Deluxe Chocolate Sauce

**E's school project this month is about explaining a process or providing instructions.  She decided to share her favourite Chocolate Sauce recipe with her classmates.  This blog is her project. Enjoy!

Instructions for How To Make Deluxe Chocolate Sauce:

1) Wash your hands.

2) Put on an apron - this could get messy.

3)  Collect and gather tools for baking:
metal saucepan (pot)
spatula for scraping
wooden spoon for stirring
measuring cups and measuring spoons
glass jars with lids (wash and dry them well before cooking)

4)  Collect and measure the ingredients:
semisweet chocolate chips      2 cups
butter                                       1/2 cup
instant coffee powder              1 Tbsp
salt                                           1/8 tsp
vanilla                                      1 Tbsp
icing sugar                               2 cups
light corn syrup                       1 cup
hot water                                  3/4 cup

5) Measure the first 5 ingredients into the saucepan using the measuring cups and measuring spoons.

6) Place saucepan on the stove, turn on the heat to medium heat.  Stir over medium heat with the wooden spoon until smooth.

7) Remove the saucepan from the stove and turn off the stove.

8) Use the wooden spoon to beat in the measured icing sugar, syrup, and water until the sauce looks smooth.

9) Pour the sauce into the clean jars using the spatula to scrape the saucepan clean.  Put the lids on the jars and screw them on tightly.

10) Store the full jars in the fridge until you are ready to use the sauce.

11) The sauce can be lightly re-heated when you want a tasty treat.  Pour the sauce over ice cream, cake, or brownies.

12) Enjoy! 

It's a Beautiful Day for a PB: Race Report for Glencoe Icebreaker 10km, April 1, 2012

I'll admit it: I was nervous going into the race today.

Today, I learned trust.  Trust my training, trust my coach, trust my strength, trust my legs, trust my heart.  Sure, I've been fairly diligent about following my prescribed training (except when I depart from Coach Jack's plan and go AT skiing!), and, yes, I've been holding pace on the running portion of the program Coach Jack set for me, and, yes, I had a great result last week from my bike FTP test.  Despite all of these things, I still had a nervous feeling going into today's race.

First, I haven't raced since Ironman Canada in August 2011.  I had butterflies.

Next, I haven't raced FAST since at least two years ago; training for IMC required that I go longer, not faster.  I was worried about holding a fast pace and doing the shorter distance.  I had butterflies.

Finally, I really, really wanted to do well; in fact, based on some of the training runs that I had been doing, I estimated that I could break even or maybe even better my Personal Best (PB) that was set at this race, on this course, two years ago.  I had butterflies.

I met with Coach Jack earlier in the week to review an ideal race plan, get fashion advice for the race, and generally talk about how my training was progressing.  It was a good meeting: I like how he visualizes the course, sets a realistic goal based on our interactions to date, takes into account my goals, and gives me a bit of a push.  The plan was to start out slow, build, hold, and "see what happens."  He also told me this race would be a negative split.

Now I really had butterflies.

Today dawned beautiful - no frost, no icy roads, beautiful sun, even warm enough to wear capris and no jacket, just a wind vest over a long-sleeve shirt.  Nice.  I woke on time, ate my standard pre-race breakfast (quinoa and cranberries with cinnamon, made the night before, topped off with almond milk), got dressed, and found a prime parking spot.  I socialized a bit with former teammates (who have made me an honourary team member).  I did the recommended warm-up: 10 min. eazy running, A's, B's, C's.  I chatted some more en route to the start line.  Then the air horn sounded.

I had seeded myself close-ish to the front with other friends who are notably faster than me - and I let them run (as it turned out, I wasn't so far behind!).  Despite frequently glances at my Garmin 310XT to check on pace, I started out faster than planned, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't seem to slow down to get into the plan.  I was a bit worried, but decided to roll with it.  Around the 2km mark, friend Sarah GP and hubby caught up with me.  Now, Sarah is one of my favourite athletes.  She is dedicated, calm under pressure, incredibly fit.  And eight months pregnant.  There was NO WAY that an eight-month pregnant lady was going to outrun me today (note: Sarah finished in approx. 57min. Amazing.).  So I put it in gear.

Yep, each progressive kilometer got marginally faster, not a lot, just a smidgeon.  I trucked up the hill without breaking pace, found I still had juice in my legs at the top, and coasted down the other side.  I held pace, kept ramping up just a weeeeee bit with each turn.

At the half-way mark I checked my time and was pleased to see I was slightly ahead of pace, and if I ran a slower, warm-up-style pace I could still match my PB.  And then I found the "pain cave."

At approx. 5-7km there is an out-and-back portion of the run, which I find energizing and fun, because you get to see friends going in both directions.  It's a flat stretch of pavement through a residential area.  Very innocuous.  Except my faster pace was starting to catch up with me: my legs were still running on full energy, but they didn't have any zip left in them.  I needed to FOCUS, trust my training, trust my heart that said: go for it.  So I got good and comfortable being uncomfortable, and kept on running (guess what, no walk breaks today!).

The final 2km are through a beautiful park pathway that rolls along with the bank of the river.  Not exactly a hill, but not exactly flat either.  Just enough to eat into your legs.  I kept on running.

In fact, I kept on running, speeding up slightly on the final 2km, to hit the finish chute at 56:16.  Nice Personal Best!  I cleared my other record by over a minute!

56:16 was my official finish time.

Here are my splits for each kilometer:
5:44
5:42
5:48 (hill)
5:36
5:35
5:36
5:25
5:28
5:31 (dig in mentally)
5:19 (nice kick!)
Average: 5:34

It was a beautiful day for a PB. 

Snowy Day on Bow Summit

On Sunday, March 11, we planned to do an AT trip with our UK friends Mark and Liz.  The original plan was to set a somewhat "ambitious" goal, something we wouldn't normally tackle on our own (like Mount Hector, or A2), and hire Yamnuska to guide us through the tough parts.

Mark on our first descent

Liz loving the powder!

Well the weather changed all that!  It SNOWED for 7 days in a row, dumping more than a metre of fresh powder on top of hoar frost.  This created a very unstable surface, with avalanche ratings all week in the high-high-high area.  Our guide, James Madden, contacted us to suggest alternate plans.  We all agreed on one thing: safety first.

The morning of our adventure was still a white sky, and it continued to snow ALL. DAY. LONG.  Which made for awesome ski conditions!  James said the conditions reminded him of powder in the Nelson area, and he was right, lots and lots of powder.  EVERYWHERE.

James did a great job of guiding us to some great snow, very few people, while keeping us safe.  He also did a great job of helping us understand some of his route choices, making our education of safety part of the day.

He guided from the Bow Summit parking lot, across the B-U-G (Big Ugly Gulley) to ski some untouched snow.  After a couple of tangles and equipment issues, we were back on track.

Back up Bow Summit for another lap

Unfortunately, Ryan's knee had other ideas, so we contoured back across the BUG to deposit him at the car for a restful day.  Meanwhile, Liz, Mark and I did laps on the Bow Summit.  Although the weather wasn't clear, it was a wonderful day to play in the snow!

Loving the powder!

A bit foggy, but what a great ride!

Powder, powder everywhere!

Lake O'Hara Lodge trip report: Feb 2012

February is time for our second annual winter trip to Lake O'Hara Lodge!  We had SO MUCH FUN last year - five-star dining, incredible snow, expert guiding, beautiful accommodations - that we simply had to book another trip!

Day Zero: Ski-in the 11km road.

Getting there is half the battle!

We left the parking lot approx. 1pm, took 3:45 to ski up the 12km road. 1.5km into the uphill slog, I determined that I wore the wrong socks and had a nasty blister on inside of right ankle. It was the only foot incident the entire trip, so I was smart to change my socks right away. 

Otherwise, nice day to ski up a mountain, good conversation with love of my life.

 En route, we passed the Lake O'Hara campground, one of our favourite summer destinations.  It is still possible to camp here in the winter, but the running water and outhouse aren't available.  The cook shed still has access.  Lots of snow!

One of two cook sheds at Lake O'Hara Campground

But in wintertime, we ski past the campground to the Lake O'Hara Lodge!  Our hosts Bruce and Alison, along with their team, welcomed us with afternoon tea goodies.  Perfect!  We were shown to our rooms (a bit rustic, but warm and comfortable!), and said hello to some familiar faces from last year.  After a scrumptious dinner we turned in early - I managed to get 10 hours of sleep in preparation for the next 4 days.

Day One: Feb 10

Bright and sunshine, blue sky, some gossamer clouds hugging the peaks.

After a knife and fork breakfast we geared up and headed from the Lodge to Schaffer Meadows, past the Elizabeth Parker Alpine Hut, and up Oderay Mountain to the big boulder in the middle of the snow.  There were approx. 15 of us that set out for the day, 7 AT skiers and the rest on snowshoes.  I was surprised by the large number of snowshoers - I think they sometimes have an advantage going uphill, their gear is much lighter, but nothing beats flying through powder on skis coming down!  At this point in the day we split up: the skiers stayed with experienced mountain guide James Blench, while the snowshoers hooked up with Bruce.  As skiers, we were able to go up and down several times, taking advantage of fresh pow on slopes like Sunny Boy and Buzz Wall.  

Oderay Mountain

Lake O'Hara Lodge cabins under Wiwaxy Peak

View towards Oesa

Looking back at our tracks on Sunny Boy

Looking at the Boulder on Sunny Boy

Climbing up to Sunny Boy

My Boy in the Sun

Lake O'Hara

We ended up in the same place at the close of the day: Easy Slut near Linda Lake.  Easy Slut is a huge, wonderful, open bowl with plenty of snow to go around! 

After we regrouped the skiers, it was time to contour the edge of the mountain back past the Alpine huts, then down to the Lodge, where afternoon tea goodies were waiting, along with a fully stoked sauna, then another five-star dinner! 


We skied approx. 12km over a 5.5hour time period today. 

Day Two: Feb 11

This morning we saw low clouds over the lake, with the sun pushing its way through.  It made for some cool lighting, lots of yellows and blues. 

Skiing across the Lake

James led us towards the Opabin Plateau, where sunshine and glittering snow waited for us.

 Our objective for the day was to summit Opabin Glacier.  We stopped to fuel up on the Plateau and were surprised how quickly the sun traveled across the col.  After a quick bite of gourmet sandwiches, we headed UP. 

There were several sharp, steep switchbacks that we needed to make on the steep pitch.  The final 50m we took off the skis and toe climbed to the top. 


The view over the edge was jaw-dropping! The temperature was quickly dropping, so we had to pull out the down and thermal gear! 

The view from the top was worth every step:

Opabin Glacier and Plateau looking towards Lake O'Hara

I was nervous on the initial few steps of the downhill: the snow was sugary and moved underfoot, and the exposed rocks made me nervous.  I was also carrying my pack and skis and poles - and I fell.  I didn't go far, but I managed to crank my knee on a rock.  Ouch.  Get this: I have a scrape on my knee, but no cut in my pants.  Weird.  The knee got my adrenalin pumping, so my nerves got the best of me for a few minutes.  Then one of the other guests reminded me to just point my skis downhill for a split second - she was right, after the first turn, I was back in business! 

The ride down was fun - lots of fresh snow, lots of speed. A quick slide across the lake, then back to the Lodge for more tea goodies! (and a sauna and more food - this is the life!)

Today we skied approx. 12km in 4.5hours.  Up the Glacier.  Nice. 

Day Three: Feb 12

Most of the guests were leaving today, back to reality in the city.  Lucky for us, we had booked an extra day!  Two other guests from Calgary were able to stay for the morning, so we had some snowshoers join us for part of the day. 

James guided us up to Schaffer Meadows, and beyond McArthur Pass to overlook Lake McArthur.  We have been here a couple of times in the summers, it's usually ice-bound well into July.  The day was overcast, so the scene looked like a black and white, digitally enhanced photo! 

Overlooking Lake McArthur

We played around in the snow on the ride home, watching for the thin layer of snow, hoping to avoid the barely covered rocks.  We headed back towards Oderay Prospect at the Bear Closure, where the snowshoe crowd headed home and James took us over to Missing Link, a glade-filled run full of powder mushrooms and fun!

The Missing Link spit us out at the bottom of Easy Slut, so we knew the route home: contour the mountain for 3km, past the Alpine Hut and down to the lodge - and yes, more tea goodies, sauna, relaxing, delicious dinner! 

Today we traveled 15km over 6.5hours.  Whew!

Day Four: Feb 13

Our departure day arrived too early!  We had time to sneak in a couple of quick runs on Schaffer Bowl and Larch with James before heading down the road again. 

Our travels today total 5km in 2 hours plus 12km ski-out in 1:15.  A much faster ride home!

More of our photos from this trip can be found on my SmugMug site:
http://graphixdiva.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Lake-OHara-Winter-2012/21487629_mDCt7D
 
Yes, we can hardly wait to return to Lake O'Hara and are busy planning our next adventure!

Bluebird powder day on Crowfoot Glacier: A Little Piece of Heaven

On Sunday, February 5,  Ryan and I experienced some of the most stunning views we've ever seen as a reward for a long climb up the Crowfoot Glacier.

We began our day in Canmore, at the office of Yamnuska Mountain Adventures, where we met our guide, James Madden.  His expertise in selecting a route, helping us to understand our avalanche gear, guiding us up the mountain and glacier, and finding us untouched powder for the descent was amazing.  The office staff at "Yam" were great too - helpful in determining an objective for the day, and matching our physical fitness and ski abilities with a guide that could help us achieve some cool stuff.

James suggested the Crowfoot Glacier backcountry skiing trip.  The guide book says it's a 14km round trip with approx. 850m elevation gain, but my Garmin tells a different story (18km with over 900m elevation)!  We loaded up extra gear that, thankfully, we didn't need to use, stuff like a collapsible shovel, probe, and climbing harness for crevasse rescue.  That said, we still had to carry everything!  I managed to put all of those things, along with a hearty lunch, down jacket, fleece, extra gloves and hat, sunscreen, camera and other accoutrements into a 40L bag that ended up weighing in around 20lb.  I need to work on carrying less weight around!  We loaded the gear and skis into the car, then set off on the highway bound for the parking lot at Numtija Lodge on the Icefields Parkway.

We arrived at the parking lot in -20C.  The hoar frost made everything extra pretty, and the ice crystals in the air shone in the early light to create beautiful rainbows (I'm sure there's a technical word for this).  It was a crisp morning.

We skinned across the lake, staying in the sun most of the way.  James called a halt to our progress, in order to give a brief tutorial on the use of our avalanche rescue gear, and how to use the beacons to locate a buried person.  (note to self: time to sign up for an class on avalanche safety)

With our beacons operating at full battery power, we finished crossing the lake, and entered the gravel flats area, leading to the river bed of the Saskatchewan River.  Despite the cold temperatures, we could see rivulets of water in some areas,  surrounded by thick hoar frost.  We continued a gradual ascent to a slot canyon, where the snow had blown into thick drifts.  Finally, we emerged out of the canyon in an alpine meadow.  Another thirty minutes of climbing, and we stopped to fuel up in a picturesque picnic area.

 You can see the Crowfoot Glacier, along with acres upon acres of awesome ski terrain; James was getting giddy at the thought of it all!  He could see plenty of untracked routes, and we were all anxious to get moving again.

At this point in the day, the temperatures had substantially risen to a balmy -2C.  We shed some layers, donned our sunglasses, and eagerly set forward.  The balance of our climb was quite exposed, and we were fortunate not to have any wind.  The views were stunning, I had a permanent smile on my face in spite of the burning in my legs.  Three-hundred and sixty degrees of splendour.

The view from the top makes all the effort fade into bliss. 

This is the view from The Bump overlooking Crowfoot Glacier, with a view of the Wapta Icefields for good measure!

And yes, the ride down was blissful, too!

We rode down the gully on the left of the photo, skiers right.

To see more of our photos from the day, check out the album at: http://graphixdiva.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Crowfoot-Glacier-AT-Skiing-Feb/21354286_nBhVpW

I wonder what our next adventure will hold?  Stay tuned.....