Canadian Ski Mountaineering Championships

Racing at Home!

This past weekend was our biggest yearly event in Canada for ski mountaineering. The dogtooth dash is not only our National Championship but also the best event in the circuit.

The previous day myself and Andrew went to help set the course and check the snow condition and refresh our memory. The course was almost identical to the previous year with over 6000’ of positive vertical gain.

On Saturday at noon sharp, racers gathered around the Eagle Eye restaurant for the start. After a quick run, we took a fast ski down on “it’s a 10” to Crystal bowl to get to the first check point and 1^st climb under the “Stairway to heaven “Chair. From there, we descended a couloir to climb up towards the Whitewall. A fast groomer then brought us to the top of Pioner Chair. Multiple switchbacks through the trees brought us back up to Crystal Bowl for our first bootpack and ridge walk up back to the Restaurant. From there we dropped into Bowl Over and climbed back up to T1. A fast descent on the south ridge of T1 and a climb up T2 brought us to our last descent. Then we reconnected with Bowl over for the last climb and bootpack back to the Eagle Eye.

It was a really fun race, being close from home, it was great to see familiar faces and have spectators cheering. Result wise, it’s always great to see how people are getting faster every year!

On the Elite side, Reiner Thoni finished 1^st for it’s 4^th consecutive title. He covered the course with an impressive 1:49 minutes. Worth noting are also Andrew McNab in 2^nd place with a time of 2:05 and Steve Sellers with a time of 2:18.

On the ladies side, I covered the course in 2:15 finishing 1^st place with Julie in second place and Katie French in 3^rd.

The event was really fun, myself and an other racer Erich from Montana were racing back and forth having a great time suffering together!

On the Enduro Course, Igor Bernas was first, Dominic Unterberger second and third were Brad Lorrimar and Ken Macdiarmi.

On the ladies side Katarina Kuba was first, Amber Steed second and, Sheena Johnson third.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7cLVQM5mpY&feature=player_embedded

Results: http://goldenskimo.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/2012-dogtooth-dash-results/

On the sunday was a fun sprint which was a lung burner ... 2 climbs, 2 descents, a bootpack and a skate ski. Each team of 2, 3 or 4 racers had to cover the course 4 times. The Columbian Connection finished 1st (Andrew McNab, Niall Gleeson and Kevin Weir), The Ladies in Red were second (Carla McKirdy, and myself) and the Knightruse were 3rd (Peter and Bill Knight).

Results: http://goldenskimo.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/2012-sunday-sprint-race-winners.pdf

Next stop, Nelson for the Coldsmoke Festival Feb 25-26!

Canadian Championships Upon us!

This coming February 11-12 2012 will be the most important event in Canada for Ski Mountaineering Racing in Kicking Horse, Golden.

This race is not only the Canadian Championship but is also a super fun event with challenging ridges walk and some really fun descents.... and of course good snow!

Different race course: Elite & Enduro on the saturday

Fun Relay Team of 2 or 4 on the sunday

Come one come all!

Fun guaranty!

A busy January

On the road off the chase some ski mountaineering races in the States and get some good skiing in, I have been busy skiing and writing blogs for but G3 and Ski Track.

If you want to see what we have been up to:

Christmas On the Coast:

http://www.genuineguidegear.com/life/blog/melanie/melanie-bernier-road-tripping-part-1

US National Championships and Grand Targhee Race:

http://www.skintrack.com/skimo-racing/reports-results/jackson-hole-grand-targhee-skimo-racing-2012/

Wyoming Road Trip Report:

http://www.genuineguidegear.com/life/blog/melanie/road-trip-part-2-week-wyoming

The Grand Day :

http://www.skintrack.com/trip-reports-conditions/grand-day-adventures-essential-for-skimo-training/

We are now in Crested Butte Colorado racing at the Continental Championships.

Saturday january 28th is the sprint and 29th the individual. Let's hope a month of getting use to higher elevations is gonna help the performance!

http://www.genuineguidegear.com/life/blog/melanie/road-trip-part-2-week-wyoming

Win G3 gear this winter!

Want to win G3 gear this winter, Here are different ways to do so!

"If you've been daydreaming of some free G3 gear to add to your quiver, this just might be the month to do it. We have all sorts of different promotions on the go right now; yet another way to say thanks and hook some of you lucky shredders up with more free gear. Here's what's currently up for grabs...Next up don't forget about Off-Piste Magazine's subscription drive. Each month, they're hooking up existing and new subscribers with G3 avalanche tools like the Bonesaw, Avitech Shovel, and new quick-deploy probes. And in March we're giving away a pair of Mountain Series skis, so stay tuned for that one.

Record and share your first turns of the season - get hooked up from G3 and Drift Innovation. Drift's First Turns Contest on Facebook is easy to enter, and will send one lucky skier home with a DRIFT HD 1080p camera and a pair of G3's new Highball skis.

Not done yet! BackcountrySkiingCanada.com just launched their Expose Yourself Photo & Video Contest. The final prize for the contest is, you guessed it, skis, bindings, and skins from G3 Genuine Guide Gear. Get in there.

And last but not least, we're entering the final round of this year's SkiGraphiks contest, with a pair of G3 Infidels up for grabs with your design on them. Design your custom topsheet graphic, upload, share it around and cross your fingers. Enter Skigraphiks before December 31.

Who knows, that might not even be the complete list of contests on the go right now. But we'll leave it with you to explore the site and G3's Facebook page for other current or upcoming opportunities. Good luck and happy shredding."

First Race of the Season Coming Up!

This coming saturday will be the season opener for yet an other really exciting season of Ski Mountaineering Racing. This event will take place in Calgary at COP from 6pm till 9 pm. This is the second year of the event and organizers are expecting a great turnout!

The format is pretty simple, solo, teams of 2 or teams of 4 will have to go around COP as many time as possible during a 180 minutes period.

This year, members of the National Team were asked to team with someone new to skimo to participate in the event in order to hopefully grow the sport in Canada.

Look out for the "Frech Ladies in Tights" as we will be going around in circle on saturday night in Calgary!

For race details & Registration: http://vert180.blogspot.com/

For Details on the Full Canadian Race Circuit: http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/ccc/ismc.html

G3 Ski Graphiks Contest!

Congrats to my friend Kathryn Whiteside from Revelstoke for her amazing “G3 Saint” Design! Her artistic Graphic Designer skills paid off since she won the last round of the 2011 G3 ski Graphiks contest! In addition to getting a new pair of skis, her design will be the top sheet of Limited Edition of G3 Saints.

I’m super happy for you Kathryn! You Rock!

The contest is still running until December 31^st. If you have ski design ideas or want to see what others have been presenting and vote for your favorite design, follow this link:

http://www.g3skigraphiks.com/entry-info-template

Good Luck!

Gear Testing: Rab MeCo Baselayers

I was very excited when I heard that Rab was working on a new kind of baselayer for this season! Like a lot of people, I have been moving away from poly-pro because it does not only stay wet but it also smells very bad over time.

Wearing merino wool quite a bit, I appreciate the fact that it keeps you warm even when wet and does not smell. The only down sides are that it takes a while to dry, it’s not only pricy but also not very durable.

Now what’s exciting about the new MeCo baselayers is that they have the same great qualities as the merino wool layers but have increased durability and dry 5 times faster.

But how is that possible you will ask?

To be a bit more technical, MeCo is composed of blend of 65% pure merino wool and 35% Cocona. Cocona is a type of polyesther, which is coated with Activated Carbon coming for the combustion of Coconut Shells. The blend allows for not only great breatability but as soon as a drop of sweat hits the fabric, it spreads just like a drop of water on a tissue. So the sweat has more surface area to dry therefore, the fabric dries pretty quickly.

Also, the fabric does not smell. The Cocona is an antibacterial fabric activated my warmth. So the more you sweat, the less your layer smells! MAGIC!!!

So I did a bit of a test because I wanted to see for myself.

Recently, I was invited at the ACMG Annual meeting for a gear presentation so I thought it would be a great time to test the baselayer. On the first day, I put my short sleeve 120 MeCo T-shirt on for a typical 3 hours of activity (mix indoor and outdoor as I get really sweaty working-out inside). Then I used my same layer the following day for a 1600 hill climb under 27 degree blistering sun! No need to say that I was sweating a bunch there! I came back to get changed before a meeting and to my great surprise, my layer was dry and still looked and smelled fresh so I but it back on for the ACMG meeting I was attending on behalf of Rab. The following day, same t-shirt again, after a long trail run under warm weather, I came back to the hotel to shower and went back to the ACMG meeting still wearing the same shirt for my presentation. I was starting to feel a bit self conscious by that point but the T-shirt still looked and smelled fresh. It’s fair to say that after this experiment, I was not only convinced but totally in love with the new baselayers!

They are available in 2 thicknesses 120 and 165. Short sleeves, long sleeves, zip neck, long pants 120 & 165. You can find them online at : http://us.rab.uk.com

Or at you local Valhalla Pure Store.

Rab Clothing @ the Annual ACMG Meeting

Rab/Integral Design/ Pod Sacs, sponsors of the ACMG

Photo Credit: Ken Belanger