Prepare for the Salomon Valley to Peak Race in Whistler
On September 5th, 2015, British Columbia, Canada is going be introduced to a trail race that’s a completely different kind of animal. It’s famously said “the Summit is only the half-way point“, but what if it didn’t have to be? What if the summit was the end? Salomon has created this in Whistler with the Salomon Valley to Peak trail running race, a 23km/14.3M long run that gains over 1609m’s/5280ft from the Valley floor to the very top of Whistler Peak. To put that elevation another way, it’s almost exactly like climbing a vertical mile into the sky. This is going to be intense and epic! Here’s some of my tips on how to prepare yourself for a feat like this. The Secret to Running up Mountains What’s the secret to training for an uphill race like Salomon Valley to Peak? The secret is that there is no secret at all. You just need to put in the miles, get breathless and learn to love feeling a little uncomfortable. There are a few top tips though that can definitely help you to get the most out of race day and really have fun out there. Run Hills Let’s be honest, running uphill is hard work, but it is what makes you a stronger runner. Think of running uphill in terms of perceived effort rather than pace. What this means is that you won’t be trying to run up the hill at the same pace that you can run on flat trail, instead slow your pace down to a point that allows you continue running at a regulated heart rate. If you push uphill too fast your heart rate will spike, that’s just something you won’t be able to maintain for long. Learn to power hike/walk Yes you read that right, walking is definitely allowed! This isn’t your everyday walking pace though. This is a hiking pace with a bit of oomph behind it. It’s all about power and stride. If the hill is too steep or sustained for you to continue running, oftentimes it is more efficient to power up those hills in hiking mode. When you are out training on your long hills, throw some power hiking into your routine with emphasis on the power. Pump your arms, straighten your back and take short steps to ensure you are using the big glute muscles to propel you up the hill. Run Technical Trail Trail running often involves technical terrain, roots, rocks and twisty trail, and the Salomon Valley to Peak race is no different. Be prepared for this type of trail by training on it. Practice running up and...
Exploring the Whistler Via Ferrata
If you haven’t already, check out our previous post about Via Ferratas and our experience on the Squamish Via Ferrata at the Sea to Sky Gondola. You can read that here: An Adventure on the Squamish Via Ferrata Well, after our morning out with the Mountain Skills Academy on the Squamish Via Ferrata we were psyched to check out the Whistler Via Ferrata next. The Whistler Via Ferrata was one of the first of it’s kind in Canada and we were told that it was a few grades harder than the newer one recently opened in Squamish. Fresh off our experience in Squamish we were excited to see for ourselves what it was like! It’s longer than the Squamish Via Ferrata being a 4 hour return trip from the Roundhouse on Whistler Mountain. Myself and Spring met up with our Guide and group at the base of the gondola in Whistler. From there we took the gondola up and got to know each other on the scenic ride up the mountain. At the top we went to a little cabin near the Roundhouse to get our harnesses, helmets and lanyards. Coming straight off our Squamish trip we felt like seasoned pros with the equipment. Weather couldn’t slow us down. We headed out promptly and got the day underway. Clouds were building overhead and weather looked to be rolling in but it didn’t slow us down. Right away we got that big mountain feel. From the Roundhouse you will be starting above the trees in the Alpine. We were surrounded by rock, ice and snow. After hiking for a bit towards Whistler Mountain we gained the base of our route and the fun of climbing the “Iron Road” began. We clipped into the security of the metal cable running along the length of the route and started moving upwards steadily. We could definitely feel that this Via Ferrata was different to the Squamish one. The rungs were further apart and in places you needed to hold onto rock to move upwards. It was varied and interesting but never too hard. A girl in our group had never done anything remotely like this before and she found it a lot of fun. We always had the reassurance that we were protected as we were clipped into the metal cable. Bringing back the High 5 on Whistler Mountain! The route had an awesome mountaineering feel. We traversed ledges, moved around blocky features, ascended steep cliffs, all while working our way towards the summit. If you want that feeling like you are aiming for an objective in the mountains and working to achieve it...
Canadian Wilderness Adventures: Canoe Tour
< Part 1: ATV Tour with Canadian Wilderness Adventures After getting back to Whistler and cleaning the dust off ourselves from ATV’ing we met up with our guide Gavin to go Canoe the River of Golden Dreams. We joined a group of others that were stoked to have this experience also. Truth be told we’ve been meaning to do this river for quite a while after first hearing about it years ago. We’ve just never had the equipment or knowledge to go for it. In late Summer, when the water level is pretty low, it’s common for a lot of people to just float this river in inflatable dingys and inner tubes. Even though we’d be tackling it earlier in the year I expected a similar experience. Will Lightning strike the lake? We started this adventure by getting geared up on the shores of Alta Lake. After a quick tutorial we hopped into the canoes and paddled out. Once out on the water Gavin got us to run through some drills practicing some paddling techniques to turn and control our canoe. The weather also looked to be changing for the worst so Gavin made us aware that if thunder and lightning did start we’d be ending our tour early. The prospect of being caught out in a thunderstorm definitely added to the adventurous feel of this trip. We paddled in a tight knit group, chatting amongst ourselves and getting to know each other. At the far end of the lake we began our journey down into and along the River of Golden Dreams. The Best Thing To Do in Whistler! It’s exceptionally picturesque. I now understand why this outing is considered the #1 thing to do in Whistler by locals and tourists alike. We floated by lilies, under bridges, through narrow sections were we could see grass growing along the bottom of the river through the crystal clear water. After a section of paddling along a narrow stream we entered 21-Mile Creek, a wider, faster flowing river. The flow rate was surprising at first as I wasn’t expecting it. During the Spring and early Summer snow melt the river level is higher and flowing quicker. We began to move quicker and the paddling drills we had practiced earlier at Alta Lake came into use. Not only did we need to avoid low hanging trees, sand bars and sharp bends in the river but there was also loads of people floating in the river in small, cheap, inflatable dingys. It was exciting and our guides did an excellent job of instructing us as to how to handle the upcoming challenges and...
Canadian Wilderness Adventures: ATV Tour
Recently myself and Spring had the opportunity to go on a day of adventures with “Canadian Wilderness Adventures” out of Whistler, BC. It was scheduled to be a jam packed day with ATV’ing on rugged trails in the Callaghan Valley in the morning followed by Canoeing the River of Golden Dreams in the afternoon. When asked if I had previous ATV experience I replied “yes”, but that experience was gained about 8 years ago in a field somewhere in Alberta. I was pretty overweight back then, not athletic in anyway and I basically just drove around in circles for an hour. Learning to properly handle a Quad has been on the To Do list for a while. In the future if we travel to more remote locations ATV’s might be the only way to get around. Plus, it’s serious fun! We have a secret! It’s also been a secret shame of ours that we don’t really know how to Canoe well. Canoeing is quintessentially Canadian and having now lived in Canada for 5 years myself and Spring should really know how to do it already. Spring grew up in Canada, in Alberta, so her shame runs deep, haha! We arrived in Whistler bright and early to begin our day. I was curiously nervous. I knew I’d be with a guide but I guess I always feel nervous right before I do something I’ve never done before. It’s always a guessing game to see how I will react when challenged with something new. We checked in at the Canadian Wilderness Adventures desk at the Carleton Lodge, signed our waivers and quickly headed out with Lewy, our ATV guide for the day to do the “Wild Wild West ATV Tour“. It was a quick drive to the Callaghan Valley and Lewy did an excellent job of getting us geared up and instructed to control our Quads. Let the Adventure Begin! Before we knew it our goggles were down and we were ripping along a rough gravel road. Our ATV adventure had begun! On the gravel road we had some time to get used to how the ATV’s handled. They rolled over potholes with ease and accelerated quickly, cornering well. Lewy told us to remember our past experience with Mountain Biking which really helped. The key was to always keep looking ahead and into the turns where I wanted to go, not where I wanted to avoid. Things started to get steep and technical. Eventually we started getting on to more technical trail, which got rougher and steeper. Making the conscious effort to keep my eyes up scanning ahead helped me to...
Learning to Ski Steeps with “Extremely Canadian”
This year myself and Spring at Pebbleshoo have set ourselves the goal of training and educating ourselves a lot more in regards to the activities we’re interested in. Being honest it has felt like our ski game has been stuck in 2nd gear for a while now. We both took an intro to skiing a few years ago, learning how to do a downhill wedge and ski bunny hills but apart from that we’ve been simply trying to teach ourselves the proper technique. It hasn’t worked. So recently we had the opportunity to take a 2 day Steep Skiing Clinic with Extremely Canadian out of Whistler. Our expectations with this clinic were to go from being cautious skiers capable of linking a few turns down black diamond runs to feeling confident on double black diamonds and skiing more fluidly and aggressively. Day 1: Our Mettle was really tested on the first day. It was awesome! It was a slow progression through the day of skiing steeper and steeper snow. First, after meeting our guides at the Whistler Base, we did a warmup ski run so our instructors could determine our competency and expectations. After watching our ski form we were split into groups and myself, Spring and two others were assigned to Extremely Canadian guide Peter. First up we did some laps on a groomed blue run so Peter could watch us and give us advice on how to improve our form. For balance we practiced picking our uphill ski off the snow while we completed a turn. I found this incredibly helpful right away and realized my balance was all wrong. Peter was great with giving individual advice to each of us to help us iron out our own specific issues. Next we practiced pole planting form. Something we’ve been sorely neglecting and it was definitely needed. From there, after warming up and some guidance, we cranked it up a notch and hit our first black diamond run, Whistler Bowl. We’d never skied it before but Peter was great with getting us into it safely. Skiing Moguls, but not as we knew it We did a few laps of Whistler Bowl, working on a few different techniques while getting used to the steeper angle. One of the techniques that stood out for me was skiing on top of moguls rather than between them. I was so focused before on trying to stay in the runnels between the moguls that I’d never thought to just ski the bumps on top of the moguls. The rest of the day was a mix of exploring the various bowls on Whistler Mountain and skiing steep...
