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Pijeboogwek Trail, which follows the Kouchibouguac River through BEST OF the foresr Bring sleeping pad, sleeping bag, food and stove. (FROM $50 PER NIGHT FOR THREE THE SEASON PEOPLE: PARKSCANAOA.GC.CAI Twenty ideas for making 10) NEW BACKCOUNTRY A group of skiers from Smith- the most of the big chill ers, in northern B.C. , tapped BY RYAN STUART into $600,000 of provincial and For years now, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort's southern bowl Not everyone would like to federal government funding to ~ has been one of the most tempt­ .~.~"ft/'W head Into the woods at night by .cut a backcountry area out of ing pieces of closed terrain at themselves, which is where the the Coast Mountains, a first of its any North American ski area. Thi s ~ folks at Earth Rhythms come kind. In addition to downhill runs winter, it's game on for the Super 15) WINTlR TRIATHLON in. They offer nighttime snow· and routes for uphill skinning, the Bowl. The resort-in Golden, shoeing trips in ManitoBa' 3,770-hectare Hankin Evelyn Rec­ Forget the normal , biking and running routine. In Edmon­ B.C.-will open 15 black and Riding,Mountain NationaLPam . reation Area has a day-use yurt ton. in February, a triathlon means skating, skiing and running. The double black chutes in the bowl. a Participants look for constella· and a winterized overnight c·abin. 25-kilometre Edmonton Winter Triathlon starts on skates with 10 laps short hike from the gondola sum­ tions and also get to take part IBCNORTH.CA/BVBACKPACKERSl of a one-kifometre outdoor oval. Then there's 10 kilometres of cross­ mit. [KJCKJNGHORSERESORT.COMJ in a wolf howl, complete with country skiing, followed by a five-kilometre run. [FEBRUARY 20: FROM 11) SKI-CROSS AT LOUISE iPod recordings for instruction. $ij5: SILVERSKATEFESTlVAl.ORGl ($95: EARTHRHYTHMS.CAI Come January, Alberta's Lake 14) THE OTHER SKI MARATHON Louise Ski Area will turn part While Quebec's Canadian Ski the night at a campSite, and then Discovery's skijoring weekend, of its World Cup downhill race Marathon is our best-known test ski 4 5 kifomet(es to the finish. which takes place on the trail 8) A WINTER MAN-CATION course into a banked and bermed of cross-country endurance, The Sasquatch competitors haul network in Saskatchewan's Prince ski·cross course. Which means Saskatchewan's 77-kilometre all their own gear. [MARCH 4 AHO 5: Voyageur Quest's new Stew and Albert National Park. [FEBRUARY 11 you and your skier or boarder Kupeswin race takes a close sec­ FROM $30: SKIlARONGE.CA) Brew weekend has all the ingre­ TO 13: S495: CANoESKI.COM) friends can test your skills at ond. The Kupeswin-part of the dients for a perfect getaway for head-to-head ra cing. The resort Don Allen Saskaloppet week­ men: adventure, food and beer. IBI up THE £SCARPMENT is also planning to host some end-is held in the frozen forests Based from a cabin in Ontario's If you think the ski hills at Colling­ professional ski-cro ss races. of Lac La Range Provincial Park. Algonquin Provincial Park, each wood. Ontario, don't have much [SKIloUISE.CoM) Racers ski 32 kilometres, spend day of the long weekend includes vertical, you should enter the snowshoeing, skiing or ice fish­ Switchback Challenge ing, followed by a feast-wild race. In just over a kilometre on SKIING INTO A GLACIER game gumbo, black beer Irish the SwitChback Trail at Craigleith Icefall lodge IS not onl} notClAJortll', for bemg B C 5 ncv.est I)(lckcountry lodge .... 1111 the largest area III the stew-and beer from around the Ski Club, competitors gain 700 prOl.lI1ce IlUl also IwcaLise guests Il(lve the cllance to ski rlgll! If1SIOe glac iers Skiers 11ere regularly log world. Evening poker sessions are feet from the base of the Niagara 5000 foot runs ski dcrOSS lllaSSI\e Iceflelds and reach multiple summits If) ttl(' tlc(wily glaciated ~ optional. [JANUARY 28 TO 3D: S460: Escarpment to the top. Brutal. mililitlt1ilr.:m but If conditions allo\\ the highlight for 1110st IS skiing l11rougll a crevasse \/OYAGEURQUEST.COMJ There are five- and iO-kiiometre races. [$20; CRAIGLElTH.CoM) mantle. In the winter, when the sports a try at the Whistler Sliding 9) KOUCHJBOUGUACCABINS area is covered by up to 50 feet of Centre. After a lesson on the ba­ New Brunswick's Kouchibouguac 191 WINTER ORIENTEERJNG snow and constantly buffeted by sics, skeleton riders bomb down National Park now has two remote Orienteering is tough enough winds, it's one of the best places the track solo, while bobsledders cabins where cross-country ski­ to begin with, and it takes on in the world to go snow-kiting. My climb in behind a professional ers or snowshoers can hunker an interesting new twist in the Newfoundland Adventures offers a driver for the speedy descent to down for the night. Both wood­ The northern part of Cape winter. If you'd like to test your two-day kiting trip, which includes Thunderbird Corner. [FROM S1 30; heated, six-person shelters sit 10 Breton Island gets the highest fitness and navigation skills, sign instruction and a night at the WHISTlERSLIDINGCENTRE.CoMJ kilometres from the start of the annual snowfall in the Atlantic up for the Stars Orienteering park's Southwest Gulch Cabin. provinces. Which means Club's winter adventure race in [$550j MYNEWFoUNolANo.CA) that Cape Bre.ton Higfilanas Ontario's Wasaga Beach Provin­ Nature's Harmony Ecolodge. a National ParK and the protected cial Park in January. You can ra ce new adventure resort near Matta­ ijl 2ij HOURS OF SKIING wilderness just to the north are on or crbss-country wa, Ontario, is offering a popular The main event of the fi rst annual perfect for snowshoeing. You , either solo or in teams of Scandinavian sport that is new to Canmore Ski Fest is the 24-hour get the same fantastic views two, against some of the top most Canadians-kicksledding. cross-country ski marathon. as in the summer, but it's actu­ competitors in Canada. (JANUARY A kicksled is like a sidewalk Canmore's own Kamila Borutova ally easier to move around the 24j BAlEKA.ORG/STARS) scooter, but with skis instead of holds the female record of 333 backcountry. Sea Spray Outdoor wheels. You stand on the kilometres, which she is hoping to Adventures offers guided tours 20) THE ULTIMATE ESCAPE with one leg and push yourself beat. Solo competitors and teams in the park and nearby. (FROM A cozy cabin on a secluded lake in forward with the other. Nature's racing in the 24-hour and 12-hour $lBo FOR TWO ; CABoT-TRAIl­ the middle of the Yukon wilder­ Harmony also has snowshoeing, marathons ski a three-kilometre DUTOODRS.CDMi ness. Northern lights. Snowshoe­ cross-country skiing and a natural loop at the Canmore Nordic Cen­ ing and cross-country skiing. luge track. [NATURESHARMONY.CAJ tre. [MARCH 26 AND 27: FROM $100; Gourmet meals and a sauna. And CANMORESKlFEST.COMI 61 TH( BIGG(R MASSIF 171 MUSHING ON XC SKIS did we mention you have to fly in 3) SNOW-KITING IN GROB MORNE Quebec's Le Massif is getting more massive thanks to an expan­ Do it wrong and skijoring-being on a ski plane from Whitehorse to In the summer, the Tablelands 5) OLYM PIC SLIDING sion of its backcountry area. The mountain's backcountry-on the pulled on your skis by a sled get there? Yup, it's the dream win­ area in Newfoundland's Gros You watched the world's best adjacent Mont a Liguori-has doubled in size to 66 acres, and skiers dog-can be a painful experience. ter adventure. And you can also Morne National Park is one of the skeleton and bobsled drivers com­ can now enjoy nearly 2.500 feet of perfectly gladed vertical, from the Do it right and it's cross-country extend the eight-day trip to include best places in the world to see peting in the 2010 Olympics, and summit of Liguori to the ski area's base. [l EMASSIF.COM) skiing's adrenalin child. Learn the a dogsledding excursion. [$3,350 an exposed section of the Earth's now you can give the two speed sport's ins and outs at CanoeSki PER PERSON: FRANCESLAKE.CAI e

16 EXPLORE WINTER 2010 WINTER 2 010 EXP LORE l7