Stories, reflection, and progress from the mountain. This blog focuses on my personal growth, ride experience, and what I’m learning every season.
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Demo Day at Lake Louise
Some fresh snow this week, but not much on the hill. Demos were pretty busy so I ended up demoing Nordica Unleashed 114s as they were the only thing in my size when I checked. Not ideal for a groomer day, but I was still able to get off piste. I liked how flexible they were in the moguls and trees. I also felt they were very stable landing some little jumps. On the downside, they really were a pain on the groomers. I acknowledge that I'm spoiled in some ways skiing my 79s, and powder skis are not made for groomed runs. I was still surprised by how little energy return they gave in a turn though. I felt like they really wore me out. Overall, I'd love to try them again on a powder day, but certainly I wouldn't recommend them as someone's everyday ski in Alberta.
Key takeaway
Powder skis need powder, but they have advantages in the bumps on groomer days
Pow Day at Lake Louise
We learned our lesson from last weekend and left EARLY. It was also time change Sunday so I think that heavily discouraged people from getting up early. We were still near the end of the lot when we parked at 8:30 though. Crazy powder day, we started off on Old Ptarmigan off the gondola and it was above the tops of my boots. That was my first experience with deep powder after really getting my sea legs (early season days at Sunshine we almost as deep, but I really had no idea what I was doing). So exhausting, so much fun! The lines were not as bad as I thought they might be, and I think this might have been my favourite day out this year!
Key takeaway
I love powder now that I have more strength and endurance
Insane Lineup at Lake Louise
This was the worst ski traffic jam I've ever experienced. We got in the lineup for the Lake Louise turn off a bit after 9 and didn't make it onto the hill until 1 PM. We were one of the last cars they let in before they started turning people away. In theory it was a pow day, in practice the mountain was completely skied out by the time we actually got up a lift. I would say conditions were actually worse than a no snow groomer day because of how much chop there was due to the traffic. I don't think I'd ever put myself through that again. Should have just kept on driving to Kicking Horse or Revelstoke; it would have been faster! Honestly it is our own fault for not leaving earlier, but at the same time I think it really does bring up a major problem with skiing in Alberta: it's very car dependent and those cars rely primarily on a single stretch of highway. I'd really love to see a mass transit option that was affordable and able to skip the traffic. No one wants to wait in a bus in the same traffic vs their own car and carpooling (we usually have 4 people in the car) is an order of magnitude cheaper than taking the bus as it stands. I can dream of reopening the train from Calgary, but I fear than even if it happened it would never be cost competitive with carpooling. With that rant over, I guess you could say that I wish driving wasn't so inherently linked to skiing, and that I'd love to get more people off the road so that I don't have to wait in the traffic that I myself am part of.
Key takeaway
Leave earlier and call my MP / MLA whenever I have the time (like when I'm stuck in traffic)
Carpool Day at Norquay
My first time at Norquay, and I like it! Really good vibes there, and the mountain is surprisingly steep for how small the resort is. I'd have no problem spending a day here in the future, but it definitely lacks the diversity of terrain that comes with larger mountains. I think the Carpool Day is a great way to experience Norquay! Having said all that about the good vibes and good times, I do have to say that brother it was HOT. I was skiing in my shirt sleeves and pondering what the limits of decency were.