The 5th annual snow camp did not dissappoint. The weather was an ideal -5 to -10 with impeccable trail grooming wherever we went. 14 of us over 5 days cross country skied as many kilometers as we could based on experience and fitness. After our morning runs and breakfast we used The Canmore Nordic Centre, Cascade fire road & Mt Shark as our proving grounds.
The first two days were hard. Fresh off holidays everyone wanted to get after it. Ben Hayward excelled with 80km on the first day while 30km was the average. Day two on Cascade gave up to 30km as an option with 15km the average. That afternoon we were able to recover in the Banff Hot Springs
On the middle day of the camp Mike Shaw took us into the Rat's Nest caves. Being under the mountain gave us a different perspective on challenge. Everyone had different feelings about squeezing through the laundry chute, but in the end everyone worked as a team and slithered through unscathed. A trip to the ski hill rounded out the day.
Saturday, Mt Shark was flawless. 3ft of powder blanketed the area but cut into it was perfectly groomed corduroy trails. On top of the excellent skiing we were able to do a bit of tobagganning to lighten it all.
The last day everyone set their final goal and pushed to succeed. In the end 7 athletes managed more than 50km with several doubling that figure and Ben more than tripling it.
A great way to start the 2013 season!
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