Phil Youwe was in his element underneath blue skies on opening day at Sun Peaks Resort when he paused to speak with SPIN.
“We’ve got fresh groomed trails, I’m looking at a skier passing me with a dog and people are just getting their balance again, really enjoying it,” said Youwe, the resort’s Nordic operations co-ordinator.
His tone indicated he was smiling and Youwe said there are more than a few reasons for the growing Sun Peaks Nordic community to be happy.
“What we’re finding is a lot of alpine skiers are moving over to dual purpose — cross country in the afternoon, downhill in the morning,” said Youwe, still trying to catch his breath.
“We’ve also seen a big growth from the biking world. People who do a lot of mountain biking through the summer are looking for training in the winter, and cross country skiing fits perfect with the biking crowd.”
Youwe noted the number of Nordic skiers in the “older crowd” seems to be increasing.
“There is less impact than alpine skiing and less chance to hurt yourself if you fall,” he said.
There is a new snow groomer machine dedicated to Nordic trails, a new entrance to the McGillivray Lake trail system off of Parking Lot 5 and a new trail called Chickadee, which provides access to Blue Grouse and Raven.
“We also did a lot of summer grooming, so the trails are in awesome shape early in the season,” Youwe said.
There are 18 Nordic hosts at Sun Peaks, ambassadors who work between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., doing everything from giving advice on which trails might suit skiers to checking lift passes.
Youwe said Learn to Ski clinics offered each Saturday are well-attended and Glenn Bond Ski Camps, held twice each season at Sun Peaks, are
widely acclaimed.
“(Bond) has been with Sun Peaks for three years and brings an entourage of instructors from the States,” Youwe said.
“They’re for skiers of any ability and you can tailor-make them for what you want to do.”
Bond is holding camps on Dec. 5, Dec. 6, Jan. 2 and Jan. 3. To register, go online to
www.glennbond.com/sun-peaks.
Sun Peaks also offers coaching certification clinics for those looking to share their passion for the sport.
There are 34 kilometres of groomed trails at the resort, including popular ones such as Great Grey, Otter Loop and Blue Grouse, in addition to 14 skier-set backcountry trails.
Five trails accommodate dogs.
“Nordic skiing is a fantastic workout and it’s something you can do forever,” Youwe said.
“You work up a sweat on the way up and relax on the
glide down.”
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