Training Log Archive: coach ld

En route back to Vancouver Goose and I stopped at Mirren Lake and did what we thought was going to be a short easy hike - but turned out to be another steep, rocky climb. It was short but the views were still beautiful on another clear day!

C • Living the life! 1

Goose and I met Leanimal for a ride on a parkway with side loops on surprisingly dry trails, up from Lynn Creek, with a few patches of stubborn snow. It was a gorgeous day that kept getting warmer. We were in shorts and had our jackets off by the time we stopped for a latte and treat at "The End of the Line" cafe. Sure felt like a vacation on that patio:)

By the time Goose and I left to meet Miss Bessie it was 20 degrees in North Van! It was about 13 up at Cypress and we were expecting ski conditions to be slushy and slow, but they were really quite good. The base is so deep and firm that the snow on top was soft but just the top layer. It was kind of velvety, especially where the groomer had just passed:) Sweet skiing on a downright summery day. Goose went off to hammer for a while but I didn't have much pop left in my legs so Bessie and I just cruised back and forth across the mountain without any big climbs thank heavens. Again, the views were unreal!

Another unbelievably cloudless blue-sky day! Goose , the Girl and I headed up the "Chief" trail. The first section is so steep and has so many stairs and big rock steps - and on a sunny Sunday with temps in the low teens, so many people and their dogs! The second section was icier and snowier, with chains and ladders to get up to the second peak and some fantastic vistas of the water, the snow-capped mountains the big blue sky, with fewer people. Easy to see why it's called the Sea-to-Sky region. From there we hiked in fairly deep snow-cone snow through a big ravine and up to the final peak where we sat in the snow and ate our lunch looking over at Mt. Girabaldi, getting slightly sun-burned. It was so warm in the sun, but still cool in the trees. The descent was the hardest part for me. There's still a lot of snow and ice which made it tricky and treacherous in some spots, and hard on the knees. But wow, what a day. And we finished it off with the Girl's famous Sunday Soup night:)

Met up with Miss Bessie on a spectacularly sparkly morning at Cypress Bowl. We skated the big outer loop and up the Hollyburn Peak trail. It was still pretty frosty and the snow was fast but what a killer climb! The view was stunning though and totally worth it. Then we turned around and did our best to snow plow enough not to to completely wipeout anyone coming up. So crazy that the trails are all 2-way.
Then Goose and the Girl arrived and we did it all again:) It got a bit slower as the sun softened things up but it was beautiful and buttery for the most part with amazing panoramic views of the sound, Mt. Baker, Vancouver Island, etc. So bright, so blue, so big - awesome:)

Beauty morning for a ski:). Skated the Olympic trails at Whistler with Goose, the Girl, Phatty and Leanimal, and it was fast! Icier than we expected and a bit tricky to keep the skis from getting stuck in the corduroy which seemed to pull them out from under us. We did some good climbs and slightly scary downhills.

After much effort to wax our classic skis we finally headed off, Leanimal, the Girls and I on "zeros" and the boys on klister. They worked well on the lower trails on the Madeley Creek system, but not so well higher up in the Norwegian Woods. Big ice clumps under our feet made it hard to go down hill. But a sticky slow day in the woods is still better than a day sitting around inside. It was a lovely day!

Finally got up to Squamish today to see the Girl. Then we took advantage of the Wed. night trail pass discount at Whistler Olympic Park - $7!!
Goose and I skied happily and a bit carefully; It was dark afterall but the lit trails were lovely and well-groomed:)

C • Skiing! 2