Where's the Snow?

Things seemed to have been slow off the start for this winter season. After returning from the Haig Glacier in late October, the weather took a turn for the worse (or better, depends who you ask) and warmed up considerably. The "Frozen Thunder" loop at the Canmore Nordic Centre turned from a 1km loop of snow to a much shorter track of sawdust and rocks. Within a week, the skis went back into storage and my roller ski tips resharpened.

Me leading out some roller ski intensity on November 5th.

Last year we were enjoying endless skiing all over the bow valley.

By mid-November we can usually do some skiing up Moraine Lake Road in Lake Louise which has some awesome early skiing snow. This year however we had to cancel our camp and train locally in hopes that the weather would change in our favour. Well, it sort of did. Last week I was able to ski up at Sunshine Village, which is just outside Banff and a 30-minute gondola ride from the parking lot. Here there was just enough snow to set a classic track; definitely easing everyones giddiness for snow.

 

One of my two long skis up at Sunshine Village. Although there

was a decent amount of snow, there were quite a few of those

"O crap"moments when your skis would hit a giant rock.

And finally after the long wait, Canmore and the surrounding mountains got hit with some cooler weather, and a good amount of snow to boot. I am now back skiing at the Nordic Centre, and the trails are growing as more and more of the man-made stuff is made. Ironically enough, the weather being called for the weekend will be around -25 degrees, but I'm not complaining.

Snow in the stadium.

 

November is that transitional period between pavement and snow, so this sort of delay is to be expected. This month was my final tune-up before the races begin, and I'm pleased to say everything is looking great. With almost two weeks to go until my first set of races in Canmore, my long hours of training will soon be put to the test again.


Kevin Sandau
Canadian National Development Team
Alberta World Cup Academy
Canmore, Alberta
www.sandau.ca