Sat, Jan 27 2007 - X-Country Skiing at Scenic Caves - Let's Hope for Snow!! (View Original Event Details)
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Scenic Caves Write Up Jan 27, 2007 Eleven TOCers met at Downsview subway station bright and early at 8:00 am on Saturday morning and split into three cars to travel up to the Scenic Caves near Collingwood and on top of Blue Mountain. The drive up was interesting to say the least as it was precipitating a mixture of snow and freezing rain. Also we (Lillian, Carolyn, Nancy and I) discovered a novel way of cooling down hot drinks on a car (trip).
We reached Scenic Caves, got those who needed equipment set up and were out skiing by 11:30 am. I gave short and long lessons to seven people, some of who had never been on x-country skis previously. The snow conditions were powder and the temperature around – 8 c – all in all wonderful!
We spent the morning skiing in small groups and met in the Chalet for lunch where we sat at a table or around a roaring fire in the wood stove. Then we went out in small groups for a longer afternoon ski. Michelle, Caroline and Wade took Prashanth off on to a few of the more difficult tails, quite a feat, as Prashanth is a beginner. When Lillian, another beginner was asked to describe her first time on X-country skis, she replied “I came, I saw, I fell.”
Lillian also launched a TOC presence in the YOUTUBEisphere with her two charming shorts. In one Elliott skis down hill and falls, in the other Darlene demonstrates excellent technique herring boning up the hill, David exhorts Elliott to bend his ankles and knees (not his waist) and Elliott skis down hill and falls. See link http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=torontooutdoorclub
One group, including Katherine P, Sara H, Elliott S, and I, was able to stay longer for night skiing at nearby Wasaga Nordic Centre. We had dinner at a surprisingly good Chinese restaurant (The Yellow River) in Collingwood. Our dinner conversation took an interesting, “Elliott Turn” when he asked us about times when we had left our comfort zone. We had a quite a time finding the Wasaga Nordic Centre for night skiing. When we finally did it proved worth it as we had a great time skiing by the reflected light of the snow. We ended up around a small campfire, before heading home down the 400, through its ubiquitous snow squalls.
It turned out to be a great event and I can hardly wait for the next ski trip!
By David Block
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