The Amazing ACC Clubhouse in Canmore
Bottom Line: The Alpine Club of Canada Clubhouse in Canmore is a hostel like no other we’ve ever seen. We almost don’t want to let the secret out about this place as we want to keep it to ourselves. But that wouldn’t be fair. If you are staying in Canmore for it’s access to adventures and want to immerse yourself in mountain culture then you simply have to book a stay at the ACC Clubhouse. Observations: We’d heard rumours on the grapevine of some well furnished, cozy cabins on the outskirts of Canmore filled with the positive vibes of mountain people featuring spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, for the low price of $36 a night ($25 for ACC members). We had to check it out! We’ve been members of the ACC and we’ve visited a few of the Cabins they maintain in the mountains on the West Coast. Something that always strikes us about them is how comfortable they are considering where they are located and how cheap they are to stay in. We’ve stayed in other Cabins in the mountains that are sometimes nothing more than a wooden garden shed, with shelves to lie on. Hey, when you are moving in the mountains you appreciate any kind of shelter you can get. The ACC Cabins that we’ve stayed in though have always gone above and beyond in providing facilities and comfort in really wild locations like high ridge crests or at isolated alpine lakes. We had a trip to the Rockies planned so we wanted to see what the ACC would offer at their Clubhouse in Canmore, which is near a large town, but still in a pretty wild location, located a few kilometres outside of town, nestled in the trees below Grotto Mountain. More than simply a Hostel. What I found did not dissappoint. I’ve stayed in “Hostels” in Europe and they can tend to have a bad name for being noisy, crowded and not relaxing. They are somewhere you crash after a night of partying. I did that through my 20’s and while affordable, I didn’t get much sleep there. Now in my 30’s I’m motivated to sleep well, get to bed early and get up and out before dawn to make use of the daylight in the mountains. The ACC Clubhouse is a different type of Hostel. It has shared rooms, eating areas and facilities but that’s where the similarities with the City Hostels I’ve stayed in ends. The feel is much more like the mountain cabins that I love to visit now. The views from almost every window are breath taking and inspiring....
Sky Pilot Race Recap
From reading some of our past posts you may have realized that the Sky Pilot is one of our favorite mountains around Squamish. It’s a spectacular alpine area where backcountry adventure is around every corner. So when we heard that the Coast Mountain Trail Series was bringing a trail race to this area, we knew we had to run it! The inaugural race was scheduled for September 21, which could mean beautiful fall weather or torrential rain; it could go either way here on the west coast. With the race being set in such a rugged area there was a lot of trail building happening weeks before the race. Everyone involved in creating this race wanted to make it a unique mountain running experience. The excitement was building when there was talk of roped sections, boulder fields and ridge running. However,days before the race, the endless summer sunshine we had been experiencing changed to the autumnal rains, which meant all of the fresh new trail became streams of mud. The steep trails were now too wet to run and it would be too risky to send all of the runners out onto this terrain. But if I have learnt anything about the Coast Mountain Trail Series races, it’s that they do not disappoint, and with literally hours before the start of the race, a change of route was put in place. They were going to make sure everyone got the mountain running experience they promised! This was some of the rugged mountain trail. Mt. Habrich from the summit point of the race. Checking out the view from the summit. We showed up to the starting line, on a sunny blue bird day at the top of the Sea to Sky Gondola, not totally sure of the new route and curious where exactly it was going to take us. Leigh and I were running this one together and decided to run it as a fun run. No need to race, just enjoy the new course, take a few photos along the way and revel in the scenery. As usual the starting area was buzzing with the energy of runners antsy to start, one of my favorite parts of racing. Just feeding off of that energy can carry you for miles! And we needed that energy to carry us. This course was unforgiving in its ascent. Starting on the tame and gentle uphill Sky Pilot ridge trail, we would eventually be taken straight up to a ridge that connected to Mt. Habrich. Running or rather power hiking up steep, loose, duff covered forest trail, straight onto a boulder field. Crossing the...
Garibaldi Park - Rubble Double
The first few weeks of July has seen some glorious weather, if you like +30C degree. Nothing but sunshine and blue skies. As much as I enjoy the warmth of the sunshine, this heat does not make for great running weather. You overheat quickly, become dehydrated even faster and your body grinds to a halt. Pretty hard to feel too tired with views like this. Beautiful trail coming into Cheakamus Lake. Ahhh Black Tusk never gets old! Well July 12th was the day I decided to attempt the “Rubble Double”; the forecast was for sunshine and +34C. The Rubble Double is a run through the beautiful Garibaldi Provincial Park that takes you from the Rubble Creek entrance to the Cheakamus Lake entrance at which point you then you turn around and go back the way you came. In total the run is approximately 47 km with 2300m elevation gain. I was able to convince my friend Adam to come along for the full distance. It was also nice to have a few friends come along for the first 12km, Hailey and her fiance Eduardo. It was Eduardo’s first time in Canada and with it being only his second day in the country it was a privilege to be able to share such a beautiful part of the country with him. Coming over the Cheakamus River. Adam setting up for the perfect GoPro shot. Adam doubled over in laughter? In 2012 I ran the Rubble Creek route, one way, solo.That was 2 years ago and I know I am much fitter and have much more endurance now, so I had been thinking about doing the Double for a while especially since it would be good training to get another 50’ish km run in so soon after my last one. Beautiful and green. Stoked! Keep laughing through the pain. If you have ever hiked or ran this trail then you know that no matter which side you start on you have 6-7 km’s of steady climbing at the start and if doing the double then you have a another big climb thrown in right at the halfway mark. The first climb into the park felt like a breeze, the stoke and banter was high and everyone was having fun. When we dropped Hailey and Eduardo at their chosen destination, they were heading to Panoramo Ridge, Adam and I continued on. Eduardo later told me that they could hear us laughing long after they couldn’t actually see us anymore, so that was a good sign! We were running and we were happy! First aid station. Beauty trail. Classic GoPro face! Essentially we...
The Curse of West Coast Living
Ok so it’s not so much a curse as a stress. But let me be clear that there is good stress and bad stress. You know like worrying you won’t have the money to pay rent for the month, that would be a bad stress. The stress I am talking about is GOOD stress. The kind of stress that puts a constant pressure on you to make the most of your time. Living in a temperate climate like the West Coast breeds this type of good stress. The weather is pretty mild all of the time, especially in comparison to other parts of the country, mostly when it comes to a typical Canadian winter. Now don’t get me wrong living on the West Coast comes with it’s own set of weather difficulties, like torrential rain that lasts for weeks which can then lead to puddles on the trail that are ready to swallow a human whole. Oh and we even get frost in the mornings and a few times a year we may even get a dump of snow. But I am going to go out on a limb here and say that my chilly brethren in other parts of the country may have it slightly tougher than we do. They do, after all, have to put up with bone crushing cold and hurricane force blizzards. At least they have a good excuse to stay inside, when they choose to do so. Me, well I don’t really have any excuse. I live in a part of the country that affords me good weather most of the year. My only excuse for not getting out would be my own laziness. And as laziness is a quality that I very much detest, I don’t want to fall prey to it’s charm. I mean come on I really only have to deal with rain, umm pretty harmless water droplets falling from the sky, and perhaps having to splash through water which will in turn splash onto my shoes…GASP!! So I end up with wet feet and muddy pants…that seems pretty mild compared to frozen noses and frost-bitten toes and fingers. So for now, living on the West Coast, makes me stressed. Stressed to make the most the every single moment I can, because I don’t have any valid excuses. All I can do is tip my hat to my much hardier neighbors who deal with REAL Canadian weather and go grab my running shoes because I’m not going to let a forecast for rain this weekend stop me from getting out! If you happen to read this and are in fact one of the hardier...
Salomon Speedcross 3 Trailrunner Review
Bottom Line: These runners were extremely comfortable right out of the box. I didn’t encounter the usual “breaking in” period that I have experienced with other running shoes. They are a fairly lightweight trail runner with a burly cleated tread which is great for technical trails and all-weather conditions. I have found that the tread wears out fairly quickly on Salomon shoes, but overall they are such a comfortable trail runner that I highly recommend them. How I chose it: I had owned Salomon trails runners previously, before I was doing any serious trail running, and loved them as an all around walking/hiking shoe. I also had a few trail running friends that highly recommended the Speedcross. Observations since using it: The lacing system is excellent. Unlike traditional style laces the Kevlar Quick-Fit system works with one pull and won’t loosen. There is even a handy tongue pocket to tuck away the laces, which I personally love as it keeps things from flapping around. It is a one-time tighten before you leave the house and you are good to go for hours. When I ran my first 50km trail race last year I used the Salomon Speedcross and I didn’t have to adjust them once in the 8 hours I was out on the trails. There was no breaking in period required for these shoes. I took them out of the box and went for a run without any issues with rubbing or blisters. They are as close as feeling liking like a slipper as a trail runner could. The fit is very precise. I have narrow feet and find that once I tighten the shoe it molds nicely to my foot which makes for a secure fit, making for more confident footfalls when running on technical trail. The toe box provides enough room to not cause issues with any rubbing or pressure points, which also helps to delay the onset of black toe nails. There is an 11mm drop in this shoe, which is simply the difference between the height of the heel and the height of the toe when standing; zero is the equivalent to standing barefoot. So there is a pretty substantial drop in these shoes which is more akin to a traditional running shoe and will support people who are heel strikers. I personally mid-foot strike, but haven’t found these shoes to cause me any issues. Pros: Lacing - Excellent lacing system with tongue pocket to keep lace ends out-of-the-way. Comfort - Super comfortable from date of purchase. Fit - Secure, precise fit due to locking lacing system and the mold of the shoe. I feel...
