Andrea Dupont

At some point in the fall, somewhere between training in sub-zero freezing rain conditions and considering googling ‘winter tires for rollerskis’, training in the mountains becomes tough.  Some days the only thing that gets me out the door in the morning is knowing that one day soon, there will be enough snow to ski.

There is something about snow that always makes me smile. It is just the way that I am wired, the very sight of snow brings a smile to my face and the first skiable snow of the year makes me absolutely giddy. And suddenly training in freezing rain or a blizzard seems like the best thing on earth!

With the roads in town too sandy to rollerski, and the weather too warm to hold the snow and my body starting to accumulate overuse injuries from pounding the pavement, the snow has arrived not a moment too soon. While down in Canmore there isn’t much more than 400m of man-made snow, over the past two weeks my team has had the privilege to do some early season skiing at Sunshine Meadows. 

The conditions have rapidly improved from slushy freezing rain to perfect blue hard wax skiing. I think the groomer is just as excited to be on snow as I am, as the trail wanders throughout the meadows with just enough quick turns to keep you on your toes or you quickly end up in waist deep powder.

Skiing up at sunshine has reminded me what I love about skiing and has given me that mental boost that I needed to trudge through these last few weeks of hard training before the start of race season.

With 3 weeks of volume and intensity left, I am happy to be doing my hours on snow to keep me smiling :p