Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

Winter adventures haven’t come to an end just yet. There are lots of fun activities to explore, one of which is cross-country skiing, which I haven’t tried for years now. The Mactaquac Provincial Park offers groomed trails for cross-country skiers to spend some fun time outdoor. It’s enjoyable, especially when the temperature is mild. Other places, such as parks and trails in the city are easily accessible for skiers who do not wish to travel far.

Yesterday was a great day for skiing. It wasn’t windy at all, and temperature was around o °C. I couldn’t ask for a better day! The trail we went on, was about 5 km in length. Cross-country skiing is an exciting sport, even though it’s not the same as downhill skiing which I’m more familiar with. It took me a while before I grasp the skiing techniques. I felt great when I was finally able to coordinate my arms and legs, as well as feet movement, while cruising along the trail. Thanks to Dave for his demonstrations and tips! It’s amazing how fast one can move with cross-country skis, quicker than a runner!

The nicely groomed trails for cross-country skiing.

Skiers and their dog were having a great time on the trail.

Scenic winter view in the woods.

Thick snow on the ground, accumulated from numerous snowstorms.

Looking up to the sky in the woods.

Skiing while enjoying the beauty of nature was a serene experience.

A steep slope for recreational sliding and tobogganing.

The snowmobile trail.

Snowmobilers with their snowmobiles in front of the lodge.

The birch tree. Have you ever wonder what you can do with the birch bark?

Dave demonstrated how to light a fire with the birch bark, which can be easily removed from the tree trunk.

Besides using it to start a fire, the strong and water-resistant birch bark can be used for canoe, crafts, and even as a substitute for paper! Some valuable maps and manuscripts from the olden days were drawn and written on birch barks.

Treemoss (grey or greenish) was hanging on the tree branches.

Widely known as Treemoss, Beard Lichen, or Old Man’s Beard, Usnea is the generic name for this strange-looking plant. It’s sensitive to air pollution; the cleaner the air, the longer it grows (10-20 cm)! Usnea is famous for its medical applications. What else can you use it for? I’ve used it to clean dirt off my shoes when walking in the muddy woods during the summer. You’ll be amazed how useful it is!

Skiing is a great sport. It requires body strength, flexibility, and endurance. This is my sixth winter in Canada thus far. I’m an amateur skier who usually visit the ski mountain 2-3 times every season. I’d have gone more often if it’s easily accessible; and having my own ski equipment would help too, I supposed.

Listed below are some tips you may find useful for your upcoming ski trip:

Use ski poles appropriately. They are useful when you need to speed up, do a turn (sometimes), and release skis. Ski poles can also be extremely helpful, as a support to get up after a fall :) You’ll be surprised that good skiers can ski without ski poles! Hence, use them only when needed.

Use hip and leg strength to maneuver skis. Try not to rely so much on ski poles.  

Useful tip for ski beginners to reduce speed: Keep skis with tips pointing each other at a sharp angle, and form a “V” shape.

Ski in a zigzag pattern on steep slope. This allows better control of speed and body balance. Wider zigzag results in a lower speed, and vice versa.

Keep skis in contact with the ground. The moment skis are lifted in the air undesirably, body will most likely lose its balance.

Avoid ice patches. Skiers are prone to losing balance on ice, due to the lower friction between ice and skis.

Prevent ski goggles from fogging up. Moisture from the air or sweat may cause fogging of ski goggles. Hence, try not to rest goggles on forehead (though it looks cool); release of body heat creates moisture that promotes fogging.

Read the signs before proceeding. There are different levels of difficulty and steepness for each trail. Understand the trail map and avoid any unfavourable route, e.g. an expert hill for a ski beginner and a long, flat trail for an advanced skier ;)

Skiing on ungroomed trails can be challenging. Skis often lose its flexibility when covered in snow. Skis are harder to maneuver due to the friction with snow. More often than not, you’re left with no choice but to ski straight down the slope!

Powder snow is great for skiing, especially after a snowstorm! Try to avoid skiing on ice patches or icy snow. It hurts real bad when you fall!

Skating techniques help in mastering skiing skills. It’s easier for someone to learn skiing if he/she already knew how to skate.

Dress appropriately. Ski hat, ski goggles, neck warmer, ski gloves, wind breaker (if not winter jacket), ski pants, and a pair of warm socks. Avoid overdressed. Why? First of all, winter clothing can be rather bulky; it reduces your flexibility. Also, body warms up as you ski. Try to avoid sweating as the moisture will cause freezing in the cold air. Overdressed is as bad as underdressed. Thus, doffing and donning of ski attire according to weather and comfort level as you ski.

Fall safely. Huh? What does it suppose to mean? If you have to fall, fall on the snow rather than bump into the tress. When you lose control of your direction and self-balance, be sure to land on a clear spot.

Ski with a buddy. Anything can happen when you ski. Seek help from your buddy when something goes wrong, especially to pick up skis that are few feet away from where you landed :D

Last but not least, ski with confidence and full concentration. Stay positive and ready to be challenged. After all, you’re just going to stumble on a cushion of white snow, if you lose balance. What’s the big deal?!

Ski safely. Have fun skiing!

Today’s weather is perfect for skiing! High of -2 °C, low of -8 °C during the day, with sunny periods and light flurries. Honestly, I can’t ask for any better ski day; especially with 27 cm of fresh snow at the mountain for the past three days! It’s too bad that all my ski buddies are unavailable. There I was, got up early and arrived at the Crabbe Mountain around 9:30 a.m. It was about a 45-minute bus ride from the city.

Kids at the ski school were getting ready for their lessons.

Chairlift ride (~ 5 -10 minutes) back to the mountain top.

Each ski trail has a designated colour code, depending on its condition and difficulty. Details can be found in my previous post.

This is an intermediate trail. I skied Dave’s Dream via Upper Dave’s, and met some adorable kids who attended ski lesson.

The King’s Horn! An expert (black diamond) trail with an extremely steep slope at the beginning. I’ve skied on this trail twice with my buddies.

Caution sign!! Too late… There I was, exploring “The Glades” trail cautiously.

Then, I bumped into this trail named “Little Brave.” The condition of this ungroomed trail was quite bad.

And… It was a steep slope too!!

Interestingly, there was a more challenging trail ahead of me. The “War Dance” which has the black diamond code. Looking down the trail… Should I proceed?

You bet! There is no such thing as turning back in downhill skiing. After going through this mess (on left), there was another huge slope (on right).

My next adventure was “Lower Norm’s Nightmare” via the “Tippy Canoe” trail.

The “Norm’s Nightmare” with the intermediate code.

The wide and steep trail ahead of me (left), and what lied behind (right).

My favourite trail at the Crabbe Mountain thus far, is the last stretch of King’s Horn (expert trail) via the first half of Hume’s Flume (intermediate trail). Basically, it provides the level of difficulty that I’m comfortable with; wide and steep slope with barely any ice patches, and well groomed.

Taking a glimpse at the King’s Horn trail while waiting for my chairlift ride.

A snowboarder was making a graceful descend via the King’s Horn trail.

It was one full day of skiing! I skied from 10 a.m. till 4:30 p.m., with an hour lunch break in between. Downhill skiing is always a fun, challenging, and exciting sport! I’m looking forward to another nice winter day with excellent snow condition for my next ski trip ;)

It was a ski day! Julian and I took off from Calgary, on an early Monday morning and headed to Banff. It was about an hour drive from Calgary. The view along the highway was breathtaking! The magnificent alpine looked unreal…..

The overpass ahead of us helps to keep animals off the highway during their migration. What a neat idea!

The Rundle Mountain.

The ski mountain we intended to go, Sunshine Village, was overcrowded by the time we got there (around 9:30 a.m.). It was unexpected, especially on a Monday morning. We spent an hour waiting in line before we finally got a chance to turn around. Another 30 minutes wasted just to get out of the ski mountain…

Our second choice, Mt. Norquay was not too far from where we were. Its smaller ski area allowed us to hop on and off the chairlifts without much waiting time; which in turn, maximized our ski time. It turned out great after all! We purchased half-day ski lift tickets to ski from noon till 4 p.m.

It has been my dream to ski at the Rockies. Why do I enjoy skiing? I shared my downhill skiing experience previously. As compared to the Crabbe Mountain in Fredericton, Mt. Norquay offers more and longer ski trails at higher elevations. In other words, it was more thrilling and challenging to ski at the big mountains!

The mesmerizing beauty of Canadian Rockies, snow-covered evergreen trees, as well as the long and steep skiing terrain were astonishing! Mt. Norquay has a variety of ski terrain for all abilities, ranging from beginner, intermediate (blue run), advanced (black diamond), and expert (double black diamond). The advanced trails I’ve explored at Crabbe, turned out to be much similar to the intermediate trails here at the Rockies!! Thus, I didn’t go further than that. Furthermore, I haven’t had a chance to hit the ski terrain for nearly a year… I’d need to sharpen my skills before trying anything more adventurous…

Our first chairlift ride of the day!

I was pumped to ski at the Rockies for the very first time!

All geared up and posed for a nice shot ;)

The marvelous view of the Rockies!

Julian, my ski buddy cum personal ski instructor :)

I’ll never forget the excitement I had when I experienced snow for the first time! Of course, the natural snowing is different from the artificial snow house I visited when I was little.

The snowfall in October, 2003.

The first day of snow in Fredericton this year happened last Wednesday (November 19th). More snow last Saturday (November 22nd)!

The winter view from my apartment.

I always look forward to the snow in winter. My mindset will probably change when I own a car and have to drive around in the harsh winter days :P I enjoy skating, even though I’m not a great skater. And of course, skiing! Downhill skiing particularly. The scenic view from the mountain top, the thrill of maneuvering the skis, and the cold rush of wind as I make my way down the mountain (smoothly, hopefully). If I don’t? Oh well, it’s just another learning opportunity. Get up when you fall. Otherwise? You’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, miss out the chance to explore new terrain, and fail to enjoy loads of fun and excitement that await you!

Similarly, we fall and stumble in life. We might get bruises when we fall from skiing, but they come and go; just like mistakes we made that are forgivable. Avoid falling on hard surfaces and sharp edges to keep away from serious injuries. It’s comparable to some major faults we commit in life that can be no turning back. We want to refrain from doing that by all means. Nonetheless, no matter how hard we fall, just bear in mind that it’s not the end of the world. Move on and thrive through the challenges. Soar like an eagle!