Alpine ski and snowboard safety tips

BY MARC PLANTE

MOST PEOPLE PREFER to stay on top of their skis, kicking up powder, not chasing after them or sitting in the chalet nursing frostbite. The men and women in the blue and yellow jackets, members of the Canadian Ski Patrol, have the same idea in mind. They want you to have a great day on the hills. These volunteers spend their time and energy promoting safe skiing and boarding. Of course, when things go wrong, they provide firstaid in the snow.

A good way to avoid an unexpected visit by Ski Patrol members might begin with reviewing basic elements of ski and snowboard safety:

} Be aware of other people on the hill. } Stay in control. } Maintain your equipment. } Ski or ride within your ability. } Warm up, stretch before heading out, because skiing can push your body hard.

Think of yourself as a driver and your skis or snowboard as the vehicle. On the road, do you merge into oncoming traffic without looking over your shoulder? Do you go hell-bent for speed, ignoring road signs? Do you accelerate downhill until you lose control? Of course not, so don’t do it on the slopes. Just like driving a vehicle, alpine sports contain elements of speed, precision and decision-making. On the road, you don’t merge into oncoming traffic without checking, or park your car in the middle of the highway. You don’t blaze through red lights and stop signs. If it makes no sense on the highway, it makes no sense on the hill.

Your most important piece of equipment is your body. Exercise and diet before the snow falls can make the winter months more enjoyable and safe – free of needless injuries. You’ll also feel better after a hard workout on skis.

PHOTO BY WP MCELLIGOTT – WWW.WPMCELLIGOTT.COM (TAKEN AT MONT STE. MARIE)

Staying physically fit is simple, even if you’ve spent the summer by the pool sipping margaritas and munching nachos. Try running, swimming, and biking. All you need is 20 minutes of aerobic activity three times a week. Or visit your local gym where trainers would be happy to set you up with a program designed for leg strength and stamina.

In most ski areas, long gone are the days of slow, fixed-grip lifts. Multipassenger gondolas and high-speed chairlifts mean more of your time is spent on the snow instead of standing in line. The quicker it takes to get to the top of the mountain, the more runs you’ll be able to take, and the more likely you’ll ski yourself into exhaustion. So be wise. Recognize when it’s time for a rest.

Make sure your equipment is in top form. This means digging it out of the basement for a trip to the ski shop for a professional tune-up before your first ski trip. Get your edges sharpened, and have a ski technician fill in any gouges in your bases left over from last spring. Check your binding settings; they should be adjusted to your weight and level of expertise. Both may have changed from last year! And above all, ensure that your boots and bindings fit you as well as each other. If you get your skis and boards in early to the technician, you’ll be ready when the snow flies.

Listen to the weather forecast before you leave. Dress in layers, preferably in fabrics that wick moisture away from the skin. Cotton is not one of these. Wear a hat. Your mother was right: you lose precious body heat from an uncovered head. Socks, good; too many socks, bad. Layering many pairs of socks may not keep your feet warmer if your boots don’t fit, and that means less circulation and warmth in those tender toes.

You may not be at the beach, but snow glare can still lead to sunburn, so use sunblock. At the other end of the firstaid spectrum is frostbite, so cover up on really cold days and protect your ears, nose, cheeks, fingers and toes. If you notice skin turning from rosy red to white and waxy splotches, go inside fast. You’ve got frostbite! Warm up and cover up quickly. Never rub the affected area, as this can damage the skin. Instead, use your hand, firm but still, to warm it slowly.

Control. To have it, you must be aware of your skill level, the terrain and the people around you. Get distracted, go too fast, lose your confidence, forget about where you are or what you’re doing, and you become a liability – to yourself and others.

Get to know the colour and shapes of signs on ski hills as well as you know traffic lights. A blue circle means a run designed for beginners; a green square indicates intermediate to advanced; black diamond (single, double) is for experts only. If you don’t have the skills, keep practising. Ski and ride within your ability. It’s not only foolish, but also dangerous to give in to scary challenges made by thoughtless friends.

Injuries can and do happen, but many are avoidable. Here are some reasons they occur: } Fatigue. Just before lunch and after 2 p.m. energy levels are low and skiers and snowboarders get tired. } Early season klutziness happens when skiers and snowboarders are out of practice. } Lousy weather. This can lead to low visibility and ice. Skiers and boarders lose control more easily when they encounter either. } Poor judgment. Like, “Hmm, this looks pretty steep. I think I’ll try it anyway.” } Speed and control. These are dangerous when they don’t go hand in hand, and especially when the slope is crowded and doesn’t match the skill level of those on it. } Lame gear. Improperly adjusted bindings or ill-fitting equipment increase the risk of injury.

PHOTO BY CANADA SKI PATROL

So what should you do if you witness, find or are involved in an accident? } Prevent further injury (to yourself and others). Mark the site by crossing your skis uphill from the accident. This is the universal signal for a skiing accident. It tells others to stay clear and signals the ski patrol that help is needed. If the injured person cannot be easily seen from above (such as the landing of a jump), send someone uphill to divert or slow the passing traffic. } Send someone for help. Notify the lift operator, a patroller or an employee – they can all get on the radio for help. } Clear the area. If people stop to help, thank them and let them know you have notified the patrol and ask them to move on down the hill. } Stay calm and stay with the injured person until help arrives. Do not move the injured person or give them anything to eat or drink, even if they ask. Do not remove skis, snowboards or boots. } Once the patrol arrives, they are in charge. But stand by – they may need some information about what happened, or possibly even your help. Give a statement to the patrol once they are finished their rescue.

What’s the bottom line? Check your equipment before you leave. Then when you get to the hill, watch where you’re going, dress for the weather, and stop skiing if you don’t feel well. This will mean days full of perfect turns, kicking 180s, and avoiding pain or worse. Paying attention to these tips will guarantee (almost) a great season. ≈ Marc Plante is an Ottawa native who works for Health Canada. He is an avid downhill skier and member of the Canadian Ski Patrol.

BY DAVE SAMPSON

YOU’VE SEEN THEM on the slopes, uses different gear and techniques from knees bent, flying down the hill on either, and is more than both. weird-looking skis with floppy heels. It all started way back in 1868 They call themselves tele-crashers or when Sondre Auersen Norheim from pinheads, free heelers, or hippies on the Telemarkland region of Norway sticks. They come in different flavours. adapted the stance he used to land from The “old school” maintains a dress code a ski jump to turn sharply while hurtling of leather boots and three-pin bindings, down a slope. His technique has come straight alpine skis, wool pants and down to us as “telemark” — skiers jacket, toques with ear flaps topped with performing not only turns but a graceful a tassel. And granola-filled pockets. dance.

Their young urban professional Want to try it? Get out of your chair, companions prefer plastic, flexible hang on to the magazine, and follow boots, scientifically engineered these directions. hourglass-shaped parabolic skis tipped Stand with your knees slightly up both front and back, with releasable bent, legs shoulder-width apart and bindings and guided by lightweight your weight distributed evenly on both telescoping poles. It’s all topped off feet. Pretend you’re wearing skis. Step with an injection-molded plastic helmet. forward slightly with one foot, and drag And let’s not forget the super-breathable the toes of your rear foot forward until waterproof synthetics. they are 15 to 30 centimetres behind,

What is going on with these people? and diagonal to, the heel of the forward They’re telemark skiers, aficionados of foot. The rear leg balances on the ball of a style of skiing that could turn the hills the foot with the heel in the air and knee into a new kind of playground for you. bent in, while the front foot with heel

Telemark skiing is often described as down balances on the arch. Your front “cross-country skiing downhill,” but it knee is bent at about 45 degrees. The 6145_Ottawa_Outdoor Mag 26/10/2005 9:34 AM Page 1

resulting lower body position increases stability while turning and readies the legs to act as shock absorbers. Welcome to your first tele (pronounced TELL-EE) stance.

Stand like this for five minutes and feel the burn. And imagine the feeling of turning and sliding over fresh snow.

To add to the feeling, your back should be straight to keep the upper body balanced between both feet. Lift your chin parallel to the floor and look forward. Roll your shoulders back and hold your hands in front of the body as if you are carrying a case of beer. This means your shoulders will point square down the fall line. (If you were to drop a tennis ball at the top of the slope, the path it follows is the fall line.)

Because their heels are not attached to their skis, telemark skiers need to use this position to have a more stable stance than an alpine standing posture would offer them. If you move your weight too far forward, you get a face full of snow. Too far back and you’ll find yourself sitting instead of skiing.

Thank you. You can sit down. Now you might wonder what kind of gear you need to achieve all this. For basics, all it takes is skis, boots, bindings and poles.

The skis can be the same length as an alpine ski (or slightly shorter), depending on their shape or curvature. The more shape or curve, the shorter the ski can be. If the tail of the ski is placed on your toe, the tip might reach

somewhere between your chin and forehead.

Boots. Most resort skiers opt for the modern plastic boot, but some backcountry purists are still on the leathers. Unlike alpine boots, telemark boots are designed to flex at the toe, but are more rigid and supportive, protecting the ankle from injury and distributing the forces of the body throughout the skis. They’re also comfortable to walk in for short distances.

The bindings allow the free vertical movement of the heel. The toe is held in place with a steel toe piece or three metal pins (hence the term pinhead). Tension comes from a spring at the toe or two spring-loaded cartridges attached to a cable clamped around the heel.

Poles are perhaps the simplest piece of gear to get. Go to an alpine ski shop. Have them size you up. Then turn around and buy the same pole five to 10 centimetres shorter.

Now that we’re all geared up, let’s discover more about the sport. Telemark sounds demanding, but it’s not really. If you can climb a flight of stairs, you can probably learn to “tele.” And if you’re a downhill or cross-country skier you can learn quickly. There’s a payoff in health, in backcountry exploration, or just more time away from the office. The sport is highly addictive.

This is a moderate- to high-energy activity. The workout comes from a series of graceful (that’s the word on-

lookers use) movements that keep the heart pumping and muscles working. Try walking down the street doing a telemark stance on each stride. Your heart should be pumping just thinking about it.

The carefully executed moderate knee bends you may have seen on the slopes demand reaction from not only the legs, but every muscle the body uses to stabilize itself. By mid-season, expect to have bulked up your leg muscles, firmed your buttocks, and increased your cardiovascular endurance.

Learning to tele means slowing down for a bit. No more straight-lining the most advanced territory, hacking and slashing through the bumps, and throwing caution to the winds. Wait for the learning curve.

After you’ve got the telemark stance under control, the next step involves learning a snowplow or wedge with your skis. By changing the pressure and angle of the skis, you can control your speed and ultimately stop being pulled down the fall line. This is good; it prevents terror. Even hard-core telemarkers rely on this technique from time to time.

Pressure applied to the ski on the outside of the turn determines direction. If you want to turn left, shift 60 percent of your weight to the right ski. If you keep turning, you eventually face uphill and stop. So you always have the choice of how fast you move.

So what about the tele stance? Well after you make your first turn, but before you’re facing uphill, you’ll be traveling across the fall line instead of down the hill. This is where the stable position of the tele stance comes in. If you just completed a left-hand turn, the majority of your weight will be on the right-hand ski. Therefore, your right leg will be your forward-and-downhill ski. It has the flat heel and knee bent at 45 degrees. Your left ski is uphill, slightly behind and freeing the heel. A simple pattern of wedge turn-to-tele stance-to-wedge-turn starts to emerge. Keep your chin up and hands forward.

As you progress in your skill of shifting your body weight, the wedge turn evolves into a parallel turn, where the telemark stance carves through the snow. As you prepare to enter a corner, start by standing tall, skis evenly spaced and side by side. The first part of the turn is a slow descent into a tele stance. By the apex of the turn you are at your lowest point, your shoulders are pointing straight down the fall line and you start to stand up again. By the time you’re standing tall, it’s time to shift the weight, reposition the skis and start your next approach.

Chin up and hands forward, and don’t drop the beer.

After mastering the basics, you can follow many routes to reach telemark utopia. If racing is your style, there is

Telemark Ski Canada. These races include navigating race gates, sailing over dropoffs, and even uphill climbing.

If you’re addicted to bumps and the glades, buy a helmet and join other telecrashers in the bush. Mogul fields are a favourite test of whether you’ve been eating your Wheaties. (Contrary to legend, moguls are not stored in freezers for the summer and strategically placed for the ski season. Mogul fields are created from the piles of snow that form from skiers turning. If it were not for grooming machines, every slope would be an obstacle course of Volkswagen Beetlesized bumps. Moguls form easily among scattered trees on runs called glades.)

FESTIVAL

New England Telemark

New England Telemark

Rendezvous Telemark

Telefestival

New England Telemark

Telemarch

North American Telemark Org.

DATE

Dec. 10 and 11

Jan. 21 and 22

Jan. 28 and 29

Feb. 17, 18, 19

Feb. 25 and 26

March 4

March 11 and 12

LOCATION

Jay Peak, Vt.

Cannon Mountain, N.H.

Le Massif, Que.

Mont Comi, Que.

Sunday River, Maine

Mont Ste-Marie, Que.

Mad River Glenn, Vt.

INFORMATION

www.netelemark.com

www.netelemark.com

www.lemassif.com

www.mont-comi.qc.ca

www.netelemark.com

www.montstemarie.com

www.telemarknato.com

If you get your reality checks while flying through the air on your board, check out freeheelers in your terrain park, and offer them the proper respect.

If you want to avoid the crowds, grab the winter camping gear, check out the backcountry lore and get hors piste. Free the heels, and the mind will follow.

Exploration off the beaten track is what has driven this sport for decades. With the right gear, some practice and a few friends, a winter weekend can be turned into a mix of exploration, exhilaration and tranquility. The Gatineau and Laurentians offer plenty of moderate backcountry skiing with hidden slopes, camping and hut-tohut treks. Quebec’s Chic-Chocs and the northeastern United States offer advanced backcountry terrain.

If ski resorts are your style, you can spend almost every winter weekend exploring a new resort within easy reach of Ottawa. Close to home, telemark skiers gather at Camp Fortune for “twofor-one tele Tuesdays,” named after Fortune’s Tuesday night skiing deals.

Tuesdays or not, probably you’ll see a handful of telemarkers anywhere, sticking to groomed runs, hugging the treeline, playing in the glades, dropping chairlift corridors, battling the mogul field or displaying ballet-like grace on hard-packed corduroy. Maybe they know something you don’t.

Seeking out likeminded telemarkers will lead you to Freeheelers United – a club representing more than 100 telemark skiers, instructors and organizations. They work with retailers to host demonstration days where you can try tele gear for free. The club also offers lessons and clinics with certified instructors, publishes an e-newsletter with tips, tricks, articles, gear swaps, car pooling and the latest telemark activities in the region and beyond. Visit www.freeheelers.net for more info.

Freeheelers United and Mountain Equipment Co-Op will be hosting the third annual Telemarch Fest, Saturday March 4, 2006 at Mont Ste-Marie (www.montstemarie.com). You can try the gear, and get an introduction lesson from an instructor. No festival would be complete without a draw for free swag and listening to tall tales of Telemark freedom. ≈ Dave Sampson graduated from the outdoor recreation department at Lakehead University and is now a photographer, geographer and telemark ski instructor. He has been a wilderness guide and instructor since 1995.

RETAILERS Mountain Equipment Co-op www.mec.ca 366 Richmond Rd. 613-729-2700 Kiwi Mikes www.thecyclery.ca/ 1073 Bank St. 613-730-2856 LOCAL LESSONS AND CLINICS Freeheelers United www.Freeheelers.net FreeheelersUnited@sympatico.ca Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors www.cansi.ca 4531 Southclark Place, Ottawa 613-822-1267 GEARING UP

} If you’ve never attempted the sport, try before you buy. There will be demonstration days and a telemark festival around Ottawa this winter where you can try out gear with experts on hand.

} Many people start with a well-used pair of alpine skis with a wood core and moderate rigidity. With a pair of tele bindings, your heels are free to move vertically. The flex patterns differ between bindings but generally the steeper the terrain the stiffer you want the flex. For heavy backcountry routes, softer springs are available.

} Have a certified technician mount your skis. Then be kind to your feet. Spend money on comfortable, properly fitting boots, new or used.

} Remember that the best deals come at the end of the season. If you miss out, look for last year’s stock. Others pick off the best selection of new equipment quickly before the snow even falls, by watching the retail floor like hawks. But there’s lots of used gear out there on message and bulletin boards. Just ask any telemarker. If you’re nice, they’ll tell you where to find the used gear.

The choice couldn’t have been much easier; ski fast or ski longer. Camp Fortune is only 15 minutes away from downtown Ottawa. And Mont Ste. Marie boasts the highest vertical in the region. This season, take advantage of great skiing conditions, lessons, weekday and weekend packages and enjoy the premier skiing destinations in the area.

www. campfortune.com call (819) 827-1717

www. montstemarie.com call (819) 467-5200

BY STEPHANIE EDWARDS

IT WAS PITCH black at 5:30 a.m. as two friends and I stumbled off the bus to join hundreds of others with skis squeaking on the cold snow, jostling for position, trying to keep warm, waiting for the start. Then with a big yell we all started off, headlamps bobbing like Christmas lights down the trail.

We were just outside Lachute, Quebec, and this was our first Canadian Ski Marathon. Before the day was over I was both weary and exhilarated with this new chapter in a life of cross-country skiing and its tight friendships.

How did I get here? Well, it’s been a long trail. I learned to cross-country ski shortly after learning to walk. I spent winter days following my dad through the bush and fields behind our house, thrilled by the sound and feel of snow underfoot, the sense of glee that came with counting kilometres at the end of the outing. I was confident dad would get me through these adventures, with ski wax in one pocket and emergency rations in the other.

I refined my technique, and my love for the sport soared as I grew older. I joined a cross-country ski instruction program for kids called the Jackrabbits, then a racing club at high school. I was a good skier, but not a great one. After a particularly crushing defeat during one race, my coach pulled me aside and put it all into perspective with the words, “Skiing is for life.” He meant, to relax and enjoy the sport.

Later, I chose a university with a dedicated cross-country ski team and joined up as soon as I arrived. Skiers from my team and other universities in southern Ontario became not only my training partners, but my social network. We lived together, trained together, and travelled together for four years. So when it came time to leave university and enter the real world, we thought hard about how we would maintain our skiing and our friendships as we went off in separate directions.

It was then that we heard about the Canadian Ski Marathon (CSM), an event that was supposed to be challenging though non-competitive. After more than a decade of racing, that concept hardly made sense to me. But in the fall of 1998, without really knowing what we were getting into, two friends and I signed up.

This unusual event involves skiing any length of a 160-kilometre trail that runs from Gatineau to Lachute (or from Lachute to Gatineau – the direction reverses every year). The trail has 10 sections. Participants entering as “Tourers” pay $120 to ski any number of those sections. (A bus will transport them between sections if they want.) We opted for the more challenging “Coureur de Bois” (currently priced at $165), which required that we ski the entire distance over two days.

Accommodation on the Friday night before the event and the Saturday night in the middle of it varies from sheer luxury to spartan make-do. Some participants splurge for a night or two at the Fairmont Chateau Montebello, located at the half-way point ($425 for the weekend, including meals). Others opt for local bed-and-breakfasts or hotels. In an attempt to experience the marathon to the fullest, we stayed at the “dorm” – the floor of Polyvalente LouisJoseph Papineau high school. Waking up just after 4 a.m., we shuffled down to a bacon and eggs breakfast, decided what wax and food to carry, and boarded a school bus for the start line and those bobbing headlamps.

When the sun finally rose, I realized just how “cross-country” the marathon was. While most events like this involve trail loops in small areas of semimanicured, semi-wilderness, the CSM trail is entirely different.

Landowners let skiers pass over their property each year simply out of

Greg Christie’s Ski Works

148 Old Chelsea Road (819) 827-5340 1-800-345-4734 Chelsea, Quebec www.gregchristies.com

Kunstadt Sports

462 Hazeldean Road, Ottawa (613) 831-2059 1583 Bank Street, Ottawa (613) 260-0696 www.kunstadt.com

Pecco’s

86 Murray Street, Ottawa (613) 562-9602 79 Rue Laval, Hull 771-8933 www.peccos.com

Fresh Air Experience

1291 Wellington Street (613) 729-3002 1-877-722-3002 Ottawa, Ontario www.freshairexp.com

goodwill and support for the event. A dedicated crew spends months preparing the trail, packing it once the snow flies and throughout the winter, ensuring well-groomed double tracks even when the weather gets hostile (the event has never been cancelled in its 40-year history).

The result is a trail that carves its way through picturesque countryside, farm fields, through woodlots, across frozen lakes and alongside rivers, doing whatever it needs to do to get from beginning to end. Checkpoints are a welcome sight with smiling volunteers serving up hot drinks, chocolate-covered peanuts, granola bars and soup.

Perhaps more impressive than the trail is the range of people on it. Approximately 2,000 skiers participate each year, split evenly between skiers from Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal, and New England. Participants range in age from five years old to 75, and their experience spans from novice to exOlympians. No gear snobbery here, where wool sweaters mix happily with Spandex and Gortex.

Although the marathon is not a race, it’s intense. Coureur du Bois participants must finish four out of five sections each day by 3 p.m. It dawned on my two friends and I that races were no preparation for such a long trek. We had to sprint the last 10 kilometres, giving it everything we had, which by that time wasn’t much. We dragged ourselves back to the dorm, exhausted, only to crawl out of our sleeping bags on Sunday morning, aching all over, to start the second day.

Undaunted, we have completed the CSM every year since. After completing the “silver” category (skiing the full distance with a five-kilogram pack), we graduated to “gold,” meaning that we ski the same distance with enough gear to sleep outside overnight. We arrive at gold camp each year to find fires started and a widening circle of friends gathered around them. It’s puffy time: puffy coats and puffy boots, and after an afternoon and evening of food, drink and a year’s catchup, we climb into puffy sleeping bags.

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