Kicking Horse Christmas

We had an awesome time in Golden over Christmas 2010. The snow conditions aren't yet up to scratch, but Kicking Horse still offered some great, steep skiing. Lou and I rented a chalet at the Cedar House, which was a cosy retreat after a hard day on the slopes, complete with log stove and hot tub. Upon arrival, Darrin issued us with sleds to transport our bags to the chalet - much more fun than carrying in the mountain of booze and food that we'd transported to BC.

We had three days at the Horse, and only scratched the surface. Thanks to Mark and Nick for showing us around the mountain - there's a lot of potential if you're willing to take off your skis and walk a short distance. Without the local knowledge we'd have missed that aspect - the piste signage at Kicking Horse is a bit random. It was great to catch upm with Mark and Vicky again, and meet their new addition to the family, one-week-old Olivia.

Christmas Day began with a bit of a surprise - I managed to fall out of the loft sleeping area and clatter down the ladder, gaining some impressive bruises. Nothing broken, but I'm still sore a week later.

I met a grumpy old Scotsman in the day lodge on the first day; he was bemoaning the lack of powder, but in truth December is a bit early to be expecting waist-deep champagne. He probably got even more dour shortly after we met - he walked off with Lou's hot chocolate instead of the fancy coffee he'd just paid for. The irony was that he'd struggled to get out of the UK because of snowfall. He should count himself lucky - anyone from the UK who'd booked a trip to Lake Louise for Christmas would have been pretty pissed off. We headed to Louise on the way back from Golden. Their conditions were more like June than December, although it didn't stop them proclaiming the snow to be 'generally good' on their website. The runs we tried were littered with bare rock sections, and often horribly icy. I ended up walking down one section, carrying my skis. We returned to the lodge and got a refund. I've never held the management of Lake Louise in very high regard, and this latest episode just added to the long list of similar stories that get swapped around whenever Calgary skiers get onto the topic of best and worst hills. I put a selection of pictures from the trip on my Picasa site, here.

A week in Golden

Not long after our family holiday in France chez Lenhams, the other side of the family arrived for a week in Canada. We managed to get a fair few activities in to the week, including hiking, MTB, kayaking, canoeing and paragliding. For the middle part of the week we stayed in a fantastic chalet neat Golden. So good in fact that we are going back again later in the year. I posted a bunch of photos from the trip here.

The highlight of the trip was probably the paragliding, although the sun popped behind a cloud at the wrong moment, and we lost any chance of catching thermals. It was a pleasant ride all the same though.

Biking was fun, and we got a few rides in, although the mosquitos this year were dreadful - every time you slowed down you would get swarmed.

On the last night we were treated to a big thunderstorm that started several small forest fires, all extinguished by the following rain. In the morning, the hills were plastered with fresh snow.

Weekend in Golden

Just back from a great weekend staying with friends near Golden, BC. What a fantastic location! We paddled down the Columbia River, did a couple of MTB rides, and hiked down the Kicking Horse ski hill trails. My legs are sore, and I was pleased that we'd done so much exercise, but I've just noticed bruises all down one leg, suggesting that my general ineptitude at steering and sitting on a mountain bike may be responsible instead. We biked on Mount 7 and Moonrakers trails - fantastic trail networks that made me wonder why Calgary is so short on such facilities.

I had to post these pictures, although the trip photos are here. Someone had left their trash out and this young bear had been attracted into their garden. Although I managed to get a great couple of shots while Mark was scooping up and binning the refuse, I was sad and angry, as there's a good chance that this bear will end up getting shot as a result of people's laziness. CLEAN UP YOUR TRASH! The lesson ends....poor bear.