Fernie, Master The Mountain 1 ‘08
SCROLL DOWN FOR WEEKS 1 - 6
WEEK 1 by Jane Murray, Cathal De Barra and a little bit by Hermione…
After a remarkably smooth flight and transfer, we were escorted by the almost overly-informative bus driver in N. America. He delighted in departing every possible morsel of information upon us, from the percentage increase rates of Calgary’s booming population to the inherent dangers of taking photos from the top of “cornisheees”. Absolutely shattered by the time we arrived, we had just enough energy to take a tour around the new lodge and settle into our new homes.
We spent the first few days adjusting to the Arctic temperatures and finding our feet and so far it really has been non-stop! We bought skis and boots - an exercise that you may regard as simple but in fact took us 2 days to complete. Last out on the hill….the only Irish people….you get the picture!
We are staying in the newly renovated lodge, which is full of people on NONSTOP courses and a lovely place to stay. We are sharing the experience with 24 others, whom we are getting to know gradually. A New Years Eve party and a trip to an Ice Hockey game last Friday helped to warm everybody up!
We were straight into lessons once we sorted out our gear, followed up by a weekend Avalanche Course. The first day was a PowerPoint day, but the following day we got to go and dig snow pits, bury things and people and use exciting equipment like transceivers and probes. This is all in preparation for our backcountry skiing experience - bring it on!
WEEK 2 by Jane Murray & Cathal De Barra
Week 2 kicked off with an Avalanche Awareness Course with Steve the Snow Scientist. Steve had the unfortunate task of reclaiming our brains from the effects of Friday’s Ghostriders ice hockey game and the attendant beers. He impressively managed to retain our attention and imparted many gems on avalanche risks.
On Sunday, it was time to put our newly acquired skills into practice. Armed with shovels, probes and transceivers, we headed for the hill to stage some rescues. We all carried out full scale mock rescue situations, man it is hard wading around in that snow! Some resorted to crawling or a curious “worm” style manoeuvre to avoid sinking!
One of the guides, Eddie, announced lunch time when we were still in a steep bowl…it took most of the allotted time just to climb out! Digging test pits in the snow honed our shovelling muscles as we delved into the world of snow science for the afternoon. Alex’s punishment for lack of commitment to the dig was demonstration of the Ruschblock test!
Monday brought sunshine and a return to lessons, with new instructors for each group. Kiwi Kirsty took on the rookies. The boys in the group suddenly seemed super keen on improving their ski ability, and all but pushed us girls out of the way in the chair queue to impress our bonny lass from New Zealand !
Jono’s group enjoyed some challenging runs while Terry treated his group to deep powder days. Week 2 proved to break down barriers as everyone got to know each other…what goes on a chairlift stays on a chairlift!
Thursday night was curling at the local rink. The young guns whipped the old fogies but good fun was had by all. Wikipedia tells us that curling is a Scottish game and all bona fide curling stones come for one quarry somewhere in the bonny country.
The aforementioned young guns were delighted to hear this week that a “gluttonous” sized portion would now be available in the Red Tree Restaurant. Sam committed some unknown misdemeanour and was put to work hosting in the restaurant….
This was the week to test out ski touring gear for the first time. After a few teething problems all the MTMs got familiar with skins and touring bindings. Half the group had their first full touring day on Friday with guides Tyler and Corin.
Due to high avalanche risk, we were limited to where we could go. For this less experienced group, skinning uphill proved a doddle. However, the guides stood agog as they watched mayhem unfold while we attempted descent of the powder slope - flies in ointment came to mind as skis, poles and limbs flailed everywhere!
The afternoon took us up to Lost Boys Pass. We skinned up to the lookout, but poor visibility obliterated the view. It was beautiful up there, really quiet, and trees frosted with snow lined the slope.
The descent back towards Falling Star took an interesting turn when I (Jane) fell foul of the “upsidedown” snow and sacrificed a ski to the mountain….an hour of all 12 of us probing and digging revealed nothing. The approaching dusk meant that Tyler had to commit an R.B.O (round buying offence) and call a skidoo to take me down.
The rest of the gang skied to the safety of the Griz Bar, while I attempted a three-legged skiing effort with Tyler..unsuccessfully. I then took a ride on the skidoo with Paul “hold on tight and lean with me” the ski patrol guy. Brandied hot chocolates were called for all round to recover from the mission.
Hermione, our rep came to the rescue with the good old yellow bus. A few of the group were definitely “overserved” in the post-rescue fever. Cathal thought he would go to the pub Superman style, and entertained the guests in the restaurant with tunes on the Electric Fork.
So, transport…a third bus joined the NONSTOP fleet this week, complete with tunes and aural Canadiana to entertain us on the way up to the Hill. Hermione has taken to wearing her helmet while driving…should we be concerned?
The weekend brought a touring day for the other group, and a well earned rest for all on Sunday. Fernie was hosting an Avalanche Awareness Weekend. This is probably recommended for the resort - apparently ski patrollers from other resorts in the Rockies can’t quite believe how anybody runs a commercial operation here!
So that wrapped up week 2 -week 3 has plenty of treats in store for us, including a trip to the Powderkeg resort for some night time skiing and beers!
WEEK 3 by Jane Murray
Week 3 got off to a very cold start! We were back to lessons on Monday 14th with temperatures well below your average freezer! We were however rewarded with fabulous views as the usually cloudy sky was azure blue for the day.
Not for us the usual warm up runs before class started…most of us reclined in the comfort of Starbucks to generate some much needed heat. The day involved lots of hot chocolate stops and stamping of feet to fend off frost nip! Pitchers of beer were consumed in the Griz Bar to warm the cockles after such a day.
The week continued with lessons as usual on Tuesday. Powder, powder, powder was the name of the game and we got stuck in. Fantastic couple of days getting used to the real Canadian experience…we haven’t heard that awful sound of skis on ice!
The day’s skiing was followed by a tech session with Jono. The subject of the evening was Body Awareness. Cathal decided he really didn’t need to go as he was fully aware of his body and lots of other people were too (random panics on chairlifts ahem..!).
On Thursday night we took night skiing trip to Pass Powderkeg, 45 minutes east in Alberta. The locals were a little perturbed that their nice quiet hill was invaded by 30 new skiers, but we enjoyed the novelty of a few runs in the dark! Those who came along for the ride but didn’t ski enjoyed a rather bizarre road trip with a local to some redneck bars (Bill and Vicky were very tempted to start up karaoke!)
The return trip involved an entertaining stop at a bar in the Elk Valley - rather like a bar in the Overlook Hotel….we had a few cold beers and a few bad games of pool. Cathal got rather friendly with the owner’s wife!
On Saturday we all got up early for a day trip to Castle Mountain. At 7.30am we trundled onto the bus, wondering what we were doing going to a resort 2 hours drive away when there was one up the road!
The lifts were ancient and the resort has the longest T-bar lift in North America. The Day Lodge at the resort resembled a large youth hostel and Jane couldn’t get into the bar because it was “full” with 51 people. Canadians….
It was Stephen the Scotsman’s birthday on Saturday night so that was a great excuse to party. A combination of pizza, mohitos, beers, Nintendo Wii and Karaoke led to an interesting night…culminating with some dancing in the Central Bar - some more than others!
WEEK 4
Week 4 brought yet more snow, and ever-rising excitement coupled with a few nerves about the approaching backcountry adventure. We were drilled hard in the lessons to preparing AMP level 1: linked carving, short radius, drop in, and free run. The assessment results will be kept secret until the final farewell party.
A select few toured Fernie Brewery, a shiny new plant just out of town. They whet our appetites with tasters of all their brews, and even threw in a free souvenir glass each – woo hoo!
Friday and Saturday brought more touring, our last ‘practice’ session before heading into the big bad backcountry out at the Boulder Hut. We were privileged enough to have Dangerous Dave himself lead us out into Lost Boys, on what ended up being a fairly comedy day. We all returned alive, if not a little stiff, to enjoy our fair share of beers.
WEEK 5
We spent 4 days in the Purcells living like Grizzly Adams in the Boulder Hut. The only way in or out was by chopper, flying low over the ragged mountains and snow-clad trees. The hut itself was more substantial than any of us expected, with a great team of guides and chefs working magic on the hill and stove alike.
All the electricity has to be produced on site by a micro hydro power system, and despite the fact that the ‘washroom’ was outdoors, (a basic long-drop covered by no more than an A-frame) and the shower was a bucket on a pulley, they still managed to provide a hot tub! I like their priorities!
The days generally consisted of one long skin up in the morning followed by several shorter runs from the top and ending with one final long run all the way back to the hut. Having several guides meant that some folk were able to conveniently peel off slightly earlier than others, depending on fitness and ability.
When we finally returned to civilization of Fernie, we had the luxury of a couple of days off to recover before our next adventure – cat skiing! Another incredible experience, and a significantly easier (or lazier) was to access the endless powder out there. Some classic photos were taken, involving many face-plants and yard sales following attempted cliff drops… oh dear!
WEEK 6
With everyone back from the hut trip in high spirits, the final week was a happy time. We all noticed our skiing improve in leaps and bounds this final week, having been tested hard by the deep powder and uncontrolled conditions of the backcountry. Anything the ski hill’s terrain threw at us seemed like a doddle in comparison!
7 of the skiers were having slightly more serious days, as they had opted for taking their level 1 instructors exams. Happily, they all passed with no problems, warranting some serious celebrations in the Griz bar on Thursday evening… sadly Emma’s table slide wasn’t as successful as her Wedge turns…
Griz bar celebrations were swiftly followed by a farewell party in the lodge, at which a comedy spread of photos was shown on the big screen and a bunch of awards were given out for our various achievements. We were all glad to hear that there was a 100% pass rate for the AMP 1 – all mountain pros all around!
To wrap up the week on an even bigger high, two of the boys on the level 1 course secured jobs instructing up at the hill so are now staying out to get a full fix of the Fernie season. Congratulations Sam and Pete!
