| Head out for some cold weather fun this winter
Skiing, snowboarding, skating, snowshoeing and tobogganing are all standard outdoor winter activities. But have you ever thought about winter canoeing? (We're talking canoeing around Calgary here, not heading down south to the tropics for warm water paddling.) How about orienteering? Normally associated with the warmer months, it's also done in the winter. Up for something new? Try kick-sledding. Its name is descriptive, as this activity is a cross between sledding, skiing and dog-sledding – without the dogs.
DIP YOUR PADDLE INTO COOL WATERS
Calgary paddlers have access to several rivers that offer plenty of opportunity for year-round paddling. One local canoeist who almost never lets winter stop him is David Finch, who paddles local rivers every month of the year, on the Bow, the Elbow and the Kananaskis below the dam – all easy day trips from Calgary.
"I typically find some place where there is open water and paddle upstream first, then paddle back down," he says. "That's safer than trying to put in one place and take out somewhere else."
Once you find an open spot on a river, you can get ready for a whole different paddling experience.
"The winter riverscape is quite different from that of the summer," says Finch. "Any little rock in the river will have a little mushroom of snow on top. There's something magical about floating on water – instead of moving in two dimensions, it's like you're moving in three dimensions.
"The rivers are usually quite low, so they can be quite placid and mystical, especially if there is any fog coming off the water."
Finch tries to paddle every chance he gets, just for the sheer joy of it.
"The motivation to paddle in the winter was never to set some kind of endurance record," he says. "The motivation is the same in the winter as in the summer: to get out on the water. I look at it as more of a meditative type of experience than a gung-ho affair."
Paddling in the winter does not usually involve long trips, and rarely, if ever, overnighters.
"You often think of a summertime paddle in terms of many hours or even days," says Finch. "In the winter, an hour or two on the river is really worth the experience, even given some of the impediments to travel."
· Preparation: Gloves are a must, and if you think there is even a slight chance you'll get your hands wet, it's not a bad idea to trade in your regular winter gloves for a pair of neoprene paddling gloves kayakers use for paddling in Arctic waters. Dress warmly and take an extra set of clothes in a waterproof container – that way if you do get wet, you can change clothes completely and reduce the risk of hypothermia or frostbite.
Of course, all the standard warm-weather safety practices are in effect. That means wear a life jacket, and include an extra paddle, a bailer and a painter (the rope for securing your canoe to shore) as part of your standard kit. Finch also likes to fasten a knife to his life jacket to use as a pick to crawl across ice in the event such a feat is required.
Finch also recommends taking something warm to drink, like a thermos of tea. Like any water trip or any winter trip, leave the alcohol out of the mix, or you substantially increase the risk of drowning, dehydration or frostbite.
· Resources: Surprise, surprise – neither bookstore shelves or the Internet are exploding with information about winter canoeing. Your best bet is to talk to experienced winter paddlers. Start with the Bow Waters Canoe Club (235-2922) or hook up with someone at either of Calgary's paddling stores, Undercurrents (262-4327) or Aquabatics (288-9283). If you want to get a little more extreme, there is always ice-canoeing – visit www.yachting.qc.ca/canotaglace/an.htm for more about this activity, an annual competition at the Quebec Winter Carnival.
COLD WEATHER NO BARRIER TO ORIENTEERING
Although orienteering is traditionally a warm-weather sport, it can be done in the cold, as several diehards with Calgary's Foothills Wanderers prove weekly throughout the winter.
In a nutshell, orienteering combines a physical skill with a more cerebral element. Mentally, it involves using a topographical map as well as a compass to locate designated control points within a specific area, which is set up as a course. The physical part involves racing across the countryside, trying to be the first to visit all of the control points and return to the finish.
It does not have to be done in a seriously competitive vein. The general idea is to find, as quickly as possible, the control points in a particular course, usually an area with plenty of wood, water and even some occasional wildlife to make it more difficult.
No course is a permanent facility. It is set up the day of the event by an organizer, who marks the control points with flags. Anyone who was a boy scout may remember doing an activity similar to this. There are some major differences, though.
"The scouts generally follow a straight line, but with us, we take whatever way is fastest," says Bill Jarvis, president of the Calgary club.
The Wanderers, who orienteer all year, use their winter workouts more for training than competition, both to improve map and compass skills as well as maintain some physical conditioning. And winter orienteering requires a little extra ingenuity.
"Our winter events are in the evenings, which means we do it in the dark," he says. "So, we put reflectors on flags similar to those used by construction workers – we wear headlamps and when you get close, it reflects back on you."
Approximately 30 per cent of their winter courses are on the streets, and the other 70 in Calgary parks like Fish Creek, Nose Hill and Edworthy. At least once or twice a winter they head outside of the city to a location like Bow Valley Provincial Park. To date, they have not done much ski-orienteering, although Jarvis says there is some interest in it.
"One of the guys in charge of our training is from Norway and is an avid cross-county skier. He's pushing to combine the two. Ski-orienteering is a very popular sport in other places, and it is seeking acceptance as an official sport in the winter Olympics."
· Preparation: Dress in warm clothing, similar to what you would wear for winter cross-country running, appropriate to the terrain and vegetation you're in. A water bottle doesn't hurt. And don't forget the headlamp.
· Resources: Because you need a course, your best bet to get in on this activity is to hook up with the Foothills Wanderers (www.gumbi.com/fwoc/), the Alberta Orienteering Association (www.orienteeringalberta.ca/) and the Canadian Orienteering Federation (www.orienteering.ca/).
YOU CAN REALLY GET YOUR KICKS ON THIS SLED
Kick-sleds have been used in Sweden since the 1850s, and are now gaining popularity in North America. A nordic kick-sled resembles a dogsled on a diet – it's shorter, lighter and does not require dog power. Users propel it along the snow by kicking back with one foot, while the other remains on one of the sled's runners, similar to the motion used to propel a scooter along the road. For balance and steering, a handlebar is attached to the runners. There is also a seat in front that can carry a passenger.
Nordic kick-sledding offer several advantages over similar winter activities. The activity is comparable to Nordic skiing, but the learning curve is not as steep. Dog sledding needs dogs, and plenty of them. Ditto, a sport like ski-joring. Price-wise, ski-joring and dogsledding create canine costs as well as equipment costs, as you have to invest quite a bit in kibbles and bits. (Besides, you can't hook up any dog to a harness and expect instant husky.) Kick-sledding is also much cheaper than snowmobiling, and does much more for personal fitness and the environment.
You can take a kick-sled almost anywhere, and there is almost no age limit. If you can walk and kick, you can ride a kick-sled.
· Resources: A quick check of some of Calgary's sporting goods shops turned up no local retailers that carry kick-sleds. You can buy them directly over the Internet, though. To purchase them or get more information, check out these Web sites: CrosSled North America (www.crossled.com/winter_enthusiasts.html), Nordic Kicksleds (www.nordickicksleds.com/), Grizzly Snow Dog Sled (www.skisled.com/html/skisled.html) and Wood Sports (www.woodsports.net/). |
