Sun Peaks Resort Review

Stats:

Vertical: 882m (2894ft)
Skiable Acres: 3678
Highest elevation 2152m (7060ft)
Runs: 124
Inbound Chutes: 13 (glades)
Avg Snowfall Base:
Avg Snofall Alpine: 197cm
Lifts: 7 - 3 high speed quads, 3 fixed quads and t-bar
Cross Country Trails: 30km groomed
Time Driving to hill: 25 minutes (14km)
The score is based on these quality points out of 10.

Terrain:  6.0 - I originally thought I would give it sub par, a 5 or less, but I had a look at the map again and decided that it was larger than I thought. There is time to get lost on the hill and many secret pockets to explore. The downfall is that 60-70% of the hill is too damn flat (for my liking) there are many long traverses to just waste time riding out. 

Snow Pack: 5.0 - Yearly averages are in the Sub 150cm range. There website only states annual accumulated snowfall (of 559cm) and doesn't even post avg base level.  This year was an anomaly because they already had 150cm by late December. On the lower hill there are many bushes, logs and stumps showing through on the open runs. Ideally these would become fluffy pillows to drop off, but there is not enough snow for that. 

Snow Management: 4.0 - This low score to me means that there is LOTS of management; groomers on every run. Everything is groomed flat and that is needed due to the pancake status of the hill. 

Lift Access: 6.5 - A variety of lifts ranging from low speed to high speed. One large downfall was the lowest lift (Burfield) took 24minutes from bottom to top! This was 2.5x what I expect a lift to take low OR high speed. It was windy and cold and took too long to get another run in at the end of the day. 

Day Lodge & Amenities: 8.5 - This size of the village is huge! There are tons of coffee shops, pubs and restaurants around the area. The options are endless.
Cross country Trails:  7.5 - 30km of groomed trails around the Morrisey ridge loop with some decent hills to boot.
Ticket Price: 7.5 - $76 Adult full day, $1099 Adult season.
Distance to Town: 6.5 - It is 58km winding road that takes around 1hr to drive the distance. I gave an extra 1.5 bonus point because Sun Peaks is now a municipality itself!
Quality of town: 6.0 - I particularly like small valley towns and neither the Sun Peaks municipality or the city of Kamloops fills this void. They both have everything a person would need, but the vibe isn't quite there for me. Good for families and small groups!
Accomodation: 8.0 - The resort and surrounding town of Sun Peaks has plenty of places to sleep including an on-hill hostel! Kamloops has everything you would need in price range for sleeping.

Overall: 65.5 points

 

 

 

 

Alpine Resort Review

I have decided to focus on some Alpine and Nordic skiing.  First  of all, I'm not that good at it but I want to get better.  I have recently completed a little road trip through a handful of BC ski resorts and wanted to get a total sensory experience of a resort. I have ranked my exposure to each resort and nearby town.
This ranking is completely my point of view; I will review the overall ability of a ski resort to cater to my every need. I have judged these resorts on an unbiased very selfish and biased scale as I'm a self described powder hound/glades hungry typical skier. I don't want to see crowded out groomed ski runs or scraped dry mogul fields; I want steep and deep powder glades hidden from the masses of tourists (which is hypocritical because I'm in essence a tourist!).  My preference is that I want an easy-going pub and lounge area on the day lodge instead of a 5-star dressed up restaurant. I want to be able to get to the nearby town within a few minutes not an hour+ drive. Here are my outlines of grading based on a ten point scale;

Terrain: A zero is flat with no ability to ride through trees, a 10 is steep and gladed out trees with not too many tuck-outs or traverses.

Snow Pack: Checking the overall base and mid-mountain snow, but overall quality of snow, wet vs. dry.

Snow management: Is every run groomed, is or are there some open rough open country.

Lift Access: fixed-gear low speed old chairs or high-speed/gondola new engineering marvels.

Day Lodge & Amenities: Mid mountain lodges easy access, base of hill pubs with relaxed atmosphere.
Cross Country Trails: First, do they have some, are they groomed, quality of trails.

Price of ticket: lower price is better. This is comparing day pass vs. seasonpass in alpine and nordic.

Distance to Town: What is the drive to the nearest town. I don't want to be needing to drive a few hours to home or hotel.

Quality of town:  What is the town's vibe and feel.  Pubs, restaurants, cool coffee shops...

Accomodation: Are there places to stay or rent in the area.


Please see following Mountain Resorts Review:

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort
Revelstoke Mountain Resort
Silver Star Resort
Sun Peaks Resort
Fernie Alpine Resort
Mount Washington Alpine Resort

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort Review

Stats
Vertical: 1260m (4133ft)
Skiable Acres: 2800
Highest elevation 2450m (8033ft)
Runs: 120
Inbound Chutes: 85
Avg Snowfall Base: 252cm
Avg Snofall Alpine: 650cm
Lifts: 4 total - High Speed 8-person Gondola,  2 fixed grip quads, and a 2-person old chair.
Ticket Price: $83.75 Adult Day, $1399 Adult season pass.
Time Driving to hill: 25 minutes (14km)

The score is based on these quality points out of 10.

Terrain: 8.0 - Very steep and lots of open chute areas to really let loose. Up to 10km long trail from top to bottom gives a good workout for circuits of the gondola. The bottom is quite flat with a long winding traverse/trail to get down to the bottom.

Snow Pack: 8.0 - Decent with an average consistent base level covering up everything. There are almost two different mountains here with snow levels. The upper bowls get almost 3x the amount the lower flats get.

Snow Management: 7.0 - Many open glades are left raw and open, the lower mountain has too many groomer for my liking, but with the flat terrain there is nothing they can do.

Lift Access: 6.5 - The high speed 8-person gondola saves this mountain. It is only 12 minutes and reaches the full vertical of the mtn of 1260m. The problem is that you need to ride the slow fixed-gear quad if you want to stay in the powder at the top. Or else you have to make your way down to the gondola every time.

Day Lodge & Amenities: 8.0 - It has everything that you would want, a comfortable day lodge lunch area, nice washrooms, a ski gear shop, a few restaurant/pubs with indoor and outdoor seating. 

Cross Country Trails: 9.0 - Excellent groomed trails just past the base of the resort. Groomed daily with a new stand alone xc lodge for warming up in. 

Ticket Price: 6.0 - Quite pricy for my liking ($83.75) for a day pass, but lots of good terrain opened up. XC skiing was ($10) day pass, in my mind worth it due to the amenities at trails. 

Distance to Town: 7.0 - A bit of a hill climb (14km) up to the base of the hill, with a single lane bridge over the Columbia river slowing things down if there is lots of traffic. 

Quality of Town: 7.0 - The old downtown is cozy an cute with a multiple of ski-shops, coffee shops and bars/restaurants. The town is split by two large highways that creates a big divide in town. 

Accomodation: 7.0 - There are a new cabins on-mountain or above the pubs and bars, a very affordable 

Overall: 73.5

View of the hill from the bottom

 

 

Cross Country ski lodge

Mount Washington (Trip 1)

A truly amazing trip to Mount Washington this past weekend has set expectations for the next skiing adventure. We arrived on Friday night to 4m snowbanks lining the road up to the Alpine Village. We needed to transport our gear by sled to reach the Lodge. And, our lodgings were literally out the front door to the Cross-country ski trails. 

We stated at the Vancouver Island Mountain Centre (VIMC), a new beautiful building that is across the parking lot from Raven Lodge.  The group we stayed with had connections to the organization that runs the building. What a great place! I can't say enough about it. 

On the first morning I was able to go for a cross-country skate at sunrise, followed by a hot breakfast and hot coffee & baileys. We hit the downhill slopes at 9am and skied hard all day till 3:30pm closing. It had snowed 57cm in the past 24hrs, and was still dumping!  That evening I got another cross-country ski in and we went snowshoeing after dinner up the ridge behind the lodge. 

The next day was the same, but the sun showed its face, and we got powder runs with glorious blue skies. It really set something off in me, realizing that I need to get to more of this outdoor mountainous adventure. I have been trying to figure how I can get myself closer or more often to this environment ever since. 

VI Mountain Centre @ Mount Washington 

Powder fields on the steeps near the Boomerang Quad

VI Mountain Centre on a powder day. Amber is on the xc ski trails heading towards the lodge. 

My lovely wife getting ready to shred.

The sun trying to break though on snow covered trees.

Powder everywhere 

Richard and Amber on the abyss 

My car on the last day, time to dig out!

On our way home, we were sad to leave but excited for next time. 

Alpine and Nordic

This weekend, after the end of the world a full week of work, I will be spending few days in the sub-alpine at Mount Washington Alpine Resort.  Time for some altitude training and to tune up my skills before I head with my wonderful wife to the alpine and nordic skiing wonderland of the Interior BC.  I'm only joking about the altitude training, 12+days are needed at 1500m+ to have significant physiological effect.

 I have been getting very excited for xc skiing by following Devon Kershaw the past few years as he has climbed through the ranks. Please watch the video below... just an amazing sprint finish.

I have pieced together a set of skate skis, boots, and poles just last year but was unable to get out on them due to my commitment to another endurance sport we will not speak about. To tell you the truth, I'm more excited to get on the groomed xc track than the slopes this winter. I don't know why I would rather propel myself on the flats vs. dropping chutes and open glades with my snowboard. Maybe I'm trying to get back to my Norwegian roots and get back to traditional forms.  Maybe I'm getting old and not such an adrenaline junkie anymore. Or maybe my tastes have changed.  More on this soon! 

Winter Wonderland

The only city in Canada today that it did not snow at some time was..... Victoria, BC. This is where I live. It make it a good place for training for road-running.  It has been getting the same precipitation as Whistler or Banff, but it is all  in the wet, grey and muddy form.  The past two weeks of training has been saturated and sopping wet to some degree or another. I think it would be fine to layer up a few extra items to hit the snowy outdoors. The best part of snow is that you don't get wet, just brush off the snow! As you can tell I'm itching to get away from the wet coast and find my way to the mountains.I feel that a change in seasons is a good variety in life; I want some snow! I recently had a snowy trip to the Kootenays for a mountain adventure and it was a perfect time to test out my new winter kicks. 

My winter cross-country runners are the new NB 1010's the minimalist version of the grippy trail shoe. In a recent wintery visit to Fernie I got a great run on the fresh trails with lots of traction.

I'm ready to get out in the snow and use something other than a pair of shoes to plod my way around.... Time for cross country skiing. More on this soon!

Minimal shoes, One sock

I went for a run during a break I had at work today. Not too far, just an easy 10k around the Victoria Gorge neighborhoods. I got changed into my running kit and realized I only brought one sock for the workout. I had to make the decision; do I wear my long black dress socks or only one athletic sock. I chose the latter, and felt I could manage to easy run without too many problems.  More on this later. But first I want to chat about shoes.

I have been mostly running in New Balance minimalist shoes as of recently while rotating in a day or two of my racing flats per week. I have transitioned to these minimalist shoes over the past  six months with some break-in period to allow a buffer time to prevent injury (read plantar fascitis). Also, coming from a low-impact sport like rowing, I was feeling my lower extremity was going to take some time to get used to everything.
Many shoe companies are putting out a minimalist shoe and there are now many on the marked. I like New Balance due to it being a Canadian company and they were (one) of the first on the market the past few years pushing the R&D forward.

Speed and Injury Prevention

The big important point is how the foot strikes the ground on heel-strike during the stance phase of running. I literally mean, what part of your foot hit the ground first when you take a running stride. There are many different, functional, and fast styles of running gait. The more more heel strike you have, the longer the stride length you can maintain. With running speed determined by stride length x stride rate a lower turnover pace is needed to maintain the same speed. But, there is more chance for stress fractures with all that repetitive high impact. 

My theory is that the most efficient stride length is a much shorter distance with little to no heel strike. I want my foot to land mid-foot during the stance phase of running. This forces me to utilize my own ergonomics (foot arch, achilles tendon, calf & hamstring muscles) to absorb utilize the impact of the foot strike with elastic energy and turn it into forward power and motion. 

Yes, I will need to have higher rates of turn-over of my legs to maintain the same speed, but I utilize less energy overall due to the elastic energy gained by "winding up" my own structures to rebound during to toe-off stage. The image above depicts the difference between the two styles. 

So, at the halfway point in my run today I realized I was getting a small blister on the medial plantar surface of my foot, the foot that had no sock. I stopped on a dry-ish spot of sidewalk with nobody around, took both my shoes off and removed my sock and put it on the other foot. When I looked up before I put on my shoes, a middle aged man was walking towards me looking completely confused by what I was trying to do. I was standing in the December rain changing sock. I just smiled and put on my shoes and ran back to the office.  I hope to never to forget socks again (probably not).  

New direction(s)

As you have all have known for a while there is a new direction in my athletic focus.  It has come along way for me to admit that I will have moved on, for now, in a different direction.   I have now been training with a motion towards run, cycling, swimming in that order. Ideally, I want to focus on all three sports evenly, if I were going to pursue that multisport specifically.  I have decided to get out and train for these sports over this winter months with an option in February-March to start and specialize in the distance/sport(s) of choice.  For now, it will be definitely heavy in running with getting back to speedwork and high(er) mileage. I will be running in the Island Race Series from Jan-May. Also, with pool time to work on technique and the benefits of low-impact activity for recovery.  Bring on some hard work!  I'm ready to test myself again and get back into being competitive.


Today was the official release of the November RADAR from Rowing Canada.  It was exciting to watch and track the progression of certain individuals through the growth and development as athletes. I also can't avoid the comparison of where I would be at "hypothetically" this time round.  It is a selfish and dangerous act and I'm happy where I'm at and the choices I have made to phase out this session of "The Pursuit of Rowing".

 End of and Era: The narrow focus is now over

The rowing pursuits blog has been transitioned into a more all-encompassing Outdoor Pursuits subtitle. I enjoy posting my journeys in the all outdoor activities and I want to experience more.  

One difficult point I have been stuck on for a long time: It is hard to be at the top performance level in one sport if you want to do everything just a little bit. Or is it possible? 

XC National championships

This weekend is the 2012 Canadian Cross Country (running) National Championships. I cannot predict the outcome because I have been out of the scene for too long. But, I do know that an athlete that I have been following, literally he was always ahead of me in races, is Chris Winter. He ran XC and track at the legendary U of Oregon in Eugene and also competed for Canada at this summers Olympics in the 3000m steeplechase. It looks like he will be running this Nov. 24th 10km course on Jericho Beach in Vancouver.  I wish I was there to watch, and better yet, in running shape to even be close to competing.  Good luck.

Yes, you are right! It turns out most of my predictions were incorrect. But, that is what the top level competition is; always exciting never expected. Congratulations to all the competitors. Even just making it into the B or C final is a good position for further advancement next year.   Now, it is time to go back to the training programs and look how to change it for next year. The most important thing is to take a break from  one-sport one-action and do some cross-training outside of your indoor erg work.

Snowshoeing 

CrossFit! 

XC skiing

Mtn Biking

Yoga

Sailing

Running 

 

By: Mike Joos

2012 National Rowing Championships PREDICTIONS

The entry list is out:  The 2012 NRC's list of elite athletes making the trip to Victoria, BC for the best in Canada! It is time to make the researched and peer-reviewed list about the details of the 1-2-3 prediction in each category.  These names below are the opinion of me, and me alone. It is not a judge of character or popularity. Just straight performance based on the entry list of Nov. 1st at Regatta Central.

Entry List online here

Women: A more difficult-to-predict section, due to not coming in contact with many females rowers (they exist?) other than the lwt's based out of Victoria.

• Lwt F 1x: Due to the fact that the two Olympians, Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee, are out of the entry list it has made for an even more difficult choice.  I'm surprised that Lindsay is representing BC, but I like it.  Possibly a BC sweep! 

1. Lindsay Sferrazza
2. Teresa Berkholtz
3. Erin Snelgrove/Trish Mara 

• Hwt F 1x:  Difficult, I do know know many of these talented and powerful women. The ones I do are impressive! A late addition, I had missed that Carling was in the mix. 

1. Kerry Shaffer 
2. Emily Cameron
3. Alyssa Weninger / (Carling Zeeman!)

• Hwt F 2-: Who really knows these, I have to say I do not know the stats. I read a certain M.McCabe on the entry for the start. Is this swimming Olympian, Martha, cousin to Conlin!? But, this is my prediction:

1. Black/Ganes
2. DeBoef/Roper
3. Goodfellow/Martins

Men: 

• Lwt 1x: This would have been my category if I was around to race. I, however, will unfortunately not be in a boat. I have a strong connection to these guys and I have been keeping a keen eye on the guys out west.  And yes, I think a Mexican will be the Canadian National Champion. Bold prediction - yes. 

1. Saul Garcia
2. Nick Pratt* (possible injury!?)  Mark Henry
3. Taylor Pluzak

• Lwt 2-: This is the category I raced in last year with Eric Woelfl. I enjoyed it immensely but feel the competition has increased in the past year. I got to see the U23 lwt men through the summer training at VTC and watched with shock how fast these boys men got within a short period of time. But, with years of rowing together Rares and Matt will pull through ahead. John and Eric have a year of rowing together and performing well at Sr. Worlds in Bulgaria this August! Eric also has the super-human hulk style strength that can show up with the right combination of stress and fatigue. Watch out! 

1. Sasi/Woelfl
2. Crisan/Jensen
3. Schenck/Addison  or (Lattimer/Cheng) if they get bumped into lwt again. 

• Hwt 1x: Some guys have been training steadily through the summer, others took a few months off. Hard to predict. I'm quite torn on the 2nd place and 3rd place (runner-up) Very difficult. Who knows! 

1. SNV Van Knotsenburg
2. Jamie Abbass
3.  David Wakulich (Buie)

•  Hwt 2-: I feel this will be a large gap between 1st and everyone else. I'm also torn on the 2nd and 3rd place (runner-up). But, that's it. Also, I posted up the former lwts Max and Evan, due to my view of lwt's taking over the world someday. Go get 'em boys. 

1. Dean/Crowley
2. Brazeau/Schudlo 
3. Alm/Schrijver - (Lattimer/Cheng)

The opinions in the above predictions are my own. This is in no way binding or a judge of character.   Send me a message if you think otherwise.

___________________________________________________

Crosstober

The past weekend was the "Cross on the Rock" #5 race in Ladysmith at the Transfer Beach park. It was wet and muddy for most of the morning, with saturated mud puddles and slick grass. I enjoyed the race, but flatted in the first (of 4) laps and had to run the lap and trade up bikes. Luckily, a friend Jamie lent me his slick carbon TREK bike , for the remaining 2 laps. I enjoyed myself immensely. My pal warmed up my bike in the Beginners race and ended up 2nd overall - while falling 6-7times and getting back up every time ready for more. See the video by Pelle Gustavs at the bottom!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite costume; the bush-man. 

Hartland Sessions

Keeping variability in my outdoor activities has been the theme of the past two months.  It seems as if I don't want to do repetitive actions or activities, even close as between two successive workouts.  For example, if I go for a run in the morning I definitely don't want to go for a run that evening and even the next day really have an urge to do something different.  This may be the exact shift that I needed for multi-sport enjoyment (and performance).  I think that I'm going to an early morning swim workout (let's see if I wake-up for it!)

Just the other day I had a great run with my pal Clay around Elk Lake. The classic 10km loop is a good one to push the pace on and test out what the legs are feeling like. We followed the run up with a 2hour loop of Hartland Mtn Bike trails with GPS to track it.

Hartland trails system 15min N of Victoria. 

Follow along with the link:

Rowing has been on the backburner as of recently. I find that I get myself thinking about rowing and its quality as a full body workout. But, yet I find myself not scheduling in the time to get at it. 

Why Is This?

The 2012 Canadian National Rowing Championships are in two weeks (Nov. 10 - 11) at Elk Lake. I notice the excitement building and athletes peaking for this while also trying to complete RADAR testing at the same time.  Good Luck!

Next Adventure: Cyclocross

CYCLOCROSS!

My wife (the best) surprised me with a wonderful gift that I never thought I would ever see... A new cyclo-cross bike! This is something I have been bitching talking about for a long time. I looked at this exact bike in mid August just as I was finishing full-time rowing and was excited to get into a new sport.  But, as a recent change from serious athlete I felt I couldn't go and buy something new after I just took a year off full-time work.  So, I held off an decided to stick with my 1994 GT Force road bike for the time being.  Little did I know, that she would surprise me with the bike for my 30th birthday!

Cross on the Rock is a local series all over the South Vancouver Island. Check out the website for more detailed description and schedule of races. It is a traditional Belgium race the occurs in the fall at the end of the serious summer road cycling racing. It involves an off-road circuit usually in the rain around a park with many obstacles along the way including sand traps, mud, stairs, and barriers to hurdle over. Any way to get through the course the fastest wins.  this includes dismounting and running with the bike over the shoulder. I enjoy it because of the relaxed atmosphere and the multitude of activities to occur in one race.   Technical off-road skills, power hill climbs, steep drops, and running with the bike are all part of the race.  Also, most importantly, it involves drinking brews and heckling from the sidelines. Many spills and tumbles occur but it is on sand, grass, mud and trail so rarely are serious injuries occurring.  The photos below are from the COTR Kona Kup in Nanaimo, Oct. 8th.  The video is by a friend Pelle Gustavs!

Barrier to dismount and carry bike over.

Hill climbs through trees

steep descents on bumpy contours 

Sand trap to run or ride through

RCA - Changing of the Guard

I have read 10+ different newspaper articles and blogs posts (not to mention the passive-aggressive twitter fight) about the recent Rowing Canada news release.  It has to do with the hiring of a new line of High Performance Coaches for the next quadrennial (think Rio 2016).  Mike Spracklen was NOT re-hired back and effectively fired from the position. It brought heavy criticism from the current and former members of Mike's core Olympic group. I thought it was a dramatic finish that needed to happen such as the microcosm of Mike's career relationship with Rowing Canada. He will be missed by some and the party has just begun for others.

Scott Frandsen's Blog   vs.  Lindsay Jennerich's Blog

One more note; the lightweight men's program is being moved from Victoria, BC to London, Ontario to train through the frozen winter indoors. I don't have much more to add to this conversation.