Race Report: Wasa Lake Olympic Distance Triathlon, June 9, 2013

Before I get to Wasa, let me point out that I ALSO participated on a 4-woman team at the Giver8er Mountain Bike Enduro on June 2, 2013.  It didn't simply RAIN that day, it rained almost all week prior, AND poured down like a monsoon most of the day.  That morning was a bit drier - in fact, I managed to squeak out the second team lap with only a couple of raindrops.  But the trails were beyond muddy.  Quagmire.  There was a log across the trail, I attempted and got bucked off, my front tire simply slid sideways.  Then, at one point, I decided that riding the narrow bridge would be reckless, so, to avoid injury, I hopped off the bike and proceeded to walk across the bridge.  Bad decision: I must have looked like a cartoon character who stepped on the banana peel. I came crashing down on my tailbone on the edge of the plank.  I sat and cried, it hurt so much.  Eventually (my Garmin says 2:30 later), I got up and back on the bike - no problem spinning, but the minute I put torque on the pedals, excruciating pain spread across my back and down my legs.  Ouch.  The rest of the lap was uneventful, but much slower than I'd have liked.  All week long, I hobbled around, flinched at changing direction, used heat and ice, tried to keep my tailbone from sending massive waves of pain across my back and control the dull ache that settled into every waking minute.  (postscript note: it hurt for more than a week, so I eventually went for x-rays; turns out, I broke the bottom bone in my vertebrae - ouch!)

So that left me feeling uneasy about Wasa.  Would I be able to pull off the race goals that I set?  

Wasa race goals:

- execute my race plan

- finish with a smile - exhausted and spent, but smiling

- negative split my run, stretch goal: aim for sub 55 min

- rock-solid bike

- smooth swim

- nutrition dialed back in for racing (no more overheating and weird electrolyte imbalances - see Vegas for more gruesome details) 

- stretch goal: PB this course (I've race here before!)

Swim

Wetsuit felt pretty good today!  I struggled into it with few hiccups, it even felt okay around my neck.  I saw my girls on the beach, them gave Mum a big set of hugs, always a good luck charm.  I tried to stay with the pack but out of troubled water.  Mission accomplished, but I just didn't feel as smooth as I wanted, maybe there was a chop heading out, maybe there was a bit of a wind, but the swim across the back side and then return to shore felt smoother and faster - and it was.  It just took me a while to get settled.  It think the course is also a bit long, by approx. 75m, maybe it's just my poor sighting? 

Swim time: 35:55 (which includes a run up from the beach to T1, although I wasn't running!).  I pressed Lap on my Garmin when I exited the water, it reads 33:48. 

T1

What a disaster!  I couldn't sit properly to remove my wetsuit, pain pain pain.  It took time for the wetsuit strippers to help me, and changing from swim to walk, sit to walk was terrible.  Bending to put on bike shoes was painful. This transition zone ate up a lot of time.  

T1 time: 3:26.  My Garmin gave me 5:50 for T1, as it included the long run up from the beach. Small differences, same result: too much time in T1.

Bike

I got rolling, and once situated on my bike, pain disappeared.  My legs felt strong, full of energy.  I decided to use my Garmin Edge 500 to track watts and consistency in my post-race analysis.  I haven't raced with a power meter before, so wasn't using it to pre-determine my output, just a curiosity for me. As it turns out, I had a superb ride!  Best time for me on this course in several years, solid, consistent pacing, hit E4 and sustained it nicely.  I even started to pass people!  This is a new phenomenon for me, I usually hold my own pace and stay steady; but today, today I was passing all kinds of racers!  Maybe my slow T1 put these other racers in front of me and I was simply catching up, but man, it felt good to see my fellow age-group competitors fall behind.  And I still felt strong on the bike, so I kept on pedalling.  In Coach Jack's words, "you didn't burn any matches here."

Bike time: 1:20:14 (this is a 6 min. improvement over my bike time on this same course, same weather conditions!)

T2

Once off the bike, even while walking through T2, the transition from seated to upright caused more pain, making my total time in T2 long.  I moved as smoothly as possible, no wasted movement, but I was in slow motion. 

T2 time: 2:53

Run

Here is the cool part: I've been trying to work on my running.  I know it's my weakest of the three disciplines, and I tend to lose a lot of ground on the run.  I've done hills and speedwork, long distance, increased frequency, tried to be a good athlete and do the prescribed running.  You know what? It paid off!  The first kilometre wasn't pretty: adjusting to a run was painful, I really, really had to pee so pulled over into a portatoilet, and then had to adjust to a run again.  But after that, I just kept on running!  In fact, I held a solid pace all the way thru!  AND! I was passing more people!  At one point I remember my Garmin showed me a split for the previous kilometer and I had to do a mental check on whether I could sustain the pace or keep pushing.  I was nervous about my back, so I didn't fully exhaust myself until the final kilometer. I had been playing leap frog with another racer all day, and I knew that she was in my age group. I pulled out all the stops in the final kilometer, passed her, and kept on going.  The Finish Line was sweet!

How did the race stack against my goals?
-  race plan execution - check!
- I promise I finished with a smile, and the catcher at the Finish Line had to hold me up for a few seconds, and my eldest daughter kept asking if I was okay - check!
- YES! I negative split my run!!! Came slightly shy of stretch goal, I think the pitstop ate up 30sec, and adjusting from walk to run cost me time too - it would have put me very close to stretch goal today.  Check!
- rock-solid bike - check!
- smooth swim - almost....
- nutrition dialed in for racing - check!
- PB this course - check!
My race was strong, in spite of the injury.  I'm back on track for racing again, it feels great!

Next stop: XTerra Canmore August 4, 2013

(sorry, no pics this post, v boring, couldn't find any in race-day stack)

Racing on the Moon: XTerra Lake Las Vegas, April 13, 2013

Viva Las Vegas!

Wow, I was super excited to test out my skills and fitness at the XTerra US West Championship in Lake Las Vegas on April 13, 2013.  I trained hard all year (and the year before) and wanted to see what I could achieve.

Here's how it all went down....

.... 9 awesome women (Carmen, Kristal, Tara, Melinda, Diana, Brenda, Dee, Sandy and me!) headed for Las Vegas on Thursday.  These girls are "Vegas-Veterans" - they know which casinos to play, where to eat, what to do.  They all scoffed at my regimented schedule (eat, workout, eat, sleep, repeat), lack of alcohol, and general ants-in-my-pants nervousness.  They were a great way to relax and laugh with when I started having doubts.  And if not, Kristal was willing to slap me.

Carmen & Kristal: these ladies know how to make the most of an airplane ride to Vegas!

We arrived on Thursday, I promptly headed for Lake Las Vegas.  I rebuilt my bike without any issues (yay me!) and headed out on the bike course.  Wow, it was hot.  At 2pm the temperature read 28C.  And the course was surprising: lots of gravel roads, some exposed single track, and lots of washed out sections.  I heard that the rains had really turned this course into a technical ride.  Outside of the wicked steep uphills (yes, I pushed my bike uphill a LOT), I was comfortable riding most of the course.  I learned how to ride soft soft gravel (just keep pedalling), descended large boulder fields, and soaked up a bit of sun.  I wore my camel back full of water and sucked it dry in one lap.  The only section of the course that made me pause was the cement-hard creekbed, I just couldn't find the line.  Other than that, the first day was a success.  I saw some lizards, geckos, and one snake.  Kristal said they were lucky omens.

The Dreaded Creekbed: hard as cement, and a tough line to follow

I returned to the bike course on Friday morning, keen to ride one more lap so that I could pick better lines and be race-ready. Again, it was around 27C and the day was hardly getting started.  There were more people on the course today, I managed to ride a couple of wheels but still couldn't figure out that creekbed.  And then I started to do some math: at my current pace on the bike I worried that I wouldn't hit the bike cut-off.  It was going to be really, really tight.

All night I was nervous, the girls were ready to ditch me.  I texted Coach Jack (he thought I was crazy and underestimating my ability).  I texted some girlfriends back home (they thought I was crazy and underestimating my ability).  I chatted with Ryan while he was skiing fresh pow at Sunshine (he thought I was crazy and underestimating my ability but said he loved me and to go do my best).  I worried and fretted about the bike cutoff.  After a wonderful meal at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant, and I went to bed early.

Race day dawned hot.  I arrived early to see the Sprint race start at 8:30am.  The race announcer kept describing the cold water (57F) and referred to the bike/run portions as "racing on the moon" - an accurate description of the terrain.

Racing on the Moon

The Championship course had a late start: 10:30am.  That meant riding through the hottest part of the day.  By 9:30 the wind kicked up, and not just any breeze, a virtual convection oven windstorm. Some of the pro's commented post-race that they had a tough time staying on-course, it was very, very windy on some of those ridges.  And the wind would get worse as the day progressed.

Let's go do this!  Race day ready.

The cannon sounded at 10:41 for the women's start.  The water was delicious.  I grew up swimming in Lake Superior withOUT a wetsuit, so while some competitors found the water cold on the face, it felt wonderful to me.  This was quite possibly the best triathlon race-day swim I have experienced.  I swam smooth and strong, good sight-lines, found some feet to draft, stayed out of troubled water, and enjoyed the course.  The swim back towards transition was into the wind, a bit of chop (nowhere close to the training I did in Lake Winnipeg with 18" waves a couple summers ago!), but still smooth swimming.  What a great way to start my race! 1500m went by quickly and smoothly.

Sprint Swim start at Lake Las Vegas

T1 went okay - it was crowded on the exit ramp so I lost some time, and my wetsuit is always a challenge to strip off (my feet get stuck).  Otherwise, I was still in good company with other racers, operating on the "smooth is fast, fast is smooth" principal.

The bike course was busy!  I had managed to stay with a good cohort and was able to ride some wheels up the road and first couple of hills.  No real bottlenecks as the wide gravel roads accommodated lots of riders.  And then the wind hit me.  Despite keeping a cold camel back on my back and sipping water, and consuming nutrition, I could feel the energy drain out of me.  I kept consuming water and nutrition, hoping to stave off bonking - I had more nutrition in T2, ready and waiting.  Lap 2 seemed lonely and empty - I couldn't find other riders, I don't remember when they left me, but suddenly I was riding alone.  And it was so windy.  The  crosswind was dangerous, and the downhills needed pedal power.  I was spending energy that I just didn't have.  Keep pedalling.  The ride down the road to T2 was wobbly, but I made it.  I made the bike cutoff - all my worrying was for naught!

T2 was weird, I knew that I needed to put on my running shoes and get moving but couldn't get myself in gear.  Somewhere along the way, I realized that someone named Troy was talking to me, assuring me that he was going to take care of me.  And then I realized I was in the medical tent and strangers were looking very concerned in my general direction.  Apparently I kept falling down in T2, and was wandering around looking lost.  They diagnosed heat stroke and pulled me from the race.

I tried to make light of it on Facebook: Canadian girl with alabaster skin and ginger hair + 34C desert heat plus convection oven winds = heat stroke.  Heat stroke sucks.

Desert Racing

In the post-race analysis, Coach Jack wonders about hyponatremia: I consciously drank extra water in the days leading to the race, I ate more than my planned nutrition during the race and yet still felt hungry, I consumed more than my planned liquid intake during the race, I had a massive headache, I was vomiting, I was disoriented, my HR didn't have a big spike at the end (signalling over heating).  The symptoms could fit either heat stroke or hyponatremia; I'll never really know, but it gives me perspective for my next race.

DNF is a tough blow: physically the heat stroke left me flat and achey, bloated fingers and dry mouth from all the dehydration, but I will recover; mentally I'm pretty bummed out because that was my big race for the year, but I've already got 2 more races on the books, so I've got a come-back plan.

Watch this space for more exciting race reports over the spring and summer!

Where I have Been?

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted to my blog.  Here's the scoop:

May 22, 2012
While pre-riding the Coulee Cruiser Mountain Bike course in Lethbridge, I inexplicably rocketed off my bike and broke my left humerus.  I fell off so fast that I didn't have time to put out my hands to stop my fall (hence no broken wrists).  The whole ordeal required an evacuation from the coulee, hospital trip, lots of x-rays, a few prescription painkillers, and the end of my 2012 season.

Thankfully, most race organizers were kind enough to roll most of the events forward.

September 2012
I managed to complete the XTerra Canadian Championships in Canmore held in early September, and I had planned to race XTerra Kelowna in mid September (a rollover of my XTerra Vernon entry), but then I was in a nasty car accident that DESTROYED my Orbea Alma 29er and messed with my neck and back.  Sheesh, this girl could not catch a break!

My mantra for 2013 is to hit the RESET button.

My big race for the season is the XTerra West US Championship in Vegas on April 12, 2013.  Coach Jack has me working hard, I'm trying to run faster and smoother, my bike strength has improved, my swim is almost back to its former glory (natch: broken arm = overly tight everything in my shoulder).

Wish me luck - and lots of cheers at the finish line!

We're still skiing both with the kids at Sunshine and in the back-country - although E joined us for 3 days at the Elizabeth Parker Hut this year! Super trip, can't wait to bring K next year too!

Snowshoe up (Daddy carries the gear), Ski down!

AT Skiing at Lake O'Hara

At Elizabeth Parker Hut, Feb 2013

 Happy Trails!

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!