From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
Excitement is building in the Labrador West as enthusiastic skiers and snowshoers prepare for the 43rd Great Labrador Loppet on March 24th.
Hosted by the Menihek Nordic Ski Club, the Loppet is expected to attract 150-200 participants. The trails are groomed for both classic and free techniques and attract both recreational and competitive cross country skiers.
Skiers and snowshoers can participate in one of five events – Snow shoe race 10km,2.2km Youth events,10 km, 28 km and 50 km ski events. The snowshoe & ski 10 km starts at Duley Lake Park while the 28 km goes from Fermont, Quebec to Labrador City with the 50 km taking skiers from Labrador City to Fermont and back.
There is also a 2.2km snowshoe and ski events geared toward young children and their parents. Club president Gerry Rideout said the 50 km event will start at 9 am and all other adult events getting underway at 10 am, while the youth events start at 11:00am
Early season skiing at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre on Oct. 14, 2017. (Courtesy photo)
When you think of skiing in Canada in October, Canmore’s Frozen Thunder is probably one of the first places that comes to mind. There are more options and some snowmaking that might surprise you.
This month, Canadians are skiing on natural snow, machine-made snow and farmed snow. We know skiers are already out and about in Alaska and other parts of the U.S. as well, which is why we want this year’s early season “Where The (Skiable) White Stuff Is” to compose of reader submissions. If you know where there’s November or even October skiing in the U.S. or Canada, please write us with details (When does it open or how long has it been open? How many groomed kilometers are there? Is there snowmaking? Any special events planned, like American Thanksgiving camps? Anything else we should know?)and original photos at info@fasterskier.com with the subject line: “Fall Skiing”. Deadline for submissions is Nov. 3.
To get the ball rolling, FasterSkier’s Gerry Furseth checked in with several nordic venues across Canada. They’ve already celebrated Thanksgiving, and full-on skiing is just around the corner.
Frozen Thunder
Canmore has started building Frozen Thunder for 2017. This is what it looks like with five days to go. (Courtesy photo)
The action starts on Oct. 21 with some changes for the eighth season. There will be a bigger hill as requested by the national teams and a new emphasis on avoiding exposed south-facing slopes.
The Canmore Nordic Centre (in Canmore, Alberta) is an unusual venue, one of the select few that has machine-made snow, farmed snow and natural snow.
“There is obviously an issue [with manmade snow] around warmer temperatures,” Area Manager Michael Roycroft told FasterSkier. “Last year is a good example where most of November was too warm to make snow, and that’s where Frozen Thunder comes in. That’s why we have our storage option, that allows us to essentially have snow no matter what.”
Frozen Thunder is funded mostly by national and provincial ski organizations and the focus is on providing training opportunities for high-level competitors. The snowmaking has a broader focus.
“The natural snow is obviously helpful, and it covers the rest of our trail system that’s further to the west and higher up, but it wasn’t for machine-made snow in Canmore and the nordic centre, we simply would not be able to run as a nordic facility,” Roycroft said.
Machine-made snow covers 30 kilometers, leaving 40 k dependent on natural snow.
A big job requires big machinery. (Photo: Canmore Nordic Centre)
Whitehorse
Whitehorse ski trails on Oct. 15, 2017. Another 5 centimeters was needed to set track. (Photo: Alain Masson)
When you think of Whitehorse, you probably don’t think of snowmaking. But Cross Country Yukon’s Alain Masson does.
“In the past, we often had snow available for skiing for our more advanced skiers, but it was not available to everyone,” Masson wrote in an email. “This year, our developing skiers will all have access to some early skiing in good man made snow conditions a month earlier than usual.”
Much of the early season skiing in Canada is not intermediate friendly. Thin snow, tripping hazards and travel to elevation create a barrier to less advanced or less committed skiers. The Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club is using snowmaking to make the early season more inclusive.
The new snowmaking equipment will be used for the first time on Oct. 22.
Testing the new gun in June 2017. (Photo: Alain Masson)
Sovereign Lake
There is a difference of opinion on what season Oct. 14 belongs to. The bikers might have chosen fat bikes over plus bikes if they had realized how much snow they would see on their epic ride from Vernon to Lumby, B.C. (Photo: Gerry Furseth)
The Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre (near Vernon, British Columbia) is well known for November skiing and NorAm races. The season is limited not by loss of snow, but by biking conditions in the valley below.
“As soon as Sovereign gets snow in the fall we want to conserve as much as possible by rolling and track setting,” General Manager Troy Hudson wrote. “All of our early season grooming is done with Quads and snowmobiles to ensure a firm and supportive snowpack for the remainder of the season. Our high elevation (1,680m) and typical higher humidity in late October provides unpredictable weather that can often result in snowstorms of 10-15cm at a time.”
With 20 centimeters of fresh snow, the club set about 5 k of classic track on Oct. 14. While certain trails are open for preseason skiing, the nordic centre officially opens Nov. 10 for pass holders and day ticket sales.
Menihek Nordic
Menihek is another former national-team favourite destination that has since been replaced by Frozen Thunder. Located near Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador, it is a less-visited gem. While the Menihek Nordic Ski Club hasn’t received much snow to date, it is a safe bet that by the end of October they will be setting upwards of several kilometers of track.
On Oct. 12, a dusting of snow was seen at the lodge. (Photo: Gerry Rideout)
The BC development team getting ready to ski out of the biathlon stadium at Whistler Olympic Park last weekend.
While most people have moved on to other sports by May, the more obsessive skiers are starting the new training year on snow.
Canada’s “first” cross-country ski “races” of the 2017/2018 season were held on May 6. “First” because, while we haven’t exhaustively researched this, it was the first Saturday after May 1, which is the traditional new year for the Northern Hemisphere. “Races” is also a bit misleading as most athletes were viewing the events as an opportunity to do some intensity.
Here then, in the order which photos arrived, are the places where people are skiing in May. Did we miss one? Share in the comments below or email photos with caption and credit info to info@fasterskier.com.
Sovereign Lake, Vernon, B.C.
The Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre (SLNC) re-opened from May 4 to 7 for the Spring Fling camp and the “SLNC 1st Annual Pushups Classic Time Trial” race. The May camp has been running for years, but was moved to earlier in the month to ensure prime conditions. A number of clubs brought athletes out for technique lessons and long snow sessions. Canmore Nordic broke the pattern by focussing on low-elevation training with shorter training sessions. As the Canmore athletes live at 1,400 metres above sea level, the opportunity to train at 400 metres was more exciting than skiing at 1,700 metres.
The first day of camp on May 4 was a warm one, but the 16 k of trails held up well.
Julien Locke (Canadian National U25 Team) disappearing into the mist.
Three generations of Williams (Madeleine Williams, her baby and her parents) enjoying the sun and snow.
Canmore Nordic found bluebird skies and fresh tracks.
Graham Nishikawa smiling early on the first of four long ski days for him.
+17 C on Thursday, May 4, 30mm of rain on Friday, May 5, fresh snow on Saturday morning, and this salamander doesn’t care because he skipped the time trial.
SLNC General Manager Troy Hudson (second from left) explaining the race rules to Gareth Williams, Annika Richardson and others on May 6 at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre.
If the stairs are reappearing, it must be spring!
Sovereign Lake closing day: May 7, and the last set track here until November. (Photo: Troy Hudson)
Canmore, Alberta
The Canmore Nordic Centre lost its snow at the end of April, but Sunshine Meadows just a short drive west in Banff National Park hosted a large group of skiers starting May 9. Ivan Babikov is leading a training block for the Canmore-based national team members, Chris Jeffries has the Alberta World Cup Academy crew, and a number of other groups are there as well.
OK, not in Canada, but Canadians Dahria Beatty and Russell Kennedy went and enjoyed some superb skiing conditions. They raced at Bysprinten in Mosjøen, Norway, and then moved on to Sjusjøen’s 100 kilometres of trails.
Dahria Beatty and Russell Kennedy in Sjusjøen in early May. (Courtesy photo)
Russell Kennedy, Annika Taylor, Dahria Beatty, Brian Gregg, Caitlin Gregg in the Susjøen stadium. (Photo: Russell Kennedy)
Dahria Beatty, Russell Kennedy, and friends enjoying some spring skiing in Norway in early May. (Photo: Dahria Beatty)
Kennedy and friends skiing on a warm May day in Sjusjøen. (Photo: Russell Kennedy)
Russell Kennedy enjoying May sunshine in Sjusjøen. (Photo: Russell Kennedy)
Dahria Beatty in Norway in early May. (Photo: Dahria Beatty)
Sun, snow and Norwegian friends. (Photo: Russell Kennedy)
Menihek, Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador
The Menihek Nordic Ski Club is officially closed, but has snow and will set track for Mother’s Day, according to club president Gerry Rideout.
Menihek “Happy Trails” on April 21. (Photo: Gerry Rideout)
Whistler Olympic Park, Whistler, B.C.
This venue is closed to the public, but has been hosting camps on natural snow. Biathlon got the first weekend of May and cross-country has the Victoria Day weekend. These photos are from the biathlon camp on the Olympic trails, mostly below 900 metres in elevation.
The XC stadium in May sunshine.
The BC Development team getting ready to ski out of the biathlon stadium at Whistler Olympic Park last weekend.
Skiers on the connector trail between Whistler’s biathlon and XC Olympic trails.
The low bridge on the Olympic XC trails.
The Hub, an intersection that leads to the lower trails, closed in April.
800 meters from the finish of the Olympic blue loop, with just Hermod’s Hill to go.
The view from Hermod’s Hill. (Yes, John Aalberg and Hermod Bjørkestøl designed these trails, too.)
“Callaghan Gold” got its name the first (trial) season in which WOP started storing snow in 2013. Sawdust (seen here in early May 2017) was used to cover the snow over the summer and discoloured it. Expect white snow this October.
(From left to right) Bob Thompson (NTDC Thunder Bay) chases Lenny Valjas (Canadian World Cup A-Team), Graeme Killick (AWCA/NST B-team), and Knute Johnsgaard (AWCA/NST U25 Team) at the start of a classic sprint heat at 2016 Frozen Thunder in Canmore, Alberta, on Nov. 1. (Photo: Jenn Jackson)
As promised, the Canadian version of “Where the (Skiable) White Stuff Is” (a.k.a. November skiing) is here, minus the bit about where to ski at Thanksgiving. Canada doesn’t usually have much snow at Thanksgiving, mostly because Canadian Thanksgiving is in early October. But by the time U.S. Thanksgiving rolls around in late November, there is an abundance of reliable snow to choose from in Canada.
In addition to major camps and well publicized early season track setting, there are a lot of places in Canada where people quietly start skiing when there is snow. Whitehorse in the Yukon is one of those places where “early” doesn’t have the same meaning as it does in the south. No one will advertise October skiing at Barkerville, British Columbia, but the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club in Prince George can tell you about it. FasterSkier’s West-Coast based Canadian contributor was on snow Oct. 8 this year.
All of the western venues mentioned here were affected by the same weather pattern than forced the cancellation of the Bozeman SuperTour. A heatwave rolled in on Nov. 3, starting with a very warm classic sprint in Canmore, Alberta, and ending in spectacular flooding near Whistler, B.C. It has been a better start in the east.
This article will focus on reliable set track and camps open to the public in November — in Canada (for the U.S. version, click here). If your favourite early season spot isn’t featured, you are in good company. Let us know in the comments below.
And if you are visiting Canada, remember that the U.S. dollar is worth $1.35 up here.
***
CAMPS
XC SuperCamp
Where: Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre and Silver Star Mountain Resort, Vernon, B.C.
A trailside photo from 2015 SuperCamp at Sovereign Lake/Silver Star (Courtesy photo)
SuperCamp has evolved over 30 years, but its always been held on natural snow and it’s always run camps in November. Four of this season’s seven camps are in November, and biathlon options were offered this month as well.
“SuperCamp is a very comprehensive nordic experience,” Shane Landreville, SuperCamp coordinator, wrote in an email. “Trail passes are included, as are lunches, off snow programs, wax sessions, massages, and ski demos.”
Ski-in/ski-out accomodation and restaurants are available at Silver Star. Vernon, a 20-minute drive and 1,200 metres lower in elevation, offers a wide range of food and lodging alternatives. Some of the November camps sold out in mid-October when registration opened.
Glenn Bond XC Ski Camps
Where: Labrador City, Newfoundland
The 2016 Glenn Bond XC Ski Camp at Menihek Nordic on Nov. 3. (Courtesy photo)
The four-year old Glenn Bond XC Ski Camp program travelled to Menihek Nordic in Labrador City, Newfoundland, for a November camp on natural snow.
“[This camp] was November 3-6 with 70-80 cms of snow and big smiles,” Bond wrote. “Menihek Nordic wins the prize for best early season xc ski conditions this year hands down.”
(Longtime SuperCamp attendees remember Bond from his time with that program.)
NATURAL SNOW
Menihek Nordic
Where: Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador
Fifty centimetres (roughly 20 inches) of natural snow at Menihek Nordic in Labrador City on Oct. 23, 2016. (Photo: Menihek Nordic)
Mention ‘Lab City’ to a national team member from the 1980s and you will see the good memories scrolling behind the smile. In the glory days of Pierre Harvey, the national team would kick off its season at Menihek before moving on to Silver Star for an early season elevation camp. After that national team stopped visiting the venue in 1988, it quietly dropped off the radar, to the point that FasterSkier missed this October skiing opportunity in last year’s guide.
Labrador City is not visited by many tourists. It’s at least a 13-hour drive from Quebec City, which is the nearest major population centre. But there are some big-name skiers that have visited, including Sweden’s Gunde Svan, Americans Bill Koch and Tim Caldwell, Norway’s Anette Bøe, and the Firth sisters from Canada’s Northwest Territories. Menihek Nordic hosted the 1983 World Cup Final, the 1985 World Cup opener and was a national training centre from 1981 to 1988. Mining communities are often multicultural: the World Cup hosts were able to find local translators for 20 languages from a population of less than 10,000. Koch designed some of the trails in 1981.
What makes this venue unique, other than reliable October-to-May skiing?
“Labrador is unique in that it is nearly the last frontier,” Menihek Nordic Ski Club President Gerry Rideout explained. “There is a certain magic about Labrador, it gets in your blood.”
This season, Menihek opened on Oct. 23, held four camps in November, had the full 34 k system set on Nov. 3, and plans to stay open to the first week of May (as usual).
Sovereign Lake/Silver Star
There were lots of smiles during U.S. Thanksgiving at Sovereign Lake. Methow Valley Nordic coach Laura McCabe (a two-time Olympian) led 30 kids over the top from Silver Star and FasterSkier caught them on the way back. Locals know to start at Sovereign and stop for a croissant in Silver Star village to fuel the second half of the ski. (Photo: Gerry Furseth)
This destination is actually two ski areas. The Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre (also Sovereign Lake Nordic Club) has been operating since the 1930s under a variety of names, while Silver Star Mountain Resort is more recent, opening as an alpine-skiing area in 1958. The two organizations have 105 kilometers of interconnected nordic trails and a surprisingly good relationship between the commercial resort and the volunteer-based club (which is one of the largest cross-country ski clubs in B.C.). Silver Star hosted a World Cup in 1991, Sovereign Lake in 2005.
Daily track setting runs from November to early April, with the full 105 k usually available from late November to mid-March. Sovereign Lake reopens in May for team camps and diehard skiers.
This season, both sides opened 10 days late on Nov. 20, with 57 k set by Nov. 25.
“We are still well below our average snow pack for this time of year, but are optimizing our small machine grooming to create great tracks and corduroy,” Sovereign Lake manager Troy Hudson wrote in an email on Nov. 24.
There were at least eight private camps in November, ranging from a master’s women’s group to biathletes to a combined U.S. club camp with the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation, Methow Valley Nordic and Momentum Northwest from Oregon and Washington.
MANMADE & STORED SNOW
Frozen Thunder
Where: Canmore Nordic Centre in Canmore, Alberta
Canmore is perhaps the best known of Canada’s nordic venues. Between the 1998 Olympics, reoccurring World Cups and last season’s final stages of the Ski Tour Canada, it is famous beyond the skiing world. Each October, Frozen Thunder opens a small loop with a combination of stored snow and manmade snow.
This year, Frozen Thunder opened on Oct. 22 with a 1.7 k loop. The regular season began on Nov. 19 and is scheduled to run to April 30. So far, Canmore has hosted seven days of cross-country ski races and three biathlon races in November. All the camps were private, with the Ukraine biathlon team traveling the farthest to Canmore.
Boreal Glide (Glisse Boréale)
Where: Forêt Montmorency, owned by the Université Laval, in Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Quebec
Skibec skiers on the Boreal Glide at Forêt Montmorency north of Quebec City. (Photo: La Forêt)
Located 45 minutes north of Quebec City and belonging to Laval University, the ‘Boreal Glide‘ is an early season favourite in Quebec. Set in the largest teaching and research forest in the world (at 412 square kilometers), La Forêt Montmorency has 2.5 k of early season trail using stored snow and a larger system that depends on natural snow. As of Nov. 20, it had 20-24 inches of packed snowed and track groomed for both skating and classic.
“If I had to invest my money in one single cross-country skiing area in North America, I would honestly choose the Forêt Montmorency,” La Forêt’s Director of Operations Hugues Sansregret wrote in an email. “The fact that it sits on top of the Laurentian mountains is the best guarantee for early skiing.”
Boreal Glide opened on Oct. 28 without any official camps or events — just skiing. Can’t argue with that.
Callaghan Gold
Where: Whistler Olympic Park, Callaghan Valley, B.C.
Callaghan Gold on Nov. 7, 2016, at Whistler Olympic Park in Callaghan Valley, B.C. New this year, the loop includes the biathlon range. (Courtesy photo)
Canada’s other Winter Olympic venue has created Callaghan Gold, an early season loop of stored snow. The regular season opens on Nov. 24 (U.S. Thanksgiving) and ends in early April. Located in a cool valley surrounded by rainforest, this venue has been known for lots of snow in non-Olympic years. Weather has been a challenge in the fall of 2016, eased by two last-minute storms that expanded the stored snow loop to 21 k during the opening weekend.
In the project’s four-year history, Callaghan Gold has met some challenges. In its experimental year, the stored snow came out ‘gold’, coloured by the sawdust insulation. In 2014, the storage methods were improved and an 800-metre loop of lovely, white snow greeted skiers on opening day. In 2015, record-setting warm weather melted all the snow in March, leaving nothing to store. In 2016, Callaghan Gold opened on Oct. 29 with 600 metres of trail, expanding to 1.4 k on Nov. 4.
“The warm temps and significant rainfall of November took its toll on the Callaghan gold trail depth but we feel it held up well considering,” managing director Tim Hope wrote in an email.
Nakkertok Nordic
Where: Gatineau, Quebec
Nakkertok snowmaking in action for the first time in November, 2016. (Courtesy photo)
With two sets of ski trails just outside Ottawa and Gatineau, Nakkertok is the newest addition to reliable November snow. This month, one of the country’s largest ski clubs recently turned on its brand-new snowmaking equipment (which was largely funded by from its Project Play grand prize) and opened for skiing on Nov. 25.
According to Nakkertok Head Coach Kieran Jones, the club turned on five snow guns for the first time on Nov. 20 and was excited to test its new system and equipment. That night, the trails received an additional 15 to 20 centimeters of natural snow.
“Winter has definitely come to Ottawa-Gatineau, which is awesome!” Jones wrote. “Our initial goal was to create an 800m loop that covered our stadium, and extended out both ends. At that point we could then begin to push snow further to create 1 km of skiable terrain with a couple of quality climbs as well.”
He hoped they would have 1 k open for skiing by the end of last week.
“For now, the focus is on making sure we can have skate grooming,” Jones added. “Classic tracks will depend on the depth of snow that we’re able to produce. Nakkertok isn’t officially open to the public for day usage of the loop yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as it is!”
The Nakkertok Early Season Ski Loop (NESSL) is an important step for the region.
“It is great for the club, other clubs in the region and should allow a quality early season race site in the East,” Nakkertok fundraising mastermind Toni Scheier wrote in an email. “It will also ensure snow for the Easterns where clubs from across the country attend, (700 plus competitors) and for our Nationals bid, likely 2019.”
![](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2018/02/2009-hiver-057-2.jpg")
![Some days, you just need to take pictures. (Courtesy photo)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/10/Sov20171014_DaveShootsVideo.jpg")
![Canmore has started building Frozen Thunder for 2017. This is what it looks like with five days to go. (Courtesy photo)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/10/Canmore_IMG_0431_small.jpg")
![A big job requires big machinery. (Courtesy photo)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/10/Canmore_IMG_0425.jpg")
![Whitehorse ski trails on October 15th, 2017. Another 5cm is need to set track. (Photo: Alain Masson)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/10/Whitehorse_20171015.jpg")
![Testing the new gun in June, 2017. (Photo: Alain Masson)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/10/WhitehorseSnowGunJun2017.jpg")
![There is a difference of opinion on what season October 14th belongs to. The bikers probably would have chosen fat bikes over plus bikes if they had realized how much snow they would see on their trip from Vernon to Lumby. (Photo: Gerry Furseth)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/10/Different_Oct14_IMG_1785-small.jpeg")
![On October 12th, there wasn't much snow at the day lodge. This will change. (Photo: Gerry Rideout)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/10/LabCityOct12.jpg")
![](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/05/WOP-B17-Getting-Ready.jpg")
![Len Valjas, Graeme Killick, Knute Johnsgaard, and Bob Thompson at the start of a classic sprint heat (Photo: Jenn Jackson)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/11/14883574_10153820742566695_6611860891261348513_o1.jpg")
![SuperCamp at Sovereign Lake/SilverStar (Courtesy Photo)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/11/SuperCamp.jpg")
![Glenn Bond XC Ski Camp at Menihek Nordic on November 3rd, 2016. (Courtesy Photo)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/11/unnamed.png")
![50 cms (20") of natural snow at Menihek on October 23rd, 2016. (Courtesy Photo)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/11/Oct.23-rd-Natural-Snow-50-cms-Labrador.jpg")
![There were lots of smiles during US Thanksgiving at Sovereign Lake. Laura McCabe's group of 30 kids skied over the top from SilverStar and FasterSkier caught her as the group started back. Locals know to start at Sovereign and grab a croissant in SilverStar village to fuel the second half of the ski. (Photo: Gerry Furseth)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-27-at-20.46.38.png")
![Skibec skiers on the Boreal Glide at Forêt Montmorency north of Quebec City. (Photo: La Forêt)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/11/14876475_1222409011165028_25264916829056940_o.jpg")
![Callaghan Gold on November 7th, 2016. New this year, the loop includes the biathlon range. (Courtesy Photo)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/11/20161107_CallaghanGold2016_CopyrightWhistlerOlympicPark.jpg")
![Nakkertok snowmaking in action for the first time in November, 2016. (Courtesy Photo)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/11/IMG_20161120_2210135-1.jpg")