But we never got wet. Saturday was spent skiing again in Callaghan to prepare for the loppet next Saturday. They changed the course from the previous year not only going the opposite direction but also making it two 15km loops for the 30km and two 25km for the 50km race. Jeff and John are attempting the 50km on skate skis while I’ll stick to my classics doing the 30km – which will take me at least just as long likely longer. I had a great ski night skiing at Cypress this past Wednesday and was looking forward trying the loppet course.
We left Vencouver in heavy rains but got to Callaghan with light snow. They had gotten quite a bit of fresh snow over night. The temperature was already up at 0C though. I really wanted to use my waxable skis with the grip tape but the tape already iced up on the first hill in all this fresh snow and not yet re-groomed trails on the black trails of the Olympic Cross-Country area. So I had to walk back to the car to switch skis. I already felt quite tired (didn’t sleep well all week) and my ankle was hurting (started earlier this week). Since I hadn’t used my crowns in a while I figured I leave the big hills till later and first warm up on the flats. Glide felt fine but I could always hear the crowns scratching along the snow – mentally that makes it tougher. On the other hand I had less grip in the tracks than I do with my grip tape. But once I got to the areas with fresh snow the crowns really shine. I finished “Porters Glide” with a lot of double poling but felt like I had no power, tried to find the route up to “Top of the World” and “Around the World” – big hill on that stretch too – before going down and then up again on Mountain View. The next part was the Olympic Cross-Country/Biathlon area which I really dreaded last year since we hit those trails near the end of the loppet. This time we would be doing those first. Which means up a big hill right off the start with 500 other skiers – good thing I am slow 
. I managed to get up the hill sweating buckets. On top I got lost in the maze of trails – most of them not even groomed never mind tracked. I stopped a lot to consult my map. It was not fun – even the sun breaking through the clouds for a bit didn’t make it any better. I finally found my way down through knee-deep snow – not fun - onto the biathlon trails only to get lost again. Frustrating – lots of ups and downs and turns and stop to check where I am!! But finally I found the “Madeley Creek” trail and actually skied for a bit. By this time my body and mind were tired. And even though “Madeley Creek Loop” went quick I only managed to do “Porters Glide” one more time before packing it in and dragging my sorry ass back up to the parking lot. Overall the grooming wasn’t great anywhere but that is mostly due to the warm temperatures which don’t only make my grip tape ice up but also their grooming machines. I was out there for 3hrs15min but only managed to cover 23 km – pretty bad. But hey, they always say if the last practice before the race is a grind the race will feel much easier. I am a firm believer.
Sunday, Jeff and I went for a paddle on Burnaby Lake. My usual paddling buddy Jodi had a weight competition yesterday and I told her to take a day off . I haven’t been in my K1 since late November!! Luckily the lake was flat calm. We did two laps up to the dam – the sun again made a bit of an appearance through the clouds. I felt okay and went at a steady pace – long ways away from a good paddling pace though. Can’t wait for spring.
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- Views from the top of the Olympic Cross Country Trails
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- The sun even made an appearance for a bit
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- Burnaby Lake – nice and flat!
