Members of the Foothills Nordic Ski Club, based in Calgary, Alberta, just finished off a great weekend of skiing  as part of the club’s annual Early Snow Camp in Lake Louise, Alberta. Over 170 club members came out for the event, including skiers from the Jackrabbit+, Track Attack, T1, T2 and LC cross-country and biathlon programs. Thanks to a snowy start to the winter the skiing at Lake Louise provided perfect mid-winter conditions.

 

The Track Attack program incorporated Cross Country Canada’s Skills Development Camp guidelines into the Early Snow Camp, which resulted in an action pack weekend. Track Attackers started off the weekend Saturday morning with an on-snow skate practice, focussed on the basics of technique, balance and agility. After a delicious lunch cooked up by the club’s infamous volunteer kitchen staff, Track Attack athletes took part in a nutrition seminar and classic grip wax clinic, where they cleaned and waxed their own classic skis. Saturday’s afternoon ski involved Track Attackers being dropped off at the Chateau Lake Louise and racing their personal chauffeurs back down to the Lake Louise Hostel (the chauffeurs only won by about 5 minutes). Saturday’s downhill workout didn’t slow down any of the Track Attackers for Sunday’s long distance ski. Nearly all of the Track Attacks made it all the way up to the top of the Morraine Lake Road trail, skiing a grand total of 18km! The Track Attack coaches were very impressed with the great skiing by all the athletes!

 

In addition to great skiing, a second big highlight of the camp was a special guest talk Saturday night by Foothills member and 10 time Paralympic medalist Brian McKeever. Everyone was inspired by Brian’s talk about the importance of teamwork and friendships in achieving goals. Brian reminded the kids that his favourite experiences of ski racing aren’t necessarily the races he has won, but more often all the fun experiences he has had with his friends along the way.

 

A big THANK YOU to all of the Foothills parent volunteers, coaches, Cross Country Canada, The ACC/HI Lake Louise Hostel and Canmore/Banff Subway Restaurants, all of whom made this past weekend a huge success.

Rhonda Jewett