Weekend Up North, Eh?

I had the pleasure this weekend of going to Banff and staying with Leslie and Keith, who are truly great hosts and tour guides. Since I’ve downhill skiied all of a few times I have been interested in backcountry touring, which seems right up my alley. Leslie and Keith offered to take me on a beginner level backcountry tour so I jumped on the opportunity. It was just as fun and awesome as I imagined it would be. I learned that I need to actually learn how to ski though.

(Danni snowplows down what appears to be a flat surface -- yes I need to learn to ski!)

For those of you who didn’t grow up in a ski town or skiing all the time and have no idea what I’m talking about, backcountry touring is like cross-country skiing on fat alpine skis with alpine-style boots. The boots can be flipped into “walk” mode which allows them to hinge as you walk, and then flipped into “ski” mode which makes them stiff like a regular downhill/alpine ski boot. The skis themselves are often fatter than a regular downhill ski, and the bindings are super fancy and allow you to free your heel for walking or click the heel down for skiing. Also, “skins” are affixed to the bottom of the ski while you “walk” and then you remove them while you ski. It’s very cool. This is also known as “randonee” skiing. Many people use this set up to get into the backcountry to find a nice powdery run and do “turns” (whatever that means, I only know pizza and french fries) while some people just use this set up to cruise around in the backcountry and explore. There are definitely some dangers in the winter in the backcountry, which include avalanche danger (Keith planned our tour purposefully so we weren’t anywhere near any avalanche danger) and all sorts of other random things. It’s definitely a sport that requires a lot of knowledge, skill and gear. Perhaps I can be there (after learning to ski!) in about a decade.

So to get to our tour we took the gondola up to Sunshine, the ski resort near Banff, and then ducked under the rope and took off into the gorgeous and quiet backcountry. We toured for about 5 hours, down around a lake and back through Sunshine meadows (I think?). It was really fantastic!!!

(isn't Leslie adorable?)

I had only one incident where I was really struggling and a bit panicked. I call it crisis corner. Going up and turning up a steep bit was difficult and I found myself sliding backwards. Not that I was going to go anywhere or plummet to my death – but I was nonetheless in a state of panic and stressed out. Leslie pushed my butt up and Keith instructed me up the difficult hill. It all worked out!

(Keith was a good teacher)

On Sunday we lazed about in the morning and then ran up Sulpher Mountain. Well, hiked up. We had gorgeous views until the blizzard hit. We took the gondola most of the way back down and then ran home. Leslie is in amazing shape. She ran all week in California in the Marin Headlands on a last second spontaneous vacation only to amuse and entertain me all weekend in the mountains. She still kicked my butt going up that mountain!!! My heart rate was much higher than it probably should have been. I also decided that my IceBugs no longer grip very well and might be, sadly, nearing retirement. I had gear envy for sure and want those kahtula spike thingies. The cool kids have them.

(above, Leslie enjoys her hot Gatorade)

Leslie and Keith are awesome and I’m pretty sure Keith is my long lost Jewish brother. It’s so nice to be a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from Banff, one of the most magical vacation spots in North America, and close to such cool people. Yay me!