On the coldest day of the winter (so far anyway), my new sled finally showed up!

Ordered up my snowboard racking too!

Been snowing here the last couple days - both Castle and Kicking Horse are supposed to be opening up this weekend. Going to try to hit Castle one or both days.

Tis the season, so I'm starting to buy the last pieces of the puzzle. Based largely on this review and thanks to Future Shop's liberal return policy, I bought a Samsung SC-X210L Sports Camcorder.

Used the new setup to film the new Beacon as well... she's not really what you might expect - I already have a couple avi beacons, shovels, probes, etc. This Beacon is my new Norwegian Elkhound pup. I wanted a snowboarding related name and almost called her Powder before deciding on Beacon. The hope is to take her into the backcountry with me next season. Beacon also has a bit of a pilot tie in too.




And some footage of her shot with the new camcorder


The picture quality isn't the greatest on this camcorder, but I like that it's tiny, integrated and pretty much water proof.

When you're out in the heli/cat, you're paying a pro to make sure the risk is managed, and even then, sometimes shit happens. Last year there was some pretty well publicized inbounds slides at Fernie and Kicking Horse. Seems most slednecks I've talked to are fairly indifferent to the whole avalanche thing. A complete contrast from the typical backcountry skier/snowboarder. Generalizations for sure, but that's what I've noticed.

Suffice to say that if you're planning on heading into the backcountry, you should have some understanding of snow and rescue techniques. If you're planning on coming sledboarding with me this winter, you'll want to be getting registered into this or a similar course....

Here's the details from the courses offered by Castle this year.

Courses will be offered on a first come first serve basis beginning Jan. 5th 2007 and run every second weekend following as long as interest continues. Course cost is $200. + GST + $10 lift ticket.
We require a minimum of 8 participants to a max of 16 to hold a course , if there are not enough registered the course will be bumped to the next date.

To reqister contact Karen or Steve at the main office at CMR 403-627-5101.We require a deposit of $100. to register . Applicants under 18 yrs. will require a parent or guardian signature on the waiver.

The course is taught by active, and or, professional members of the CAA (Canadian Avalanche Association) and follows CAA guidelines / approved content. Upon successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate of same as a pre-requisite to further study.

Gear required
- proper attire and pack for full field days in mountain winter environment
- Transceiver shovel and probe, rentals are not available at CMR but my be at other locations
- All travel will be in bounds at CMR so touring gear is not required

Course outline
Friday 7 pm -10 pm lecture in the conference room CMR lodge
Saturday 9 am -3:30 pm meet at mountain safety office
Saturday evening 7pm -9 pm lecture conference room, lodge
Sunday 9am -3:30 pm meet at mountain safety office

I waited too long and wasn't able to buy a sled off the showroom floor, so I now have one on order. Supposed to be here in a couple weeks. Met a couple slednecks at the dealer, so I now have some people to call for a "guided" tour of the sled/snowboard spots around castle mountain. These guys aren't into skiing/snowboarding, but seem interested in helping out.

Picked up my sled deck today. Took some work, but got it 99% installed - just need to pick up some steel plate for underneath to ensure it's anchored well. It's a few years old, but I got a pretty good deal on it. Hadn't planned on a full blown deck, but after pricing out ramps, the jump to the deck wasn't that big. The deck will let me haul two machines, which will be a nice capability to have.

I had thought I might need to travel quite a distance into the mountains to find a place to use the sled for touring, but after talking to some people at the sled show on the weekend and picking up my $2 trail map, it looks like there's some goods to be had very close to home.

As you can see from the map, there's lots of trails right around Castle's parking lot. (Everything that's green or red is a sled trail)

Now the only issue lies in finding some sled buddies to ride with.

After taking the spring/summer off from a training regimen, I hopped back on the bike at the start of October. I'm back to my old routine of 6 or 7 days a week on the bike. I'd spent quite a bit of time hiking the trails behind the house in Calgary and had made quite a few trips to the rocks to hike/scramble - mostly with Kristjan, so the return to cardio has gone quite well.



I haven't hit the weights yet, but that starts next Tuesday. I joined a local gym and have hired a personal trainer for once a week. That's about $200 month for membership and trainer - nominal when you compare to the expense of the trips I've already booked this winter. Being in shape makes riding so much more enjoyable, you can power through just about anything.

If you're planning on keeping up this winter, I'd suggest you start your own plan. 10 weeks and counting til the Valhalla trip!