Apex Matters March 2020 by Apex Matters

Apex Matters “Keeping You in the S’know”

Volume 16 : Issue 7 Your FREE Local Snow Culture Newsletter!

March 2020

Apex Mountain by Moonlight Photo by www.preservedlight.com

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#2-360 Strayhorse Road ~ $290,000

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244 Creekview Road ~ $185,000

MLS #176967 - Fully serviced duplex building lot, Set along the Grandfather’s Trail, steps to village.

VERTICAL & VINTAGES TICKETS FOR MARCH 7TH ARE STILL AVAILABLE ON EVENTBRITE!

MARCH 13-21 NIGHT SKIING AND TUBING OPEN UNTIL 9PM

Day Lift Operations: Daily 9-3:30 thru April 5, 2020. Night Lift Operations: Friday & Saturday 4-9 until March 28th. Tube Park: Friday 4-9, Saturday 10-9, Sundays & Holidays 10-3:30. March 1321 10-9. Skating Loop & Hockey Rink: Open daily and lit at night until 11. Weather dependent. Watch for private event closures. Please call to inquire about loop and rink conditions in advance. Snow Bus: Runs every Sat & Sun plus Holidays until March 24. Daily March 16-22. Arrives at 9:15 & Departs at 3:30 Featuring: 80 Runs | 4 Terrain Parks | 2000 Vertical Feet | 1112 Skiable Acres | 16% Novice | 48% Intermediate | 36% Advanced/Expert

END OF SEASON SALE! 25-40% OFF Sale On Remaining Inventory Not Currently Booked! Use the Discount Codes SAVE25spring or SAVE40spring and receive between 25-40% Off any available dates until April 6, 2020.

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What’s Happening At The Edge? The Edge carpets are finally dried out from “Snowmageddon” February. Hopefully, you all got out for epic turns during that record breaking week! The Edge staff definitely did! WOW! The mountain is now set up for a great month of sunny spring skiing. With that in mind, be sure to look out for The Edge Spring BBQ’s coming soon on sunny weekend days. Always a local’s favorite social place to be at lunch. The “Frame of Fame” has started ... you know you want to be a part of it and we want your picture too. This isn’t a beauty contest folks. Check out the locals on the wall already ... big smiles on happy days! Cheffy would be thrilled to get your Polaroid on the wall. Let’s fill the frames with all your great smiles and/or funny poses. Once your mugshot is posted, you can autograph it and be forever remembered!

For daily specials, fresh updates & current weather!

Best Mountain Views!

A special thank you to Keith Harvey, who recently donated some nostalgic Apex memorabilia that will be on display at The Edge soon. Very cool pictures and articles. The wooden ﬁsh shaped cocktails sign by the TV was donated by Finbar, an original sign from the Teahouse in the 70’s.

10th Year Anniversary T-Shirts Available Now!

Sun - Thur 7am - 5pm Fri - Sat 7am - 9pm Holidays & Night Skiing

Specialty coffees, teas, amazing breakfasts, lunches with homemade soups, sandwiches & loads of treats. “Artisan Take & Bake” Pizzas made fresh to order with your favourite toppings on a delicious stone baked crust. Simply throw it in your oven and dinner is ready in 12 minutes.

Thai Tuesdays will continue in March, due to popularity. Come down and try out this amazing dish for lunch. During Spring Break, don’t forget how easy it is to order a pizza and take it home for the kids or a family pizza night! We are pretty ﬂexible and can create your custom pizza ready for you to bake at home. There’s always something happening at The Edge! Located next to The Mountain Shop in the Apex Mountain Village

To order your “Artisan Take & Bake” Pizzas, or to book a Group Function: Colin - 250.488.2400

Vertical & Vintages Returns March 7th

Apex Mountain Resort, the Gunbarrel Saloon, and the Naramata Bench Wineries Association have teamed up again for the annual Vertical & Vintages special event on March 7th. This Saturday night event is the highlight of this weekend, an evening of tasting many of the renowned wines from the Naramata Bench. 18 wineries will be pouring a selection of tastings and the wines will be complimented by delicious tapas and chefs’ specialty tastes created by the Gunbarrel’s gourmet kitchen. The evening will be complemented by an after party with live music and dancing with Naramata’s favourite party band, “UnCorked”. With the purchase of your V&V event ticket, you’ll receive 25% off lift tickets on March 7th and 8th, 2020. Just show your event ticket at the lift ticket window at time of purchase. Event tickets can be purchased online at eventbrite.ca. ApexMatters.com | March 2020 | Page 3

Nickel Plate Junior Racers Update By Chris Garwah, Coach The Nickel Plate Junior Racers’ season is in high gear. A small contingent represented the team in the Kootenay Cup in Nelson held on February 15th and 16th. Matthew Broder had an excellent day winning the sprints on Day 1 with Jake Garwah finishing 9th in the 18 and over category. The following day in the U18 7.5 km classic, once again Matthew Broder claimed the gold with Jake Garwah finishing in third place (see photo below). The following weekend Stake Lake in Kamloops hosted the BC Midget Championships. The team was represented by two of its up and coming athletes, Kai Rippy and Tobias Mengr. On Day 1, Tobias finished 14th and Kai finished 17th in the sprints. On Day 2, Kai placed 15th and Tobias finished 20th in the interval starts. Both athletes had terrific days and brought back some wonderful memories.

Don’t Miss Out!

Explore 56 km of Cross Country ski trails and 16 km of marked Snowshoe trails at the Nickel Plate Nordic Centre in Penticton, BC this Ski Season. Find more information at:on nickelplatenordic.org or visitpenticton.com

Open late November to early April

Fred Albrechtson continues to collect the miles and has been representing Team BC in Europe. Fred has been touring Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic for three weeks competing in many races culminating with the 2020 FIS World Junior/U23 Championships in Oberwiesenthal, Germany. His tour has provided him with a taste of European culture and racing. The rest of the team continues to train hard preparing for BC Championships next month in Kelowna and Nationals in Vernon at the end of March. For those of you looking to catch a glimpse of top level cross country skiing, remember to book off a few days in March and catch Canada’s best race from March 25 - April 2, 2020 at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre.

Nickel Plate Nordic Centre Update By Tricia Wilson, General Manager Sadly, we’re drawing towards the end of the season, but what an amazing season it has been! Our 30th Anniversary has been everything we had hoped for: tonnes of snow, great volunteer support, a brand new grooming machine, and our strongest season in terms of visitor numbers on record. We’ve said it before, but it bears saying again, Nickel Plate’s continued success is a result of all of the amazing people who visit and contribute. The ski and snowshoe community really came together this year, so we have a lot to celebrate and be grateful for. The new trails we opened this year were overall a great success. We’ll be grooming all of them again next year, and our relationship with the sledders on Winters Creek Road went pleasingly well. Since Nickel Plate is a non-proﬁt and funded entirely by private revenue (i.e. not a government park), we rely on relationships like this to ensure all users of the area are having fun and able to enjoy their respective activities. We’d like to thank the Penticton Snowmobile Club for their support on this front. We will be skiing in great conditions right up until Tuesday, March 31st, at which point we’ll be shutting the gates once again. Keep in mind our AGM in the spring (date still to be announced), and we’ll be making announcements for work parties throughout the summer and fall. To everyone who came to visit this winter, enjoy your off season! Keep the rubber side down, if you’re a cyclist, your hands in the dirt, if you’re a gardener, and deﬁnitely the sunscreen on while you’re living the dream here in the sunny South Okanagan! At the Kootenay Cup, the U18 7.5 km Classic Race was won by Matthew Broder with fellow teammate, Jake Garwah, finishing in third place. Congratulations! Page 4 | March 2020 | ApexMatters.com

Photos below are from the Midget Championships at Overlander in Kamloops. Top photo below - Climbing the hill is Tobias in front and followed by Kai. Middle photo below - Kai classic skiing. Bottom photo below - Nickel Plate Junior Racers ready for the Fun Team Relay Race on the final day.

Kids Crafting at Rippin' Rascals LUCKY SHAMROCK CHARMS 2:30-4:30

PAPER AIRPLANES 2:30-3:30 & 3:30 LAUNCH PAPER MUSHROOMS 2:30-4:30 ApexMatters.com | March 2020 | Page 5

European Adventures By Fred Albrechtson

After a long flight consisting of restless naps and questionable food, we arrived in Frankfurt, Germany and set foot into the first country of our three week trip. Once in Frankfurt, we departed for Seefeld, Austria; a drive that was supposed to be five hours, but ended up being closer to seven. We arrived in Seefeld late that night, but luckily the hotel had spared us some dinner and had an eloquent meal of Austrian cuisine. Not one of us slept very easy that night, due to the hours spent on the road and in the air the previous day. Our first day in Seefeld, was rather alienating and strange, but nonetheless enjoyable, because most of us were still quite groggy and sleep deprived. Our first trip to the ski trails, a proclaimed five minute walk by the coaches, ended up being closer to forty five, but we did eventually make it there. Upon finding the trails, we embarked on a bountiful tour of the world cup trails and other gorgeous kilometres Seefeld has. I got separated from the team some time in the ski and ended up finding my way back to the hotel on my own ... of course, I got lost and spent another hour finding our residence. No complaints, as I got to witness the beauty of the town and culture. Our next few days were spent training in Seefeld, preparing for Sunday’s race. All over Europe, the snow this season has been very spotty and unpredictable, so the race we were going to attend was cancelled and moved. Unfortunately, it was too far of a drive for us to go, so we just stopped en route to our next location. This race ended up being a three person team relay; put into short terms, BC dominated their categories. The cross country skiing culture here is so authentic, every farmer’s field with enough snow has at least one ski trail through it, and literally everybody does the sport. Most of the population of the village even came to the awards to celebrate the ski races. Being international foreigners to the race, we got a special shout out and got some extra hurrahs from the huge crowd of ski-adoring Austrians. Leaving on a high note, we departed for Dachstein near Ramsau. Driving through these World War Two enveloped-countries was amazing, there are still bunkers and such present that were really sort of neat in a sort of sense. I hate to say it, but they made me appreciate Socials class and all the time spent going over these topics. After a long day, we arrived at our second hotel, just at the foot of the Dachstein Glacier.

get anywhere on cross country skis. Like much of Europe, Ramsau was littered with ski lifts; basically every mountain with enough snow has a ski lift on it. The few days were great, they held great sunny weather, many trips to the sauna, many games and tournaments of fooseball, and many laughs. One of our last days in Ramsau, we visited the Salomon and Atomic factory, the main world wide producer for the branded nordic and downhill skis. We got an extensive tour from a Dachstein Glacier Trails wise fellow, who was resided a part of the Salomon team for close to three decades. The factory houses over nine hundred workers, manufacturing skis from the honey comb bases to the finished products. If you’re on Atomic or Salomon skis, the chances are pretty great that they were made in that factory. Just as we were leaving the factory, a heavy snow storm moved in, and the other team van did not make it up the steep road to the hotel. So, we had to go back the next day and dig it out. Luckily, our coach and athlete, Cole Turner, were able to hitch hike the rest of the way up with a family who had better tires. We had one last training day in Ramsau before we left for St Jakobs and Rosental, which was only a few hours away. We got there around noon and had time to ski the courses for upcoming races. Rosental has had an extremely poor snow season, so we were left to race on a 2.5 km loop of man made snow. This meant a running warm-up instead of skiing. The course was also pretty treacherous; once it warmed up, three inches of slush formed on top of a thick sheet of ice, leading to an extremely dangerous and difficult section on the course. Many people fell in the race Saturday and had to visit the paramedics. One of our athletes fell on the corner and had to be dragged off the course, although he sustained no injuries, he did not finish the race. Thankfully, the

Team BC dominated their categories during the relay event in Ramsau. The Dachstein Glacier is an iconic, not only for its views, but also its summer training for downhill and cross country athletes. National teams from all over Europe will migrate there to train. It is a huge bragging right to say that we have visited the Dachstein. We spent a few days touring Ramsau on skis, and I made a brief trip up to the glacier. In these smaller Austrian villages, it is hard to believe there is a need for a car in the winter, as one can merely

Enjoying a run in the mountains near our hotel in Dachstein.

jurors changed the race course the next day and cropped out the sketchy section. This was a huge relief for all the athletes and paramedics on scene. In both of those races, BC had some great results. However, I was not happy with my mediocre results and not particularly happy with the outcomes, just satisfied to have completed my first Austrian FIS races. As an afternoon activity, we drove down to Slovenia as tourists to see the immense Bled Castle overlooking the lake that has a blanket of red algae that gives it a reddish tone, ironically it looks like blood. We saw a bit more of the town before leaving. Crossing back into Austria proved tough for our coach, he was pulled over a the boarder and faced a 300 Euro fine, because we had not bought the passes to travel on the highway, as the stations where one purchases them were closed. Fortunately, and from experience, he was able to talk his way out of it and escaped without a fine. The next day we travelled to Toblach, Italy and trained on the World Cup trails beneath the Dolomites for a few days. Our first ski wasn’t the greatest, as the trails were layered in a thick grime of pine needles, leaves, and whatever else had fallen from the sky in the no snow-bearing last few months. That night it snowed and

Skiing the World Cup Trails in Italy beneath Dolomites.

gave us the chance to really put in some good kilometres on some of the world’s most scenic trails. We were able to plug in a few good days of training and some great sightseeing as well. We also picked up some iconic cheese to that region of Italy.

Toblach Stadium in Italy. Yesterday, we left and drove to Switzerland, yet another long drive and ﬁnally arrived in Klosters and dove into an expensive Swiss meal upon our arrival. Today, we skied the courses, and thankfully they are also not two and a half kilometres long. They are rather challenging and contain good climbs and descents. Later in the day, we took the train to Davos and shopped for chocolates, alongside some sightseeing of the beautiful Swiss Alps. On our way to dinner, we met a Davos Nordic coach who informed us that the races had been cancelled. We consulted our coaches, and it was true. The Government of Switzerland had ruled out that events taking place within the country that bring together people from outside the country were immediately cancelled, due to the recent Coronavirus cases. The next few days will be spent training and enjoying the Swiss Alps instead of racing. These events are unfortunate, but they will allow us to see more of the town, and do more of the trails. We ﬂy out from Frankfurt on Monday. Thank you to all who made this trip possible! Experiencing the culture here has been like no other! Society feels much more “cozy” here and gathered. The towns seem much more closer at heart. It is also so neat to witness these towns where cross country is built into the culture and done by everyone, more of a pass time than anything else. Lastly, I was deeply disheartened to hear about Brayden Kuroda and the grave loss of Kenni and Berva Kuroda. You had such a promising career and life ahead of you. We have you and your family in our thoughts. ApexMatters.com | March 2020 | Page 7

Ski Skills For Life! By Head Coach Tanya Callon

Moguls, Terrain Park, Big Air & All Mountain for the kids club and community

Competitive & Non-competitive Programs for ages 6 & up www.freestyleapex.com

It has been a few weeks since the news of the sudden passing of one of our close freestyle family members, Brayden Kuroda and so it is still with a heavy heart that I write this article today. Our small freestyle community is still struggling with the tremendous loss, but like a family in times of trouble, we come together to support each other, love each other and try to move forward together. No words can express how deeply this loss has affected our Apex community, as the Kuroda family has deep roots here at Apex. Our sincere condolences to Ken and Berva Kuroda. We are doing our best to try and come up with the best ways to honour and remember Brayden and create the legacy that this young man deserves. Not only did I have the pleasure of coaching Brayden from the age of 10 through to the age of 16, at summer camps and on the BC Mogul Development Team, but I also got to watch him grow and thrive at the next levels of competitive freestyle and develop into an amazing young adult. He was an integral part of the club, not only as an athlete in years past, but as a coach in more recent years, giving back to the club and inspiring young athletes to be their best and do their best. Brayden embodied the role of a high performance athlete from a very young age, with talent, passion and drive. He was successful in every sport he participated in. His contagious smile, his infectious laugh and his exceptional talent are just a few of the things that will be missed greatly. However, he will always remain in our hearts. #weskiforbrayden

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HAPPENING ... FREESTYLE MEDLEY JAM ~ March 7th & 8th. Our club will be hosting a fun, entry level event for our athletes to show off all of their freestyle skills on a newly built course on Andiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alley. SPRING BREAK CAMPS ~ Registration for our Spring Break Camps is up on our website and there is still room to sign up! FUNdamentalz, Freestylerz and a Girlstylerzcamp are on the agenda for the 2 weeks of Spring Break! Head to our website at freestyleapex.com to sign up! WIND UP PARTY! Our FUNdamentalz Jumps & Bumps 11 week program ends on Saturday, March 14th and our Freestylerz program ends Saturday, March 21st. We will be having a super fun last day to wrap up the season with the entire club on March 21st. CANADIAN MOGUL NATIONALS 2020 ~ March 28th & 29th. THIS IS AN EVENT YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS!!! Olympic athletes and mogul super stars from across the country will be in attendance, you will get an up close and personal view of some of the best mogul skiers IN THE WORLD at this event! Come and watch and cheer on your favourites. Volunteer opportunities available for front row seats to the action! See our website at freestyleapex.com for more details.

Photo by Karyn Hollinaty

Brayden Kenji Kuroda

January 25, 2001 - February 17, 2020 (age 19) BRAYDEN KENJI KURODA, born January 25, 2001, passed away suddenly February 17, 2020 in Airdrie, Alberta at the age of 19. Brayden began skiing at the age of 2 and quickly mastered the skills of freestyle skiing coached by his dad, Kenni and best friend, Jon Hodal. He quickly moved up the ranks in mogul skiing, travelling the world and winning two gold medals at the 2019 Canada Winter Games and also winning the Emperor’s Cup in Sapporo, Japan last year. Brayden was selected to the Canadian National Mogul Team last spring ranking 5th in all of Canada. On his 19th birthday, Brayden placed 34th in his very first World Cup in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec and then 25th in a recent World Cup in Calgary, Alberta, the 3rd highest Canadian on home soil. He was well on his way to his Olympic Dream. Brayden was always interested in medicine, continually asking questions of his mother, Berva, an RN at Penticton Regional Hospital. They spent hours on end researching the human anatomy and how it related to his athletic performance. He finished Grade 12 with an 87% average, despite missing over half of his classes in pursuit of his skiing aspirations. Brayden was accepted into the University of Calgary’s Biomedical Science Honors Program, but deferred so he could pursue his skiing career. Brayden touched everyone he met and was well respected and loved by his family, teammates, coaches, teachers, friends and very special friends Maureen Larson and Jon Hodal. Former student athletes attest to the fact that he was a caring and talented coach. Brayden was joyous and caring and motivational to young and not so young. He was eager and excited to learn and do new things. His work ethic and dedication to everything he did was an inspiration. Brayden is survived by his parents Berva and Ken Kuroda of Penticton; grandmother Marjorie Kuroda of Summerland; Aunt Susan and Uncle Grant Konopaki of Airdrie, Alberta; Aunt Barbara and Uncle Jerry Badgley of Kelowna; Aunt Gwen Shaw and Jim Garfield of Summerland; and cousins Brennan Badgley (Jade Wishart), Chad Badgley (wife Lauren) of Calgary, Meaghan (Shane Coubray) and Alexa Konopaki of Victoria, Ryan Shaw of Summerland, Cody Shaw (wife Kailee) of Victoria, and Leanne Sonnenberg (husband Kris) of Summerland. He was predeceased by Jeech, Auntie Barbie, and Grandma and Papa K. His cousin Leanne said it best ... “Brayden will be the only angel in heaven without wings ... he already knew how to fly.” A funeral is planned at Penticton Lakeside Resort and Conference Centre, 21 West Lakeshore Dr., on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 1:30 pm. A celebration of Brayden’s life will follow at the same venue. Please bring your stories, a memory, and/or picture to leave with the family. It would be much appreciated. Condolences may be directed to the family through providencefuneralhomes.com or 250-494-7752. To send flowers to Brayden’s family, please visit their floral section on their website. A “Run for Brayden” has been organized by Apex Mountain Resort at the Mogul Course (Kristi’s Run) on Saturday, March 14th. If you would like to participate, please follow Apex Mountain Resort’s social media posts for full details. After skiing/boarding down the run, they will be taking a group photo in honour of Brayden.

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To Brayden By Jordan Kober I watched you grow up from a little grom into an excellent skier, catching up to me at an alarming rate. I remember not too long ago being nervous when you trained with the team at the Covert Farms Water Ramps, because I was worried you would make me look bad! But, I can’t tell you just how happy it made me when a few years later we became teammates. You were always supportive, and your constant encouragement would make the toughest training days easier. There’s a video from last summer when I was trying 14’s, when I finally land one, I can see you in the background throwing your arms up and claiming it for me. That video always puts a smile on my face. Seeing how psyched you were for me meant more than landing the trick. We were right at the start of friendship that I greatly cherished, and you were right at the beginning of a ski career full of potential, and much more than that, a life full of potential. I was so excited to see what you were going to accomplish. After the Deer Valley NorAm two weeks ago, you had an early ride to the airport and I went a few hours later. SLC is massive, but I happened to bump into you just before your flight. We talked for a few minutes and wondered when we’d see each other next. We figured it would be at Nationals here at Apex. But, I guess I’ll have to wait a whole lot longer now. I really wish I had given you a big hug instead of a silly little fist bump as you left to board that plane. I’ll miss being teammates. I’ll miss those drives to Whistler. I’ll miss helping each other through those long summer training days. I’ll miss seeing you make the craziest digs playing beach volleyball at Rainbow Park. I’ll miss climbing with you. I’ll miss coaching with you at the water ramps. I’ll miss rooming together at World Cups. I’ll miss you, Brayden.

Jordan Kober on the left, Brayden Kuroda in the middle, and Ryan Portello on the right during mogul training in Calgary in January.

Carvers Corner

By Jorgen Anderson, Head Coach Welcome to spring folks! What a month of February we have just finished. Record snowfalls that I have not witnessed in my life at Apex. Unbelievable how much snow we received in such a short period of time. We are set up well for the best month of skiing. Lots of bright light warmer day time temperatures cooler nights. All this is a combination for amazing skiing. Best of all, these young skiers will absolutely love the warmer temps. December and January can be tough on young skiers, dealing with the cold is a learned skill ... one that takes many years to overcome. Thanks for being patient with all your young children. Gone are the days when you hear, “I need to go in”. Just more smiles, as we move into the conclusion of our season. Keep getting those young kids out on snow. Time on snow is crucial in their development moving forward. The Club has had a very busy February. Kids competed in races all over the province. We had a few U14 athletes who had the chance to head to BC Winter Games in Fort St. John. All reports was it was an amazing experience. Meeting kids in all the sports and making friends. These are moments kids will remember for a lifetime. BC Winter Games has been a great program for all sports. Through great scheduling, the other athletes from U14 to U12 had an event at Silver Star. Once again a very successful trip to our northern partner. Next up for our talented U14 group is Provincials at Grouse Mountain in mid March. Good luck kids! U12 will head off to an U12 invitation at Big White. Best of luck gang. You have all done so well. Special thanks to U14 Coach, Brent Schleppe, and U12 Coaches, Kristen Anderson and Adam Koczji. U16 athletes have been busy as well. The group traveled to the iconic resort Red Mountain for Super G. This was the second stop in the 3 rounds of events. Next up for U16 is National Championships in mid March. This year we are lucky to host in British Columbia at Sun Peaks. Good luck to Sienna Blaser, Sam Lawlor, Max Gainey and Jaras Grant. All will be competing in Sx, Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super G. This is always a great event, as the pond gets bigger and we compete against the country. Should be lots of fun. After Nationals, we regroup and head to Prince George with the entire U16 group for a 4 day final in Slalom and Giant Slalom. Apex Carvers: What a season we have had! Great coaches and great kids wanting to learn and gain skills all winter. We really focused on the Snow Star Program. Coaches and kids did an amazing job. This group has a fun trip planned to Revelstoke. This will be their final for the season. Always fun to hit Reve with the family. Reve is great, but we still have the greatest hill around ... just saying. Spring Break Camps are on the horizon. It’s time to register for these awesome 3-day camps. We will have two camps. Great time to learn. Consecutive days of skiing allows kids to consolidate what they have learned. A ‘must’ in the sport of skiing. Any questions, please contact us via email apexskiclub@gmail.com. Early registration really helps with planing. Spring Break Camps ~ March 21, 22, 23 and March 27, 28, 29 Register via website at www.apexskiclub.com Skills and Drills: We have been hosting “Skills and Drills” evenings this winter. Its been so much fun bringing the club together for a couple hours. You will notice us on the hill from 5-7 pm on Saturday nights. Any member of the club is welcome to attend.

Marcus Athans on his way to career best at NorAm. FIS News: Reece Howden will be heading to Switzerland at the beginning of March for World Cup Finals in Ski Cross. We are all behind you buddy. Reece has been off the circuit as of late, as he is ﬁnishing up his post secondary schooling. He will be full time next season prepping for China. Big things to come for our Apex Ski Club Athlete. Aaron Leaman will be heading off to Norway for World Juniors. So awesome for you AP! Best of luck big man. What a great experience. Marcus Athans has had a busy month back east with the BC Ski Team. Marcus achieved career best NorAm results to date. So proud of you Marcus! He will put the hammer down at NorAm Finals. Heming Sola just had a career best in Slalom, placing 3rd with a FIS result of 57. This is big folks! I will leave it at that. Just understand that this is very good. He has earned a spot in NorAm Finals, which is also big! Best of luck buddy ... you are hitting ﬁrst year FIS the way we knew you would. Well done. Tip Of The Month: Think shin pressure. This all comes from a balanced platform. Can’t have shin pressure without a balanced position. Have a great month of March everyone. Jaras Grant improving daily and ready for Nationals.

March Madness On Now! HUGE Savings this March on ALL Hard Goods! Free Demo Days Every Saturday & Sunday. “Try before you buy!” Thank you to all of our loyal customers for an amazing season!

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ApexMatters.com | March 2020 | Page 11

Penticton Snowmobile Club Update By Stu Drake, President Greetings to everybody from the Penticton Snowmobile Club. Well, our season is in full swing. Our members have been getting out for a lot of rides. Plus, our club ride hosts have been very successful this year, with putting together some of the biggest club rides that we’ve ever done to date. We would like to thank our ride hosts especially at this time of year, as they work hard to keep these rides very safe, as well as very organized. We are thankful for the work that they do within our club. We have also been very successful this season in going riding in some newer areas that we are just learning about. We have been getting some help learning these new areas from members from different clubs within the Province. This is the great part of belonging to the British Columbia Snowmobile Federation. We encourage all local area Apex and Penticton snowmobilers to go to BCSF.org and find out more about the British Columbia Snowmobile Federation and how joining a club can be one of the best things you can do as a snowmobiler. You will meet great people, learn about great areas, and you will have a lot of fun at events. The British Columbia Snowmobile Federation works tirelessly towards fighting for your rights, as well as many issues that affect us as snowmobilers. Issues like land-use agreements, Caribou protection agreements with the government, and much, much more. Membership within the federation gives it’s members benefits and discounts at a lot of different retailers and businesses. Members will also receive a discount on their liability insurance with proof of BCSF membership.

Slushy Thoughts From The Snow Bank By Brad Nunes

Hello Friends. Can we take a moment to talk about the absolutely bonkers snow this season? The rocky, dumpster-fire that was snow conditions last year have been wiped from my memory by the pillowy softness of the mounds and mounds of snow we are playing in this year. The sheer joy of hitting run after run of soft (and sometimes still fresh) snow is just so, so very good. I mean, there isn’t anything negative to say! I just keep talking to people on the Your local Penticton Snowmobile Club is here for you. As a lift and we can’t find a bad run on the mountain. This, of course, snowmobiler, please don’t ride alone! If you live in the area and has led to some crazy lift line waits. I personally have had to wait you don’t have people to ride with, please feel free to come out a whole big, fat 10 or 15 minutes!? This is Apex people! If I can’t meet the club or come on one of our hosted club rides and you ski right onto the lift then ... well ... my knickers get in a right knot. will see first hand that we strive to promote safe snowmobiling But, for real! Absolute WORLD CLASS SNOW and the shortest in our local areas. Plus, we have a lot of fun doing it. Please feel lift lines pretty much anywhere! We are so blessed and it totally free to reach out anytime to pentictonsnowmobileclub@outlook. boggles the mind. It almost puts to rest my desire to do a little com, find us on our Facebook page, or visit our website at slack-country touring. I nearly purchased some big fat touring skis. pentictonsnowmobileclub.com. Thanks and I hope everybody has I sometimes sit and picture myself, perched on a mountain top with a great rest of their season. my tips pointed down a virgin bowl. But, then the dream takes a dark turn. I look back and see the long, winding trail I took to get to that point and I remember that back country touring requires hours of hiking. And then, I remember that we have this amazing chair lift that lets me ski more and walk less. But, huge kudos to all those who make the trek out and SAFELY explore beyond the boundaries. Though you aren’t far away from the resort, please take all precautions when heading out to the great beyond. Make sure to register with the front desk before heading out, have all the appropriate gear, AND make sure you are trained by a local professional. General avalanche training is amazing, but nothing beats getting extra training from an experienced local guide. There was recently a large avalanche on Secondary and because people in the back country were well trained and had checked in with the front office, we were able to determine everyone was safe and accounted for within an hour. Stay safe and have fun! Handyman & Custom Finish Carpentry

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The other warning I have for everyone is a reminder to spring ski responsibly. Dudes riding shirtless and ladies in bikini tops can cause major distractions on the hill. I mean, if I were to remove my turtle neck, I can only imagine the chaos that would ensue. Luckily, I have poles to fend off the ladies, but all the drooling just melts the snow. So please, those of us with super sexy bods, be careful when removing layers. Don’t become more of a distraction on the hill than your beautiful selves already are. And, watch out for that one super hairy dude who puts on the slingshot Borat swimsuit. Please stop! Nobody asked you to do it and it just hurts everyone involved. Please! Think of the children.

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You’ve Injured Your ACL ... Now What? By Shandia Cordingley, BScPT, Registered Physiotherapist, Certificate Orthopaedic Manual Therapy, Sport Physiotherapy, IMS, Acupuncture, Sport Concussion Management (CCMI) I would first like to pay tribute to Apex’s Brayden Kuroda. Working in competitive snow sport, I know the far reaching affect this devastating loss has on all those who knew Brayden locally, nationally and internationally. His passion and enthusiasm for freestyle skiing will shine on through everyone he touched throughout his incredible journey. On behalf of all of the staff at Sports Clinic / Dale Charles Physiotherapy, we would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Brayden’s Apex, FreestyleBC and Freestyle Canada communities, as well as his family, friends and most of all to his parents Berva and Kenni. The tributes to Brayden from his freestyle teammates at their recent competitions have been incredibly touching, so in their words ‘I Ski for Brayden’. As you enjoy the epic snowfall at Apex, I hope you are heeding the advice from last year’s Apex Matters article about performing a neuromuscular training (NMT) program to help reduce your chance of suffering an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) knee injury! Unfortunately though, ACL injuries are not 100% preventable and continue to be extremely common in sports which require cutting, jumping and dynamic landings. They also account for 50% of all ski injuries. If you, or your young athlete, have suffered an ACL injury, I hope this article will spark a discussion about the best treatment option for you. When you injure your ACL you will often feel a pop/crack in the knee likely resulting in swelling within 2 hours leading to pain and difficulty with walking and bending the knee. A healthcare professional, including a physiotherapist, should be consulted ASAP so they can take a proper history, perform special tests to assess the structures in your knee and determine if further imaging is necessary. Immediately post ACL injury, the initial goal should be to obtain a ‘quiet’ knee with minimal effusion, 0-125 degrees of range of motion (ROM) and no quadriceps lag. Contrary to popular belief, not all ACL injuries require reconstructive surgery (ACLR). In fact, the world’s best practice for ACL tears is 3-6 months of high quality, intense rehabilitation under the guidance of an experienced physiotherapist before making a decision on the necessity of surgery. Evidence is emerging to support that a large number of athletes do not require ACLR and are able to cope without an ACL, including young and elite athletes. We know about 50% of patients who chose non-operative management, follow a quality rehab program and meet specific return to sport (RTS) criteria can return to high level sport, often in a shorter time period than their surgical counterparts. Research continues to be done to identify which factors will help predict who will be successful with nonoperative management. Some degree of osteoarthritis (OA) change will often occur within 10 years of an ACL injury; however, when compared to those that have surgery, non-operative Page 14 | March 2020 | ApexMatters.com

management does not increase the risk of developing OA. Deciding whether or not to have ACLR surgery is an individual decision and dependent on each patient’s age, goals, sport and degree of functional instability. The above mentioned findings are based on isolated ACL tears; complex knee injuries that include concurrent injuries to other tissues such as the cartilage or menisci will most likely require a surgical treatment plan. If you do decide ACLR is the best option for you, evidence shows that you will have better long term outcomes if you perform at least 5 weeks of quality pre-operative rehabilitation once the knee is quiet. Before surgery, patients with a quadriceps strength deficit greater than 20% compared to their non-injured leg show persistent strength deficits for more than 2 years after surgery. The Eitzen Protocol is an evidence-based series of specific pre-operative exercises completed over 10 sessions at 2/week. In comparison to patients who don’t perform pre-operative rehab, completing this protocol has been shown to lead to significant improvement in knee function, as well as increase the number of patients who return to sport within 2 years of surgery. Having a strong, stable and functional knee pre-operatively leads to a higher quality of life post-operatively. Following ACLR, high quality, supervised rehabilitation should be undertaken for a minimum of 9-12 months. Non-professional athletes that RTS in less than 9 months post-operatively have 3-7x greater risk of re-injuring their ACL compared to those who delay RTS beyond 9 months. Your physiotherapist will guide you through a post-operative protocol that considers timelines and includes criteria-driven rehabilitation. Protocols include progressive phases addressing pain, swelling, ROM, then strength and neuromuscular control, then running, jumping, landing, followed by sport specific training and multidisciplinary RTS decision making. Your physiotherapist will monitor each phase providing appropriate, key exercises and assess specific outcome measures to determine when you are able to progress to the next phase. Once you are in the more advanced phases there is a large strength and conditioning component during which your physiotherapist will provide sport specific drills and work with your trainer/coach to ensure you meet the RTS criteria. Return to sport testing should be mandatory and include a battery of hop, strength and balance tests and assess psychological readiness. Unfortunately, ACLR re-injury rates are high, evidence clearly shows that patients returning to sport whom don’t pass specific discharge criteria are up to 4x more likely to reinjure their ACL. It is also highly recommended that patients make NMT programs part of their regular routine well beyond discharge. A lot of emotion surrounds an ACL injury and nothing is lost by taking the time to get the best information you can to make an informed decision what treatment option is best for you. Starting a supervised rehab program immediately after injury for a minimum of 5 weeks will only set you up for the best possible recovery no matter which option you chose. Even if you opt for non-surgical management with supervised rehab and 3-6 months later decide to have a delayed ACLR, you will still be further ahead. Good practitioners, including physios, GPs and surgeons, will work together to discuss all treatment options and associated risk factors with you. The physiotherapists at Sports Clinic/Dale Charles Physiotherapy are educated in best evidence ACL rehabilitation and are available to help you navigate your ACL rehab journey! There is a wonderful, evidence-based, ACL Infographic available at this link if you would like more information: https://www.mickhughes.physio/singlepost/2019/11/25/ACL-Infographic. The author is a physiotherapist at the Sports Clinic Physiotherapy Clinic in the Penticton Community Centre. Shandia is also the lead physiotherapist for Canada Snowboard’s speed disciplines and travels with the national snowboardcross team on their world cup tour. Shandia has a keen interest in ACL injury rehabilitation, as well as injury reduction programs. Resources for this article are available upon request.

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On The NorAm Mogul Circuit By Mackenzie Schwinghamer I’ve had a very exciting past month! In January, I trained super hard at Apex working on both my turns and jumps to get ready for the rest of the competition season. At the end of February, I had the opportunity to forerun for the World Cup in Calgary, which went really well! I was very happy with my skiing there. My team and I then travelled to Deer Valley, Utah and got to watch the World Cup under the lights. The ﬁrst NorAm of the season was in Deer Valley after the World Cup and I wasn’t very happy with my results there. The course was very challenging and I couldn’t put down a run I was happy with. After Deer Valley, we travelled to Calgary for the next NorAm and I am extremely happy with my result from this NorAm. I ﬁnished 5th in Singles on Saturday with a few very solid runs taking me into the Super Final. I am now currently in Val St-Côme for the third NorAm of the season and I will be driving to Vermont after this event for the last NorAm.

ApexMatters.com | March 2020 | Page 15

The APOA ...

The Heart of the Apex Community! Do you own a house or condo at Apex? You will not want to miss the ...

APOA Annual General Meeting Saturday, March 21st at 3 pm Apex Mountain Inn Canadian punk band D.O.A. will be playing at the Gunbarrel Saloon on March 27th with the proceeds going to the Apex Fire Brigade. Get your tickets now!

Apex Community Association Update By Andrew Drouin, ACA Board Member The Apex Community Association has contracted BC Punk Legends D.O.A. to play a benefit concert at the Gunbarrel Saloon, at Apex Mountain Resort, as a fundraiser for the Apex Fire Brigade. D.O.A., Canada’s legendary pioneering punks, have a brand new album, call “Fight Back”. Their rough and ready lineup, led by the godfather of Hardcore, Joe Keithley (guitar, vocals) and ably accompanied by the manic rhythm section of Paddy Duddy (drums) and Corkscrew (bass), are set to rock the Gunbarrel Saloon! After 17 studio albums, over a million album sales and over 4000 shows on five different continents later, D.O.A.’s seminal album Hardcore ‘81 was recently awarded the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, which honours Canadian albums of the past from four distinct time periods: 1960-75, 1976-85, 1986-95 and 19962005. Tracks from Hardcore 81’ album will be included in the Apex set-list. D.O.A.’s Hardcore ‘81 release was picked from 11 other nominated albums by a public vote. The band’s albums, shows and attitude has won over three generations of fans and influenced the likes of Green Day, Nirvana, Offspring, Henry Rollins, David Grohl and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The benefit concert will take place on Friday, March 27th. Doors open at 7 pm. Special guests, local band The Heatscore, take the stage by 7:30 pm, with D.O.A. headlining at 9 pm. Drink specials and door prizes are part of the fun! Cash-only tickets are available from The GrooveYard and Eskala Mountain Sports in Penticton, as well as through Guest Services at Apex Mountain Resort. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Tickets are also available online at eventbrite.ca.

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APOA Update

By Jeff Brown, APOA Secretary Do you own a house or condo at Apex? You will not want to miss the Apex Property Owners Association (APOA) Annual General Meeting on Saturday, March 21, at 3:00 pm at what we all still call “The Hotel”. It only happens once a year. This is THE MAIN EVENT for property owners who want to be informed. The AGM is where property owners hear all about what’s happening in and around Apex Mountain Resort. This year’s agenda is packed: • The proponent, who is in the early stages of developing a potential garnet mine on Mt. Riordan, will be giving a presentation and seeking community input. • RDOS Area ‘I’ Director Subrina Monteith will answer questions about this year’s property taxes, the new waste transfer station, the proposed property rezoning, road snow removal, and anything else related to our local government. • James Shalman, Apex Mountain Resort General Manager will provide us with a summary on just how amazing this year has been for Apex (huge snow!), and plans for the future. • The APOA Board will provide updates on forestry activities in the area, and provide background on an issue that has surfaced this year: school district boundaries and where Apex’s growing population of year-round families are able to send their kids to school. • The Apex Volunteer Fire Department will provide their annual update and outline their plans for the future. Wondering if this impacts you? Just look at your rising ﬁre insurance costs! If you have not yet signed up with the APOA, don’t worry. Simply bring your $30 membership fee and we’ll renew or start your membership on the spot. Only members can vote on resolutions brought forward. If you are new to Apex you might be wondering ... what exactly is the APOA? The mission statement of the APOA says it all: “The APOA is dedicated to building a community to fulﬁll the aspirations of all property owners. We strive to guarantee safe access to our properties, to address environmental concerns, to safeguard against adverse impact from development and operating activities on safety and public welfare, and to assist in the development of a community plan.”

Advancing To Canada Cup & NorAm By Alec Henderson I am now halfway thru the ski season, but just starting my main competition schedule. The last week has been a very difficult time and words can’t begin to explain how sad I feel for Kenni and Berva with the loss of their son Brayden. I was fortunate enough to have Kenni as a coach for 8 years and thru that time I travelled and trained beside Brayden on trampolines, water ramps, and ski slopes. He was amazing at it all, and I looked up to him knowing I would see him stand on the podium of World Cups and Olympics one day. He was a wonderful competitor and pushed me to be my best each day. I will miss him, but will ski for him, and do my best for my Apex family each day I am out there. This past month as a team, we concentrated on more training and as my coach tells me, fine tuning a few important details. I was able to train at Silver Star a bit and enter a few fun comps, as pictured to the right with my teammate Andre Dreyer after a night Smith Optics Rail Jam at Silver Star. I then received the invite to compete at the Winsport NorAm at Canadian Olympic Park in Calgary. This is a chance to compete at the highest level against athletes going for World Cup starts. My goal this year has been to get to this level and hold my own. I skied two solid runs in Slopestyle in difficult conditions and landed my first double in competition and my first right side cork 900. It was amazing to be part of it and with my results I now have the opportunity to head out to Quebec and Ontario for the next month, where we have several more events including a Canada Cup and another NorAm. I am looking forward to an exciting month of skiing and competing with the team and will keep you updated with my travels and competition results. If you like, please follow me for up to date posts on Instragram @alec_henderson_

Alec Henderson (left) and his teammate Andre Dreyer (right) at Silver Star Resort. ApexMatters.com | March 2020 | Page 17

Who’s That On The Hill? Submitted by the CSP Apex Zone Time to meet this month’s patroller ...

SpeciaLiZed e-bikeS... vado coMo

Here we go again. This month we meet Cam Betts, our Director of Operations (we give him a fancy title to make him feel important). Let’s unwrap the onion that is the many layers of Cam. What is your name?: Cameron ‘You Betts your sweet butts’ Betts or Betts or Bettsy or B-Betts-a-Roonie. Where were you born?: Born and raised in Penticton. Been skiing up at Apex since he could walk and have had a season pass from the age of 1-20. Knows the mountain like the back of his right hand (the left one is a little more mysterious).

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How many years on patrol?: 6! (See, we will totally give you a fancy title in 6 years or less if you join patrol!)

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What shift are you on?: Cam dabbles in the mid-week playground (read: he poaches mid-week pow days), but as Director of Operations, you will see him all over the hill attached to many shifts. Ski/Board/Tele/Other?: He identiﬁes as a skier. He does like to fall often and calls it snowboarding from time to time. He would like to tele. Remind us to get his mental state checked ... Favorite run?: This year it has been “Dirty Harry”, but it is only going to be good for him ... the rest of you should probably just leave it all alone.

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What do you like most about patrolling?: Just the skiing and the patrol family. You can lend a hand to those in need and you get first turns on powder days! Favorite food?: Anything Mark makes the patrol for an after-shift snack. Mark is magic in the kitchen. When Mark isn’t available to be Mr. Betts’ personal chef, he resorts to Trader Joe’s peanut butter filled pretzel bites. What other stuff do you do for fun?: Spending lots of time in the back-country with Bailey (his wonderful hound), spiking hard in volleyball, camping and volunteering in his wonderful community. What do you do for money?: Cam owns Betts Electric Ltd. in Penticton. They wire houses and stuff. If you need something to not spark and light on fire, give them a call. They do great work. Should people hunt for you on tinder?: Cam refers to Bailey as his golden child, shadow and significant other. She comes to work with him every day and you will likely see her playing in the snow up at Apex. If you love dogs, skiing and generally being swept off your feet, he is single ladies! So that is Cam! Say ‘hi’ while you are floating around the hill (just don’t look for him on Dirty Harry). Page 18 | March 2020 | ApexMatters.com

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Longevity In Skiing By Dr Deirdre O’Neill, ND How do you picture yourself as you get older? Do you see yourself still rocking it on the hill? Or, do you think skiing sick lines has a limited lifespan? On average, ski hills are seeing more and more seniors out on the hill. You can actively prepare for getting into the golden ski club. Best time for slowing the aging process is now. Speaking with Dale Matthews, who has shown that you can still enjoy skiing after 74 years of being on planks, gave me insight into what it takes to stay out on the slopes. Dale’s vision is to “ski as long as he can stand up on those things”. He has accommodated his decline in balance by choosing skis that have fat tips and tails with a narrow underfoot. He may no longer ski the steeps and has slowed down a touch. Dale stays involved by being an Ambassador on the mountain, so that he can continue to ski hard all day. In the off-season, Dale keeps active by painting and cycling and continually listens to his body - doing what it will let him do.

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are lost during replication, whittling away genetic material. As such, preserving telomeres helps to preserve your genetic material. Telomeres can be preserved through meditation. I find skiing to be a meditative sport, helping to preserve my youthfulness. Telomeres are highly susceptible to oxidative stress. Eating a clean, preferably organic diet will reduce your body’s toxin load. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins - even the simple act of drinking filtered water can reduce your body’s toxin load and sustain your telomere length. And lastly, keeping fit and doing Longevity is truncated by inflammatory processes in the body and regular exercise support telomeres. by oxidative stress. Diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease shortens a lifespan. On the other hand, having a positive Like Dale, Killian Jungen, on ski patrol since 1976, has made a attitude, maintaining a healthy body mass index and never smoking life of skiing. Killian started off with skiing as his mode of transport to and from school - all up hill. And now, Killian is still getting first is associated with longevity. chair after all these years. He recommends keep moving, no There are ways to hack your biology to live a better and longer life. matter what it is - skiing on or off piste, snowshoeing, hiking, you Let’s break it down into a few simple steps, so that you too can age name it. Even after injuries, he still stays active, albeit it may have well with the ultimate goal of staying out on the slopes. slowed him down, but he still gets out there. He is not afraid to use Brain health is an integral part of keeping young. All too often I technology to stay active - like electric boots to keep his toes warm hear patients comment that they are more forgetful as they get or electric bike to stay out on the trails. Killian’s core belief comes older and succumb to this memory decline as being irreversible. from Clint Eastwood “don’t let the old man out”. Yet you can keep your brain fit by feeding it the energy it requires References: and by getting out of your comfort zone. The brain uses up a lot 1. Cirelli C. Brain plasticity, sleep and aging [published online ahead of print of energy in the day. Feed it with high fat brain foods and loads of March 6, 2012]. Gerontology. doi:10.1159/000336149. Medline:22398514 antioxidant rich veggies. The old muscle adage “use it or loose it” 2. Savela S, Saijonmaa O, Strandberg TE, et al. Physical activity in midlife and also applies to the brain. Keep your brain fit by being a perpetual telomere length measured in old age [published online ahead of print February learner. I took a ski lesson this week. It stretched my brain by 22, 2012]. Exp Gerontol. breaking down all of the steps to make a smooth and complete Dr. Deirdre O’Neill, Naturopathic Physician, turn. The lesson also pulled me out of my comfort zone, going off has an expertise in Prolotherapy and Platelet piste while maintaining control. Rich Plasma using Ultrasound Guidance. She Mitochondria are the engine of your cells. Just as you would boost practices in Penticton at Alpine Natural Health. the engine in your car to keep your car on the road for longer, so You can also find her on the hill as part of the should you strengthen the powerhouse of your cells to lengthen Volunteer Canadian Ski Patrol. your lifespan. Dysfunctional mitochondria are associated with most age related diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Aging mitochondria brings on fatigue, a drop in lean body mass and an overall lower vitality.

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You can support your mitochondria with getting adequate sleep. Sleep is how your body reverses the aging process by recharging your engine. Exercise ups your mitochondria count, especially HIIT training. A double beneﬁt here with HIIT is an effect of building strength and muscle and improving endurance - all of what you need to ski powerfully. Begin to drop your biological age through learning about your telomeres and how to preserve their length. At the ends of chromosomes are telomeres. Every time a chromosome replicates, a bit of telomere is used up, making telomeres become shorter over time. Without telomeres, the end regions of chromosomes

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A Glance At Our Night Sky

Do you look up at the night sky and question more than the snow conditions the next day? In this issue, we share a thought provoking article by Ken Tapping, an astronomer with NRC’s Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in Kaleden.

Pulses From Deep Space

In the 1930’s, we first started running high power radio transmitters at wavelengths that can penetrate the ionosphere and escape out into space. So today, any alien civilizations on planets orbiting stars at distances up to around 90 light years will be bathed in our radio signals. However, those signals will be very weak. Today, with our highest power radio transmitters, we are probably able to send detectable signals out to distances of thousands of light years, our neighbourhood in the Milky Way. Therefore, imagine the power needed to transmit radio pulses that can be detected over billions of light years. The fast radio bursts (FRB’s) being detected by the CHIME radio telescope here at DRAO, and at other radio telescopes fit into that category. These bursts are a few milliseconds (thousandths of a second) long and cover much of the radio spectrum. To be detectable with a radio telescope on the Earth, one of these pulses from a billion light years away would require a transmitter with a power hundreds or even thousands of millions of times larger than the total power output of the Sun. Space is not quite empty; it has a few electrons per cubic centimetre and a very weak magnetic field. The result is that radio waves passing through it are slowed down very slightly, with longer wavelengths being slowed more than shorter ones. The result is the pulse is “dispersed”, so we see it arrive at short wavelengths before it does at longer wavelengths. By measuring the degree of dispersion, we can find how far the pulse has travelled. The pulses originate far outside our cosmic neighbourhood, in very distant galaxies. Another important piece of information is the short duration of the pulses. Assuming the source of those radio pulses is radiating in all directions and not specifically towards us, it cannot be smaller than the distance radio waves travel over the duration of the pulse. Therefore, a source of 5 millisecond radio bursts cannot be larger than about 15,000 km, which is only a little larger than the Earth. How can we make pulses with energies possibly billions of times larger than the Sun’s total energy output in such a small volume? Moreover, since FRB’s can repeat, generating one does not destroy the source producing them. Most of our radar systems produce radio pulses strong enough to produce detectable echoes off distant targets. They generate these strong pulses by accumulating energy in a storage device and then feeding it all to the transmitter in short pulse a millionth of a second or so long. In stars, there is an excellent energy storage device, the magnetic field. We can store energy by twisting, stretching or compressing the magnetic field. This is how the Sun accumulates over hours or days the energy driving solar flares or coronal mass ejections. However, the magnetic fields in the Sun are totally inadequate for storing the energies involved in making FRB’s. However, there is a way to overcome that problem. This leads to one of the many ideas as to how FRB’s may be generated. When large stars run out of fuel, they collapse and explode. The result can be a neutron star, where all the star’s rotational and magnetic energy become concentrated in an object a few kilometres in diameter. The result is a rapidly rotating object with an extremely strong magnetic field. The magnetic field can then become wound up by the rotation, just like winding the spring of a clock, until the energy is released in a short, intense pulse. Until recently, there were more theories about what FRB’s are than the number of FRB’s that had been detected. Thanks largely to CHIME, this is no longer true. However, we still don’t really know what is driving those amazingly powerful pulses.

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Penticton To Host 2020 Adventure Racing World Series By Craig Bycroft via Hoodoo Adventures Company Ltd.

Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) Expedition Racing is coming to Canada next year with a new Demonstration Race from June 3rd to 7th from Penticton, British Columbia. Labeled “BC Wild” Expedition Canada will be focused on the Okanagan Valley, an undiscovered adventure playground, offering everything from world class mountain climbing and rock climbing to amazing trail networks surrounded by vineyards, mountains, lake and orchards.

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Attention to detail will be an underlying principle of the event and teams can expect a world class experience in the wilds of Canada. The race has a focus on attracting and looking after both local teams, and those ﬂying in from around the world. Expedition Canada is organized by the experienced adventure company, Hoodoo Adventures. It has been in the planning now for 2 years and CEO Lyndie Hill said, “After spending years working in adventure tourism internationally, we chose the Okanagan in 2007 to start a business that would showcase all the best the area has to offer in outdoor recreation. We were blown away by the quick and easy access to the trail networks, paddling opportunities and lifestyle and couldn’t believe that the rest of the world hadn’t caught onto this place yet”. ARWS Director Craig Bycroft said, “It is super exciting to have an ARWS race in Canada, a country that just breaths adventure and mountain air. Some of the worlds best AR athletes have hailed from Canada and the opportunity now to see them racing on their home soil will be inspiring. Also inspiring is the focus that Hoodoo Adventures has on supporting the other end of the spectrum, youth participating in outdoor adventure, and I hope we will see many of them in the race”. June is the ideal time to visit British Columbia with the average temperatures at Race HQ being from 9 - 24 degrees. Penticton was named the second best city in Canada for weather in 2018. It also won the second best beer town that year as well!.

The Race Director is veteran AR World Series athlete Nathalie Long. “I moved to the Okanagan two and half years ago and I am still amazed everyday at the beauty and the diversity of the terrain here. From the vineyards down in the valley at 300m elevation to the summit of the alpine at 2300m within a 60km radius. Ridiculously amazing MTB and trail running trails, a wonderful lake that goes on for kms and kms for paddling. Every season is spectacular. Champagne powder on the hills that makes the trails excellent for skiing, touring, downhill, xc skiing in winter and hot summers with over 100 wineries, cideries, etc. around.”

Penticton is also famous for its mountain biking. ”There is something very special about riding the Okanagan trails. I have ridden all over the world and the Okanagan is so unique. The angle of the slopes, the way the soil drains water, the way the trees are spaced out perfectly and somehow the rocks make it more fun. Almost all the trails have amazing valley views. Not many places can claim all of that in one place and just so much of it”, says Mike Hill, marketing and co-owner of Hoodoo Adventures. Registration is still open for Expedition Canada and more information can be found at www.expeditionracecanada.ca. ApexMatters.com | March 2020 | Page 21

“Eskala - Go Climb!”

Climbing, Hiking, Camping, Winter Sports & Apparel

By Elmira Galiyeva, LIP Coordinator for South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services Claudia was on a backpacking trip in British Columbia, far away from her home country of Mexico. It was 2003. “I really want to learn English”, she shares, “I wanted to find someone who could help me with that, and I did”. She met Margaret, a lady from Germany, who owned an organic farm in Oliver. “I will teach you English, if you teach me how to cook Mexican dishes”, offered Margaret. Given very basic English language skills that Claudia had at the time, it was not surprising that she said “yes”, although she had no idea how to cook. Margaret ended up teaching Claudia to cook. This is how her journey in the valley began. Let’s fast-forward a few years ... On a sunny afternoon, Claudia Reyes Nunez met Richard Rodrigues (a.k.a. Ricky) from Osoyoos. Richard’s father is Portuguese and his mother was originally from Quebec. They went to Mexico, but soon realized that it was harder for Ricky to settle there than for Claudia in Canada. They moved back to the valley and got married in 2010. It was not an easy immigration journey. Contrary to popular belief that all immigrants are leaving behind hardships, Claudia’s story is different. Before she left Mexico, she received her Industrial Engineering Degree and was ready to start a professional career in this highly respected field. She explored options for getting her engineering license in Canada, but realized that it would require too much time and, most likely, she would have to move to a big city to find a job. She was in love with the Okanagan Valley, so that was not a good option. So she decided to stay. For a few years, she worked at a fruit packing facility in Osoyoos. She was a manager, but because of the existing work culture, was paid less that a forklift operator. She knew that this was not the right place for her. On top of it, she lost her mother and was feeling very sad and vulnerable. Change was long overdue. Claudia and Richard moved to Penticton. Claudia reached out to the South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services (SOICS) to connect with the community. She worked at a few stores before “True Outdoors”, where she became a manager and found her true passion. She loved her work, met fellow climbers and made friends. But, one day the store owner informed Claudia that the store will be closing down very soon. A golf-clothing boutique where she worked on the weekends was closing as well. Claudia was in despair. The owner of the boutique asked Claudia, “Why don’t you open your own outdoors store? You obviously know a lot about this business and love it. Nothing stops you from following your passion.” Claudia agreed. The hardest part was to convince Ricky, but he came around and supported his beloved wife. In September 2019, “Eskala Mountain Sports” opened its doors on Front Street in Penticton, and has been doing very well since then. Claudia’s store offers Canadian and European brands of high quality outdoors products at affordable prices. “Eskala” came from the Spanish “escalar”, which means “go climb!” For me, it creates an image of Claudia’s full of determination and readiness to pursue her dream. “Go climb!” she told herself. And, she did.

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Continuing To Give To Great Causes Welcome to another year of 100 Women Who Care! We are a group of more than 270 local women, who over the last 5 years have donated more than $100,000 to local charities. Working together, we make our charitable donations count. Come join us as a member for the year or a guest at a meeting. Mark your calendar for the following events in 2020: • 1st Quarter ~ April 22nd - Elma Restaurant, Lakeshore Drive • 2nd Quarter ~ June 25th - Serendipity Winery, Naramata • 3rd Quarter ~ September 30th - Hosted at one of our own 100 Women’s home, Winston Estate Vineyard • 4th Quarter ~ November 26th - Little Black Dress Party at the Penticton Lakeside Resort All events run from 5:00 - 7:00 pm. To join and make a difference together, please visit www.100womensouthokanagan.com.

Jay’s Tunes To Turn To Artist ~ Finley Quaye Album ~ Maverick a Strike Track ~ “Your Love Gets Sweeter” This month marks 20 years together with my wife Myleen, who is the owner and publisher of Apex Matters. She is the one that brought me here to Apex in 2000 to experience everything that this great mountain and the community has to offer. Now two decades later, I am proud to call Apex my home. Over the years, I greatly appreciate the friendships, knowledge and kindness of everyone who calls this mountain their home too. We are one blessed community to have all the love and support that we share. In saying that, our love for Apex and each other really does get sweeter ever day! Happy Anniversary Sweetie! Jay is a life-long skier, who has skied this great country from coast to coast. Join him this season in “Jay’s Tune To Turn To” with whatever he ﬁnds to share. YouTube his tunes and join in the fun.

South Okanagan Similkameen Volunteer Centre Update By Wendy Weisner, PhD, Executive Director

Join the SOS Volunteer Centre’s “Volunteer Gathering”, where volunteers meet ﬁrst and get to know one another before embarking on volunteer work of their choice. Everyone is welcome. Our next Team Gathering is Wednesday, March 25th from 11:30-1:00 pm, includes lunch and refreshments. Please RSVP by Friday, March 20th by email to info@volunteercentre.info. Discover ways you can contribute and make a difference by Browsing Opportunities at www.volunteercentre.info. Please register as a volunteer to receive updates. For more information or to meet with a staff member, email info@volunteercentre.info or call 1-888-576-5661.

Great Cabin Recipes My Grandmother’s Mennonite Sausage Borscht By Dee Martens I’m not going to lie and say that this is a quick-and-easy meal. It’s not - it’s a delicious meal meant to slowly cook on your stovetop all day (but when I say delicious, I truly do mean it). I cooked mine for 6 hours, but I could have cooked it for longer at a lower temperature if I wanted. If you choose to do so, you won’t be disappointed, the ﬂavour is even more enriched and bold (if you can believe it). To begin, heat 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in a large dutch-oven soup pot and add 10 oz. of old fashioned Mennonite sausage (two cured sausages, found in your meat section at the grocery store - you can substitute farmer), cooking until sausage is dark brown on all sides. Remove sausage from the pan, set aside, and add 1 Tbsp. of olive oil to the pan (if your sausage was fatty, you should dump the fat from your pan before adding oil). Sautee one large onion diced into cubes, 3 crushed garlic cloves, three medium sized carrots, diced into small round coins (halving carrots if large in diameter), three stocks of celery, diced, and 1 large red bell pepper, diced. Stir veggies occasionally, cooking until carrots are tender and onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Next, add 2 tsp. of salt, 1 Tbsp. of pepper, 1.5 tsp. of paprika, 1 Tbsp. of fresh thyme (dried will do) and 1 Tbsp. of butter to the pan. Stir, ensuring that all veggies are spiced equally on all sides. Add 2 bay leaves and 10 cups of home-made low sodium chicken broth (to make a chicken broth, I use the carcass from one chicken and a collection of all of my onion ends, celery ends, carrot ends & pepper insides - I keep this in a Ziplock bag in the freezer and add to it every time that I cook. I might add 4 cups of random soup-worthy vegetable ends to my chicken carcass, simply straining out the bones and veggie ends when cooked and ready for eating (typically 8 hours); however, if you’d prefer or if you are in a time crunch, store-bought stock can be used. Bring veggies and broth to a boil and lower temperature before adding 2 cups of your favourite dried bean mix (this is to ensure that the skins stay on your beans, giving you plump and juicy bites), I used Bob’s Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix which has navy beans, small red beans, pinto beans, blacked-eyed peas, lentils, great northern beans, black beans, large lima beans, red lentils, red kidney beans and garbanzo beans - but any variation of the above bean mixture would work. Cover your soup and cook for 2 hours, simmering on medium-low. After two hours, remove lid and stir soup. Add 1.5 cups of shredded green cabbage and 1 cup of thinly sliced dinosaur kale (dinosaur kale tends to be one of the tougher varieties and remains intact after rigorous boiling). Add 1-2 cups of water, as needed (to supplement any liquid that has cooked off), place lid back on pot and allow soup to continue to simmer for another 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Add sausage back to soup, stir, and bring your soup to a gentle boil with the lid off to incorporate soup ﬂavour into your sausage. Once a consistent boil is reached, remove pot from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. To serve, add a dollop of sour cream to each dish.

“Thank You” From ApexHockey.com By Marc Tougas, Apex Hockey Organizer Apexhockey hosted 3 outdoor hockey events at Apex Mountain Resort this season. All three tournaments took place in January. The Shootout Hockey Tournament was made up of 16 teams from all over BC and Alberta. Winners of the “A” division were the Bronco’s from Penticton, “B” division winners were the Degenerates from the greater Vancouver area. A local team, Hwy 97 Brewers from Penticton won the “Old-timers” division. The Recreational division was won by the “Sexy Bitches”, a men’s team from the Fraser Valley. The “Women’s Open” division was won by a new team to the tourney, The Prince Rupert Raiders. The Firefighters Hockey Tournament was made up of 16 teams as far away as California, Oregon and Kitimat, BC. The “A” division was won by the White Rock Firefighters. The “B” division was won by the Northwest Washington Firefighters and the “Ladies” division was won by a new team called The Farm Team made up of players from all over BC. The third event, called the Shotgun Hockey Tournament, had 12 Men’s teams and 6 Women’s teams from BC, Alberta and Washington State. Winners of the “A” division were the Oilers from the Vancouver area. They paraded around the bar with their trophy, but had someone steal it during the Saturday night festivities. The “B” division winner trophy had to be shared with the two finalists, as the final game was cancelled due to weather. The Ice Wolves and the Boxers each went 3-0 to lead their divisions. The “Womens” division had a repeat winner, the Ice Winers. The Redbull and Ricochette’s from Calgary were division winners. We know everyone enjoyed the mountain activities. Many of these participants ski and board during the day, play a game of hockey, then enjoy the night life Apex has to offer. I would like to thank all the teams for participating and the Apex staff who worked so hard to keep the event going during the adverse weather conditions. I would also like to thank all the residents at Apex Mountain for having the hockey world invade your space. Hope to see everyone next year. For more information please visit www.apexhockey.com. Published by Okanagan Matters Publications apexmatters@telus.net | 250.490.6951 www.ApexMatters.com Quick Facts: Apex Matters is published monthly from September 2019 through April 2020. Distribution covers Okanagan Falls, Kaleden, Penticton, Summerland and around Apex Mountain. Full advertising options, read past issues online, and link to join our Apex Matters eNews all at www.ApexMatters.com. Now celebrating our 16th season in print! Please Note: No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. No liability is accepted for any loss or damage resulting from the use of this publication. We reserve the right to refuse any submission or advertisement, and retain the right to edit all copy. Every effort has been made to make this publication as accurate as possible. All authors and advertisers are provided with a proof of their submission and their final approval is requested before being published. © 2020 Okanagan Matters Publications. ApexMatters.com | March 2020 | Page 23