - and it is untouched prairie. In other words, it is what Calgary is built on, and it turns out to be dry grassland, with a few stands of trembling Aspen trees, more grassland and little valleys that are known as coulees. This is what the original settlers decided would be good for raising cattle, and settling their families in. To those of used raised by the sea, it just seems like an endless stretch of grass, and I think if had been me, that I would have just kept going. Mind you, that's easy to say, but I suppose when you look west and see a very large wall of mountains that stretches as far as the eye can see, reasonably flat land looks a bit more attractive.

Prairie crocuses - poking up through the dry grass




Deer hiding in the trees (honest) - isn't it all rather brown?




It is all rather dry and dusty - evidenced by P's very dirty feet...




Big sky - a few clouds, but no rain to be seen...




Grass, grass and more grass...




Modern city raising up from the prairie grasses...





We haven't had rain in I can't remember how long, and none is forecast for the next week. The grass at the front of the house is trying to grow, but without water, I'm not sure that it can start to get green. We might actually have to invest in a hosepipe and a sprinkler, but we'll hold off for another week or so and see whether any wet stuff falls from the sky. The relative humidity at the moment is about 30% - and it just feels sooooooo dry. When my mum was here, she met a lady who said that when came here to live, she thought she was just going to dry up and blow away.... I think I know how she feels - dry hair, dry skin, and how the first settlers ever coped without piles of moisturiser, I will never know!


So there you go - I'll keep you posted on the moisture situation!! Did I ever think I'd be hoping for rain in April??


P

Big news today - was the smoke white or black? The Vatican radio said black, and the Vatican TV said white, and then the bells of St Mark's started ringing. So the new pope is Benedict XVI, a 78-year old German theologian who grew up in Nazi Germany. He was the only cardinal who had been to a conclave before, he's been the pope's righthand man for the last few years and has probably been running the show for the last few years anyway. He's a renowned conservative and hard-liner and he'll keep the pope's chair warm for a few years until a younger man comes along again.


Saint Benedict


Benedict XV


Benedict XVI


Eggs Benedict

And in other news: the Hitmen have been wavering against the Wheaties in the hockey playoffs and have squandered their 3-1 lead. The Wheaties have won the last 2 games and the score is now 3-3, with the decider to be held tomorrow night in Brandon, Manitoba.


Hitmen 3


Wheaties 3

And while we're on the matter of sports... Paula's grandfather Robson always talked about the "Purple People Eaters coming to get you", and we never knew what he was on about. I always imagined a sort of purple alien monster thing, that ate people, but recently we Googled the term and it turns out that the Purple People Eaters were the defensive line for the Minnesota Vikings American football team in the late 1960s and 1970s:

The Vikings' defensive line was so good in the late 1960s and during the 1970's that it obtained several nicknames. The "Purple People Eaters" and the "Purple Gang" were the ones most often heard. Like other good defenses, the Vikings tackled quarterbacks and runners for losses, but they went a step further. They used a "big play" defense that could turn a game from defeat into victory in one spectacular play. The Purple People Eaters did not consider it a day's work unless they intercepted passes, forced fumbles, blocked punts and field goals, and ran back loose balls for touchdowns. The defense was so good that even when the other team had the ball, it was difficult to say which team would score. Even if the opposing team had marched into the red zone, it was not uncommon to see Paul Krause or Bobby Bryant intercept a Page-tipped ball and run it back 70+ yards for a score.


Spot the Ball

And we never knew he followed American football...

Update from a Mr Peter Robson of Carrickfergus, who writes that his dad wasn't a fan of the gridiron after all, but that the term Purple People Eaters originally came from even further back:

The Purple People Eater was the #1 song for 6 weeks in 1958 and the #24 song of the 1955-1959 rock era. It sold over 3 million records and received a Gold Record within 3 weeks after it was released. And over 100 Million Copies Overall!!!


The first verse goes:

Well I saw the thing comin' out of the sky
It had the one long horn, one big eye.
I commenced to shakin' and I said "ooh-eee"
It looks like a purple people eater to me.


Playing music out of a horn on your head - not advisable

So it looks like it was a pop song from the late 1950s, and not a defensive line at all! Look here for more details and lyrics and here for the American footballers. I think the footballers were probably named after the song, but I'm just guessing... it was a wee while ago, after all!

And if you can't get enough of the Purple People Eaters, go here for the full audio horror in glorious MP3. It's not for the faint of heart...

Spring has definitely sprung here, with longer evenings, warmer sunshine and no snow in the city. Having said that, the winter's not quite done as the ski resorts are still open. Lake Louise is open until May 8, and Sunshine (at Banff) is open right through to May 23, so there's still the chance to do some snowboarding for the next month. Sunshine stays open so long as it's at 7000ft elevation, so it's still subzero up there and the snow is still falling.

I seem to have been bitten by the snowboarding bug, having had a lesson at the C.O.P. and I've gone back twice since to practice on the bunny slopes and later on the Big Hill. I suppose all together I've spent about 8 hours on the board and I'm definitely starting to get the hang of it. I managed to pick up a board and all the gear I need in the spring sales for about 200 dollars (80 quid or so). This should quickly pay for itself, as board hire costs 30 dollars a day, and the board should last me all through next season too.


The Board

I went for a 163cm 'Peak' snowboard from the Limited company. It's long enough for my height and weight, and is of medium stiffness (you can bend it fairly easily but it's got a lot of spring and bounces back into shape right away). The bottom of the board is made of one solid piece of material called P-Tex, which has very low friction and allows you to glide on the snow. The top has a number of holes drilled into it to allow you to screw bindings on to the board (where your feet go).


The Binding

The binding goes across the board and can be adjusted to change the angle between the foot and the axis of the board. You stand on the baseplate and your leg is supported by the 'high-back' which goes behind your heel and calf. Once they're both on the board looks like this, with a front and back, and a heelside and a toeside:


Anatomy of a Snowboard (modelled by the invisible man)

In my case, I ride with my left foot at the front end, so I have 'regular' stance (if I rode right foot first, I'd be a 'goofy-foot'). If you lean back, you're on the heelside of the board, and if you lean forward you're going on the toeside.


The Boots

Snowboarding boots are softer than skiing boots and allow your ankle to move a little, so they're much easier to walk in. They need to be a size or so smaller than your normal shoe size, as they have to be pretty snug to let you control the board without your feet wiggling around in the boots.

When you're all strapped in, your foot looks like this:



And once the binding angles are adjusted to give you about 20 degrees between the feet and a bit of a bias to shift some weight to the tip of the board, your feet look like this:



Of course, you don't have the board strapped to both feet all the time. If you're on the flat, or on the chairlift, you can use the snowboard the same as a skateboard and leave your front foot bound while your back foot pushes off the ground and keeps you moving. When you get off the chairlift, you put your free back foot just in front of its binding and glide off to a safe stop. You can add a 'stomp pad' to give your back foot extra grip here, or a series of 'stomp dots', as I have done.


Stomp Dots

You also need something to stop you from going snowblind and something to protect your bonce in case of falls, so I also have a trendy helmet (military style, olive drab) and a pair of goggles:


Up


Down

The goggle strap also clips on to the back of the helmet to stop them getting tangled up or separated.

So there we have it, my very own snowboard:



I'm also able to do some practicing at home, tinkering with the binding set-up (it's all adjustable, so you can adjust the stance, the binding angles, the straps, etc.) and practicing my jumps (you can hop up and swing the board around by 90 or 180 degrees).


Practice makes perfect

I'm hoping to take a day off later this week and head up the Sunshine with the HERBs to get a day's boarding in. It'll be my first time at a proper resort, as all my experience has been at the C.O.P. so far:


The Beginner's Hill


Two Magic Carpets


On the Magic Carpet

The 'magic carpet' is like a little escalator in the snow - you just drive your board to the bottom, stand on the moving bit and it carries you up to the top - all you have to do is stand there. At C.O.P. the beginners' area has two, and I've been up both more time than I can count!

It's a bit difficult at first to get the board strapped on both feet without heading madly off down the slopes, so usually you start off sitting on your bum, strapping both feet in, and then struggling to your feet. I've found this a bit awkward, so I've started to do the 'standing strap-in' where you don't sit down at all, and once you're strapped in you're ready to head off!




Cruisin' on the bunny slopes

I've also been up and down the Big Hill at C.O.P. a few times - it's a bit scarier than the bunny slope, but the views are fantastic and the speeds you get up to on the way down are quite impressive.


The Big Hill

Of course, I've been doing a lot of falling over, but less and less each time I've been out. Having said that, I had a bad bruise on my knee last time I was out, which has taken a few weeks to heal up:


Ouch!

Even so, I'm still keen to get back on the slopes and carve up the snow!


Never say die!

I've been doing my homework, however, and I've found this great book which covers the principles and practices of snowboarding from the very beginning, to intermediate skills and up to advanced stuff. It's absolutely great, worth every penny:


The Snowboarding Bible

So there you go - who would have thought it? I've come to Canada and become a snowboarder (as well as an ice-skater!) Tell Stephen McAlister that he'll have to come out here next year and give it a go! Roll on next winter!

J