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.....

Motivation 2.0

The new year is always a time to reflect on goals and set resolutions; I've already done the goal setting, now I need to dig deep and find the motivation to stay on-track so that I do more than just finish a race, because I already know that I'm a "finisher." 

Yes, post-Ironman I managed to gain a few pounds.  Is that enough motivation?  Not really, but it's a good start.

I'm not especially pleased with my pace while running; running has always been my mental block, but with good reason, as I'm not usually in the top half of the pack.  Is that enough motivation? Maybe it will become part of the raison d'etre.

My climbing ability (both running and cycling) could use some improvement - I do very well on the descents and flats but climbing feels like there is an anchor attached to the back of my bike.  Is this enough motivation?  I suppose, but I've already addressed this issue on the bike by engaging a coach who focuses on cycling power and am using my Cinqo Quark to build power.

So what's it gonna take???

You've got to want it, you've got to want...

... that feeling of pushing through a tough workout.
... that feeling of pushing through the proverbial ceiling or the plateau to attain a blissful state of "aaaaahhhhhhhhhh."
... to wake up at 5:30am to swim so-that-you-can-rush-home-to-get-the-kids-ready-for school-and-then-start-your-day.
... the physical ability to move your body - whatever the pace - so that you remain healthy and strong.
... to setting a healthy example for your kids.
... the pain of exhertion so that you can find the mental focus to relish it - or find ways to distract yourself from it!

I understand and accept that I am a little bit crazy for wanting to do these things.  I know that this year, when I cross the line, my effort has been sincere and I will be satisfied. 

Change it up

Post Ironman is a tough time for lots of athletes; in fact, a lot of us get a bit depressed to not have a big goal, we are tired, we aren't used to using our social skills... it's mentally tough.  I tried to prepare for the post-Ironman blues by signing up for the Banff Winterstart 8-mile fun run, by getting back into a quasi-workout schedule, and by making sure I spent extra extra time with my family.  For the most part, I'd say the preparations were good:

- Winterstart was fun.  I tagged along with a core group of TTL people, bunked in with Leslie-Ann for the night, and ran up the mountain in the dark.  It wasn't a PB on this course, although certainly a respectable time.  I had fun, it's fun to run fast, I had forgotten that part.  And the girls were great.  We went out for sangria and pizza, then dancing, whew, what a night - thanks ladies!
- My quasi-regular workout schedule: in order to motivate myself, I decided to invest in a new power meter for my bike, the CinQo Quark.  Love.  It.  Wowie wow wow what a great idea!  It's smooth as silk, I love that I can see my effort and keep that effort consistent and know that I'm not cheating on a workout (even unintentionally!).  Great idea. 
- My coach of 3 years has decided to pursue other interests, which threw me for a loop.  I spent considerable time researching and interviewing coaches prior to Ironman, so I had a pretty good idea of the key players in Calgary.  It's also nice to know that there are some new coaches since that time.  I have decided to focus on power for my biking skills so I selected a coach who can best guide me through this skill; he's also got great pedigree and I like his style of coaching.  It's a change, it takes a bit of getting used to, but it's definitely a change for the good. 
- Spend extra time with my family: it's always a good idea to deposit goodwill into the family bank, that way, when I start talking about my next race, I have a bit of street cred to work with! 

And speaking of my next race....

... time to change it up!  I'm going back to my mountain bike this year with a focus on XTerra.  My BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is still top secret, but my "A" race for the 2012 season will be Canadian Nationals, held in Canmore.  That's another change, Nationals has been held for the previous two seasons in Whistler, and with the move to Canmore, this will be more exciting for me.  I'm already excited!  And I'll have to do some mountain bike racing along the way, maybe even some trail running.  It's going to be tough, but I've found my motivation again. 

Are you ready for the ride?  Here we go!

Fresh Ink

Yup, I got the tattoo.

Let's start back at the beginning.....

A couple of years ago, I got my first tattoo.  I was inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert's book, "Eat, Pray, Love" to find a word that I believed represented my current state of mind and goals, and that also represented all that I aspire towards physically, mentally, and emotionally.  I often return to Gilbert's book and with each visit I find a  new piece of wisdom that seems to relate to whatever chaos I've got brewing.  This one word serves as a reminder that I need to bring the chaos back to one simple point, realign myself with the goals I have set, and, damn it, get it in gear.

With all of that preamble, in March 2009 I booked an appointment and etched my word onto the inside of my right ankle.  To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the outcome.  The tat did its job, but I wasn't thrilled with the quality of art that resulted.

And so, the first order of business was to touch up my existing tattoo:

Wowie wow wow, the result is awesome.  I gave the artist free reign to do what he felt was best: he strengthened the lines, made it much more about calligraphy, and added the drop shadow.

I love it.

So what about the M-dot, you ask???

Yes, I wanted the M-dot, yes I wanted the Canadian leaf, but I also wanted something that would be in the same family as my first tattoo.  I browsed the web, saw some cool stuff, saw a lot of the same stuff, and ultimately combined a few of those ideas with some of my own.

Ta-dah!

It will take a few more days to heal, it will blend a bit more together between the colours, and I am THRILLED with the result.

Thanks to Tim at PI (Personalized Image) studio in Banff - you guys rock.

What do you think?  Too small??? Too colourful????

IRONMAN pics!

I received my Ironman pics today - super excited to share them, I think they show what a great day I had.
Thanks again for everyone's well-wishes and congrats - it has taken almost a week for the magnitude of what I accomplished to sink in, and I find myself getting more and more excited as I talk about the experience with people.

Here they are!

Subaru Ironman Canada 2011

I'm in the big white splash.  :)

Have I mentioned how much I love my bike?

And the long, hot run:

Of course, it's all worth it in the end!  Don't forget to check out the video, too!

Stay tuned for upcoming pics of the new tattoo!