March 11, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Terrace, Skiing & Snowboarding
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Inspired by a North America-wide Burton contest that encouraged growth and participation in women’s snowboarding, seven friends and I embarked on a six-mountain, seven-day snowboarding tour of northern BC in February 2009. The sixth and last hill we hit was Shames Mountain, homebase for seven of eight of us on the tour.
When we rolled into the parking lot at Shames Mountain we immediately saw friends, partners and friendly local staff who were excited to welcome us home. Our new mountain manager Marty invited us up to the lounge where he and the food and bevvy manager Gerry had set up a fantastic breakfast to welcome us back to our favourite hill in the north. Pancakes, fruit and orange juice and champagne! Seriously, we felt like superstars. What a great welcome home. There was even a tablecloth on the table.
Super sweet Gerry also busted out some photo albums with Shames Mountain stickers on them because he knew we'd have photos from our trip we'd want to load them up with. How very thoughtful. Thanks for making us feel so special boys!??
Sam Lewis, our only PG rider, hadn't yet experienced the awesomeness of Shames so we all loaded up to the top of the T and went for a boot pack right off the bat. Walked up to the first knoll and rolled down some heavy, sort of crusty powder (still no fresh snow anywhere in the north on our trip) and back to the T.
We had lots of breaks in the sun as well as watched Stacey hit a jump that shot her like a rocket straight up in the air. She landed butt first in the snow but shook it off like a pro and kept on down the hill.
We hit up the terrain park with some of our mountain friends and made our way back to the chalet to enjoy the rest of our champagne and bask in the glorious Shames Mountain afternoon sun with our friends.
We had an incredible week-long journey that none of us will forget, and we adored every hill we visited, but there really is no place like home. We realized how very lucky we are to have chair and T-lift access to some of the most glorious snow in the province.?
Shames is owned by a small group of community shareholders who operate the hill because they know it is good for the community. It's not a huge money maker and we are truly grateful to the people that keep this hill operating every year. Without them we wouldn't have this terrific resource right in our own backyard.
Big thanks to those folks that keep Shames going!
March 11, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Skiing & Snowboarding
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Inspired by a North America-wide Burton contest that encouraged growth and participation in women’s snowboarding, seven friends and I embarked on a six-mountain, seven-day snowboarding tour of northern BC in February 2009. The fifth hill we hit was Hudson Bay Mountain in Smithers.
We were once again blessed by fabulous sunny weather at Hudson Bay Mountain. (We couldn't have ordered better weather for all the photos we were taking at each mountain – seven blue bird days in a row!)?
When we arrived we saw a lady snowboarder sporting one of our tour ‘Shred the Gnar‘ hoodies we had shipped to the mountain before we left home and we were once again given a great welcome.
With only the afternoon to ride we loaded up on the chair and rode down to the T-bar and enjoyed zero wind, a nice treat for us Terracites who like to visit our nearest mountain neighbours from time to time.?
It was ladies ski day at Hudson Bay Mountain so it was fortuitous that we were there on the same day. We met up with some long lost friends from the snowboard industry and ate a delicious lunch in the lodge.
Hudson Bay Mountain wins our award for best menu in the north - those spicy burritos were fantastic and the menu offered lots of unique options. We also really enjoyed the live music in the chalet (which is a gorgeous building, by the way) and were super impressed with the attention to detail at the hill. It was a real treat to see how much was happening at Hudson Bay Mountain!
The highlight of the day was getting a chance to ride the new Rotary Trail to Town - a ski-out that goes right from the top of the mountain all the way to the Smithers townsite.
Two women on our tour, Tara and Sarah Z, are both Rotarians in Terrace and were really excited to see what a terrific asset to the community their sister clubs in Smithers helped create. The wide groomed run winds its way down the mountain all the way to a wide open field. It was a fantastic way to end the day.
Folks at Hudson Bay tell us lots of the young folks will take the bus up to the hill then ride down to get picked up by their parents. That's pretty awesome when you're a teenager with no drivers’ licence. And loads of fun when you're an adult and don't feel like driving 24 km down the access road!??
A huge thank you to the Hudson Bay Mountain crew for great hospitality! And a special thanks to the great staff at Hudson Bay Lodge hotel in Smithers who graciously provided us with accommodations on our last night of our big adventure. (Oh, and the pub and menu at Hudson Bay Lodge is fantastic with great service too!)
March 11, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Mackenzie, Skiing & Snowboarding
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Inspired by a North America-wide Burton contest that encouraged growth and participation in women’s snowboarding, seven friends and I embarked on a six-mountain, seven-day snowboarding tour of northern BC in February 2009. The fourth mountain we hit was Powder King near Mackenzie. We stayed there for two nights and two days.
After two phenomenal days at Powder King, we are tired! So much sun, good times and mountain lines. Last night was craziness. After a wicked day of riding, a wicked afternoon in the bar with new friends from the hill, and then a wicked homemade spaghetti dinner, we all passed out before midnight.
Powder King hadn't received new snow in a few days but we still managed to find some pow while there thanks to our lovely local guides.
Today we hiked up to an incredible 360 degree mountain view, took a sweet photo of all eight of us that we plan to blow up and frame, then had one of the best rides of the whole tour from the peak to the valley. Cruising through the trees, we did get split up and a little worried about each other's safety – but of course, we all connected in the bar at the end of the day.
We rushed back to the incredible two-storey log cabin we'd stayed at while there. (Did I mention that the cabin was massive and kick ass and just a few minutes walk from the bottom of chair lift!?!?). We packed and returned to the bar to say goodbye to all the awesome people we'd met over the last couple of days.
It was hard to leave! Everyone had been so warm and welcoming.
All I can do is repeat what every woman on our tour can't stop saying. The people we've met during our snowboarding tour of Northern BC have been incredible and treated us like the hardcore princesses we've always wanted to be. Thank you everyone!. We are so proud to be part of you and so proud of the amazing riding and gorgeous scenery our region has to offer.
March 11, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. James, Skiing & Snowboarding
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Inspired by a North America-wide Burton contest that encouraged growth and participation in women’s snowboarding, seven friends and I embarked on a six-mountain, seven-day snowboarding tour of northern BC in February 2009. The third mountain we hit was Murray Ridge near Fort St. James.
We arrived in 'the Fort' (Fort St. James) a little later than anticipated but were still given a warm welcome from Dan, Izzy, Amy, Jude and Skye at Murray Ridge - a FAST hill in northern BC that has perhaps the best groomed runs we've ever seen.
Dan, the hill’s general manager, hooked us up with lift tickets for the day and invited us into the lodge for lunch on them - sooo nice.
With no new snow in a couple of weeks, we tried some choppy tree runs in the morning but opted to stick to the ultra-speedy groomers for the rest of the day. (Thanks to Jude for taking our troop of estrogen-laden ladies through the bumps and trees.)
The Murray Ridge Lodge had great music playing all day long. The hill ambasadors that toured us around all day and showed us the best place on the hill to hang out were incredibly courteous. And the incredible views and sun on our faces all day looked and felt so good.
Who would have thought we'd have perfect sunny weather at every hill we hit in February in Northern BC?
Our day ended with some runs with the Murray Ridge staff, which was a blast. We got in the last T-bar run too. And YES, the Murray Ridge t-bar is longer than Troll Mountain's - by about 5 feet. Still, it's nearly 2 kilometres long!
Our day was capped off with some good times in the lodge with all the staff and again we felt really pampered and very fortunate to have such amazing hosts.
When we interviewed Dan for our little video project, we asked him if they are that friendly to everyone who comes to Murray Ridge from out of town. His answer? "I sure hope so. That's what we want to do."
We concluded the Ridge is one of the most fun hills we've hit on the tour and in no small part because of the amazing folks we met there. We left feeling awesome!
March 11, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Prince George, Skiing & Snowboarding
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Inspired by a North America-wide Burton contest that encouraged growth and participation in women’s snowboarding, seven friends and I embarked on a six-mountain, seven-day snowboarding tour of northern BC in February 2009. The second hill we hit was Hart Highlands in Prince George.
Hart Highlands is a totally volunteer run hill that started in 1968. The lifties are all fathers, friends or supporters that volunteer to hang out in the sometimes numbing cold weather so their kids and kids' friends can have a good time on the hill. Wow! They've even got a $500 bursary program for high school kids that volunteer.
When we arrived at Hart Highlands, we immediately loved it. We parked in the parking lot, right at the bottom of the hill, and watched some of the kids rip around, giving it their all. Immediately, we were stoked!?
At the lodge, the first thing I saw was our tour poster, printed and hanging next to the main entrance. Inside, on the way up the stairs, Mike the president of the hill had printed and posted our profiles and blog info on the bulletin board. Wow! We were so touched. We felt like celebrities.
Mike welcomed us with open arms, gave us free reign of the concession, and introduced us to some great peeps.Then we got to ride.
I have to admit, and I believe I'm speaking for all the ladies on this tour, that though Hart Highlands is a smaller, family hill, it humbled me. We had to watch the 5- to 20-year-old rippers around us to learn how to load onto 'the platter' – a lift similar to a T-bar but in the shape of a small disc and for only one person at a time. It took a bit of time and support from the other women on the tour but I finally strapped in and cruised up. No problem.
We traversed to the top of the hill's second platter lift and regrouped. At the bottom, the locals were sessioning massive jumps. Hit after hit, they were killin' it. Stacey and Sam, our whippersnappers (the youngest in our group), joined in the fun. The rest of us finally gathered our courage and hit it too. Yeehaa!?
At the bottom of the rope tow, though, we were suddenly scared to death. The thing was whipping around at top speed. To get on and up, you had to grab the wire. No handles! I saddled up slowly, bit my lip and went for it. Wooooopppp. On my way. Under three seconds, I was at the top. To dismount, I threw myself to the side, heart pumping.
We regrouped again at the top, all of us a little stunned. None of us had ever experienced a rope tow like that before!
All of us agree that Hart Highlands is a bomber place to learn how to ride. It's also a perfect place to learn spins, 360s, front side shifties, methods, grabs, etc. Whatever you want to work on, Hart is the place to do it as it’s possible to ride down, pull a wicked trick, and whip back up the tow rope within a minute.
At the end of the night Mike and some of Hart's ski club volunteers hosted us with a big tasty plate of fries and onion rings, and some cold beverages. Lovely!?They were awesome to us and we are so impressed by them. What an inspiring crew of people – so passionate and generous.
Thanks Hart for everything! We are so glad we came!
March 11, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Quesnel, Skiing & Snowboarding
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Inspired by a North America-wide Burton contest that encouraged growth and participation in women’s snowboarding, seven friends and I embarked on a six-mountain, seven-day snowboarding tour of northern BC in February 2009. The first mountain we hit was Troll Mountain, near Quesnel.
??Rolling in at 9:30 at night, we pulled into the parking lot to meet Troll’s owner, Hilder, who thought we were arriving the next day. Surprise! 24 hours early the lovely Hilder showed us to the hill hostel (which isn’t necessarily used as a hostel at the moment as it’s being renovated), a two-story log cabin with baseboard heating, loads of single mattresses and sleeping bags, plenty of floor space, a flushing toilet and electricity.
Thinking we were in for something SUPER rustic we were all stoked to have a warm roof over our heads and a really gracious hostess who didn’t mind eight women crashing at the hill. ??After we unloaded our gear, Hilder brought us to the hill chalet – an incredible log building that her dad Hans built using logs cut from the property in 1972. Absolutely awesome!
Huge cedar picnic tables with giant cedar rounds for legs have been in the building for years. A big warm fireplace with benches around it warms the building and the restaurant has a shelf of Troll Resort coffee mugs bearing staff members names; they like to recycle here and encourage everyone to use a mug instead of Styrofoam cups.??
Hilder put on a pot of potato bacon soup and sat down to chat with us before making sure we were tucked in comfortably in the cabin. Now that's northern hospitality.?!
The next day we were treated to breakfast and hooked up with JT, Lesley and Erin – our hill ambassadors – who took us on a tour of the mountain. We hit up the terrain park and the ‘secret’ gladed run with loads of nice powder to cruise through. Hilder even had the upper T-bar, which is usually open only on weekends, running, just so that we could get longer runs in.
We worked the cameras and got the ladies to fly through the bits of powder we could find and hit features in the terrain park over and over and over again.
For a bunch of real girls who just love to ride, we felt pretty pampered. Troll Resort totally laid out the red carpet and we’re super grateful! We each even got our own personalized Troll Resort mugs.??