Tonight was supposed to be about mud, especially since it was about 10 degrees in Vancouver all day with some rain. So when I got to Grouse Mountain this evening, I was not expecting to be snowshoeing. After filling out the requisite paperwork, Eric took some of the clinic leaders up the mountain and showed us around. I felt a little like a fraud as I had never been snowshoeing before. I have a had a pair of running snowshoes for about 4 years, but I have never used them. In fact, my friend Tim Dewailly is the only person to have worn my snowshoes, as he did a Yeti Snowshoe race a few years ago with them.
So it was with a big grin that we got off the tram to the top of the mountain and found the conditions much more favourable than we had anticipated. I would not have wanted to be snowboarding on that snow, but for snowshoeing it was perfect! We launched ourselves into the night and went by the reindeer, by the lake and hibernating grizzly bears (both the bears and reindeers were in pens, so don't worry!). We explored some of the terrain we will be taking guests out to and had some fun running down a ski slope!
I was surprised with how easy snowshoeing was. It felt very natural and was more fun than I was expecting. I am excited for this cross-training activity, especially with the planned active rest.
But the best part of the night was meeting the rest of the crew who will be leading the snowshoe clinic. They are a fun bunch of people and, thanks to meeting 5 of them tonight, I have officially doubled the number of people I know in Vancouver.
And for my new colleague Tom, here are the links to the Iceland pictures and race report.
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