Blog: I Think It's This Way » Telemark Ski – Mt. Washington, BC – Feeling Worked

Telemark Ski – Mt. Washington, BC – Feeling Worked

Kris — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 06:02:22 +0000

It comes as no surprise to me that my conditioning for telemark skiing, or for that matter any type of skiing is remarkably poor right now. It seems that I have been out of the game for too long, and these last two consecutive days on the hill are leaving me feeling pretty worked over. I suppose this might sound a little ‘cup half empty’ so I’ll finish off by saying that I managed to string together some great feeling turns today and yesterday and am looking forward to continued improvement.

Here are some more pictures from today’s excursion at Mt. Washington. As I’m writing this we are actually back in Victoria, but have decided to head back up to the hill tomorrow for our third day in a row. I’ll be snowboarding this time in the hope of employing some different muscle groups.

Much bigger crowds at Mt. Washington today, probably because a bit of a break in the weather (sort of clear versus snow and wind) and maybe because of the recent snowfall publicity.

Ermmm, I guess that's a tree there with some klingons. In the distance is the Georgia Straight.

Lots of snow ghosts decorating the landscape up at Mt. Washington. As seen here, we had a nice stretch of sun for about an hour this morning.

Another view to the east with Denman and Hornby Island visible in the distance. You can also make out the top of the Sunrise Chair with little humans nearby.

Telemark Ski – Mt. Washington, BC

Kris — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 04:41:29 +0000

Day two for me on the ski hill today. Michelle and I spent the day, or most of it up at Mt. Washington, which currently has a crapload of snow (claimed snowbase of 520cm as of today). Base is good, but fresh is better and there was plenty of it today. We’re talking resort fresh here, not back-country fresh or heli / cat skiing fresh… in case it’s not obvious I suspect the latter are far better than resort fresh due to the lack of people traversing it. For me, it didn’t matter, the snow was good, although slightly better visibility might have been nice… maybe tomorrow.

Currently, Michelle and I are hangin in our jacuzzi suite at the Holiday Inn Express in Courtenay. I suspect the jacuzzi will go unused, but the rest of the suite is stylin; a vast improvement over the last place we stayed in Courtenay… the Travelodge back in September for MOMAR. I should also mention that, not surprisingly, Michelle has found us some vampire / werewolf television to watch while I write this.

GPS Data: 43.4km (including lift rides) – 3h55m – GPS Route

Partial day of skiing at Mt. Washington, BC. Click on the map to see details on the Garmin website.

One of the normally easy runs off the Hawk chair at Mt. Washington. Not many beginners today what with the build up of snow.

Almost looks like Michelle is doing a tele turn, but no.

A reasonably good representation of the visibility we were dealing with today. It's part and parcel with good snow though.

Another hoods-up day at Mt. Washington.

This season, black with white speckles seems to be the fashionable thing to wear.

Hard to tell, but according to the cardboard sign, the Hawk Dog stand is open.

Snowplow piles visible on the way down from Mt. Washington. They're pretty tall.

Telemark Ski – Mt. Washington, BC – Good Turns, Slight Gong Show

Kris — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 08:04:34 +0000

I did a road trip to Mt. Washington today for some skiing. It could have been snowboarding, but I felt like getting back on the telemark skiing, something I haven’t done since xmas 2007. I ended up going solo and had quite a bit of fun, but not without some challenges. I guess the biggest challenge was the weather, which was not quite as predicted; pretty much blizzard conditions up on the hill.

The drive… in the car at 6:20am; observed sulphurous Crofton mill stink at 7:14am thanks to what seemed like a strong east wind; snowfall started near the bottom of the road to Mt. Washington and increased in intensity on the way up; about 8:50am arrived at Mt. Washington main parking lot.

The ski… started out with snow and a pretty strong east wind (jacket hoods that fit over helmets = good); light, fluffy snow continued to accumulate throughout the morning and was pretty sweet minus the still strong, and cold wind; did 10, mostly satisfying runs with some sketchiness (fumbling in the deep snow); pulled the plug around noon with cold nose and decided I would end my first day of tele skiing for this season while I was ahead.

The slow way down… I had a feeling that the snowfall might cause problems for the drive back down the mountain and sure enough, I couldn’t get out of the parking lot (tire chains and a shovel will accompany me on future trips); ended up calling BCAA; it’s embarrassing to admit, but the car and I ended getting a ride down the mountain on a flatbed tow truck – at least I wasn’t the only one; the rest of the drive to Victoria was uneventful.

GPS Data: 31.5km (including lift rides) – 2h21m – GPS route

Telemark ski outing at Mt. Washington. Click on the map to see details on the Garmin website.

I spent most of my time on the Hawk chair; more than a few of the other lifts we closed because of the wind. The snow was pretty damn good by my standards.

Visibility wasn't great at the start of the day, but it seemed to be getting worse as the day went on. Still not as bad as some whiteout days I've had elsewhere.

I stopped at the Buckley Bay rest stop on the way back to Victoria and for some reason thought that the view through the tunnel under the highway was kind of cool.

World Famous Gnome near Nanoose Bay, north of Nanaimo. A bit freaky.

Hike – Forbidden Plateau – Mt. Washington, BC

Kris — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 06:33:38 +0000

After a rainy Saturday, I wasn’t really expecting a clear sunny Sunday morning, but that is what we had at Mt. Washington today. At the tail end of our MOMAR weekend we had planned to do a hike, and thankfully the weather was cooperating, so we headed out onto Forbidden Plateau from Raven Lodge. Mt. Albert Edward is kind of the ultimate destination in this area at about 2,000m or 6,000ft, but we were not planning on doing a 30km hike.

We ended up doing a 9km loop past Battleship Lake and Helen MacKenzie Lake on some really nice trails amid really nice scenery.

GPS Data – Hike (Mt. Washington): 8.8km – 2h17m – GPS Route

A 9km hike at Forbidden Plateau near Mt. Washington, BC. Click on the map to see GPS details on the Garmin website.

The start of our hike in Paradise Meadows on Forbidden Plateau.

Looking towards Mt. Washington from Forbidden Plateau.

A lily pond on Forbidden Plateau.

Mountain berries of some description.

Reflections on Battleship Lake near Mt. Washington.

Michelle and Gurbir navigating a puddle near Battleship Lake on Forbidden Plateau.

I guess the outhouses on Forbidden Plateau are raised for winter use.

Underwater in a creek on Forbidden Plateau.

More Forbidden Plateau creek action. Lots of nice reflections today.

Michelle and I at Helen MacKenzie Lake.

Looking across Helen MacKenzie Lake towards Mt. Elma.

Mt. Brooks viewed from the north shore of Helen MacKenzie Lake.

Part of the trail / pathway on the way back to Raven Lodge.

One of the more substantial bridges on Forbidden Plateau.

A great day on Forbidden Plateau. Must go back some time soon.

If I was a frog I would live there, but maybe not in the winter.

Trees, greenery, maybe a squirrel or two.

Almost back in Victoria, but decided to stop for a nice looking sunset at Mill Bay.

Long exposure on the Malahat near sundown.

Snowboard and Snowshoe – Mt. Washington, BC – Winter Isn’t Over Yet

Kris — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:39:17 +0000

It’s been a damn long time since I’ve done anything on the snow. Ok, it hasn’t been been forever, but two years is a long time to me. Add to that some pretty sporadic snow excursions going back to about 2003 due to school, and it almost seems like I quit. Well that was never my intention, so here’s to a snowier future.

Michelle and I are lucky to have friends who manage to coax us into things like weekends at Mt. Washington. On day one Michelle and I eased back into the snowsport world with a morning on the beginner and intermediate slopes. This might not sound to exciting, but with temperatures slightly higher than 0 Celsius, anything resembling soft snow felt more like quicksand; slow and sticky. Given that it was our first day back, we were satisfied with the groomers. We may have had loftier goals for the afternoon at one point, but instead we ended up relaxing back at the shack. After some fine dining courtesy of Kari, it was looking like a possible early trip to bed for those of us who weren’t planning on seeing the Sutcliffes, a Beatles cover band, at 10pm. Instead, someone suggested heading to the Mt. Washington tubing area (sliding downhill on tubes). Aside from some rowdy drunkards, the tubing was all good.

Day two got off to an unhurried start and gradually transitioned into a couple hours snowshoeing at the Mt. Washington nordic skiing area. There were rumors of Olympic cross-country skiers training, but I didn’t see any. In contrast to the previous day, we had mostly clear skies, which made the snowshoeing extra good despite the crusty snow.

GPS Data (snowboarding – day one): 35.3km – 2h55m – GPS Route
GPS Data (snowshoeing – day two): 5.5km – 1h53m – GPS Route

A morning of lift access snowboarding at Mt. Washington, BC. Click on the map image to see GPS details on the Garmin website.

Twas raining on us for most of our morning of skiing and snowboarding at Mt. Washington. Life was ok on the groomed runs, but sticky like sticky buns elsewhere.

Further evidence of rain in this photo of Michelle and I riding the Hawk chair.

Not quite as thrilling as the Log on cable TV, but the real version was nice to have over the course of the weekend.

Ahhh, the icy slopes of the Mt. Washington tubing area. Not something I would do on a regular basis, but surprisingly fun.

A snowshoe excursion at Mt. Washington, BC. Click on the map image to see GPS details on the Garmin website.

Raven Lodge at Mt. Washington; the starting point for our snowshoe excursion.

Michelle and Krista heading off on snowshoes to destinations unknown within the Mt. Washington nordic area.

We met up with some pole-shoers (Kari and Ken - Ken is camera shy) and, well, we don't mix with them types. Just kidding, we have no problems with the pole users.

Maybe the snow was interferring with my navigation skills, or maybe it was the map. Regardless, the map ended up spending most of the time in my pocket.

From my observations, most of the Mt. Washington nordic area is relatively flat. If you're on snowshoes, there isn't much stopping you from venturing off the beaten path aside from the occasional creek.

A nice view to the southwest, I believe, into Strathcona Park from the highest point on our snowshoe trek.

Snowy goodness, albeit a bit crusty. I shall make an effort to visit you again soon.