Sun Peaks Shares…AGAIN!
By blogmaster | April 1, 2008
Last weekend was the second winter and fourth overall Sun Peaks Shares weekend event (we also hold one each September) and what an amazing weekend…I’m still recovering…just kidding!All kidding aside, it was really tremendous weekend for everyone involved and the weather could not have been better - bright sunshine, comfortable winter-like temps and even some fresh snow at the end of the weekend! (Note: reading between the lines - there are still some fabulous snow conditions here as we enter the first week of April and the second last week of the season). Again this year, Sun Peaks Resort and it’s generous event sponsors (more on them below) hosted close to 120 economically and/or socially disadvantaged youth and their families, guardians or chaperones for a weekend of winter fun at Sun Peaks. The participants came through our partner agencies Big Brothers & Sisters Kamloops, the Boys & Girls Club Kamloops and Kids Up Front Vancouver.
Two buses unloaded late Friday afternoon - one from Kamloops and another from Vancouver (courtesy of Canada West Coachlines and Pacific Coach Lines) - depositing some travel weary but excited kids and adults. They quickly checked in at one of our generous accommodation partners (the Coast Sundance Lodge, Delta Sun Peaks Resort, the Hearthstone & Fireside Lodges, the Heffley Boutique Inn, Nancy Greene’s Cahilty Lodge and the Sun Peaks Lodge) and then after a quick trip to the rental shop where they picked up their gear for the weekend (compliments of the Sun Peaks Resort Corporation - SPRC) the group was treated to a fabulous pasta buffer dinner at the Delta Sun Peaks Resort. Nancy Greene was on hand Friday night to welcome the group and throughout the weekend to pass along tips, encouragement and give one-on-one private lessons! Nancy even escorted a group of special needs kids who had never skied before down the 5-Mile from the top by the end of the weekend!
On Saturday after breakfast at Masa’s (sponsored by SPRC) just about everyone took part in skiing or snowboarding lessons during the day (and those who didn’t had a chance to try Snowshoeing thanks to Sun Peaks Snowshoe Adventures), again generously provided by the SPRC. After a quick lunch provided by Macker’s on the Mountain and SPRC, the group had another afternoon session and then a Pizza Party dinner at Bentos hosted by SPRC and then an exciting prize draw for clothing and equipment donated by NRI Distribution Inc. based in Kamloops and Spyder. It was a real highlight to an incredible day - there was so much gear that nobody went home empty handed.
Sunday kicked with another breakfast at Masa’s and then a special visit by the Sun Peaks Fire & Rescue department, then a group photo with Adam Earle from SPIN and then they had the day free to go skiing or boarding with volunteer hosts or check out the Tube Park, Bungy Trampoline or the Sportscentre (thanks to the SPRC!). The weather was so nice that everyone enjoyed the BBQ on the deck at Bottoms Bar & Grill. Sadly, the weekend came to an end at around 4pm on Sunday when the buses departed for Kamloops and Vancouver and everyone said their final goodbyes.
From the many comments I and the other volunteers heard through the weekend, all those attending were extremely grateful to all of the event sponsors and volunteers who made the weekend possible. I’ve managed to name a few of them above and we’ll be thanking each of them more formally in the coming weeks, but until then I have to pass along a HUGE THANKS to all those who’ve supported this years and previous events, and especially the Sun Peaks Resort Corporation who have continually gone above and beyond. We could not have done it without all of you!
Cheers,
Steve O - local mountain enthusiast and Chair of the Sun Peaks Shares Organizing Committee and Share the Mountain Foundation (for more info on both, click here)
Topics: | No Comments »
Spring Break Bulletin
By blogmaster | March 19, 2008
Well it’s the day before Spring officially arrives and while there are some signs that spring is on the way - the sun higher in the sky, longer days, and the sounds of birds in the woods along the trails - the conditions are more like winter.Friends of mine from Ontario left yesterday after what they described as some of the best days of skiing they’ve ever had. It seemed as though everything had aligned perfectly for their visit - a deep snow base, a bit of fresh snow just about every night, sunny days and nice comfortable temps. Not bad for the middle of March and it looks as though more of the same is on the way for the next week or so. So there is still lots of great snow to be had and with less than a month till the end of the season (April 13th), there should be more than enough to take us through to the end and beyond.
After Easter there are also lots of great deals to be had as things start to get a little quieter. Not that they still aren’t lots of events going on - Easter Weekend festivities, the Canadian Alpine Master’s Championships and the closing weekend Spring Festival, as well as the regular weekly events - but you’ll still have the mountain, or rather mountains to yourself! So don’t put away the boards yet and get in on some of the best skiing and riding of the season!
This post was written by Steve O - all around mountain and spring enthusiast.
Topics: | No Comments »
Nordic Moments
By blogmaster | March 3, 2008
Well it was nice to wake up to some fresh snow this morning after a week or so of fairly dry (except for a little tease earlier in the week) and almost spring like weather. Not that the bright sunny skies weren’t a welcome sight - it just the little hints of spring that came with it were just a little too early for my liking:-). But we’re back to winter this morning and according to the Farmer’s Almanac, we’re in for a fairly ‘wet’ (as in snowy at higher elevations) March. Bring on the snow I say, spring can wait!It was a pretty busy weekend around the resort event wise with both the Pontiac GMC Cup and the TELUS Nancy Greene Corporate Challenge going on. It’s racing season here at the Peaks as next weekend marks the return of the Velocity Challenge - the only FIS World Cup Speed Skiing event in North America - and the following week brings the Canadian Para Alpine Championships to the resort. I only got a chance to take in some of the “apres” ski racing events (in some ways just as intense) as I was pulled away by a group of friends from Vancouver over to the Nordic side of things here.
Not that I haven’t indulged before - and I actually do on a fairly regular basis - but it’s easy to overlook when your surrounded on all sides by three mountains full of thrills. For those who haven’t, Sun Peaks boasts quite the network of X-C trails, groomed for both classic and skating, as well as a separate slew of snowshoe trails. Officially, there’s 28km of groomed and track-set trails as well another 12km of backcountry trails including Holy Cow, a 7km trail that winds it’s way from the top of the Morrisey Express (riding the lift is included in the trail ticket) that joins the rest of the network for a close to 13km trip back to the Village.
Of course, most people ski Holy Cow from the top down; that is, most people except for one of my friends from Vancouver who always prefers the more challenging way to do things. So not only did we ski Holy Cow from bottom to top, we skate skied it from bottom to top. For hard core skate skiers (like Paul) it wasn’t too big of a deal, but let’s just say for casual skate skiers like myself - it was definintely a work out (and the hot tub felt really good at the end of the day). I think next time I’ll do it the classic way to the top and save the skate skis for tamer stuff like the McGillvray Lake trail, Raven Ramble, Nut Hatch and Blue Grouse:-). Anyway, if you haven’t checked them out yet I’d highly recommend it. Pack a lunch and stop at the warming cabin at McGillivray Lake. Afterwards be sure to do a loop out on the lake (conditions permitting!) and catch the great view of Tod Mountain. For more information on Nordic Skiing at Sun Peaks click here. Happy trails - Alpine and/or Nordic!
This post was written by Steve O - all around mountain enthusiast.
Topics: | No Comments »
Ode to Olympic Gold…
By blogmaster | February 17, 2008
Well so far, February has turned out to be a pretty snowy month and base depths are approaching record levels. Two out of the three groundhogs I heard report a few weeks ago were calling for an early Spring - not in this part of the world it would seem. February and March can be some of the snowiest months at the Peaks and the spirit of Valentines Day, just one of the many things I love about Sun Peaks:-)!
In addition to Valentine’s, another significant date was marked this week and one a bit closer to Sun Peaks: the day after Valentine’s - Feb 15, 2008 - marked 40 years to the day that Nancy Greene won Olympic Gold in Grenoble. If you’ve had the pleasure of skiing with Nancy, as many who’ve visited Sun Peaks have over the years, you know that’s it’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since that day given the way Nancy still rips around the mountain.
Nancy’s official title at Sun Peaks Resort is Director of Skiing but that only begins to describe the work and impact Nancy had on the resort and the community of Sun Peaks. Most people know Nancy from the tours she gives from the top of the Sunburst Express just about every day (or so it seems) during the winter - but that’s only part of the story. In addition to her on-mountain duties, Nancy works tirelessly behind the scenes hosting resort guests, touring visiting media, making public appearances, promoting the resort at ski shows and even picking up garbage around the village. Nancy has and continues to be an integral part of the ongoing success of Sun Peaks and really embodies the friendly, down-to-earth vibe of the resort. If you haven’t had a chance to ski with her yet, make sure you do the next time you visit!
It’s the beginning of President’s Week and conditions should be fantastic for all of our visiting friends from the US. Luckily the Coquihalla reopened just in time for the annual influx and it looks like some sunny weather is on tap this week - enjoy!
This post was written by Steve O - all around mountain enthusiast.
Topics: | No Comments »
Arriba, Arriba…Mexicans Visit Sun Peaks!
By blogmaster | February 6, 2008
As much as I’d like to have finished the rest of the title of this post in true Speedy Gonzalez style, I’ve resisted the temptation:-)! It was hard to I must say, as after spending more than a week with some fun loving Mexican Media it makes you want to pull out every Mexican cliche and stereotype you can think of!
I had the distinct pleasure of hosting and escorting a group of Mexican Media through BC last week, including a four day visit to Sun Peaks at the end of their trip. The media that visited Sun Peaks included journalists and photographers from some of the biggest media outlets in Mexico: Reforma and Excelsior newspapers, Imagen Radio and the Expansion Editorial Group whose titles include Expansion (a business magazine), Travel & Leisure and Life& Style. All of them were most impressed with Sun Peaks.
After a few challenges getting to Sun Peaks, the group settled in and got the full on Sun Peaks experience - including some signature sunshine a blue skies! Most of the group had never skied before and a the majority had never even seen snow other than on TV (hard to imagine as a Canadian I know). So all those wintry things we take a bit for granted - snow in the trees, snowbanks, snowplows etc. - were a big deal to the group. They kicked their stay off with a special ski lesson provided by none other than Olympic Champion Nancy Greene and by day two most of them were making their way down the 5 Mile after lunch up at the Sunburst. They took in a Sleigh Ride, the local “culture” at Masa’s and a highlight for some - a two hour Dog Sledding tour. The overall consensus at the end of the visit was that Sun Peaks would have a lot of appeal to the Mexican market and especially so for families.
Hmmm, one might wonder why Mexico might be of interest to Sun Peaks as it’s not exactly the centre of the ski world and in fact, there are no ski resorts in Mexico. However, Mexico is one of the fastest growing markets in terms of visitors to Canada and there is a sizeable and growing market of Mexican winter enthusiasts who up until now have mostly visited the US. They’re also a good market in that they tend to take longer vacations and spend more when they do. Plus, with non-stop flights from Mexico City to Vancouver - BC and Sun Peaks are relatively easy to get to.
So Venga, Venga (Come, Come) I say and bring on the Mexicans! Who knows we might even end up with a new Mexican restaurant in the Village!
This post was written by Stevito - mountain and enthusiast for all things Mexican.
Topics: | No Comments »
Icewine Hangover…
By blogmaster | January 21, 2008
Well the 10th annual Icewine Festival has come and gone - and I’ve got the hangover to prove it:-) (There’s something extra strong about an Icewine hangover - must be all the extra sugar or something!). Of course there was more than Icewine on the menu during the Progressive Tasting - as well as at the other events and seminars all week - but I’m a bit partial to Icewine and the less sweet Late Harvest wines, so I did my best to take full advantage of the tasting opportunities! It’s great to see how the festival has grown over the years - from a weekend event when it first started 10 years ago - to an almost full week of events today. Now most of the events take place during the week and even the popular Progressive Tasting was moved to Friday from Saturday night. Another cool thing that was new this year was the Fire Show that took place in the Village Square during the Progressive - talk about addiing to the atmosphere - Fire and Ice(wine) - killer combination!
While there was lots of fire, ice and wine - there was also plenty of fresh snow to cap off the week and kick off the weekend! Officially - close to six inches fell early Saturday morning and then continued most of the day - but in most places it felt and skied a lot deeper. Tele(mark) turns down Expo and Rollercoaster Satuday morning were sweet, sweet, sweet. Even the groomed runs we hit heading over skied deep as most had been groomed earlier so that all the fresh stuff settled on top of fresh grooming. There were still lots of fresh lines to be had on Sunday under bright sunny skies.
Sunday was also the first day of the Sun Peaks Shares Learn-to-Ski program. This is a new program that’s been added where youth from Big Brothers and Sisters and the Boys and Girls Club in Kamloops are being hosted for four Sundays of ski lessons. Everyone gets a ride to the hill (courtesy of the Boys and Girls Club bus), lifts tickets, rentals, lessons and lunch. This Sunday - 16 enthusiastic youth got their first taste of sliding - and for some, their first visit to Sun Peaks. All of this has been made possible by the generous support of our partners, the local Sun Peaks and Kamloops communities as well some of our many visitors. For more information on Sun Peaks Shares, our next winter weekend event March 28-30, 2008 and other Share the Mountain programs, click here.
Happy trails!
This post was written by Steve O - all around mountain and Icewine enthusiast!
Topics: | No Comments »
January Whites…
By blogmaster | January 13, 2008
I’ve heard people talk about the January blues - post-holiday let downs, credit card meltdowns etc. but we seem to having a bad case of the January Whites:-). Over 60cm - or two feet - of the white stuff in the past week or so and more snow on the way on Monday. There’s been a cycle of storms moving in off the Pacific since the turn of the year and let’s just hope the cycle continues and makes this a season to remember!
January’s also the time the resort welcomes lots of visitors from Down Under as it coincides with one of their big holiday breaks. It’s still pretty amazing to me that families will travel all the way from Australia to visit Sun Peaks. I had the chance this week in Vancouver to meet some journalists from Australia - one from the Sydney Herald and one who writes for Australian Skiing - and they say that there’s nothing like BC in OZ - the snow, the terrain, the scenery and of course, the friendly Canadians. As a typical, reserved, polite and supposedly friendly Canadian it still seems a bit odd for someone to be so positive about something Canadian - it’s like you always think there’s got to be something better out there somewhere. Maybe not, but then again I always like to live by the philosophy of underpromising and overdelivering…:-)
January’s also the time for the annual - and this year, the 10th annual Icewine Festival which kicks off tomorrow with the Sun Peaks Wine & Dine. The SPWD offers fix prix menus and hand picked flights of wine at select restaurants all around the village starting from $39.95. There’s events going on all week ending up with the always popular Progressive Tasting on Friday. For more info click here, to enquire about tickets stop by the Activities & Information Centre in the Village Daylodge or call 578-5542.
On that note, a toast to January at Sun Peaks…
This post was written by Steve O - all around mountain and Icewine enthusiast.
Topics: | No Comments »
Bring on the New Year!
By blogmaster | January 4, 2008
Well ‘07 went out with a bang (in terms of snow and conditions) and it looks like ‘08 is off to a good start. Snow off and on most of the day yesterday and it’s snowing again this morning. Apparently there’s a big system moving in off the coast so hopefully it will stick around for a few days and keep dropping more of the white stuff!
The beginning of a new year brings along that annual tradition of resolutions. Personally, I’m not big on making resolutions - or at least limiting them to a certain of year and for me anyways, September always feels more like the beginning of a new year anyway (must a holdover from all those years in school!). The beginning of a new ski season is a bigger event in my life than the start of a New Year and I’m sure I’m not alone on that one (or who knows maybe I am??). The only concession to a New Year’s timed resolution is to ski more - but that’s just a repeat of my new season’s resolution:-)
Heading into the last couple of days of holidays for some people it’s nice to see the mountain slowing down a bit after a busy holiday week. Although even with the holiday rush it was still easy to find yourself alone or alone with your friend most places around the mountains - one of the enduring holiday traditions at Sun Peaks that I’m happy to see hasn’t changed much. Looking ahead to another tradition, the Icewine Festival is celebrating it’s 10th year this season. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out before I’d highly recommend it - for more info click here.
On that note - time to head out and take in some of that snow that’s been falling all morning! Just following up on that new season, new year’s resolution…:-)
This post was written by all around mountain enthusiast - Steve O
Topics: | No Comments »
A Holiday Week to Remember
By blogmaster | December 28, 2007
Wow! What did we do to deserve this?!! Someone’s been good this year!! 50cm and counting already this week and more on the way! Just about everything is open and there’s still lots of fresh stuff all around but especially in the trees.
And speaking of trees - some of the best skiing and riding at Sun Peaks is in the trees and there’s just so much of it to go around. If you haven’t ventured off into the trees the best thing to do is to go with someone who has and someone who knows where they’re going (not necessarily the same person:-)!). If you don’t know someone who knows the trees hook up with one of the advanced Sun Guide tours as most of these guys and gals know where to find the best stashes and definintely know where they’re going. Whatever you do, don’t head into the trees alone - even if you know where you’re going it’s way to easy to get into trouble with no one around to help you out.
Having said all that, I’ll share a few of my favourite places to jump into the trees and enjoy all that fresh powder. Favourite place to start and warm-up is Three Bears off the Sundance Express. You can follow the run proper through the widely spaced trees until about half way down and then head off skers right as it bends off to the left and heads towards Rambler. The trees are fairly well spaced but get tighter the farther right you go towards Sunrise. Eventually you’ll come out onto the lower part of Rambler and then back to the Sundance. After that there are some nice trees off the top of Grannie Greene’s and a short ways down Homesteader - but here I’d recommend you go with someone who knows them as it gets a bit tighter and trickier lower down. Over on Tod there are loads of options in between most of the runs that spill off the Sunburst and empty onto the 5-Mile - and they’re even marked on the trail map. Cahilty trees are a nice introduction and then they generally get steeper and tigher as you move down the ridge. One of my favourites are the trees between Bluff and Sting and skiers left off of Broadway. But that’s enough for now - can’t share all the secrets:-)
This post was written by Steve O - all around mountain enthusiast.
Topics: | No Comments »
A Week Before Christmas…
By blogmaster | December 18, 2007
A week before Christmas and all through the town, skiers were skiing while the snow came falling down…! Ok, ok, I’ll spare you any more of my holiday inspired rhyming - a remnant of my brief stint as the mountain snow phone reporter (my apologies to anyone who called into the snow phone Christmas Eve a few years ago - I’ll probably never live it down!!)
Well, here we are a week or so before Christmas and things have definintely been getting more festive by the day. The Burfield Chair opened yesterday and the snow’s been slowly accummulating by a few cm here and there pushing the run count to 86 as of today. We should be in good shape for the holidays next week and who knows, maybe we’ll even get a special treat in the form of a nice big holiday dump.
This is my absolute favourite time at the resort - just before Christmas. I love the build up, the anticipation and with a valley full of snow covered Christmas trees, there’s just no better place to get to pick up that holiday spirit. There’s also lots going around the resort on top of all the great skiing and boarding. There’s Village Carolling with Nancy Greene on the 23rd and 24th, Sleigh Rides and Skiing with Santa on the 23rd, 24th and 25th and then my favourit - Breakfast with Santa on the 24th. Then back again this year is the Holiday Concert at the Delta with the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra. I went last year and it was a great all around family evening event - tickets can be purchase at the Activities Desk in the Village Day Lodge.
Happy holidays to all and see you out on the slopes!
This post was written by Steve O - mountain and Christmas enthusiast.�
Topics: | No Comments »
« Previous Entries