Callaghan – reser kanadensare

To kick off the new year while in BC, I went with buddy Erica to the Callaghan Valley and Whistler Olympic Park for XC skiing. We rocked it like it was 2010 and it was awesome!

Once for the 2012 Olympics, now its for everyone (who has $25 for a trail pass, natch!)

Warming fires throughout the trail system - (almost) Swedish style! — Warming fires throughout the trail system – (almost) Swedish style!

It snowed that day, but there was still some blue sky to be had

Afterwards we went to the Scandinave Spa for some high-end outdoor hot-tubing. Â Cameras were not allowed inside, but check out the website photos to get the idea – it was pretty swank. Â I’m not sure I like it more than JJ spa (especially value-wise), but it was a nice experience.

Frozen stream in Callaghan - luckily the hot tubs (and even cool tubs) were much warmer than this. :S — Frozen stream in Callaghan – luckily the hot tubs (and even cool tubs) were much warmer than this. :S

Bonus one-week-later SK ski report (sorry no photos):

I had a ski Wednesday night which was pretty nice, and one last night which was EPIC. Â -20-something, but wind down to -32. Â The trails were groomed yesterday morning, but the wind blew the snow all over the trail so there were no trackset and you could barely see the skate trail. Â I plowed off the trail more than once in the dark (even with my headlamp). Â However, for the first time ever i kept up with the skating crowd. Â To be fair, these conditions were really my comparative advantage: no way to be technical or make use of glide, and only sweat and determination to get over the drifts and crunch along the snowmobile path. My headlamp and I made the most of it to lead the group. Â 😉

By the end my hands had warmed up, but my eyebrows and eyelashes were frozen, and I had a giant frozen snot/condensate shield on my face muffler. 5km loop in about 45 minutes, I called it a day and went home. Respect for polar explorers just grew 10-fold.

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