With recent snow, communities across the Kootenays are opening their Nordic trails and the cross country ski season has begun.
Competitive ski racers have been at work all fall, doing dryland training and attending camps.
The most recent snow camp was held at Panorama at the end of November.
Toby Creek Nordic Ski Club hosted the Teck Regional Snow Camp for the Kootenays at Panorama Mountain Resort (November 25th to 27th). According to Cherielle Goold, athletic director for Cross Country BC, it was a great weekend of skiing and camaraderie for all the athletes.
Forty-one skiers from the Kootenays attended the camp, with support from a number of coaches, including Cross Country BC coach, Graham Maclean, Toby Creek Nordic Ski Club head coach, Benoît Chauvet and numerous parent helpers. It was three days of skiing, games and technique sessions at the bottom of the valley.
The weekend started with team building activities and games by headlamp on the downhill area on Friday.
Athletes and coaches met at 9 a.m. on the chilly Saturday morning for a skating session at -12°C. Instruction was given in one skate, two skate, free skate, and offset with fun exercises beside Toby Creek.
Graham Maclean shared some of his waxing wisdom with the athletes. Then it was time to enjoy downhill drills and parallel slalom on a downhill slope. Amazingly, the athletes had enough energy to enjoy a team sprint at the end of the afternoon. Parents and athletes gathered in the evening for a dinner with delicious food, awards, draw prizes, and a ‘fireside chat’ with Graham as he shared stories from waxing on the world cup circuit.
What a big surprise to have more than 10 centimetres of fresh snow on Sunday morning! The athletes were very excited. After classic technique, video and games, everyone had a great time doing a downhill session in the deep fresh snow. Lots of laughs were had. The last session in the afternoon was a relay held in the Greywolf area.
It was a fantastic weekend in incredible winter conditions and a great way to kick off the ski season. Many thanks to Panorama Mountain Resort, the coaches and volunteers for making it such an enjoyable weekend. A big thank you to Teck Resources Limited for supporting our regional camps.
READ: Kimberley hosts Teck Dry Land Camp for Kootenay x-country skiers
carolyn.grant@kimberleybulletin.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
