Canmore!

Last night we arrived in Canmore, Alberta. We'll call this home for the next 27 days as we enjoy the stellar conditions up at the nordic center in preparation for IBU Cup trials in Minnesota in December. We have two days (today included) left on the Frozen Thunder loop before they open up all the man-made trails they've been working on over the last two weeks.

Frozen Thunder is the name given to their loop of man-made snow that was saved from last year. When they're done making snow at the start of each winter they fill a huge pit with snow and cover it with sawdust and wood chips. This insulates it from the sun and heat of summer. The following October (around the 15th usually) they dig into the pit and spread the snow to make a skiable loop. Right now that loop is about 2.5km long and pretty nice looking. 

Today the crew was out pushing snow around from freshly-made piles. They're hoping to open up the new terrain on Friday which should more than triple the trails that are open from the looks of it. 

What's left of the saved snow pile from last winter….

Raleigh skiing on snow saved from last winter.

Looking toward the biathlon ranges and race stadiums. The mountains here are really spectacular! 

Casey and Raleigh are both going to jump into some Biathlon Canada trials races tomorrow and Friday. I'm going to hold off and focus on getting my feet under me. 

Raleigh…taking in the sun and enjoying the snow. 

Check back for more pictures soon….I'm being careful with the battery life of my ski camera right now since I forgot the charger at home. Fortunately I travel with 2 (yes TWO) cameras so if the little one (that fits in my drink belt so it can come skiing) dies, we can always fall back on the big fancier one. 

Utah: Mid-Mountain Meander

This morning I took some time to myself and did a point-to-point hike/run from The Canyons Resort back to our Condo in Park City via the mountain bike trails. The Mid-Mountain trail traverses across the middle of much of the ridge between Park City and Kimball Junction. The weather wasn't awesome but I brought along my good camera anyways, planning to store it once the clouds opened up. Raleigh donated his day pack to my cause which turned out to be perfect as it has a rain fly. Because I think blogs with pictures are more interesting, here's much of my hike in photos as well as a few shots from yesterday's mountain biking adventure:

My view from the back of the train heading up Jenni's Trail.

After exploring the mountain trails for a few hours we ventured down to the dirt track for a quick spin. This is Casey contemplating something crazy. 

Raleigh going for it...

When we got back to our condo we discovered this rugby game going on right across the street...there are lots of groups that visit this field every day. I think today is probably the first day we haven't seen anyone over there and I'm sure that's only because it's 43 degrees and absolutely POURING rain. 

Last night we got a visit from the ice cream truck at the field....if we had already eaten dinner when he showed up I'm not sure we would've been able to restrain ourselves. 

 

Raleigh and Casey hanging out watching Despicable Me last night...

 This morning I caught a ride from Seth and the guys on their way to rollerski East Canyon. They dropped me at the base of The Canyons Resort where I tried but failed to find Holly's mountain bike trail up the mountain. Instead I hiked up the tote road until I ran into the Mid-Mountain Trail. 

These guys were watching me head up the mountain early on.

The view from part way up the first face of The Canyons. Yes, I used the camera settings to enhance the colors of the foliage...it was pretty grey out today so the actual look was much more muted. 

Without color enhancement looking south in the direction that I headed. 

Another view with enhanced colors...

The Mid-Mountain Trail. 

The trails were really pretty today despite the lack of sun....all the aspens are bright yellow right and in some places the trail is just covered with them....

like this!

More deer.

Mid-Mountain just cuts across the hillside so it traverses a lot of the alpine trails. 

Lots of leaves on the trail.

More leaves. 

And more leaves. I guess I liked them!

Found this perfectly paved road that goes up the hillside on the southern edge of The Canyons property. There are all kinds of mansions up there (see next photo) so I'm sure this road is private and gated, otherwise it would be awesome for an uphill workout: no cars, perfect pavement. 

A HUGE mansion. One of many that all seemed to be empty. 

Traversing a steep alpine trail before it started to snow and rain. 

Looking back toward where I started. 

One last shot after the bulk of the snow and rain stopped. I didn't use any color-enhancing settings on this shot and was amazed at how vibrant the yellows still were even though it was so dark after the rain. 

Tomorrow we have an off day which is lucky because the forecast is for more of the rain and snow that we've had this afternoon. On the docket: knitting, reading, and tea.