Nordic track skiing on the West coast of Can/USA??
Mark Purcell
I am looking for some options for track skiing/ training on the West Coast
of either Canada or the US?
The prime options appear to be Royal Gorge and Canmore, but I am wondering
where else I should be looking at.
Also does anyone have any recommendations on some web sites which focus of
the XC side with trail maps and snow conditions on the tracks. Everything I
seem to be able to locate only gives the details of the Downhill resorts.
Thanks in advance for any replies,
Mark
Warren
In article <6c6g3a$v9q$1...@goliath.apana.org.au>, "Mark Purcell"
<ma...@purcell.aaa.net.au> wrote:
>I am looking for some options for track skiing/ training on the West Coast
>of either Canada or the US?
>
>The prime options appear to be Royal Gorge and Canmore, but I am wondering
>where else I should be looking at.
>
>Also does anyone have any recommendations on some web sites which focus of
>the XC side with trail maps and snow conditions on the tracks.
http://www.royalgorge.com has what you seek.
John Downing
>I am looking for some options for track skiing/ training on the West Coast
>of either Canada or the US?
>
>The prime options appear to be Royal Gorge and Canmore, but I am wondering
>where else I should be looking at.
>
>Also does anyone have any recommendations on some web sites which focus of
>seem to be able to locate only gives the details of the Downhill resorts.
>
>Thanks in advance for any replies,
>Mark
Cross Country Ski World's XC Ski Expo has some excellent West Coast
options all fully linked with short descriptions before you click...
Ron Diehl
While just on the east side of the cascades, you can try the Methow
(pronounced met how) Valley. The closest town is Winthrop, WA. You
must access it in the winter via the east side, since US 20 is closed.
A few web sites are:
for current weather: http://www.aws.com/cgi-win/wx.exe?wintr.obs
for track conditions: http://balsam.methow.com/~mvsta/grooming.html
for general info: http://www.methow.com/~mvsta
We like staying at the Wolf Ridge Resort. They have a warming hut
which is right next to the trail system.
If you want further info, please email before 2/19.
ron
>On Sun, 15 Feb 1998 21:28:35 +1100, "Mark Purcell" <ma...@purcell.aaa.net.au> wrote for all to read:
>I am looking for some options for track skiing/ training on the West Coast
>of either Canada or the US?
>
>The prime options appear to be Royal Gorge and Canmore, but I am wondering
>where else I should be looking at.
>
>Also does anyone have any recommendations on some web sites which focus of
>the XC side with trail maps and snow conditions on the tracks. Everything I
>seem to be able to locate only gives the details of the Downhill resorts.
>
>Thanks in advance for any replies,
>Mark
>
>
>
To respond via email, insert an e between the n&t as in netw.com
Michael Motek
On Sun, 15 Feb 1998 10:28:35, "Mark Purcell" <ma...@purcell.aaa.net.au>
wrote:
> I am looking for some options for track skiing/ training on the West Coast
> of either Canada or the US?
>
> The prime options appear to be Royal Gorge and Canmore, but I am wondering
> where else I should be looking at.
>
> Also does anyone have any recommendations on some web sites which focus of
> the XC side with trail maps and snow conditions on the tracks. Everything I
> seem to be able to locate only gives the details of the Downhill resorts.
>
> Thanks in advance for any replies,
I was talking to a friend in Calgary last night and he told me that
the conditions around Canmore are not great this year. It is quite
icy. Normally the conditions there are great, I skied Peter Lougheed
last year and really enjoyed it.
Options in the southwestern part of BC include Mt Washington on
Vancouver Island (~ 42km of trails), Manning Park (over 200km but most
are not track set),
Whistler (relatively little track set), Garabaldi Park (backcountry),
Cypress Bowl (Vancouver). As well normally the Cariboo region around
100 mile house is excellent with many 100's of km of trails but there
is little snow there this year.
> Mark
>
>
>
>
Michael Motek
Senior Programmer/Analyst
University of Victoria
W. Scott Elliot
Canmore is not really on the west coast, it is on the east side of the
Rocky Mountains in Alberta. It has excellent facilities for skiing and
access to advanced Sports Science facilities in Calgary, a heritage of the
88 Winter Olympics. The main problem is that the snow is not very
reliable, especially early in the season.
Silver Star at Vernon has some of the most reliable snow in Western Canada.
The national XC and biathlon teams usually hold fall camps there in
November. Silver Star is mostly a downhill skiing area, but there are good
XC trails, they held a World Cup race there in 1991. There is a "high
altitude training centre", but it seems to be more sizzle than steak right
now. Inter-connected with Silver Star are the Sovereign Lake trails
maintained by the North Okanagan Cross Country Ski Club. These don't open
quite as early as Silver Star, but are usually well maintained and have
hosted the Canadian Championships. Within a few hours drive are Stake
Lakes and Sun Peaks at Kamloops, Larch Hills at Salmon Arm, Telemark and
Nordic at Kelowna and Nickle Plate at Penticton. All these areas have well
maintained trails groomed by Pisten Bully machines.
100 Mile House in the Cariboo has the most extensive network of trails in
BC, but the snow is not very reliable some years on the lower elevation
trails. The competition trails at 99 Mile are very good and have hosted
many championships, including the Western Canadians last weekend. Gunner's
Cycle and X-Country shop at 108 Mile is about the most reliable source of
ski waxes and equipment in the province. One of the few places you can
find complete lines of Briko, Start, Toko, Swix, Rode, Star, etc. waxes,
both consumer and competition lines.
Prince George has the High Performance Athlete Development Centre which
allows athletes to combine education at University of Northern BC or
Caledonia College with skiing at the Caledonia Ski Club and coaching by
CCBC coaches. The trails are right on the edge of town and there are
higher altitude trails in the vicinity for early or late season skiing.
Bulkley Valley at Smithers is one of the most active clubs in the province
at developing young XC racers and getting them to the races. Travel can be
a problem in winter. They have excellent facilities and reliable snow.
Hudson Bay Glacier at Smithers has been used for summer XC glacier camps,
but the grooming equipment is not left up there all summer so the tracks
are not often set, except when there is a camp.
There are also quite a few racers who come from Burns Lake, the Kootenai's
and Mount Washington on Vancouver Island. Whistler which is north of
Vancouver is supposed to have good trails, but we haven't seen too many
racers from there.
If you want contacts with any of the clubs, look them up in the Cross
Country BC web page at:
http://sarah.junction.net/ccbc
Scott Elliot
Kelowna, B.C.
Mark Purcell <ma...@purcell.aaa.net.au> wrote in article
<6c6g3a$v9q$1...@goliath.apana.org.au>...
> I am looking for some options for track skiing/ training on the West
Coast
> of either Canada or the US?
>
> The prime options appear to be Royal Gorge and Canmore, but I am
wondering
> where else I should be looking at.
>
> Also does anyone have any recommendations on some web sites which focus
of
> the XC side with trail maps and snow conditions on the tracks.
Everything I
> seem to be able to locate only gives the details of the Downhill resorts.
>
> Thanks in advance for any replies,
> Mark