Issue #9 - Ottawa Outdoors Magazine

WINTER 2004/05

Your guide to the local outdoor adventure scene

Night skiing in Gatineau Park

Moonlight magic when the sun goes down

SNOWSHOEING

Destination: Baxter Park

CAMPING

How to tie your gear to a toboggan

NORDIC SKI

Experience Mer Bleue Bog

SNOWKITING

New sport takes off in Ottawa

ALPINE SKI

Nearby U.S. ski getaways on a shoestring budget

SPINNING

Nix the guilt and hit the bike

WINTER 2004/05

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InsideOttawaOutdoors

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24 Winter camping Snowshoeing 3 How to pack and tow camping gear on a toboggan 5 The Adirondacks: traverse 11 peaks in two days 7 Winter camping: how to build an igloo 10 Get to know the critters who inhabit the snow 12 Sew your own outdoor gear

24 Baxter Conservation Area awaits the fleet of foot

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Nordic skiing 16 Cross-country skiing at Mer Bleue Bog 18 Gatineau Park: cross-country skiing after the sun goes down 20 “New wave” replaces “old school” cross-country ski techniques

44 42 Spinning

Alpine skiing

30 Nearby U.S. ski getaways on a shoestring 34 The welcome is warm at Mont Chilly 36 Pre-season training gives skiers more stamina for the slopes

Snowkiting

44 Snowkiting takes off in Ottawa

42 Spinning your way to a healthier lifestyle

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Publisher’s letter The Book Nook The Bark Geocaching Gear Talk Christmas Wish List Health Photography Tips Stargazing Sports Psychology Urban Spice Urban Grape Upcoming Events Green Pages Bug Juice

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Cross-country skiing after the sun goes down

PUBSLIHER’S LETTER

My pedometer.

THE OTHER DAY I attended a City of Ottawa media launch for the Active 2010 Pedometer Challenge.

The concept is to get a pedometer, walk your normal routes, and log the number of steps every day on the city’s web site. It’s a challenge to get Ottawans fit, and it’s a good idea. I’ve got mine.

Simply purchase a pedometer at any local outdoor gear stores ($10-$40) and clip the tiny thing on your waist, then start walking. It accurately counts how many steps you take each day — the city’s goal is for everyone to walk 10,000 steps daily. Check out www.active2010. ca and click on Pedometer Challenge for more information. It’s pretty cool, and it gives you a daily target. As a bonus, you’ll be out and about in our beautiful city.

As for the coming winter months, why not try tackling something different? This issue of Ottawa Outdoors has a few surprises of it own.

We’re launching three new columns: Ignite your inner champion looks at how sport psychology can work for you. Gear Talk answers those tough gear-related questions, and The Book Nook reviews great books on the outdoors. Enjoy!

This issue also features local writers with great information on nearby destinations for downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. We have another batch of useful winter camping tips and we’re introducing the wild world of snowkiting.

On the days when the weather doesn’t co-operate with your plans, check out the feature on the new indoor fitness craze — spinning.

So inside or out, we’re here to help you stay in shape, and look great... inside and out.

Happy trails.

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Dave Brown Managing Editor Allen Macartney Editor Brant Scott Contributing Editors Jim Hargreaves, Geoff Outerbridge Design and Layout Terrence Terrade, Dave Brown

e-MAILBAG “Hi, I’ve never written to magazines but I just wanted to say that I really enjoy Ottawa Outdoors. The fact that everything you review or talk about is right here is a real plus.”

Troy Gaylord “I picked up the first issue and it was great. I would like to subscribe.”

Art Bonsall “Your magazine is very good, very informative and not over-powering. Have a good Christmas holiday and all the best for the year to come.”

Denis “I just bought your magazine for the first time. I love it. We really need a magazine like this in the area. Thanks!

Chris Cloutier

Dave Brown, Publisher and Editor-in-chief

Graphic Illustrators William Jessup, Keith Milne, Paul Mason, Frik Outdoors Contributing Writers Chantal Macartney, Real Perriard, Kathleen Wilker, Dora Boersma, Heather Burke, Steve Slaby, Tom Guerquin, Lise Meloche, David McMahon, Leslie Smith Dow, Ian Lavigne, Jo-Anne Benson, Sylvie D’Aoust, Brian Cooke, Penny Tunnell, Shaunna Taylor, Ken Parker, Brian McCullough, Ed McNeely, Julie St. Jean, Allen Macartney, Joe Hatz, Jim Hargreaves Contributing Photographers National Capital Commission, Real Perriard, © Harry Nowell Photography, Inc., Robert Williams, Allen Macartney, Steve Slaby, Julie St. Jean, Jo-Anne Benson, Brian Cooke, XCZONE.tv, Cyclefit, Brian McCullough ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Dave Brown Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Ottawa Outdoors Magazine is an independent publication published every four months.

Email: Advertising@OttawaOutdoors.ca Tel: 613-860-8687 / 888-228-2918 Fax: 613-860-8687 SUBSCRIPTIONS See attached sub.cards in this issue or visit www.OttawaOutdoors.ca Ottawa Outdoors Magazine 2706 Alta Vista Drive, Suite #107 Ottawa, ON K1V 7T4 Tel: 613-860-8687 Fax: 613-860-8687 Email: Info@OttawaOutdoors.ca Internet: www.OttawaOutdoors.ca CONTRIBUTIONS

Ottawa Outdoors Magazine welcomes story and photo contributions. All photos should ideally be shot with colour slides or high resolution digital camera, but otherwise scanned at 300dpi resolution and burned onto a CD-ROM or emailed. No unsolicited contributions will be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork.

CONTRIBUTORS

Steve Slaby

Shaunna Taylor

Brian Cooke

Kathleen Wilker

Steve is an avid windsurfer and snowkiter here in Ottawa who runs the Ottawawindsurfing.ca website.

Shaunna is a sport psychology consultant and mental trainer at the Ottawa High Performance Centre who helps athletes at all levels achieve their personal best.

Brian has contributed to OOM in the past, and has a regular feature on Geocaching. He is a professional canoe guide, instructor in outdoor leadership and wilderness skills, as well as a GPS techno-geek.

Kathleen loves cycling, skiing, running, swimming, canoeing, hiking, camping, traveling, visiting with family and friends, drinking coffee and writing. [And we’re happy to have her writing for us.]

CANADIAN / U.S. POSTMASTER: Return undeliverable covers to 2706 Alta Vista Drive, Suite #107, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1V 7T4. Return postage guaranteed.

Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index ISSN No. 1204-69556. © Copyright 2004.

All rights reserved. Reproduction of any materials published in Ottawa Outdoors Magazine is expressly forbidden without consent of the publisher unless otherwise agreed between partners. Printed in Canada.

ARE YOU AN OUTDOOR ENTHUSIAST WHO WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE? If you would like to submit photos or articles to Ottawa Outdoors magazine, www.OttawaOutdoors.ca please email us: Editor@OttawaOutdoors.ca

Camping getting there — with you and your stuff How to pack and tow camping gear on a toboggan

By Chantal Macartney

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RGANIZING and packing your gear for toboggan travel will help you enjoy winter backpacking and cross-country ski trips more than ever before.

Enterprising fur traders have used sleds and toboggans for carrying gear and supplies for centuries. Towing gear behind freed them of their load, and made them more mobile and balanced while snowshoeing through deep drifts in forests or along rivers.

If you are travelling with young family members who can’t carry their packs, towing gear behind on a toboggan may be your only option. And a toboggan can come in handy when the really wee ones wear out and need a lift.

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Illustration by William Jessup.

Packing made easy The journey starts with a large, wooden toboggan and a plastic sheet to cover your gear (tired kids ride on top!).

You can easily substitute a tarpaulin or a ground sheet. You’ll also need four or five smooth sticks about 25 cm long, and a long rope. Tie the rope firmly to the first bottom crosspiece at the front of the toboggan. Moving toward the rear, weave the rope loosely back and forth under the toboggan side ropes, and over the toboggan’s wooden crosspieces. (See diagram) O T TAWA O U T D O O R S W I N T E R 2 0 0 4 / 0 5

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Remember to weave the rope loosely enough to allow it to lie on the ground on both sides of the toboggan – at least 45 cm loops on each side. This way, you can easily tie down your gear after it’s packed. Next, load your gear onto the toboggan and cover it with the plastic sheet. Tuck the sheet in at the back, front and sides to keep the snow out.

Beginning at the front end of your toboggan, overlap the ropes on top of your load. Place one of the smooth sticks between the ropes, tighten them by pulling on the next set of ropes, and take up the slack. Keep going until you have secured all the ropes snugly with the

sticks. When you reach the end of the load, loop the end of the rope through the rear of the toboggan and fasten it to the last rope.

You can also use bungee cords to strap everything down. Sometimes bungees are more convenient than ropes if you might need to gain access to gear before reaching your winter camp. Rather than having to struggle with rope, you’ll just have to detach the bungee cord nearest that portion of the load you need to open. For best results purchase six to eight short bungee cords that can stretch out to a maximum of approximately one metre (from one side of the toboggan, over the top of the load to the other side), and two long bungees to position lengthwise along the toboggan that can stretch a little more than two metres. Hook the bungee cords onto the rope running along both sides of your toboggan.

Packing large or sharp items After the load is secured, lash axes, shovels, spare skis and snowshoes to the outside top of the load. If you pack them

under the tarp, they will be harder to reach, and sharp points might penetrate the plastic sheet. The more you pack, the more you’ll have to carry, so keep heavy items to a minimum.

Towing your gear The options for towing a toboggan are pretty much limited to a rope or poles. If you use a tow rope, tie it onto the second wooden crosspiece of the toboggan — not to the front. This will stabilize your load on the trail. Tow ropes are useful, but aren’t very efficient when going downhill because the toboggan can bump into your heels and send you flying. Before heading downhill, make sure a partner walking/snowshoeing/skiing behind is holding onto a rope to restrain the toboggan.

The other option — aluminium poles — is useful in all types of terrain. You can either buy a pole harness, or make your own improvised model on a Friday night. Check out the Internet for various designs.

—Chantal Macartney is a regular contributor to

Ottawa Outdoors Magazine, and an avid camper.

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Playing in the Adirondacks snow Traversing 11 peaks in two days

By Real Perriard A FINAL CHECK shows we’ve packed all our equipment from Bushtukah — crampons, snowshoes with crampons, ice axe, sleeping bags, tent, rope...

This is my fifth traverse of the Adirondacks Great Range, but the first winter trip along these 11 Adirondack summits. We’ll park in Keene Valley and climb Roostercomb, Hedgehog, the two Wolf Jaws, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, Basin, Little Haystack and then head to the two major peaks, Haystack and Marcy. We’ll return to Keene Valley on the lengthy John Brookes Trail.

In 1997, we covered the 40 kms and 9,000 feet of vertical ascent in 15

Photo by Real Perriard.

embarrassed, we quickly pack up while the stove melts snow for our day’s liquid intake. Munching frozen bagels, the serious part of our little adventure finally begins.

Hedgehog is a soft summit. We cruise over it without snowshoes and only the weight of our packs slows us down until the Lower Wolf Jaw climb.

Steps are more deliberate here and conversation slows, but we reach the top

Our romp catches us in deep snow where we’re trapped underneath thick Adirondack cedars. hours in torrential cold rains that slowed our pace. Now, with large packs and unknown snow conditions, we’re giving ourselves two days to complete the trip.

With our bellies full of pasta we park the car, change into trekking clothes, don our packs and head into the forest after 9 p.m. The early trail is well traveled and we move easily without snowshoes, reaching the junction to the first summit by 11 p.m. Roostercomb has a pleasant lookout. In previous trips, I’d always reach this summit at sunrise, and now it has its own beauty at night.

An hour later, we use our snowshoes to leave the main trail and find a good tent site. We’re comfortable in cushy sleeping bags by 1 a.m. and we set our tiny watch alarm to wake us at 5 in the morning. We awake to bright sunlight at 7:30a.m. and skip breakfast. A little www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

easily enough. We race down and feel like we’ve warmed up. Miles go by steadily as do the next two summits.

Armstrong gives us a good view of the range, with Marcy far in the distance and the intervening summits all covered with snow. Inspired by the vista we enjoy our longest rest, take some photos and eat before we head to Gothics and Saddleback, hoping to make the last descent in daylight.

The final steps on the Gothics ridge give us our first real feel of the mountainscape. An icy blast pushes our trekking poles horizontally and snow piles into high drifts. We struggle with snowshoes sinking deep in powdery snow, our progress reduced to a frustrating crawl.

Reaching these summits in winter is not like an elegant warm-weather rock climbing expedition.

We sweat it out in the cool temperatures and our crawl is further reduced as we’re forced to travel upright, taking high, difficult steps on snowshoes laden with snow. The ridge evolves into the Gothics summit as the snow turns to rock and ice and the hard light of the late afternoon sun urges us on.

Saddleback slows hikers even on a nice summer day. It has a series of vertical rock steps high enough to require hand holds. As we summit, we avoid the regular route when we notice evidence of a winter route. Off to the right, a steep trail leads down the wrong side of the mountain, but eager to avoid using the rock steps, we head down the steep decline. Our romp catches us in deep snow where we’re trapped underneath thick Adirondack cedars. Seeing an uncertain future that could involve a nighttime bushwhack at best, and a slope that’s too steep to be safe at worst, we make the difficult decision to retrace our track to the scary rock step.

On the summit, we find the main trail downward and slowly begin the descent. I favour a short ice gully. With ice axe placed judiciously on slivers of ice, I feel like a real mountaineer.

Relieved it is over, we race to the bottom and find a tent site on level ground.

With tent pitched, we settle into an evening of horizontal relaxation, up on our elbows chatting, a pile of snow within reach for melting into hot drinks.

The –10ºC temperature makes for ideal winter camping conditions, perhaps even

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more restful than a hot summer day with mosquitoes buzzing about. The tent door is wide open as darkness envelops us. Our freeze-dried dinner is surprisingly good — nothing like those tasteless concoctions of the 1980s — with much better ingredients and more nutritional value.

Now at the halfway point in our trip, we are satiated completely as the stars disappear and a light snow begins to fall.

We awake at 5 a.m. this time and see the light snow turned heavy. We enjoy an oatmeal breakfast with hot drinks before we’re on the move.

The added snow turns Basin, the first peak of the day, into an aerobic challenge. After we summit, we run and slide on our snowshoes down the steep, long slope on the other side. Aside from the fresh blanket of snow, the second day is straightforward and our final climb is the highest summit of the region. Even at 5,344 feet, Marcy is a “soft summit” with a gentle slope that’s easier on the lungs.

We move steadily to escape the forest before dark and we’re back at the trailhead by 3:40 p.m., just three hours after we were at the top of Marcy.

We remove our trampoline footwear and eagerly head for a hot pizza in Lake Placid.

I don’t know if anyone has done the Range in a single winter day, but as I sit at the keyboard drinking hot chocolate, the math is tempting. I can imagine hitting the trailhead at 3 a.m. and making it back to the car in 18 hours of travel time at 9 p.m. We’d be eating pizza in Placid before 10… hmmm...

— Real Perriard has been an active outdoorsman for the last 20 years – leading expedition cycling, canoe, and backpacking trips across North America and into New Zealand. Real was very busy adventure racing since 1998 with Team Phoenix and is now training for the 2005 Marathon Des Sables in Morocco.

Photo by Real Perriard.

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Photo by David Sunfellow.

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Winter camping: How to build an igloo

By Chantal Macartney — Illustrations by William Jessup

F

OR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, Inuit native hunters have constructed igloos as hunting and winter survival shelters on the Arctic tundra. For a wonderful outdoor experience and an exercise in precision and patience, try making one this winter.

Igloos are warm and easy to build, and they can protect campers from winter elements better than any tent. There is a similar winter shelter called a quinzhee (pronounced quin-zee), which is little more than a hollowed-out pile of snow. (For the scoop on how to build a quinzhee, see the Winter 2002 issue of Ottawa Outdoors Magazine.)

The secret to igloo and quinzhee warmth is the snow. It is naturally thick, and makes great insulation. When camping, you can stay warm and cozy in an igloo or quinzhee even when the outside temperature plunges well below freezing.

Quinzhees are easier to make than igloos, and take less time to create.

They are much more efficient if you have young children with you and need to make a quick, sturdy snow shelter.

However, if you plan to stay in the same place for more than one night, an igloo is best because it’s stronger and will last longer.

Regardless of the type of shelter you plan to build, start by finding flat terrain with no rocks, long grass or underbrush.

These will weaken your structure and make construction difficult.

where your entrance trench will be; it should be a little wider than a metre and two metres long. When you dig out the entrance trench, you can use the excess snow to make blocks for building the actual igloo.

To start, clear away any snow from the front of the trench. Cut along the edges, allowing at least ten centimetres between each block. After sawing across the bottom of each block, lift it out carefully. Repeat this action for each block, until you have completely dug out the trench, and you have a hefty quantity of snow blocks.

Now you can start your igloo! Set the first row of blocks around the circle you traced in the snow before. By sloping the blocks slightly inwards, you can start to create the characteristic dome shape of an igloo.

Because an igloo is built with spiralling rows of snow blocks, you will have to cut the first four or five blocks into wedge shapes, gradually getting bigger.

(See diagram) To create the spiral effect, add square-cut blocks on top of these first wedge-shaped ones.

Continue building from the interior of your igloo by placing blocks in rows on top of the ones already in place. Angle the blocks slightly inward to form a round, domed roof. Finish the structure by placing the last (top) key block in the centre of the igloo. Do this with great care!

Building an igloo To build an igloo, you will need two or three saws and several shovels. (It’s more fun with a team of builders.)

Pack down the snow well where you plan to build your igloo. Before you start construction, the snow base should be at least half a metre thick.

For a two-person igloo, trace a 2.5-metre circle in the snow. For a fourperson igloo, trace 3.5 metres. Indicate

Warm in any temperature Before rolling out sleeping bags inside your new home, lay out a tarpaulin or plastic sheet over the snow floor. Next, place sleeping mats over the plastic sheet.

The double thickness will increase your comfort and keep you warmer.

Find an object to block any drafts from the entrance hole, like a large pack and a tarpaulin. If you have a pair of large snowshoes, you can put those in the

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door as well. For air ventilation, make two small holes in the side or top of your snow house; be sure nothing is blocking them. Since your door is going to leak some air, you will have sufficient flow.

Invisible holes will also let in air.

Never cook inside an igloo. Firing up a stove and cooking builds up carbon dioxide, eats up the oxygen, and pollutes the air. Very dangerous!

It’s easy enough to raise the temperature once you’ve settled inside your igloo. Just light one or two candles or candle lanterns. They give off a surprising amount of heat. With two large candles burning inside, a properly built igloo should be no colder then 3º C, even when the outside temperature is around -25º C. Before bed, have a good supper, and make sure you wear a toque when you sleep. Avoid drinking liquids three hours

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up your internal furnace a bit.

It makes a significant difference. Following this advice will make you more comfortable and cozy all night.

Customized housing It’s often best to make your first igloo a very humble dwelling in your backyard — nothing too elaborate. By becoming familiar with the building techniques before heading out on the trail, your confidence and skill will increase.

When you have built a few or so before going to bed. It’s awful to igloos, plan a real outing in Gatineau wake up and find that you have to leave Park during a snowy weekend to try out your warm sleeping bag to empty your your handiwork. bladder. Going for a short hike before Some people make elaborate igloos, bed will warm up your body. Don’t make complete with several rooms (e.g. sleepit strenuous enough to sweat, just stoke ing area, storage area, and even IGLOO WARNINGS a partly open cooking shelter). u Don’t construct your igloo under trees or other large These types of objects. They might deposit a load of snow unexpectedly igloos can take one on your shelter in the middle of the night, and color more entire days lapse your shelter. to build. Try cutting u Never build your snow house beside a road shelves into the snow for boots, snowshoes, and or a snowmobile trail. It might be mistaken packs.

Hang wet mittens for a pile of snow, and lead to disaster. and socks on a clothes line. u Be sure to supervise children Dry winter air will remove when they are helping you a lot of the moisture from the make an igloo, and ensure cloth. no one walks on the Once settled inside a well-built walls when anyone is igloo, the first thing most people notice is the almost absolute silence. inside. Smothering Even with a howling blizzard raging accidents can outside, the insulating snow of your happen. igloo will erase the sound. It’s the perfect inducement for sleep. Pleasant dreams.

— Chantal Macartney is an avid camper, skier and backpacker.

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FRONTENAC PARK WINTER CAMPING COURSES On Saturday January 24, 2005, Frontenac Provincial Park will offer a course on Winter Camping Trip Planning.

This presentation will help any camper, regardless of expertise, to develop vital winter camping skills.

It will provide fast and easy pre-trip planning advice to reduce many of the discomforts associated with wilderness winter treks. Also, it will be an excellent opportunity to share ideas and concerns that you may have about winter excursions.

Specifically, this course will cover topics like: selecting your route, equipment, menu, safety, and discuss diverse forms of winter travel. Part of the presentation will be held outside, so make sure you are dressed appropriately for the trail and weather conditions.

The weekend of Saturday February 7 to Sunday February 8 is a weekend intended to introduce people to tents, snow shelters and general winter camping skills. You’ll learn how to stay warm, prepare meals and navigate using a map and compass.

This instruction will be repeated on the following weekend (February 14-15). The cost for the weekend: $55 per person, food included.

For information on these programs offered at Frontenac Provincial Park, or to register, please call (613) 376-3489.

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them. Their tiny dark gray or black bodies absorb solar radiation to keep warm.

They hop around on the snow by means of a unique springing device called furcula, which extend from the tip of the abdomen and fold forward along the underside.

Snowfleas spend most of their inconspicuous lives among pine cones and needles on the forest floor where they eat spores of fungi, bacteria and algae, and help break down organic matter. They are most evident when they move over the snow’s surface on mild winter days. They are not well known, yet they’re very abundant – you can often see them in the melting snow in your lawn, or at the end of your driveway!

Snowfleas, in turn, provide food for very small carnivores like mites, spiders and insects, some of which also dwell under the snow in forest leaf litter. In turn, birds

that hunt on the snow surface eat these diminutive predators.

If you think winter kills off all of the mini-beasties until spring arrives, think again; that thick layer of white stuff lying all ’round is teeming with life. Look over there. See those little footprints in the snow? Perhaps you’re lucky enough to see a small brown blur dashing across the snow and ducking into a hole. Mammals like mice and voles that are too small to grow thick winter coats will often live under this “snow coat” to avoid freezing.

It’s like living in an elongated igloo.

While the wind howls and temperatures fluctuate on top of the snow, the world just half a metre below the surface is moderated, with temperatures sometimes 30 Celsius degrees warmer than the air above. The warmth comes from deep within the Earth. That heat is trapped under the snow and creates a space where animals can move about.

Illustrations on page by Keith Milne.

YOU’RE OUTSIDE ON a beautiful winter day enjoying the cool, crisp air.

A hard light reflects off the diamond field of snow. Ah, winter. Looking closer, you see something smudging the white carpet that fell a few days ago. What’s that? It’s covered with… pepper?

Actually, they’re wee bugs commonly called snowfleas. On a warmish winter day, take a look around the base of a tree where the snow is hollowed out a bit, or in the melted snow in boot or ski tracks. If you look carefully, you will often see tiny, black dots on the snow that resemble ashes or finely ground pepper. Those little specks are moving because they’re alive, but the snowfleas’ name is a misnomer.

They are not really fleas at all, they’re springtails. Achorutes nivicolus are minute wingless insects less than a millimetre long that love to swarm in enormous numbers on older snow.

They cause no harm, so don’t hesitate to take a good look at

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Under the cover of snow, these small mammals can travel freely with less fear of being seen or captured. They wind their way through snow tunnels as they feed on seeds, tree bark and shrubs.

Enough light penetrates the snowpack to make life here pretty comfortable and their keen senses serve them well in their sub-crystalline world.

Yet it’s not quite as safe and cozy as it sounds.

There are certain risks that accompany life beneath the snow.

Decaying plants and the rodent’s own exhaled breath can prove deadly. Many mouse holes found on the snow’s surface are actually vents designed to get rid of a buildup of toxic gas. These air shafts are about as thick as a human finger and easy to find in early winter.

The food chain never rests, even in the dead of winter. The scents that emanate from these openings tell hungry weasels (called ermine in winter) or coyotes that dinner is not far away. Shrews and weasels take advantage of their own small size to pursue voles through the tunnels. Shrews sometimes stay beneath the snowpack for a long time, and ermine come and go searching for mice, voles or shrews to eat. Foxes, coyotes and great gray owls give voles the ultimate surprise when they crash through the snowpack looking for supper. Though witnessing a catch is rare, it’s not unusual to see impressions of feet, wings, and bodies where a predator has plunged into the snow.

Red squirrels often descend from the trees and go under the snow to visit their stored food, too. They might find that traveling beneath the snow is easier, safer and warmer than surface routes.

Ruffed grouse roost beneath the snow to escape bitter cold. The birds fly into loose, deep snow and tunnel a few feet before settling down for the night or until a cold snap is over. The snow offers the grouse shelter and warmth, but little food. They usually abandon their hiding place after a few days to eat tree buds. The explosion of a disturbed grouse bursting skyward from its roost under the crust has startled many a skier and snowshoer.

With our animal friends leading by www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

example, small wonder so many campers enjoy sleeping inside a snow hut or quinzee (see the Winter 2002 issue of Ottawa Outdoors Magazine issue for more information on quinzee-building).

They’re warm, wind-free and amazingly quiet. Just watch for the weasels!

— Dora Boersma is a biologist and nature enthusiast who works for Environment Canada.

k for On tralcue yonder. b d l i w the

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Sew your own outdoor gear

By Kathleen Wilker SUPPOSE you’re competing in the Keskinada bright and early tomorrow morning, and you’re packing you’re gear tonight.

You need your waterproof mitts, fleece liners, neck and ear warmers, wacky shirt, fleece vest and wind-stopper fleece. You double-check your list because bringing the right gear is essential for good times outdoors, especially in the winter. But, how do you find the perfect gear for your outdoor adventures?

Derek Heffernan — an avid skier, cyclist and camper — sews his own.

OOM: What motivated you to start making your own outdoor gear?

Derek: My mom is an accomplished sewer with a well-equipped sewing room.

While visiting her, I thought I’d try to make a simple fleece vest. So my mom created the pattern and I did the sewing.

OOM: How did your vest turn out?

Derek: I thought it was great. My mom noticed that the bear print didn’t match on either side of the zipper (common rookie mistake) so she ripped it out and resewed it. After that, I decided to take charge of my own projects.

The vest wasn’t too

12

hard so I thought, why not make a jacket? I like working with fleece because it’s very forgiving – it doesn’t move when you’re sewing and it hides the stitches.

OOM: What gear have you made?

Derek: All kinds: fleece mitts, vests, jackets, hats and neck warmers, waterresistant paddling pants, cycling jackets, waterproof and breathable mitts, and long- and short-sleeved wicky shirts. My most recent project was a windstopper fleece that I wear cross-country skiing.

OOM: Which were your most successful projects?

Derek: I recently made a bunch of wicky shirts for commuting. I needed a whack of them because I bike to work and sweat easily. I cut up an old T-shirt to make the pattern, so they fit really well.

Fit is so important when you’re making your own gear. If you’re buying readymade garments, you can try them on. But patterns come in just a few sizes that may not fit you perfectly.

OOM: How do you make sure your gear fits?

Derek: I make a shell with cheap fabric before I start using the expensive outdoor material. I’ll use cheap fleece to test a fleece pattern or cheap nylon to test a waterproof breathable fabric (Gore-Tex®) pattern. By using fabric with similar qualities and stretch to the fabrics for final products, I can see if the pattern I’m using works.

OOM: Where do you find high-tech fabric in Ottawa?

Derek: I’ve been burned a few times with “water resistant fabric” from local fabric stores. It’s generally not breathable and it leaks. Real Gore-Tex is not available locally. Neither is high quality fleece, like the Polartec® Power Shield with which I like to work. So I order my fabric from two stores in Calgary: Peak Fabrics (www.peakfabrics.com) and Textile Outfitters (www.justmakeit.com).

OOM: Where do you get your patterns?

Derek: Textile Outfitters has great patterns made by several outdoor companies, including Storm Mountain Designs.

I also order patterns from Controlled Exposure (www.peak.org/~ce). Their patterns aren’t simple, but they work.

O T TAWA O U T D O O R S W I N T E R 2 0 0 4 / 0 5

About three years ago, I made their waterproof breathable fabric mitts. It took me a while to figure out the thumb, because it’s 3D, but those mitts have seen a lot of action and are still going strong.

OOM: Do you have any suggestions for novices who are keen to sew their own outdoor gear?

Derek: Yes, definitely. If you have a friend who sews, save yourself some aggravation by getting him to look over your shoulder the first time you sew something. I’ve found really good advice in Rochelle Harper’s books, Sewing Outdoor Gear: Easy Techniques for Outerwear That Works, and Sew the New Fleece: Techniques with Synthetic Fleece and Pile. Unfortunately, the second book is out of print, but it’s worth hunting down a second-hand copy. Textile Outfitters has a bulletin board that’s a great source of information for everything from sealing waterproof breathable fabric to sewing zippers in tents. My own motto is “Think first, measure twice, cut once.” Modifying patterns is careful work. For example, if you want to take an inch off a waist, you need to take a quarter inch off each seam. Otherwise the whole pattern will shift an inch. If you’re just starting, I’d recommend using fleece (waterproof breathable fabric is expensive and more finicky), and making mitts or a vest, because the garment is smaller and the fit is more forgiving than jackets or pants. After you’ve mastered a pattern, you can add special

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features, like zippered pockets, Lycra® or Velcro® cuffs, drawstrings or designs.

You don’t need a fancy sewing machine to make great gear, but the tension must be adjusted correctly. If it’s too tight or too loose, your stitches will rip easily.

Because you’re making outdoor gear that has to withstand a lot of wear and tear, strong stitches are essential. And always use polyester thread; it doesn’t shrink and it can handle the kind of use that outdoor gear gets.

OOM: How does your gear measure up to products sold at leading outdoor stores?

Derek: Unless you’re shopping on the clearance rack, my gear is less expensive. I’ve come a long way in my sewing and can safely say that my gear works as well as ready-made products. Fleece, especially, comes in all kinds of cool designs. I like wearing unique gear. Since you are investing time into making your own gear, it’s fun to be creative. I wear my gear around the city as well as on the slopes, so I work at making it look professional. I have to admit, I’ve created some interesting looking garments as I

was learning to sew. I remember one pair of black fleece pants I made for tobogganing, with a florescent green bum patch and bright blue knee pads. My wife still wears them!

OOM: Have you considered starting your own company?

Derek: Yes, I’ve certainly thought about it. But I’m not a mass-production kind of guy. When I figure out how to make a certain garment, I like my next project to be more technically challenging. The first time I made fleece mitts, for example, I didn’t include any designs.

On the next pair I appliquéd suns and added Lycra cuffs. Every time I make something, I like to try something new, so it wouldn’t be very cost effective. I have custom-designed fleece jackets for friends, but again, it takes so long to get the fit just right that the finished product has to be pretty expensive to justify my time.

OOM: What are you working on right now?

Derek: It’s still in the planning stages, but I’m dreaming of a single-pole, singlewall, bomb-proof Gore-Tex tent. Maybe

PREPARING FOR OUTDOOR ADVENTURE ON LONG COLD evenings, after you’ve scraped the slush off your commuter bike and waxed your skis in preparation for the weekend’s loppet, you might be wondering what outdoor adventures you could possibly participate in. Making your own outdoor garments is a great way to enjoy the winter and gear up for wherever the next trail takes you.

Dust off your sewing machines, grab some fleece and get started.

I’ll get around to it in March, when the snow’s melted, the canal’s not frozen and the mountain biking trails haven’t opened yet.

— Kathleen Wilker loves the outdoors, coffee and writing. Since the birth of their darling daughter (July 2003), she and her husband have been figuring out how to make all of the above baby friendly activities.

You Start With Fresh Tracks And End With Fresh Stories.

Photos Courtesy: Peak Performance, Head, Helly Hansen

Winter days like this you’ll always remember.

Sharing a day’s mountain adventure with good friends. The new snow. The occasional slip. Laughing about it together at day’s end by the fire.

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O T TAWA O U T D O O R S W I N T E R 2 0 0 4 / 0 5

13

on ns e B ne n -A

ook

N k oo Jo

eB

Th

by

Let outdoor books fill the time between seasons

B

ooks are a wonderful source of entertainment, education and instruction, and any time is a good time to embark on an exercise program. However, with the change of seasons it seems we are always waiting for the snow to either fall or to indulge in our favourite outdoor activities.

Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness

Those in-between times present an ideal opportunity to delve into the book Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness, Second Edition (Mountaineers Books, 2004, $39.50). It will help keep both the enthusiasm and fitness level on an upward swing all yearround. Written by specialists in their particular fields, this book is a comprehensive exercise and nutrition guide written for everyone.

While it promotes the health benefits of exercise, it gives readers a sound understanding of various aspects of their bodies.

The second edition has been widely revised and updated since its first release in 1999. New material has been included on exercise machines, balance, women’s conditioning, optimal health and much more. The book is conveniently divided 14

into four parts that include Basic Principals, Body Regions, Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness, and Optimal Wellness.

Numerous features make the book inviting to read by including index boxes of practical points, tips, chapter summaries, and charts that indicate specific exercises geared to 17 particular activities. The exercises are plentiful, and their presentation is simple and concise with material supported by 120 photos and 40 illustrations. This book is excellent, and a “must have” for your library.

Reading time well-spent: • Wilderness Navigation, Mountaineers Books, 2004, $20.50 • Snowshoeing, Stackpole Books, 1998, $23.95 • The Backpacker’s Handbook, McGraw and Hill, 2004, $28.95 • Wilderness Basics, Mountaineers Books, 2004, $26.95 • Digital Photography Outdoors, Mountaineers Books, 2004, $26.95 • Cross-Country Skiing for Everyone, Stackpole Books, 1998, $26.50 • Snowboarding, Stackpole Books, 1999, $23.50 • Hiking Light, Apr 2004, Mountaineers Books, $26.95 • Snowboarding: Guide to Gear and Getting Going with Advice from The Experts, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2004, $20.95

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The Snowshoe Experience If you haven’t already discovered the joys of hitting the snowy trails, Claire Walter introduces both novice and veteran snowshoe enthusiasts to the wonders of winter through her book The Snowshoe Experience (Storey Publishing, 2004, $14.95).

Walter is no stranger to outdoor appreciation and her expertise is evident from her numerous books on snowshoeing, skiing, scuba diving and fitness. Walters shares an enjoyable literary journey in the history of snowshoes, the evolution of designs and contemporary outfitting.

Discover the world of winter pleasure that awaits you as she reminisces about past wildlife encounters in such destinations as Jackson, Wyoming, Alberta’s Jasper Park Lodge, and snowshoeing in Colorado.

Both recreational and competitive snowshoers will derive a wealth of information on technique, appropriate attire, safety, and trail etiquette. Although the book is published in the United States, it provides information specific to Canadian readers, and many Canadian resources are cited. Snowshoeing is a simple and inexpensive activity that can be enjoyed by all ages, and Walter’s book shows just how easy it is and how beneficial the rewards can be.

Outdoor Photographer’s Handbook

What better way to capture your experiences than enjoying the outdoors through the medium of photography?

While today’s cameras frequently tout “point and shoot” simplicity, knowledge of basic photography techniques and composition is necessary to get great photographs. www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

In the Outdoor Photographer’s Handbook (Barry and Cathy Beck, Stackpole Books, 2004, $16.95), the authors provide a solid introduction to photography.

They highlight simple techniques and tips based on their 20 years’ experience as outdoor photographers.

At first glance, one may think that such a compact little book would not have much to offer. Wrong. This little gem is one of the better handbooks on the market.

The Becks examine digital versus film cameras, photography equipment, and flash tips. Their coverage of light and composition is particularly strong with key tips on obtaining the best photos according to time of day, weather, angles and photo framing. The book imparts great advice on how to photograph people, animals, landscapes, or closeups. The conversational writing style, punctuated with personal anecdotes make this book a joy to read.

Not surprisingly, high quality photographs support the text to illustrate the key concepts. Whether you are outdoors at home or abroad and shooting still life, wildlife, or family, the Outdoor

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w w w. W o r l d o f M a p s . c o m Photographer’s Handbook is an ideal choice for the backpack pocket.

When you can’t be on the trail, curl up with a great book. It will make your outdoor experiences more vibrant when you do escape to the fresh air.

— Jo-Anne Benson is an Ottawa area resident, frequent traveller and long-time writer/reviewer who specializes in travel literature, nature books, and material about the outdoors.

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Nordic Skiing Trails for young and old just around the corner Cross-country skiing at Mer Bleue Bog

By Heather Burke

Photo by Robert Williams.

GOT A CRAVING FOR cross-country skiing but only have a couple of hours to spare?

No need to drive all the way to Gatineau Park when Mer Bleue Bog is just a hop, skip and ski away. It’s the perfect location for skiers who enjoy a sweet cruise through the forest without risking life and limb.

Mer Bleue was born 9,000 years ago when giant chunks of Ontario were rebounding from the weight of the glaciers. One of the Ottawa River’s tributaries elevated in the process, but some of the water remains. The underlying clay in the area prevented drainage, and a wetland was formed. Plants flourishing along the edges died and accumulated until the oxygen was cut off.

16

Here comes the bog part: the organisms that normally break down plant matter couldn’t survive and the vegetation piled up even more. The sitting water became acidic from sphagnum moss and conditions became even harsher. At that point the plants ran rampant and became the only things that could survive the conditions. The result: Ottawa has its very own internationally significant wetland, but who knew?

Most bog plants lie low and are buried by snow in the winter. But, looking out over the bog, you’ll see windswept black spruce and what appear to be a lot of dead evergreens. Those trees aren’t really dead — they’re tamaracks (larch), which are one of the only conifers to lose their needles in the fall. The word “tamarack” is borrowed from Algonquin aboriginals who labelled it as “wood used for snowshoes.”

You don’t actually ski on the bog at Mer Bleue. Groomers don’t belong on the sensitive ecosystem.

The National Capital Commission doesn’t recommend skiing on any wetland. Freeze-ups are unreliable where

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there is underground seepage or movement of water. There is a good chance of breaking through, and besides, skis don’t glide that well with a build-up of frozen slush on the base. And if that isn’t enough of a deterrent, the bog water can stink! Trust me.

Skiing the wide open bog can get nasty on a biting cold day, too, so it’s better to stick to the sheltered forests.

Just as well, since the groomed trails at Mer Bleue are on two heavily wooded ridges with some scenic vistas of the bog below. At the same time the Ottawa River was running through Mer Bleue all those years ago, the Dolman and Borthwick ridges were islands in that river. They clung to the sand and gravel as the glacial meltwaters rushed towards the sea. The marked trails are accessible from Dolman Ridge and Ridge roads.

The sandy ridges have evolved to support a mixture of mature white pine, maple and ash, as well as second-growth poplar and shrubs. Snow hangs like overstuffed pillows on sheltered evergreens.

Birdfeeders are maintained at several places along the trails and the nuthatches and chickadees have learned to ignore interlopers on skis. Lots of deer and rabbit tracks hint at what skiers might see if they travel quietly with grace. A chance meeting with these timid forest creatures will most likely occur during an early morning or evening ski outing.

The trails cutting through the forest are well-marked and easily followed.

Some are narrow and rolling; others are wide, flat and double-tracked, groomed by spirited volunteers from the Orleans Nordic Ski Club. The strip between the two tracks is packed down and usually suitable for skate skiing.

Compared with the trendiness of Gatineau Park, Mer Bleue is a low-key ski destination with less spandex and more wool. The mostly flat terrain with occasional rolling bumps to keep things interesting is perfect for beginners. There

GETTING THERE

• Turn right and follow Anderson Road

Getting to Mer Bleue is easy if you have directions, but signage along the way is subtle. Watch for and follow directions on the small, beige signs — apparently Ottawa’s internationally significant wet-

Dolman Ridge Road) provides a dif-

Renaud and follow for 3 – 4.5 kilometres

ferent access point to the same trail

(depending on which parking lot you

system as parking lot 19. In addition,

want).

the one kilometer Dewberry Trail is available in winter for snowshoeing. No washrooms available.

lands aren’t big tourist attractions.

THE TRAILS

• Take Highway 417 to Blair Road south

• Parking lot 19 links you up with the

• Parking lot 21 gives you access to a 6.7-kilomatre loop trail (53 and 53A).

most extensive trail system – three

to Innes Road.

loops (50, 51, and 52) for a total of 12.6

• Turn left and proceed to the next set of

kilometres. Washrooms and picnic area

lights at Anderson Road.

are a few longer, steeper hills where the trails descend from the ridges to the edge of the bog below. Kids love to run those hills over and over until parents bribe them with the promise of hot chocolate further down the trail.

The beauty of Mer Bleue hills lies in their ability to forgive — the run-offs are long, wide and clear. By contrast, Gatineau Park skiers are often faced with a narrow trail on a

• Parking lot 20 (one kilometre down

past the sharp right turn it makes at

available. Trails are groomed.

steep curve with lots of pointy trees at the bottom. (Full disclosure: this criticism refers mostly to the expert trails in Gatineau Park).

The Mer Bleue trails aren’t rated for difficulty and there are no expert trails. There aren’t even any intermediate trails. Mer Bleue is easy gliding all the way, and every now and then, that’s exactly what you want.

— Heather Burke is a regular contributor to Ottawa Outdoors Magazine.

When selecting your trail, keep in mind 53A is winter-only — too wet for summer hiking. No washrooms available.

MAPS • An all-seasons trail map of Ottawa’s Greenbelt is available for purchase from the National Capital Infocentre across from Parliament Hill. You can also download a PDF version from the NCC website at: www.capcan.ca/ greenbelt/_pdf/greenbelt_map.pdf • The print on the PDF file appears very small, but it may provide sufficient orientation before heading out. Skiers aren’t likely to get lost skiing at Mer Bleue. There are also maps posted at each trailhead.

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O T TAWA O U T D O O R S W I N T E R 2 0 0 4 / 0 5

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By Heather Burke

IT’S A PERFECT -10º C and there’s no breeze blowing the fresh powder that fell this afternoon.

Are you out there enjoying it? No, you’re sitting in the office with nose pressed against the window, hoping the weather holds until the weekend.

Why wait? There’s every reason to head up to Gatineau Park after work for some night skiing. This isn’t the dizzying downhill dash at Camp Fortune kind of outing. We’re talking basics — just you, your cross-country skis, a headlamp and perhaps a delicious treat.

Turn off the car’s headlights in the parking lot and soak up the darkness. As your eyes adjust, you find you can see better than expected. White trail, black trees. It isn’t difficult to know where to go. Use your headlamp if you like, but there should be enough ambient light to find the trailhead and slide peacefully into the night.

When the moon breaks out from behind a cloud, the path before you is set aglow. Long moon shadows cast by naked trees stretch blue across the trail.

But, there’s more to the magic of night skiing than the moonlight. Go on a weekend trip and invite a few friends.

Bring food and head to the cabins.You may have to try more than one before you find space available. This ritual has become too popular for the number of 18

tables available in the three closest cabins in Gatineau Park (Keogan, Huron and the Shilly Shally). In fact, I shouldn’t even be telling you about it. Consider this information a special bonus for being a reader of Ottawa Outdoors Magazine.

Walk into Keogan and you’re greeted by the flicker of candlelight, the sweet smell of woodsmoke and the sound of laughter. The picnic tables are packed with skiers dressed in their long underwear or skiing tights. The fire, the candles, and the bodies keep it warm.

Then comes the food. This is an occasion that inspires more than baloney on white bread and a bag of trail mix.

Break out the fine cheeses, pâté and baguette from the backpacks. It’s not unusual to see hot chocolate and spiced apple cider, and the occasional wineskin.

Keep these two things to keep in mind about the wineskin: first, drinking is limited to campsites in Gatineau Park; and second, even with a designated driver, you still have to ski back to your car!

There’s one more bonus to skiing at night; it’s free. There are no attendants on duty. Self-pay kiosks are removed at night for security reasons, so there isn’t even the option to pay.

But, free skiing comes with reduced service. There are no patrollers on duty after 5 p.m., so getting hurt isn’t an option, either. While it’s never a good

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idea to ski alone, going solo at night is an exceptionally bad idea. In addition to the lack of patrollers, there just aren’t a lot of other skiers around. Cellular coverage from the major carriers is just fair in the southern section of the park, and directing a rescue team to your location in the dark could be a challenge.

Parking lots aren’t plowed until the early morning hours. Skiing during a snow storm could make it tough to get your car out at the end of the evening.

Cabins are also not cleaned until early morning, so toilet paper supplies may be running low by evening. And that would be an emergency, so bring your own.

There’s one more element of park service to consider at night. Hear that low rumble in the distance that’s gradually growing louder? It’s something big. Soon lights flash on the trees from around the corner. Best to sidestep off the trail as the huge groomer roars around the corner — a nighttime beast on the prowl for unsuspecting skiers. Somehow, they aren’t nearly so intimidating during the day.

Grooming and trail repairs are conducted overnight. You may be faced with variable ski conditions or the inconvenience of closed trails. Most folks are willing to put up with all of that for the joy of night skiing.

There are almost 200 kilometres of cross-country ski trails in Gatineau www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

Photo by National Capital Commission.

Cross-country skiing after the sun goes down

CRANBERRY CABIN BRIE

hug the edges of the trail. Without shadows, depth perception suffers — that’s usually headlamp time.

Full moon nights are especially popular. Various area ski and outing clubs schedule group trips on or around full moons, and cabin space is hard to come by. But don’t feel that you have to limit yourself to full moons; a half moon casts a lot of light, too. Even cloudy nights glow orange by reflecting the lights of Ottawa-Gatineau and Camp Fortune.

So really, any night is a good night for skiing in Gatineau Park. Just remember when you stop at one of the cabins to save me a seat.

— Heather Burke is an Ottawa writer who believes that most things are better with a bit of moonlight.

SLEEPING OUT Q. What’s even better than spending the evening with friends in a warm cabin and then skiing and driving back to Ottawa?

A. Not having to drive home that night.

Small round of brie ½ cup whole cranberry sauce ½ cup orange juice Baguette or crackers 1. Poke holes in brie. Marinade in orange juice two hours or overnight, turning once.

2. Buy a pie.

3. Throw it out (or eat it).

4. Take empty pie plate, along with pre-marinated brie, cranberry sauce and tinfoil up to Gatineau Park cabin.

5. Put the brie on the plate, pour cranberry sauce over it.

6. Create a tinfoil tent over the plate, leaving one side open for ventilation and viewing.

7. Warm over woodstove until sides

Gatineau Park has four cabins and two yurts (sturdy tent-like structures) available for overnight rentals. They are outfitted with 6-16 bunk beds and woodstoves for heat and cooking.

You have to bring your own sleeping bag and kitchen gear.

Initial r eservations are made through a random draw in November.

This is a popular activity, so get your reservation form in early, or book mid-week.

If you’re too late for the general lottery, Lusk Lake Cabin has a different procedure. There are four draws over the season, one for each of the winter months.

See www.canadascapital.gc.ca/gatineau/outdoor_activities/huttohut_e.asp A link to the official entry forms to

of brie start to bulge (about 15 min-

be printed and mailed can be found

utes). The snack serves eight people

there as well.

or four hungry skiers.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

© Harry Nowell Photography, Inc.

Park. But unless you’ve booked one of the sleeper cabins to stay overnight, you won’t want to venture too far because you’ll need to make that drive home.

The best bet for folks skiing in for a snack or meal is parking in P10 and skiing up the Fortune Lake Parkway. It’s wide, bright, and groomed with a double track. There’s a centre section on the trail for skate skiing, which can be tricky at night. Unseen snow chunks that wouldn’t faze a classic skier can trip a skate skier in the dark.

Ambient light is harder to come by on the smaller trails where the evergreens

Enjoying friends and atmosphere in a Gatineau Park cabin.

New wave replaces “old school” cross-country ski techniques

By Lise Meloche and David McMahon

C

ROSS-COUNTRY SKIING has been heading in a direction away from all other skiing disciplines and popular culture in recent years.

At one time, being adventurous meant changing your granola mix and committing a spree of fashion crimes in solitude. No wonder some Nordic skiers have a reputation for being reclusive, pedantic, mulish and a bit odd.

“Wood is better than plastic,” and “skating is evil,” and other esoteric technical statements fueled holy wars on and off the snow. New ideas were often vigorously suppressed and by the mid’80s, the sport was overdue for a serious makeover.

The revolution started with skating technique, equipment upgrades, synthetic waxes and sprint racing. The fallout of changes in the ’80s is only now reaching the mass of recreational Nordic skiers.

The lifeblood of the sport is not necessarily the club programs, but the adult cross-training movement, from where the majority of new skiers come. Nordic skiing is now turning a corner and has an opportunity to become trendy again.

Let’s look at some things to watch for this year.

20

New and revived events The “total skier” model has strong appeal to many, and this has sparked renewed interest in reconstituting all the skiing disciplines.

The Nordic Skier-Cross movement (Nordix) is a natural evolution of sprinting in the presence of the current Xgames pop culture and the need for more technical content in races, as popularized in the film, Unlimited. Nordix fuses the power and endurance in cross-country skiing, superb all-mountain skills, headto-head sprinting action and a BMX derby-like course with sporting jumps, pipes, climbs, and high-speed descents with hair-pin turns. Watch out for a Nordix World circuit including North America events, with big prize money, live bands and TV coverage. A new web site should be up and running soon at www.nordix.tv.

Putting the X back into cross-country Meanwhile, a number of Nordic snow parks are popping up across the country for fun and skill development.

Atomic’s Nordic Cross ski is specifically made for Nordix. It is fast enough to

O T TAWA O U T D O O R S W I N T E R 2 0 0 4 / 0 5

sprint on but strong enough to take the landings.

Then, there is the concept of “real skiing” outside the bounds of groomed trails and restrictive rule-books. Although they’re not a new idea, “randonnee rallies” or “ski mountaineering races” have regained popularity. The events include long, steep climbs on skins, some climbing or scrabbling, and alpine or telemark descents. They are a clear test of cardiovascular fitness and all-mountain skills.

News flash! Wooden skis are not dead. When fixed with modern boots and bindings and complemented with dressed-down attire, many skiers are finding vintage boards unpretentious and forgiving for all terrain. Skating isn’t half bad on long, fat wooden skis. Besides, if you are tired after a hard workout, no one is going to race you when you are disguised in retro gear.

Fashion Snowboarding, surfing, mountain biking, kayaking and climbing have all influenced mainstream fashions, so why not Nordic skiing? Although racers will continue to wear Spandex body suits, I think we will start to see loose-fitting, practical ski clothing for training that is wearable off the trail. Warm-up jackets have a lot of potential.

Art, music and film Other sports have a culture that is actively promoted through film, music and art. Skateboarding was popular-

Photo by XCZONE.tv.

Nordic trends

trends

ized by the Z-Boyz as documented by Stacey Peralta’s Sundance-winning film, Dogtown and Z-Boyz.

Bill Snider’s movie, Tread, and the Kranked series by Christian Begin put mountain biking on the map. John Stockwell created great interest with the surfing hit Blue Crush. And of course, Warren Miller did more for alpine skiing and snowboarding than most people alive today.

Meanwhile, Nordic skiing has been fixated on reviewing World Cup racing ripped from TV with a dreary, mind-numbing, mechanical voiceover by instructors. The material was dry and unappealing to anyone other than the most ardent practitioner. The few biathlon scenes in the James Bond films, complete with novice skiers and rear projection screens, are just embarrassing.

The early cross-country ski film entitled, If you can walk, you can ski by Harvey Edwards, reached a huge number of people and actually motivated people to get into the sport. The film provided some technical content packaged in an entertaining format.

Today, there are a number of budding filmmakers, and more Nordic skiing content is reaching adventure film festivals. If we want more Nordic skiing content broadcast and appearing on store shelves, we have to start supporting made-for-television productions featuring Nordic skiing and television-friendly event formats. Our tastes are going to have to become more sophisticated.

In an age when someone can rip cross-country race footage off cable television, add commentary and have it ready to market on-line in an afternoon, Nordic ski films require more commitment.

Producing one of them takes a season and several hundred thousand dollars. But the results are worth it, and comparable to alpine films by Warren Miller, TGR, Matchstick or Unparalleled Productions.

Technique The first generation of coaches and instructors with real World Cup level skiskating experience as athletes have begun to emerge.

Watch for “new skate” and “progressive” styles to challenge “old school” methods of skate skiing. Advocating a www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

quieter body with less rocking, twisting and edging, progressive ski skating (similar to the Norwegian skating systems modeled on Bjorn Daelie and Thomas Ulsgard) emphasizes more direct, simple and efficient motions. They’re based on key skiing fundamentals of body unity, symmetric form, coordinated timing; and blended pull, push and glide phases.

Propulsion comes from a decisive weight transfer onto a flat glide ski assisted by the first phase of the double poling motion and an unweighted push of the free leg edged only so much as is necessary to transfer power without slipping. The weight is on heel to mid-foot.

A skier’s orientation is predominately in the intended direction of travel while conceding some twisting to assist weight transfer in the initial stages of the cycle.

Weight shift from ski-to-ski is accomplished more through movements of the lower body, core and hip. In the first phase of the arm movement, the weight is applied onto both poles to the snow at the same time. The arm pull is driven by force of weight, abdominal and back muscles before finishing with pull and push by arms.

By contrast, “old skate” places importance on full body twisting, asymmetric movement, an independent timing of arms, continuous edging and pushing without glide phases. The body is completely orientated perpendicular over the pushing ski at all times as the nose, head, hip and knee align over the tip of the ski. The skier never faces the intended direction of travel down the trail, opting to twist quickly from facing towards one side to the direction of the ski on the other side. The ski is ridden on an edge, with the skier’s weight on their toes. Weight transfer is accomplished by rocking the upper body side-to-side with an aggressive push backward. Where the upper body is concerned, there is a clear distinction between a prominent hang arm and cross-body push-arm. Force is applied to the poles sequentially (one pole plant at a time) using only triceps.

Surf the web for more cross-country skiing blogs started by racers, and proteams run by x-racers.

— David McMahon and Lise Meloche have 50 years of skiing experience between them, with 17 years racing at World Cup Level. They are also the owners of XCZONE.TV. O T TAWA O U T D O O R S W I N T E R 2 0 0 4 / 0 5

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It’s time to right-size the O l y m p i c s THE OLYMPICS ARE SUFFERING from three major problems: drugs, flag jumping and too many “sports.”

Is there a solution to the “sports bloat” problem?

The forerunner of the Olympics had one event — running.

The current Games have 28 “sports,” some of them with multiple events. Many recent additions have questionable value as sports and are ignored by lots of countries.

Athletics (track and field) is the essence of the Olympics.

Along with soccer, athletics is practiced at a high-level throughout the world. With the relatively recent addition of more events for women, the sport has been enhanced. Once a women’s steeplechase is added, the sport will be complete.

Eliminating a number of “sports” would allow countries to focus on more mainstream activities to make them even more competitive.

First off, any activity with “synchro,” “rhythmic” or “artistic” in its name should be dropped. These activities are more art and entertainment than sport.

Let’s examine the situation sport by sport.

Diving: this is more of an art form like ballet. It could stay in as a demonstration/entertainment event only with no scoring or medals awarded. Out. Swimming: a real sport, but there are too many events that are not that different. Reduce the number of events. In. Synchro diving and synchro swimming. Out. Water polo: an incredibly demanding sport. In. Archery: a neat hobby, but hardly a sport. Out. Athletics: the essence of the Olympics. In. Badminton: when was the last time you saw a Kenyan playing this “sport?” Out. Baseball: the Games don’t attract the world’s best players.

Any sport that consists mainly of participants chewing tobacco and scratching themselves should never have been allowed in the Games. Out. Basketball: introducing professionals into this sport has elevated the play of the rest of the world. A growth sport. In. Boxing: this activity defies the philosophy of sport. If two guys want to beat each other up, take it to the alley. If it stays, some idiot will surely propose women’s boxing. Out. Canoeing: a challenging sport which requires a high level of fitness and skill, but technology and cost could give an unfair advantage to richer countries. In (for now).

Cycling: another great sport with worldwide appeal and interest. In. Equestrian: I disagree with a wide body of sentiment against this sport. Horses are among the best athletes in the Games. Unfortunately, they need riders, but it’s a small price to pay to watch these magnificent animals. In.

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Fencing: how did this “sport” last this long? Out. Artistic and rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline. Out. Handball: who plays handball? Out. Field hockey: very popular in many countries. It balances those primarily North American/European sports. In. Judo. Out. Modern pentathlon: for traditional reasons only. If fencers want to participate in the Olympics, learn the other pentathlon events. In. Rowing: one of the most demanding of sports. The number of events should be reduced but the sport stays. In. Sailing: too many counties cannot afford to sail. Out. Shooting: get serious. Out. Soccer (aka football): one of the world’s most practiced sports requiring fitness, skill and tactics. In. Softball: this sport is improving around the world and, unlike baseball, includes the best players in the world. Also the players do not chew tobacco and scratch themselves. In. Table tennis: the Orient can have its own Games with this activity. Out. Taekwondo: too much dancing and yelling. Whose idea was it to include this in the first place? Out. Tennis: a real sport but not enough worldwide participation.

Also, it’s a rich kids’ game. Out. Triathlon: a great addition in Sydney. It needs to increase participation and Australians should only be allowed to compete for Australia. In. Volleyball: court volleyball has been surpassed by beach volleyball. It’s far too crowded on the floor with seven-footers at the net. Out. Beach volleyball: a tough sport with awesome spectator appeal. Get rid of the “wedgie” factor and it can stay. In. Weightlifting: put this in the circus where it belongs and let the participants dope as much as they want. Out. Wrestling: looks like two teenagers in the back seat at a drive-in movie. Out. The arts and entertainment activities could be presented for fans as a virtual presentation. For the benefit of those who enjoy being annoyed by corrupt and incompetent judging, these “competitions” could be staged in studios via a live broadcast.

My last suggestion is to include all athletes who meet IOC standards for an event. They should be sent to the Games by the athlete’s country. Some counties (such as Canada) cannot be entrusted to set their own standards. ­­ —Ken Parker is a long-time runner, coach and champion of amateur athlete issues.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

Illustration by William Jessup.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

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Snowshoeing

A snowshoeing gem close to town

By Jo-Anne Benson

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TTAWANS ARE fortunate to live in a city where green space and recreational trails are plentiful.

The region boasts the Capital Pathway with its 170 kilometres of multi-recreational routes. Sections of the Rideau and Trans-Canada Trails are nearby and easily accessible, and the Gatineau Hills are just across the Ottawa River in Quebec.

For something new and different, try a short drive south of the city to the Baxter Conservation Area. For just $5 per vehicle, this little gem of a site has a great deal to offer.

The 68-hectare Baxter Conservation Area falls under the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority and includes five kilometres of multi-use trails. The open fields have trails meandering through a diverse environment with mixed forest, wetlands, a nut grove, and a section of the Rideau River shoreline. While snaking through the woods, users delight in the network of level trails that are well marked and wide enough for snowshoers.

The Fiddlehead Trail offers a 2.2 km circuit that meets the Grouse, Cattail, Hare, and Alder trails. Each one is a delight – well worth exploring.

Resting benches are strategically placed throughout the area. You’ll find others by the bridged entrance to an inlet of the Rideau River and on

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various observation decks. These offer ideal locations for a moment’s rest and refreshment.

Along the trail, interpretive panels will entertain and inform you on such topics as fossil fuels, life along the water, the food chain, and the 1990’s Ice Storm.

The main bridge off the Fiddlehead Trail leads to the Fillmore Park Nut Grove. This grove, which boasts over 30 varieties of nut- and bean-bearing trees and shrubs, was planted in cooperation with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority and the Eastern Chapter of the Society of Ontario Nut Growers.

While winter is not the ideal season to identify different types of nut trees, a visit to this section often entices visitors to return in warmer weather for further exploration. Here one can view such unique species as the Kentucky coffee with its unusual seedpods or the Chinese chestnut

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trees with their oblong waxy leaves and flowery clusters. The tall osprey nest and the pond area are focal points for the anticipated animation that heralds the warmth of spring.

Winter exploration challenges the nature detective within us to observe such environmental curiosities as seasonal changes, animal tracks, and fauna adaptation. As a means of travel, snowshoeing allows us to become attuned to the surroundings at a leisurely pace.

A fresh blanket of snow provides an empty canvas for the artistry of squirrels, porcupines, rabbits, deer, lynx, coyotes, and fishers. Don’t forget to bring along your animal track and birding guides for quick and easy identification.

Watch for downy and hairy woodpeckers, black-capped chickadees, blue jays, white-breasted nuthatches, evening grosbeaks and flocks of snow buntings. Snowshoeing provides quiet transportation, so listen for bird songs that can lead to a rewarding visual encounter.

While many birds frequent the feeders

Diagram courtesy of Rideau Valley Conservation Authority

Baxter Conservation Area awaits the fleet of foot

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

Photo by Jo-Anne Benson.

it offers the ideal introductory venue for youngsters to experiment with snowshoes. The open fields are an excellent training ground to let beginners get their footing prior to heading for the trails. When children have exhausted their interest in their newfound sport, the Baxter area also offers a small sliding hill, a pond that is occasionally used for

skating, and a campfire area. The trails are multi-purpose and host numerous walkers, cross-country skiers, and snowshoe enthusiasts. For a luncheon or early dinner break, the area around the Conservation Centre has numerous picnic tables.

In addition to offering a diverse natural area to explore, Baxter Area Visitor Services offers educational programs to community groups. Winter topics include Instincts for Survival, Endless Energy, Winter Ecology, and Animals and Habitats.

Don’t sit at home thinking that winter is a lost season. Discover its many incredible delights. Head out to the Baxter Conservation Area and you’ll find a rewarding and fun-filled experience every time!

— Jo-Anne Benson’s interest in the outdoors includes walking, canoeing, hiking, photography and exploring new destinations.

Photo top: Jo-Anne Mary Benson, previously published in Capital Parent Magazine 2000

and forage for seeds on dormant plants, you may even see a hawk in search of food, or a hidden owl waiting for the cover of darkness.

The unobtrusive nature of snowshoeing provides many ideal photo prospects, too. While people and animals are frequently viewfinder favourites, many other wonderful opportunities of the season await you here. Light often plays a critical role in winter photography, so be on the lookout for appealing shadows in the trees and for reflections on snow. Nature itself is extravagant with exciting designs, so try to capture unique ice formations, unusual snow drifts, the colours of a setting sun, or an extraordinary winter still-life image.

Ice-encrusted flowers, a melting droplet of water, or the beauty of a massive snowflake make excellent subjects.

The Baxter Conservation Area holds particular appeal for families as

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ll ne n Tu g y n i enn h c a and P C o Ge ooke C “GEOCACHING” IS AN international craze that is revoluir an B tionizing the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS).

By especially amateur GPS users, finding A cache is usually a resealable plas-

Decrypting a cache in Ottawa’s backyard

tic container with a visitor’s book and a prize placed in an isolated location. The grid coordinates are recorded using GPS, and posted on the official Geocache web site (www.geocaching.com) to allow others to search for it.

GPS enthusiasts can choose from hundreds of thousands of caches located all over the world, including the most remote places on earth. (See the Spring 2004 issue of Ottawa Outdoors Magazine for more details.)

Looking for the cache

Wandering through the trees of the Greenbelt in Ottawa’s Bells Corners in search of a hidden cache, Penny and I are running out of time. It will be dark in an hour and we’re stymied. Somewhere, within 12 meters of where we’re standing, is a tree with a new set of cache coordinates and the “key” to open the cache’s lock box. We recall our heady days of amateur caching with easy, straightforward instructions that inevitably led to the hidden treasure. This time, it isn’t so easy because we have graduated to the next level — a decryption cache.

What have we gotten ourselves into?

Our first attempt with this new hobby involved an easy cache within walking distance of Parliament Hill. This class of cache, called a “straight drop,” GEOCACHING TIPS didn’t require any • Use a good topographical map complicated probto pinpoint the cache’s location lem-solving skills. before heading out. Natural We followed the barriers such as streams, web site instrucfence lines or marshes can tions and used our block access to your cache GPS to zero in on from all but one direction, so the hidden treaplan your route and dress sures location. accordingly.

Straight • Bring a camera along. We drops are a great spotted four deer and a very introduction to brave porcupine teetering pregeocaching. They cariously from the top of a very are easy to find thin tree. and tend to be • Bring a note pad, pencil and located within a good sighting compass in case short distance of the cache requires a test of popular landmarks. skill.

For beginners, • Get an early start. It often takes twice the expected time to find a cache, especially when it is a multi-leg cache.

a straight drop cache is a tremendous thrill. On the other hand, if you happen to wander dangerously off course (can someone please tell me why Canadian Armed Forces Bases don’t have perimeter fences around them?), you might have to field embarrassing questions from military police.

The next level after straight drops is a basic decryption cache. At the geocaching web site, we found a cache hotlink called Puzzles. It contains the cache’s coordinate location, a description of the cache’s environs and a very important clue encrypted in code. On a scale of difficulty, it was about 2 out of 10. Puzzles grid coordinate would not take us all the way to the cache itself. The posted location (18 T 0433718 E, 5017810 N: NAD83) would take us though a forest to a second set of coordinates nailed to a tree. We would be on our own from there with only an encrypted clue for help.

Before heading out, we did some homework using topographical map 31 G/5 for the Ottawa area. The cache’s location is in a large greenbelt less then a kilometre from Robertson Road in Bells Corners. There appeared to be two approaches to it, with the closest and driest entry from Robertson Road. We also checked to see if there was any private property to block our access, or hidden military installations.

One other aspect to this cache was attractive — the clue decryption was easy.

Geocaching code types can vary from simple to elite. One legendary encrypted clue allegedly took mathematical analysts six months to crack. Others may require a background in foreign languages or celestial charts. And then there’s SHARK, a famous World War II code that can only be broken by ENIGMA, the famous specialized encryption/decryption typewriter.

Since Penny and I don’t quite measure up to the combined Allied war effort, we decide our first decryption cache needs to be easy. Puzzles coded clue was a simple letter-substitution game.

After painfully decoding the clues, I noticed a “decrypt shortcut” below the clue that could automatically decode the

Photo by Brian Cooke.

gibberish for me at the click of a mouse.

Oh well. The cache’s first leg would take us over an old east-west rail bed and through a stately evergreen tree plantation. The sight of two deer stumbling carelessly into our path was worth the price of admission. Beyond the tree farm lies a marshy lake which, according to our GPS, was within a few metres of the clue we were looking for. When the GPS told us we were within four metres of the waypoint, we split up to find the tree bearing our next clue.

This is the frustrating thing about GPS accuracy. On a good day, the GPS selective availability — a small error added to the GPS signal by the U.S. government — is accurate to about five meters. Puzzles instructions said the secret tree was 12 metres off the trail we were following. So, we need to search 17 metres of forest, and it’s getting dark.

I am amazed when Penny finds it.

An old padlock key and a second set of coordinates are nailed to a large tree. As Penny reads the digits aloud, I enter them into the GPS, which provides us with a new distance and bearing to follow. We cover the distance quickly and find the wooden box lodged under the remains of an old snake rail fence.

I don’t want to give anything away, but true to the cache’s name, we discover that the clue we decrypted back at home was crucial to opening the padlocked box.

Defeating the padlock and enjoying the cache’s contents end the adventure with great fun and excitement.

— Brian Cooke teaches GPS enthusiasts of all skill levels. He can be contacted at Geotracks@aol.com.

Penny Tunnell is his trusty paddling partner and has tremendous patience.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

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winter poses its own questions for outdoors travel

Q: How do you fit classic crosscountry skis?

A: Skiers used to match their ski length to the height of their wrist with their arm raised. That measurement would give an approximate idea of the skier’s weight.

Heavier weights do indicate a need for longer skis, but ability, technique and use are also essential gauges in sizing skis. According to Chris Bloch-Hansen, ski department manager at Fresh Air Experience (www.freshairexp.com), the camber (stiffness of your skis) can make or break your skiing experience.

If the camber is too stiff, your skis won’t flatten against the snow for your wax pattern to make contact. But, if your camber is too soft, you’ll sink into the snow and won’t be able to glide.

An old-school fitting test for camber still works: Stand on a piece of paper wearing your skis. The paper should be able to slide around beneath your feet when you are standing on both skis, but it shouldn’t move when you stand on one ski. Beginners who don’t shift their weight from ski to ski should go with a softer camber, while experts (especially racers) prefer stiffer cambers, says Chris.

A ski pro can help you determine the camber appropriate for your expertise and intended use.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

Q: How should I protect and clean my commuter bike for winter use?

A: You should be using a “beater” bike because slush, sand, salt and extreme temperatures will take their toll over the season. If you are not already using fenders, install them. They’ll keep some of the muck off you and your bike. Dave of Dave’s Bike Dump (www.bikedump.com) recommends preparing your bike for the winter by cleaning it thoroughly, allowing it to dry and then applying a rust-proofing product with a paintbrush.

During the winter, you’ll need to clean your bike frequently to keep it running smoothly. Reapply rust-proofing after each cleaning. If rust-proofing sounds too hardcore, use WD40 on all holes and moving parts, except the chain. A good quality winter oil (e.g. 3-in-1) helps protect your chain, although some riders prefer to use a cheaper oil because you need to apply it so often. You should replace your chain in the spring if it’s been used hard all winter.

Where to store your bike can be a tough call. If you leave it outside, a slushy chain can easily freeze. If you bring your bike inside, the change in temperature can encourage rusting. In terms of safety, knobby or studded tires will give you better traction, especially on ice and hardpacked snow. They’ll slow you down, too, but winter cycling is not about speed unless you’re a courier. The couriers use racing bikes with skinny tires that won’t gather snow and cut through to the pavement, says Dave.

Avoid toe clips because icy patches may surprise you. Use a bright white front light and a red back light. Making yourself visible with lights and reflective clothing is especially important in the winter since the days are shorter, snow banks make the road narrower and drivers aren’t thinking about sharing space with cyclists.

Q: What’s the scoop on winter water?

A: Don’t eat snow! You’ll burn so many calories converting snow to liquid that you can give yourself hypothermia. The same energy theory holds true when melting snow on a stove or over a fire — give yourself a head start by adding snow to warm water. To kill any microorganisms, boil melted snow for at least five minutes.

If you’re collecting stream water, you’ll need to purify it.

Boiling works best in cold weather, says Dave Rayner, camping products manager at Mountain Equipment Co-op (www.mec.ca). If you are using iodine or chlorine dioxide tablets, you need to either increase the dosage or your wait time to purify your water.

Dave recommends preventing your water supply from freezing by insulating it.

Thermoses or foam parkas for your water bottle will work, says Dave. Because hoses and nipples on hydration bladders can easily freeze, wide mouth water bottles are a better choice for winter use. Carry your water bottle upside down so any freezing that does occur takes place away from the nozzle.

— Kathleen Wilker loves cycling, skiing, running, swimming, canoeing, hiking, camping, traveling, visiting with family and friends, drinking coffee and writing.

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Alpine Skiing

The really big snow is easily within reach

Nearby U.S. ski getaways on a shoestring

By Leslie Smith Dow

T

HERE ARE lots of great places to ski in Canada within easy driving distance of

Ottawa, but there’s more reason than ever to head south of the border for big snow, great terrain and unbeatable value.

The most easily accessible of the stateside ski slopes is Whiteface Mountain, 259 kilometres away in the serene Adirondack State Forest near Wilmington, New York. Small wonder it’s the summer training facility of choice for the Canadian men’s freestyle aerials team. The region retains the charm of a bygone era, even though it is a major world ski destination after hosting the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980. In the time it takes to play a few CDs in the car, you’re there.

Upstate New York is close and comfortable

The ski resort — which boasts the greatest vertical drop in the eastern U.S. at 1,045 metres — has no on-hill condos and mostly inadequate parking space. Some skiers affectionately call Whiteface “Iceface,” because it gets only 426 centimetres of snowfall in an average year. Wind and bitter cold can turn snow into ice, but that doesn’t deter Canadians, who comprise about 10 percent of the mountain’s skiers. Whiteface trails meander like veins in a boxer’s forearm – meticulous grooming and extensive snowmaking are spread over 73 runs. Individual tickets cost $60-$64 for adults, $48-$51 for children ages 1319, and $30-$32 for ages 7-12. (All prices in U.S. dollars.)

Whiteface’s Upper and Lower Cloudspin ski runs off the Summit Quad spit skiers out at a wind-blown 1,337 metres.

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Huck up another 91 metres and you might be able to ski the rarely-opened and aptly-named Slides. The small but littleknown Glades (see if you can find the hikers’ shelter) is a memorable run, and on a cold day, the Cloudspitter Gondola is as warm and popular as the mid-station chalet.

Across the road from Whiteface is the modestly priced Ledge Rock Inn, with in-room microwaves and evening dessert in the Great Room. Check out its lodging-and-lift deal.

The Olympic Regional Development Authority recommends that families on a budget stay in Wilmington, where the average price of a night’s sleep for a family of four is $48-$99 (kids under 12 usually stay free).

Sixteen kilometres away is Lake Placid, home to waterfront hotels and motels that offer lodging-and-lift specials at higher prices. Lake Placid abounds in boutiques, eateries, an oldfashioned giant toboggan slide, Olympic skating and bobsled facilities and other attractions. Midweek deals and packages, including admission to the Olympic venues, are also available.

Vermont’s Jay Peak just four hours down the road

Drive another hour to Vermont and you’ll find yourself in a winter wonderland of historic covered bridges, quaint villages and seriously snow-blasted ski hills. About 368 kilometres from Ottawa — an easy four-hour drive — is Jay Peak. Home to the famous Jay Cloud, which dumps 892 centimetres of snow each year, the resort is only about 10 kilometres from the Quebec border. It features the Jay Tram that can transport 60 passengers and their skis 1,200 metres to the summit in just seven minutes.

Relax and watch — or dare to imitate — the daredevils attempting to negotiate the extreme-black-diamond Face Shutes.

Black diamonds are used by resorts to rate their most demanding and dangerous slopes. Jay also offers great value hotel or condo accommodations where you can literally ski off your front deck to the Tram. Wide groomers leave lots of space for cruising, or you can let loose on Kitzbuehel and Kitz Woods.

“About half of our annual skier/rider visits are made by Canadians from Quebec and Ontario,” says Jay spokesperson Kim Hewitt. Owned by Canadians, Jay Peak takes Canadian dollars at par (cash only) in exchange for tickets and the daily cafeteria meal special. At the hillside Hotel Jay, Canadians can stay midweek in January for $154.50 per person, per night (double occupancy). A one-day lift ticket, dinner and breakfast, adult ski lesson, mountain tour and daycare is included.

Hewitt says a typical non-holiday weekend for a family of four (two children 14 and under) in Hotel Jay costs $689, www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

tax included. Rates include two nights lodging, a two-day lift ticket per person, one dinner and two breakfasts for each parent, plus free daycare.

Both packages let kids 14 and under ski and stay free; kids six and under eat free, too. Meal plans are available for children 7 to 14 for $47.32, tax included. Teenagers 15 to 18 pay $180.84 tax included for two nights lodging, a two-day lift ticket, one dinner and two breakfasts. Individual tickets cost $56 per day for adults or $102 for a two-day pass, $42 per day for ages 7-17 or $75 for two days.

Smuggs and Stowe offer activity packages Less than an hour’s drive south from Jay — though almost the same distance from Ottawa — are Smuggler’s Notch and Stowe, both must-visit locations. Smuggler’s Notch, near Jeffersonville, prides itself on being an almost all-inclusive family resort, with an astonishing variety of activities.

Though it has no high-speed lifts, it has lots of beginner and intermediate terrain with great snowmaking abilities to add to the average annual snow accumulation of 716 centimetres.

Some expert terrain is hidden in its modest-sounding 795-metre vertical drop, including the triple-black diamond Black Hole and the double-diamond Freefall. Check out the rarely-open Liftline underneath the 2,011-metre Madonna I chair.

“Our rates are offered at par to Canadian visitors all season except for December 26-January 1 and February 18-24,” says Smuggler’s spokesperson Karen Boushie. The lowest rates are on “supersaver weeks” during December 10-18, January 7-29 and March 18-April 2. Prices start at $99 per adult and $79 for ages 17 and under per night for a five- to seven-night stay ($109 and $89 for a two- to four-night stay).

Canadian March break rates (March 13-17) are costlier at $149 per adult and $139 per youth per night for the five- to seven-night stay and $165 per night for a two- to four-night block in a one-bedroom condo. Upgrades to larger units are available for $75 per day. Included in the packages are numerous family and adult activities, alpine lift tickets, cross-country and snowshoe trail passes, an all-day ski camp for children ages 3-5, and an all-day snowboard camp for ages 4-5. Children ages 6-17 and adult beginners get a free daily 1½ -hour ski or snowboard lesson and advanced skiers get a 50 percent lesson discount. Smuggler’s also has free indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs, the FunZone sports and game centre, snow tubing, ice skating, two teen centres and two video arcades. Individual adult tickets cost $56 for the first day and $42 the next day.

Tickets for ages 6-18 are $40 for the first day and $30 for the next day.

Photo by XCZONE.tv.

Check out motels and B&Bs, too

For a cheaper alternative, you can buy lift tickets at Costco and stay at one of the many motels or bed and breakfast accommodations in and around Jeffersonville, Vermont.

Sterling Ridge Inn and Cabins located nearby offer a convenient jumping-off point for Smuggs, Stowe and other regional ski areas. It features cozy wooden cabins with stone fireplaces and full kitchens. The 80-acre property has a hot tub, crosscountry ski trails and a small lake.

Canadians head in droves to large and trendy Stowe, Vermont on the other side of 1,340-metre Mount Mansfield, the highest peak in the state. Try the 2,699-metre cruising runs Perry Merrill and or the 4,570-metre Toll Road, originally built in 1870 to service horse and buggy traffic on the mountain.

Detachable quads and an eight-person gondola whisk skiers to the top in less that eight minutes. The town of Stowe has chic eateries, boutiques, hotels and budget motels.

“Many of our season pass holders are from Montreal, and during Canadian holidays we see lots of folks from Quebec and Ontario,” says Stowe’s communications manager Kirt Zimmer. Stowe is offering a Vacation Rewards Program to give families a 10 percent discount on lift tickets purchased 72 hours in advance. They can also choose between a twohour gear demo from the Stowe Toys Demo Center or a free night ski lift ticket. Longer stays are eligible for increased benefit packages.

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Stowe’s only slopeside lodging is the Inn at the Mountain at about $258 per family for two nights, contingent upon time of season. Adult tickets are $106-$120 and ages 6-12 can ski for about $76.

About 55 kilometres from Stowe is the exquisitely manicured Sugarbush, a twomountain complex linked by a weird-but-wonderful horizontal chairlift on 1,216-metre Mount Ellen. Sugarbush is festooned with digital billboards with directions to the best tracks, on-hill condos, ski bunnies and BMWs. There’s still room for everyone at this vast complex, which boasts 792 metres of vertical drop, four quad chairs, long and gnarly runs, under-lift moguls and wide open groomers that received 596 centimetres snow last season.

Sugarbush spokesperson J. J. Toland says about 4,000 Canadians visit the hill each winter. “This season, a family of four, depending on the age of the kids, can expect to spend anywhere between $300 and $500 for a weekend of lodging, lifts and breakfasts. Kids six and under always ski and ride free at Sugarbush.” Two-day tickets are $112-$126 for adults and $76-$82 for ages 7-12.

For a funkier feel this winter

For the ultimate in skiing culture shock, drive next door to Mad River Glen, a funky co-operative hill virtually unchanged since the ’60s. It boasts North America’s only functioning single chair lift, and it takes pride in the near au naturel grooming of the 635 centimetres average annual snowfall.

Mad River Glen’s slogan, “Ski it if you can,” has made this little jewel of a ski hill famous. Bumper stickers are hot take-home items for fans who have come to stick them in unusual places around the world and then send a snapshot home to prove it.

Try the experts-only Paradise run if you can find it, somewhere in the woods off the single chair. Last season’s full-day tickets for adults were $50 and ages 6-18 can hit the slopes for $37 and ski free the previous afternoon. A two-day ticket buys you the third day for only a buck.

Mad River has a modest summit elevation of 1,108 metres and a vertical of PLANNING AHEAD CAN MAKE 621 metres, and it prides itself on having YOUR SOUTHERN SKI TRIP no run-outs. Skiers can eat in the lowCAREFREE cost co-op cafeteria haunted by the hill’s trademark telemarkers. Lodging abounds • Purchase discounted tickets at in nearby Waitsfield, where quaint old Costco for several Canadian and coaching inns continue to provide beds American ski resorts and return them and sustenance to ski-weary travellers. if you don't use them.

There is something for every skier • Unless you're willing to pay bigger south of the border and it doesn’t take long to get there. Load the roof rack and bucks for a hotel or on-hill condo, enjoy the challenge that Uncle Sam has to don't expect a pool, hot tub or sauna offer his northern neighbours.

— you can get hot water, a TV and a bed to fall into at the end of the day at reasonable prices.

• Most resorts have lessons or all-day

— Leslie Smith Dow is an Ottawa freelance writer and award-winning author who enjoys skiing, horseback riding, kayaking and shuttling children to hockey arenas.

ski camps for kids and beginner

rentals, lift tickets, lessons and meals.

• Watch for resorts that let kids sleep, ski and/or eat for free — families should use them, and singles might want to avoid them.

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• Ottawans heading south in search of snow can use the OgdensburgPrescott Bridge or Seaway International Bridge at Cornwall.

• Quebec routes include Highway 15Interstate 87 at Champlain, Highway 133/Interstate 89 at Venise-enQuebec or Highway 55/Interstate 91 at Stanstead. Less busy crossings include Lacolle QC/Rouse's Point NY and Highwater QC near Jay Peak VT. Border guards are generally skier-friendly, but proper identification is required, particularly if you are not a Canadian or U.S. citizen.

• Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade advises Canadians to carry a valid passport for travel to the U.S. Although there is currently no legal requirement for Canadians to produce a passport for entering the U.S., it can speed up the process.

• Hourly updated information on the more heavily-travelled border crossings is available at the Canada Border Services Agency's website at: www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/general/times/ menu-e.html • Wireless information version is available at: http://canada.gc.ca/ mobile/wireless_e.html • Other travellers' information is available from Foreign Affairs Canada at www.voyage.gc.ca or call 995-1874 locally or toll-free at (800) 267-6788.

Border wait times can vary from no delays to an hour or more, depending on time of day, day of the week, holiday periods or special alerts.

Travellers should not bring meat into the U.S.

NEARBY U.S. SKI RESORTS

adults, but beware of added cost.

• Watch for package offers that include

HELPFUL INFO FOR CROSSING THE BORDER INTO THE U.S.

Lake Placid NY: www.whitefaceregion.com www.lakeplacid.com

Smuggler’s Notch VT www.smuggs.com

Sugarbush VT www.sugarbush.com

Jay Peak VT www.jaypeakvermont.org www.jaypeakresort.com

Stowe VT www.stowe.com

Mad River Glen VT www.madriverglen.com

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D E S T IN A T IO N

Alpine skiing from a different era The welcome is warm at Mont Chilly

By Ian Lavigne ALPINE SKIING is appealing for its beauty and freedom, but solitude is a rare jewel indeed.

Big business begets big money, and many skiing venues have evolved into sprawling alpine headquarters.

Fortunately, not all ski destinations are riding the wave. For some operations, time has passed more slowly and change is a dirty word.

Mont Chilly is snuggled into the Laurentiens about 90 minutes west of Ottawa in Mansfield near Fort-Coulonge, Quebec. Call it the ski hill that time forgot. Mont Chilly has a modest 500 vertical foot drop with varying terrain, but the challenge spans blue square status to double black diamonds.

A piece of cake it is not. The hill hosts six runs, but the one simply named No. 4 is a local legend. This knee-torquing, femur-bending run can make even the most seasoned skier think twice. The other double black diamond run, known simply as 3A, also commands full attention from the pros. It is a glade run with very challenging moguls and lines.

In addition to the diverse terrain and lack of line-ups that contribute to Mont Chilly’s charm, the people make this place sparkle.

Locally, the Hernberger family is synonymous with skiing, ingenuity, great hamburgers and great stories. Larry, his wife Rita, and son Rick operate and maintain the resort. They give this ski destination its old-fashioned flavor, personality and kindness. Larry is the mechanic/engineer/lift operator/storyteller/jack-of-all-trades who keeps Mont

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Chilly well-oiled. He’s an amazing engineer who conceived and fabricated the T-bar system and most of the machinery.

He is simply a genius when it comes to getting the most out of mechanical equipment.

Larry’s real passion, however, is sitting and sipping on a hot chocolate while chatting with everyone, and catching up on all the news. Rita operates the cash and takes orders for the cooks. Her heavy German accent booms out the food orders as she sits behind the counter smiling at the youngsters.

Rick Hernberger operates the rental shop downstairs from the chalet. He’s a very kind soul who’s always looking to help and trade stories from the last visit. Rick’s shop is always tidy and busy, yet he always finds time to chat with skiers. When he’s not in the rental shop, he can usually be found tearing up the slopes with his amazing skill. There is a special allure to the Hernbergers’ operation — you feel like they have opened up

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their home to you for that day.

The chalet at the hill is modest, but full of old school charm. Carvings and posters on the wall harken back to bygone eras. The large windows offer a great view of the lake and the base of the hill. There is a sense that this is a place where good times have taken place over the years, and there are more to come.

Unlike most ski venues nowadays, Mont Chilly doesn’t use growth as a measurement for success. This is a place where a slower pace, familiar faces and the patronage of generations are the yardsticks of success. It’s not unusual to take a break mid-run to stand for a minute and see no one pass you by. Small wonder that the faces of the slopes are soon familiar and the same cars are in the parking lot weekend after weekend.

Looking for a change of pace and great skiing? Maybe it’s time to step off the beaten trail to check out the charm that is Mont Chilly.

— Ian Lavigne is a Business Development Associate with TD Waterhouse Canada Ltd., and an avid skier who enjoys uncrowded slopes and good hamburgers.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

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Hit the slopes physically fit this year

Pre-season training gives skiers more stamina for the slopes

By Tom Guerquin

T

HERE ARE TWO types of skiers on the first day of the ski season. There are those who get there for first tracks in morning and are last off the mountain, and there are those who spend the day in the chalet whining about their sore quads.

It’s the pre-season training that differentiates them. One type of skier spent the fall getting ready for downhill season and the other was sofa-skiing and watching Cheers re-runs.

When skiing is your sport, it’s tempting to forget about training during the warmer months. Let’s look at the training you need for the pre-season in terms of endurance, strength and power.

Endurance is the key to keeping you on the hills as long as possible. Running, cycling and swimming are the most common sports that help build endurance, however, each have their pros and cons. Like skiing, running relies on lower-body muscles — quads, hamstrings and glutes. Unfortunately, it is also a high-impact sport and if you train too hard, you risk joint injuries. Cycling saves the joints and increases power in your lower and upper body muscles. It also flushes lactic acids faster than running, but your core can get lazy while pedaling in a seated position. Swimming uses the whole body — shoulders, lats, quads, glutes, hamstrings and core. Although it does create whole body endurance, you don’t build power in the legs like running and cycling. n Here is a good regimen to build endurance:

Weeks 1 – 2 Monday, Wednesday, Friday – endurance training 30 minutes at an easy pace.

Tuesday, Thursday – interval training Warm-up for 10 minutes at an easy pace Three minutes at a steady pace (at your lactate threshold — the point where you feel a burn, but not burnt out) Five minutes at the easy pace Repeat six times Finish the workout with a 10-minute cool down

Weeks 3 – 4 Monday, Friday – endurance training 40 minutes at an easy pace Tuesday, Thursday – interval training Warm-up for 10 minutes at an easy pace Six minutes at a steady pace Four minutes at the easy pace Repeat four times Cool down for 10 minutes Wednesday – endurance/ interval training Warm-up for 20 minutes at an easy/ moderate pace One minute at a hard pace (above your lactate threshold, give all you can) Five minutes at the easy pace Repeat three times Cool down for 20 minutes

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Weeks 5 – 6

Weeks 7 – 8

Monday, Friday – endurance training

Monday, Friday – lower body

60 minutes at an easy pace

Barbell squats

Tuesday, Thursday – interval training

Barbell forward lunges

Warm-up for 10 minutes at an easy pace

Barbell lateral step-up

Five minutes at a steady pace

Barbell lateral lunch

Six minutes at an easy/moderate pace

Barbell dead lift Three sets and 12 reps in each set

Repeat six times

60 minutes of endurance training at an easy pace

Cool down for 10 minutes Wednesday – endurance/interval training

Tuesday, Thursday – interval training

Warm up for 20 minutes at an easy/moderate pace

Bent-over row

One minute at a hard pace (above your lactate threshold, give all you can)

Wednesday – Upper body Seated shoulder press Wide grip chin up Dip

Five minutes at the easy pace

Three sets and 12 reps in each set

Repeat five times Cool down for 20 minutes

Now that you built enough endurance to last a whole day skiing, let’s work on power and strength to get you down the slopes. Keep doing interval training on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next six weeks. For skiers, uppers body strength isn’t as important as the lower body. The quad and hamstring muscles are fundamental to skiing.

Once in the gym, you want exercises that mimic the way your body will feel on snow.

Picking the right weight to start can be difficult, especially if you dread going to the gym. Find the highest weight you can lift for 10 – 12 reps (always with

Interval training

Weeks 9 – 10 Increase weights Monday, Friday – lower body Barbell squats Barbell forward lunges Barbell lateral step-up Barbell dead lift Barbell lateral lunch Three sets and six reps in each set Tuesday, Thursday – interval training Wednesday – upper body Bent-over row Seated shoulder press Wide grip chin up Dip Three sets and six reps in each set

Weeks 11 – 12 Repeat weeks 9 – 10 with more weight

good form – back straight and knees pointing forward), on the last rep you should be struggling. It is always good to have a spotter with you while lifting, in case you need help with the last few reps.

For the following exercises, slow down the first part of the lift to four to five seconds, and then burst back up. You will find that this strategy mimics the way you ski.

— Tom Guerquin is a committed downhill ski enthusiast who worked with Ottawa Outdoors Magazine as an Algonquin College writing intern. www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

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H T L

EA

H

ely e cN M Ed y b

How to avoid “overtraining syndrome”

T

AKE A MOMENT to look away ture presented by the ing phenomenon. Look for the ahlete from Gatineau Park’s beauty on a simultaneous appearwho worships “pushing” but is often Sunday morning and check some ance of these symptoms, encumbered by injury and diminishing human nature instead. overtraining can cause performance.

Amid the constant ebb and flow of athletes to do poorly in It’s tempting to casually diagnose bikes, roller-blades and roller-skis, look the very competition for overtraining (a certain training partner at the faces of the owners. Some people which they are preparing. cries out “overtraining!” every time chat quietly, others urge friends on as An inability to train in he’s passed on his bike) but it can be they belt up the hills, while still others a sustained and enjoydifficult for elite athletes to recognize. engage in a grim and private ritual of able way can become a Elite athletes tend to spend much of their exertion. Listen to that roller-ski coach longer-term problem for time on the verge of overtraining, so the trying to whip up his crew: “Like always! line between “hard” and “ineffective” lifetime athletes.

Hammer like hell!”

The psychological is difficult to perceive. The most basic Watching this gut-busting pageant effects of overtraining in symptoms of overtraining are chronic with the coach’s dulcet tones is remifatigue and decrements in performance of combination with poor niscent of the ancient sporting religion competitive results can 5–15 percent. of self-mortification. Athletes thrive on result in a destructive Unfortunately, this performance pushing the limits of their own tolerance. deficit can also be interpreted as a sign cycle of effort and injury.

The self-discipline to push through Preventing overtraining that more training is required. The more pain and keep training can contribute to should clearly be on the specific physical and psychological success, but only to a point. Many weekminds of coaches and symptoms listed here are also not obviend warriors believe that “going hard” is athletes when assessing ous signs of a problem because they all that matters, but athletes who fail to training programs. occur normally in most athletes during respond to their body’s signals may actuOne method of hard training. ally see a decrease in their performance. achieving this is to Taken together, however, these Hammering like hell all the time can simply be clear about symptoms generate the unhappy impresproduce “overtraining syndrome,” which training goals and assess regularly sion of an athlete who is no longer really means you end up feeling like hell. listening to his or her body, and no whether your training is helping you After long periods of high-intenachieve them. This could require a shift longer training effectively. If coach and sity or high-volume work without rest, in philosophy for some athletes as they’re athlete are unable to see the larger picovertraining forced to recognize syndrome protheir own athletic PHYSICAL PSYCHOLOGICAL duces a period of goals as the driving Decrements in performance Depression prolonged fatigue motivation, rather Chronic fatigue Decreased self-confidence when an athlete than a general experiences devotion to push Elevated resting heart rate Mood changes performance hard.

Slower heart rate recovery Apathy plateaus or Periodical Persistent muscle soreness Lethargy decreases, despite training programs Elevated blood pressure Low motivation continued trainare a valuable Unexplained loss of body weight Sleep disturbances ing. Most active asset for this shift. individuals can These programs Headaches Loss of appetite identify a friend schedule training Deterioration of sport skills Excessive emotional display or teammate into lengthy cycles Frequent illness (cold, flu) Lack of concentration trapped in this to allow for a lonMenstrual irregularities self-defeatger-term view of

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training that includes periods for recovery.

Seeing individual training sessions as part of a master plan gives even the easiest workout a focus. It also averts the need for periods of emergency recovery for the lowperforming athlete.

Constant assessments of an athlete’s performance are also essential when evaluating the effectiveness of training. From the micro to the macro, an athlete’s body gives many signs. Biochemical indicators of overtraining appear in the blood and can be evaluated by medical technologists.

A simpler solution involves regular fitness testing to ensure that improvement in fitness is occurring. The most important assessment to be made, however, is the one that should be made daily by every athlete.

How do you feel? While the ability to master pain wins races, the ability to interpret the signs from your body accurately makes one able to train far more effectively.

Training provides the opportunity to feel a sense of communion with your surroundings and yourself. Clear focus on final goals, confidence in training and gauging your body’s needs can make your Sunday morning trek though Gatineau Park feel like part of a larger plan, rather than just an exercise in spinning your wheels.

All the winter gear you’ll need!

• Skis • Snowboards • Snowshoes • Camping gear • Accessories • Tons more!

— Ed McNeely is an exercise physiologist who has been a consultant to 17 National Sport Organizations.

He can be reached at: e.mcneely@rogers.com.

For further information on training, contact the Peak Centre for Human Performance at 737-7325, or visit the web site at: www.peakcentre.ca.

Email: info@peakcentre.ca.

TRIGGERS THAT LEAD TO OVERTRAINING These factors alone or in combination could lead to a training schedule that demands too much of an athlete: • Inadequate recovery between training sessions • Excessive amounts of high intensity training • Increases in training volumes of greater than 10 percent per week • Sudden increases in training intensity • Monotonous unvarying training programs • No break in training between seasons • Frequent competition and travel • External stressors (family, job, school, etc.)

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Spinning your way to a healthier lifestyle

By Sylvie D’Aoust EVERYONE HAS heard the adage, “pay yourself first,” when it comes to finances and planning for the future.

We would all be better off if we applied the same principle to health and wellness. Hectic lifestyles with all those demands at home and at work make it easy to ignore physical fitness.

Sometimes it’s even tempting to feel guilty for taking time for yourself.

Family should come first, but it’s important to see the big picture.

Neglecting your health and wellness could put a considerable burden on the ones you love. Poor health can Regardless of fitness level, anyone can take up spinning because: • An adjustable spinning bike is provided and no other special equipment or clothing is required.

• You work at your own level on your own spinning bike.

• There is no choreography to learn, and no jarring lateral or horizontal movements.

• The instructors make the class fun and challenging and to help you achieve your individual goals.

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have an impact on employment, too.

Hypertension, chronic fatigue and stress can force people to under-perform and take leave from work. Neglecting personal fitness can contribute to health concerns in retirement and make it difficult to enjoy the financial security that took a lifetime to earn.

Many people are getting and staying in shape with “spinning.” This increasingly popular activity is the ultimate in efficient group fitness — it’s a great workout for every type of person and there are spinning locations throughout Ottawa. Virtually every fitness facility around the city now offers spinning classes, and some bicycle shops move their stock aside during the winter months to offer programs.

Embarking on a spinning program is an ideal way to get maximum fitness benefits from the minimum time spent.

Spinning is group indoor cycling in an instructor/class format. It offers a good 45-minute workout, great music and motivational instruction. The classes provide spinning drills that can take you out of your seat to simulate hill climbing, spinning fast to simulate sprinting, and riding easy. These activities promote body awareness and improve cardiovascular conditioning within a short period of time.

Shop for a facility that offers a free 30-minute introduction class for wouldbe spinners. It provides information on safety, common hand positions, how to set the bike up to fit your body, and basic techniques for a smoother, more comfortable ride. You will learn how spinning can help to increase cardio fitness and overall well-being. If you like what you

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see, you are free to choose the kind of class that suits you best.

Spinning and fitness novices might find the “E” (endurance) class is the best place to begin. With heart rate monitors, motivational music and certified instructors, you will increase your fat burning while learning to ride a little longer.

The “R&E” (recovery and endurance) class builds your aerobic base and provides cycling techniques and form. It prepares you mentally to resist fatigue while pedaling at a high cadence (spinning the pedals around 110 times per minute). Participants learn the secret rhythm of riding tempo by being mentally “tuned in.”

The SH (strength and hills) session involves slow, steady and hard resistance work that includes specific muscles needed to power up hills. It enhances cardio fitness, muscular endurance, and tendon and ligament strength.

Once your body has adjusted to this level of fitness, you could aspire to add a PS (power and speed) class. These training sessions will cause your body to better tolerate the physiological stresses of racing. Finally, you could work up toward trying an RD – race day. This is like an actual time trial done by cyclists, and requires a substantial fitness base.

Race day really challenges and assesses your strengths.

Taking your personal health and wellness seriously makes sure you “pay yourself first.” A lifetime of good health is one of the best investments, and spinning is a “blue chip” bang for your buck.

— Sylvie D’Aoust, is a spin instructor and partner of Cyclefit Complete Lifestyle Solutions in Ottawa.

For course details see www.cyclefit.ca.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

Photo courtesy of Cyclefit.

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A new twist on an old sport

By Steve Slaby

I

T’S THE PERFECT sunny day with 15 centimetres of fresh snow and you pull up to the resort to see the longest line in the history of skiing.

You will be spending more time standing around waiting to get on the lift than anything else. Take heart and check out the new alternative: snowkiting. Think of it as waterskiing or wakeboarding on the snow, with a kite pulling you instead of a ski boat. Skiers, waterskiers, wakeboarders and snowboarders will already have mastered a good portion of the skills required to go snowkiting.

Kiteskiing has been fairly popular in certain parts of North America for 20 years, and has been around locally for about 15 years. The exploding popularity of summertime kitesurfing in the late ’90s increased demands for a winter alternative.

Eric Brackenbury, an avid local kiteskier, got into the sport about 15 years ago. “I first tried it on ice with a 10-foot wide, early two-line traction kite with skates. From then on I was hooked,” he says. “After cutting my kite lines the first time by accidentally skating over them, I decided to switch over to skis and I haven’t looked back”.

The adrenaline rush is incredible.

“The biggest appeal is when you get into the zone where everything is set up perfectly on a gorgeous day and you are zooming along without a care in the world,” says Eric.

Due to the potential risks of injury doing jumps and tricks, Eric has decided to stick with the speed aspect of the sport and has been clocked at 83.5 km/h on a lake. Even though he avoids the riskiest part of the sport, he still feels it can be dangerous and deserves respect. The risks are comparable to professional hockey,

44

especially when you are kiteskiing on ice. He always wears a helmet, knee and elbow pads. Some people wear hockey or motocross gear for jumping and tricks.

Starting off Learning how to fly a kite: that’s the first task to master. It’s best to start off with a very small kite on a light-wind day to become familiar with the safety guide-

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lines and equipment. Starting slowly helps to get comfortable with the skills required to launch, fly and land the kite as well as feel the pulling power.

Once you’ve mastered the basics and are comfortable with operating the required safety equipment, you can head out and enjoy fresh tracks in untouched snow for as long and as far as your heart desires. The only catch is the minimum requirement of approximately 10 km/h of wind to get you going.

You can enjoy not making the long drive to groomed hills and having to pay for lift tickets just to stand at the base of a lift with the masses. With just a bit of breeze, you can head to the nearest open area, set up your kite and enjoy the zoom.

For equipment, all you need to get started is protective gear, a power kite, skiing or snowboarding equipment and some instruction from an experienced, knowledgeable instructor. (This sport can be quite dangerous given unpredictable winds and the risk of getting dragged or lofted by an overpowered kite.)

Many different kites are available on the market. A complete kite specifically designed for kiteskiing and kitesnowboarding costs around $800. A more popular traction kite that could also be used in the summer on the water for kitesurfing costs about $1,200.

Kites come in a variety of designs and include inflatable kites, framed single skin kites and ram air foil kites. The best kite for both winter and summer use is

Photo by Steve Slaby.

Snowkiting takes off in Ottawa

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LOCAL CONTACTS FOR SNOWKITING EQUIPMENT AND INSTRUCTION http://www.kitesurfingschool.org

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inflatable — a 12-metre inflatable kite is recommended for beginners. For strict wintertime use, you would be better off with a six-metre foil kite.

Some beginners have an easier time learning on skis, as opposed to a snowboard, because skis offer greater stability and the ability to push yourself forward to get going. Some of the “new school” snowkiters are learning various jumps and tricks similar to the one performed in a snowboard halfpipe or on a wakeboarder behind a ski boat. Other people bitten by the speed bug push themselves to see how fast they can go.

Given the right conditions, people have been tracked with a GPS going more than 80 km/h.

Competitors can take part in numerous snowkiting tricks/jumps and speed/distance events. The “best of the best” gravitate toward international competition at the Ice and Snow Sailing World Championships, which have been expanded to include a category for snowkiting.

Instruction Hung Vu, one of the first local kitesurfers, is a pioneer kitesurfer, kiteskier and kitesnowboarder who has taught many kitesurfers worldwide. He has also set up an internationally recognized web site that has operated since 1999 (www.kitesurfingschool.org). It discusses snowkiting and kitesurfing, and provides a plethora of information on topics such as equipment, safety, instruction, technique, tricks and more.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

Alain Matte (819) 771-2267 www.campdebase.ca

Hung has been providing lessons since 1999 and offers a package deal for $1,300 that includes the kite and instruction.

“In some cases, learning on skis is faster since you have more control over the balance,” explains Hung. “Most people can get comfortable with the sport in about five hours on skis, six or seven hours using a snowboard, and about nine to 10 hours on the water. There is more risk learning on the water due to the additional power requirements to get you going, so I always suggest people start in the winter.”

POWERLINE SPORTS

Where are the best places to go?

Check out Britannia on Lac Deschenes and Aylmer beach when the ice is safe. People go kiting in a variety of other locations that are wide-open and free from obstructions — large fields and parks are great. The unofficial “Ottawa Kiting Club” normally meets every Saturday at 2-4 p.m. at Britannia from December 15 to March 31 if there is sufficient wind.

To find a list, and map of other local hot spots, check out the Ottawa Kiting Club website (www.kitesurfingschool. org/ottawa).

If you have questions about the sport locally, or just want to hook up with local kiteskiiers and kitesnowboarders, come for a chat at the online Ottawa Kiting discussion group at http://groups.yahoo. com/group/OttawaKiting/.

– Steve Slaby is an avid windsurfer and

Ottawa, ON K2B 5X1

4 Windbrook Crescent Kanata, ON K2M 1L4 Tel: (613) 592-6554 Fax: (613) 592-0593 www.PowerLine_Sports.com SURF SIDE 613-726-7873 2 Ullswater Dr, Nepean, ON K2H 5H2 VL KITES 221 Britannia, (613) 292-9818 http://www.kitesurfingschool.org/ ottawaschool.htm RIDERS VILLAGE 613-591-1800 655 Earl Grey Dr, Kanata, ON K2T 1H6 ONE OF ERIC’S KITES info@brakenbury.ca P.O. 253 Carp, ON K0A 1L0 (613) 839-5350

snowkiter here in Ottawa who runs the Ottawawindsurfing.ca website.

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Shoot for the stars!

Have you ever peered into an inky night sky during a camping trip, marveling at the thousands of stars scattered from horizon to horizon?

Do you fantasize about capturing that grandeur and taking it home with you? Perhaps you yearn to create photos of star trails streaking in a circle around Polaris, the North Star? Or, maybe your aspirations are more urban and you want to compose a photo of car lights traveling 100 metres down a city nightscape.

It’s easier than you think with a little forethought and practice.

How versatile is your camera?

Before heading out, here’s a list of what you’ll need to make your nighttime photo shoot successful: • 35mm camera with a shutter that can be kept open indefinitely. Even the best digital cameras today have a maximum shutter speed up to about 30 seconds — that’s sufficient for many nighttime shots, but it won’t capture star trails through the sky.

• 28mm, 35mm or 50mm lens — longer lenses aren’t very good unless you’re shooting the moon.

• shutter release cable with lock • print or slide film — 100 ISO/ASA is excellent • tripod – absolutely vital • piece of black cardboard or heavy, dark cloth • pencil and paper • stopwatch or wristwatch with a second hand • small flashlight Shooting stars Scoop up your equipment, attach your camera to the tripod and head outside on a clear, dark night away from city lights for star shots. Set the camera

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up and aim at your favourite constellation or grouping — the Big Dipper in the northern sky is an excellent starting point. If you follow a line out from the two stars that form the “pouring edge” of the dipper, they point directly at Polaris.

Open your lens wide (f1.8 or 2.8), focus to infinity on the stars and expose the film for five seconds by holding the shutter open with the cable release. Try another identical picture at an exposure of 20 seconds, and another at one minute. Write down your exposure times for each frame to compare later with the results. Now, close down the aperture slightly to f5.6 and shoot another series of shots, and record those exposure times. Exposing the film for more than several minutes makes the stars appear as streaks due to the earth’s rotation.

Try the North Star swirl For your next photos, aim directly at Polaris and its surrounding stars. All those other stars in the sky pivot around Polaris, like a wheel around a hub. Set the focus to infinity and set the aperture to f8. But, this time expose the film for 30 minutes, then 45 minutes, then one hour. These exposures will produce arcing star trails around Polaris, which are very dramatic and spectacular. Make sure your cable release has a hands-off lock for long exposures.

Try to avoid shooting near an aviation flight path because a jet’s lights passing overhead will appear as linear streaks in the picture. If an airplane does make an unexpected appearance, simply hold the piece of black cardboard or cloth over the camera lens until it passes.

Don’t let ambient light ruin your shoot — during long time exposures, even a small amount of ambient light will accumulate on exposed film and cloud the photo. Star shots work great in places like the interior of Algonquin Park. If you’re using a flashlight to read your watch and record exposure times, keep the beam well away from the lens.

Even errant moonlight can cloud a time exposure photo of the stars, so shoot

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a portion of the sky without moonlight or wait for a moonless night. Using the moon as your focal point is fun, too, but it requires a shorter exposure time (start at 1/60th of a second at f8, then 1/30th, 1/15th and 1/8th) than the weaker pinpricks of starlight, which might not show at all.

Planes, trains and automobiles Shooting headlights and taillights in the city is easily accomplished by setting your camera up on a tripod, choosing an aperture of f5.6 or f8 and opening the shutter for anywhere from five to 30 seconds.

I got great results one time from a 19th floor apartment balcony by shooting almost straight down on a traffic intersection.

Spill the beans Caution — tell the developer to process and deliver to you all the images.

Some developers will mistake dark, nighttime photos as “duds” and discard them.

That would be disappointing and negate all the hard work from your night of creative discovery.

The next time you gaze gently upon the darkened heavens to admire the jeweled light show above, use your camera to capture it for posterity. It just takes a bit of experimentation and creativity to get some amazing results.

—Allen Macartney is an accomplished photographer, as well as the Managing Editor of Ottawa Outdoors Magazine. His images appear in many books, calendars and magazines.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

Photo by Allen Macartney.

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Canis Major THIS IS A DOG STORY. . . OF SORTS. Once upon a mythological time the mighty hunter Orion found himself facing-off with Taurus, the great bull of the winter sky. Not thrilled with the idea of tackling the bull’s deadly horns on his own, Orion does the smart thing and calls in a couple of constellation K-9 units to back him up. Canis Minor, the smaller of the two dogs, will be useful mainly as a noisy distraction to the bull, but the larger hound (the magnificent Canis Major) will give Orion the edge he needs.

The story begins to play itself out.

Taurus, stamping and snorting, drops his head to present his twisted, awful horn tips to the man and dogs barring his path. The excited yapping of the young Canis Minor seems to irritate the bull, and in a sudden streak of horn and hide the charge is on.

As Orion’s sword flashes in the starlight high above his head, shield raised protectively in front, the brave Canis Major bares his fangs and launches forward in a powerful leap that — FREEZE FRAME! Whoops! Sorry to interrupt, but that’s more or less where this drama in the stars seems to screech to a halt... as if someone suddenly hit the “Pause” button, freezing the players in their tracks. It is a magnificent tableaux of constellations, and you can see it for yourself on a clear winter’s evening. In early December you will have to wait until 10:00 p.m. before all of the players are in place above the horizon.

By January, however, the show is visible around 8:00 p.m.

Begin by searching the southeastern sky for Orion’s distinctive three “belt stars.” It may not seem like it, but each www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

Photo illustration by Brian McCullough.

K-9 constellation of the winter sky

of these stars is over 1,000 light-years away. Taurus the bull lies up to the right of Orion, while the two dogs are to the left of the mighty hunter. The two primary stars in Canis Minor don’t really have much to interest the casual stargazer, but it is a radically different story with Canis Major.

This is a constellation with chops, and it actually looks like a dog leaping up on its hind legs.

Although Canis Major remains relatively low in our local sky, the constellation’s alpha star Sirius (also known as the Dog Star) is the brightest star we see in the night sky. Sirius even has its own “puppy,” a white dwarf companion star too faint for most of us to see from our backyards. The Pup, as it is called, orbits Sirius once every 50 years, and is so dense that a cubic centimetre of this star’s material would weigh over a tonne!

There are countless stars out there that are far more luminous than Sirius, but this star is one of the nearest to us — something in the order of 8½ light-years, or about 51 trillion kilometers and change, and getting closer all the time. Sirius is whooshing toward our solar system at 7 kilometres per second. If we woke up one

morning to find Sirius coming up over the horizon instead of the Sun, we’d have a heck of a time finding Ray-Bans dark enough to shade our eyes from a star that is roughly 25 times more brilliant than the Sun. While you are pondering all this “hot” data, here’s something else for your dog to chew on. You’ll want binoculars for this, but just below the brilliant bluewhite Dog Star Sirius is a lovely galactic cluster of stars known to astronomers as Messier 41. What is most interesting about this 100-million-year-old cluster is its size and distance. While we see it as a small, sparkling group of stars nestled in the heart of Canis Major, Messier 41 is nearly two hundred times farther out in space than Sirius. It is so huge that it would take a person twenty years, travelling at the speed of light, just to cross its vast diameter. From that vantage point our own solar system would look like a dim speck in a telescope. Something to think about when you are out walking the dog on a cold winter’s night.

Clear skies and happy observing!

— Brian McCullough is an Ottawa-based astronomy educator. He can be reached at brian. brightstar@sympatico.ca

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Ignite your inner champion

Use mental skills training to get the most out of life SPORT PSYCHOLOGY CONSULTANT Intrepid athletes and weekend warriors embrace the fall and winter.

There is no “off season” for the high performance athlete, or the high performance human! Every experience in training, competition or leisure is an opportunity to learn and grow.

Do camradery, adrenaline and adventure draw you in from the sidelines and make you wish you were in on the action? Or, as a participant, does the dream of a personal best still elude you?

Perhaps this is the year that you decide to take your outdoor sports and personal challenges to the next level.

What has been stopping you? If you look beyond some of the more obvious hurdles — financial constraints, logistics, or physical fitness — you might find one that lurks a little deeper. Ask yourself if some of those obstacles stem from limitations you’ve placed upon yourself in your own mind. Maybe you could use a little mental training.

WHAT IS MENTAL TRAINING? Mental training sounds interesting, but what can the average person apply to their everyday lives? More people are familiar with the field of “sport psychology” where an athlete’s mental skills are focused to produce optimal physical performance and personal achievement.

The field of mental training is vast, intriguing, dynamic and growing. From astronauts to marathon runners, and from heart surgeons to climbers with an eye on the summit, individuals use mental skills training to help them attain new heights and achieve amazing results.

Some experts describe mental skills training as a way to add more tools to an individual’s repertoire of skills. They build a mental toolkit that works for them during a whitewater slalom race, or the daily grind at the office.

SETTING GOALS Goal-setting is one of the first and foremost skills that is essential in the mental training toolkit. Goals are as important to human achievement as a map or a compass while traveling. How do you know where you’re going, or if you’ve arrived, unless you have a destination?

Setting goals (whether it’s a small, daily goal or a lofty dream goal) helps to increase confidence, fuel a sense of achievement and purpose, and help improve motivation. Have you set some for yourself lately? Is today the day you start?

FOCUS AND RE-FOCUS Concentration skills are an obvious asset for the high performance achiever.

Sometimes we don’t appreciate their value until we realize we are sorely lacking them. With self-awareness, dedication and concrete mental skills training, such as simulation training, anyone can improve their focus and control for distractions.

IMAGERY OR VISUALIZATION SKILLS Ever seen yourself achieving something amazing? It looked and felt real…until you woke up. When we visualize we make our own dreams in the hope of fulfilling a destiny of our own design. You can also view imagery as a form of mental rehearsal or practice.

Athletes and other performers use this skill to boost confidence, refine physical skills and maintain a positive attitude or outlook. The medical community has been using it for years to help patients manage pain and promote healing. It can take you through the recovery period of an injury, or acquaint you with a new skill by “seeing it” to believe it and make it happen. Many an athlete has seen themselves reaching the summit or crossing that finish line — it helps combat pain, boredom, and fatigue.

CREATE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE There is no magic pill that makes happy people happy. We are all ultimately responsible for the way we react to different circumstances and what we allow ourselves to think and feel. Maintaining a positive outlook isn’t just essential for top performance, it makes for a happy and fulfilling life. Maybe you’re just not a “glass half full” kind of person. That doesn’t mean you can’t tap into your inner positive side to achieve things you didn’t think possible.

The first step toward having a more positive attitude is becoming more aware of the kinds of things you say to yourself and others. Some high performance athletes keep journals, tracking their feelings and thoughts. Others take time for meditation and reflection, either during a rest period or on a long solo training run. Think about what might work for you.

Once you’ve identified the kinds of messages you give yourself (known as self talk), try changing those messages to positive ones. This takes diligence and a lot of maintenance, but with time, you and everyone around you will reap the rewards.

I’ll provide more input on these and other mental skills training concepts to improve your outdoor pursuits and everyday challenges in future issues of Ottawa Outdoors Magazine.

— Shaunna Taylor is an avid runner, multisport athlete and weekend warrior. She is the sport psychology consultant at the Ottawa High Performance Centre.

INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT MENTAL TRAINING? • Contact a mental training consultant: Certified consultants are listed at www.coach.ca under Mental Training Registry.

• Buy a book: There are literally hundreds on the topic of mental training and sport psychology in human performance.

• Do it yourself: Buy an empty journal and set some daily goals, as well as some longer term and dream goals to work towards.

• Enlist a buddy: Join a friend in making this your new beginning — pushing your mental and physical

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limits is easier with a confidante / training partner.

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Th by Soup is what’s hot this winter PUT AWAY THAT CAN opener this season and get into the spirit of the slow food movement.

Here are three soups that are easy to prepare that can be multiplied and frozen for your convenience. Pack them in a thermos for a light nutritious lunch or serve with bread, cheese and salad to create a hearty meal. The beautiful aroma of homemade soup is as comforting as a

LEEK AND POTATO SOUP It is hard to believe that something that tastes this good could be so easy to prepare and uses so few ingredients.

Make lots of this soup and freeze for quick comforting mid-week meals or weekend lunches.

2 tbsp (30ml) butter or olive oil 1 cup (250ml) diced onion 1 cup (250ml) diced celery 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 bunch (3) leeks, diced white part only 3 cups (750ml) peeled and diced Yukon gold potatoes 6 cups (1500ml) chicken stock or water 1/2 cup (125ml) whipping cream kosher salt

TOMATO BEAN AND BACON SOUP To turn this hearty soup into a meal, add cooked small pasta noodles such as orzo and serve with crusty bread and a salad.

4 slices bacon, diced 1 cup (250ml) diced onion 1 cup (250ml) diced celery 1 cup (250ml) diced carrot 2 cloves garlic, sliced 1 tbsp (15ml) dried oregano or basil 1-28oz can diced tomatoes with juice 4 cups (1000ml) tomato juice 1 small zucchini, diced 1/2 green pepper, diced 1/2 red pepper, diced 1-19 oz can black beans 1-19 oz can black eyed peas kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

fresh ground pepper

In a large pot, heat butter or olive oil over medium high heat.

Saute onion, celery and garlic until golden. Wash diced leeks thoroughly to remove dirt. Add the leeks to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add potatoes and stock. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft. Puree with a hand mixer or food processor.

Slowly stir in cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve hot or cold.

Makes approximately 8 cups.

In a large pot over medium high heat, cook bacon until dark golden and almost crispy. Add onions, celery and carrot. Cook until onion is golden. Add garlic, dried oregano, tomatoes and tomato juice. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add peppers, zucchini and beans. Cook 10 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes approximately 8 cups.

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GINGERED SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP For a richer tasting soup, try roasting a butternut squash and sweet potato. Cut the squash in half and prick the sweet potato with a fork. Roast squash cutside down in a 375 degree oven for one hour or until flesh is soft. Scoop out flesh while still warm and add it to the sautéed vegetables and liquids. Proceed with the following method.

2 tbsp (30ml) butter or olive oil 1 onion, diced 1 carrot, diced 1 celery stalk, diced 3 cloves garlic, chopped 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped 2 tsp (20ml) cinnamon 2 medium sized butternut squash, peeled and diced 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced 8 cups (2000ml) chicken stock or water 4 cups (1000ml) fresh apple cider kosher salt fresh ground pepper

In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, sauté onion, carrot and celery until golden.

Add garlic, ginger and cinnamon. Cook for two minutes.

Add squash, sweet potato, stock and cider. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft. Strain,

reserving cooking liquid. Puree vegetables in small batches with some of the reserved liquid in a food processor. Return the soup to the pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes approximately 12 cups.

HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK 1 roasted chicken carcass or 2 lbs chicken bones 1 each onion, carrot, celery stalk, cut into chunks 1 clove garlic 1 handful each fresh parsley and thyme 1 bay leaf 1 tsp (5ml) whole black peppercorns 10 cups (2500ml) water

In a large stockpot, saute bones and vegetables over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Add water and simmer everything for 1½ – 2 hours. Strain and chill overnight and remove the fat just before use.

Makes 2 litres.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

Photo courtesy of Julie St. Jean.

warm blanket and a blazing fire on a cold day.

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Finding perfect “wedding wine” — an Old vs.

New World challenge

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LANNING A WINE and cheese party is usually about variety, because finding just one wine that everyone will enjoy can seem impossible.

This is the dilemma that wedding planners face when trying to match wines to the guests’ preferences, the flavours in the food, and the budget for the event.

When I find a wine that works for a large group of people, I think of it as “wedding wine.”

There are plenty of light wines that could be served to a group because no one will actually hate it. But, a wine that offends no one (because it lacks taste, texture and character) will also excite no one. I think of this as bad wedding wine.

A wine with strong flavours or a distinctive style may arouse passion in some and disdain in others. I am always surprised when a group is split. The wine is poured from the same bottle, yet some people hate it and others can’t live without it. It highlights the variety in personal tastes and the need to discover one’s own wine preferences.

There are many good wedding wines. Versatile, affordable wines that work well with food and are pleasant to drink. So how do you choose a few wines that a diverse group of people will all enjoy? One way to find them is through tasting a variety of wines, and in the process you will also learn something about the kinds of wines you prefer.

An important style distinction in wines is Old World vs. New World. The Old World style is based on European traditions. Wines reflect the grape, the soil and the climate, and tend to be well suited to the local cuisine — Italian reds with pasta in a tomato sauce or a hearty stew, German Rieslings with pan fried www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

trout or schnitzel, and French Bordeaux with rack of lamb, just to name a few.

Old World wines have a reputation for complexity and balancing many flavours as they harmonize with the fruitiness of the wine.

New World wine styles usually emphasize fruitiness, but over time they do develop more complexity. Important New World wine regions include Canada, California, Australia, South Africa, Chile, and New Zealand.

Sometime New World wineries try to emulate Old World wine styles. Syrah and other grape varieties from the Rhone Valley in France have been transplanted to South Africa. So, you can buy a “Cotes du Rhone” wine from France, or a “Goats do Roam” from South Africa. California winemakers who emulate wines from this region in France are dubbed “the Rhone Rangers.”

Try the following wine pairings to learn something about New vs. Old World styles based on the Syrah grape.

The Syrah from France is the same as Shiraz from Australia. All the wines are General List at the LCBO and the prices are approximate.

From the Old World, try the Jaboulet, Crozes Hermitage from the Northern Rhone ($21). From the New

World, check out the Aussie style with either the Peter Lehman Barossa Shiraz ($20) or the Yalumba Y Series Shiraz ($14). Finally, compare this to the Bellingham Shiraz ($13) for an eclectic South African style.

All of these wines will show black cherry and plum flavours, which are a characteristic of Syrah/Shiraz. Expect the Aussie Shiraz to have more black pepper flavour, while the Rhone Syrah might lean more towards leather and smokiness. All of these wines pair well with barbequed meats like lamb, duck or chicken, grilled tuna, pepper steak, and blue cheeses like Cambozola or Forme d’Ambert.

Bon appétit!

— Joe Hatz is a wine sommelier and teaches courses on better understanding and appreciating wine.

On-premise winemaking and wine accessories.

CONTACT PAUL TO HELP YOU GET STARTED 203 Colonnade Rd., South Nepean Tel: 725-0498 Email:vinhaus@rogers.com

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Mad Trapper Snowshoe Series January 15 & 19 and Februrary 15, 2005 www.synergyat.ca.

This year Synergy Adventure Training will host its third season of the Mad Trapper Snowshoe Series, sponsored by Atlas Snowshoes. All races take place just north of Wakefield at “the Ark”. By registering in advance the races cost: $30 for one race, $55 for two, or $75 for all three. Each event will offer a different 5k loop that competitive racers will challenge twice. For more information just click on the Mad Trapper link at www.synergyat.ca.

COMING EVENTS

Keskinada Loppet February 18 - 20, 2005 Gatineau Park Tel: (819) 595-0114 www.keskinada.com

Canada’s biggest cross-country ski event! Events include the 50 km classic and freestyle races, the 25 km classic and freestyle races, the 5 km classic, the 10 km freestyle and the popular 2 km Mini-Keski for children.

Bell City Chase

Saturday January 29, 2005 Montreal, Quebec www.bellcitychase.com

Canadian Ski Marathon

February 12 - 13, 2005 Tel: (819) 770-6556 Fax (819) 770-7428 www.csm-mcs.com Fall in love with winter for the first time or all over again while participating in the 39th annual Canadian Ski Marathon (CSM) on Valentine’s Day weekend, February 12 & 13, 2005.

The world’s longest ski tour has something for skiers of all levels!

The Bell City Chase is part urban obstacle course, part scavenger hunt.

It’s a one-day, real-life version of televisions Survivor, Fear Factor and The Amazing Race rolled into one.

Taking 3-5 hours to complete, the event will test a team’s resourcefulness, endurance, and the ability to make decisions on the fly, while having the time of their lives. To conquer this urban event, 2-person teams will have to work effectively as a unit.

Winterlude

February 4 - 20, 2005 National Capital Region Tel: 800-465-1867 or (613) 239-5000 www.canadascapital.gc.ca/winterlude

GREEN PAGES

UPGRADING FROM YOUR TENT TO A NEW HOME?

...or vice versa? :) Caring, Concerned, Committed.

— You can count on us

Jim Norris and Kathy Purcell Sales Representatives

Email: Jim@exitorleans.com Kathy@exitorleans.com Office: (613) 837-0011 Cell: Kathy (613) 866-7147

Jim (613) 769-7147

JUMP IN & enjoy local

scuba diving • beginner courses • equipment rentals • specialty instruction • advanced/technical “What an amazing experience!

I had never scuba dived before, and after taking the beginner’s course... well let’s just say I can’t wait to make this a new sport in my life.

I’m seeing a whole world I never knew existed. I love it!”

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Burton’s Dive Service 196 Beechwood Avenue Ottawa, ON K1L 8A9 Tel: (613) 745-6444 Fax: (613) 746-5426 info@burtonsdive.com www.burtonsdive.com

O T TAWA O U T D O O R S W I N T E R 2 0 0 4 / 0 5

Top quality training and equipment from Ottawa’s only NAUI Training Facility

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

GREEN PAGES Basketball Benchball Curling Dodgeball

INDIVIDUAL & TEAM Registration open for Winter Indoor season!

Volleyball Floor Hockey

Turf Ultimate Turf Flag Football Turf Soccer

Specialist in wealth & estate planning

Register NOW Few spots remain!

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565-TEAM info@ottawassc.com www.ottawassc.com

A division of London Life Insurance Company

Suite 300, 1223 Michael Street Office - 613-748-3455, ext. 267 Residence - 613-825-8987 Email - rick.holdham@freedom55financial.com

LOOKING FOR SOME

c c

ADVENTURE THIS WINTER?

Capital Ideas Communications • writing and editing services • marketing communications • public relations

Locally or a trip far away, we’ve got the trip for you.

TRAVEL AWAY

Brant Scott c) 613-447-7726 brant.scott@sympatico.ca www.CapitalIdeasCommunications.ca

TRAVEL HOME

Hike&Bike • Ireland • Europe • Cuba

Hike&Bike &Paddle • Trails nearby to Ottawa

613-729-0507 Trips@OutingClub.com

www.OutingClub.com Bill Rhodenizer

The Ticket Guy

Discounted tickets to Ottawa Senators, (if they play) the Renegades and many other events!

Tickets cheaper than anywhere else!

• Save on Landsdowne games and a

variety of other Corel Centre Events, such as Stars on Ice, Disney on Ice etc.

• The Ticket Guy can help your cause by setting up a team or individual fundraising opportunity.

• The Ticket Guy is a proud supporter of various community teams and organizations.

craig vroom

To book your tickets please contact Craig at:

613-851-0526 Tickets@TheTicketGuy.ca Supported by the Ottawa Senators and Renegades organization.

www.OttawaOutdoors.ca

Registered Physiotherapist 1101 Bank St. (near Sunnyside)

564-9191 • private physiotherapy clinic • a totally unique ‘hands-on’ treatment that works • 25 years experiences • to aid those suffering from muscle, bone and connective tissue disorders

Shaunna Taylor

Sport Psychology Consultant Ottawa High Performance Centre 104 -100 Craig Henry Drive Ottawa ON K2G 5W3 (613) 274-3333 shaunnataylor@sympatico.ca

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BuG Juice Tall (but true) Tales from the Woods

by Jim Hargreaves

WE MADE OUR WAY UP THE GLACIER without incident, but finding a route through the maze of crevasses in the icefalls had been problematical at times.

The headwall, a smooth low-angled snow slope, finally gave us access to the plateau, and there we stopped and gazed in awe of the vastness of the Columbia Icefields. Still joined together in our threesomes, and taking care to keep the rope tight between us, we hiked across the plateau until we reached a spot to camp. An early night and a pre-dawn start would put us on our route in good condition and with ample time to reach the summit of Mount Castleguard — an impressive 10,000 foot sentinal guarding the edge of the plateau. After taking in the views we planned to descend a steep, but straightforward, snow gully which would eventually give us access to Castleguard Meadows. From there, we would descend the uncomplicated Saskatchewan Glacier back to the road.

The next morning dawned crystal clear after a hard freeze.

By first light we were already well-established on our route and within sight of the top. Our axes and crampons held well in the solid snow and, although the climbing was steep, it had not been difficult. We reached the mountain summit in good time to see the whole of the Great Divide bathed in a pink rinse.

Spectacular!

Time to go down. The shadowy, snow-filled gully we chose for our descent dropped sharply down to easier angled slopes below, which were already bathed in sunlight. It was straightforward enough but the steep snow was still like concrete in the shade of the gully walls. It demanded care until we reached easier ground. We started down (still roped together in our teams) facing inwards, axes and crampons firmly placed before each person moved. My rope descended first, followed at a safe distance by the second trio.

The gully was very steep initially; this was not the place for a mistake. After a few minutes I heard one of the other team calling down to me. The last person on the other rope (the one at the top of the gully), was having problems with one of his crampons. He sounded concerned so I decided to unrope from my companions and re-ascend the gully to help him out. I quickly front-pointed back up the slope and helped sort out the problem; a strap had broken so one of his crampons was loose.

Once this was fixed, I started back down the gully to re-join my companions who were waiting for me about 45 metres below.

I was half-way there when I heard a sharp cry. Quickly, I looked back up the gully to see an accelerating bundle of arms, legs, ropes, backpacks and crampons hurtling towards me.

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One of the team had slipped and had dragged the other two off with him. All three were now rocketing down the steep slope in my direction, so I quickly side-stepped behind a protrusion in one of the gully walls. The three of them flew past me tumbling totally out of control. I looked down and realized that my partners below were about to get caught up in this human avalanche, but there was nothing I could do except stand transfixed in horror. My two friends were unable to avoid them and were plucked from their stance by the other three. All five of them were now tangled up and on a crazy ride down the gully.

The worst seemed unavoidable. I was riveted to the spot feeling utterly helpless. Down the gully they flew at breakneck speed until they were almost out of sight. By now they had slid over 300 metres on the rock-hard snow surface, but the gully widened out at the bottom and ended at the top of an easy angled, sunlit slope. Unbelievably, the team came to rest as soon as they hit the sun-softened snow. At first there was no movement from the mass of arms, legs and bodies.

Then, I saw someone stand up and wave up the gully at me. I couldn’t contain myself any longer; as fast as humanly possible I cramponed down the ice-filled gully, and after about twenty minutes I reached my friends. By now they were all standing around examining each other for major injuries. There were none. Miraculously, the entire team had tumbled and slid over 300 metres and landed in a soft snow bank. Apart from a bit of crampon rash here and there, they were unharmed. I was astonished and incredibly relieved.

When I finally reached the group, my face must have registered my relief. One of them turned to me, smiled and said, “What took you so long? We’ve been here for ages.”

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Illustration by Keith Milne.

The big slide

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