Advice

Every skier and trail runner follows the weather to some extent. What's already a nationwide topic of discussion becomes a whole different story to us outdoors enthusiasts. No matter where you find yourself in the scale of "we'll see when...

Michelle is a runner and triathlete located in the Bow Valley, and like others in the valley, she trains hard all year round. She works as a massage therapist at Le Refuge.  She is also the co-founder of Mountain Mindfulness, combining...

As our trails get more and more crowded, trail runners need to think about leaving a positive impact. It’s all about showing our respect for the environment and other trail users. “The river valley belongs to all of us. We...

By Lynne Richardson, Physiotherapist and owner of Rocky Mountain Rehab & Sports Medicine Clinic in Canmore

As a Physiotherapist in a mountain community, I can tell it's ski season by the number of sore, swollen knees that limp through our clinic door. It's often a very classic story: "I had a slow twisting fall, my bindings did not release, I felt a pop, and my knee swelled immediately". Knee ligament injuries are very common in skiers, and an ACL tear is often the diagnosis.

When I am not at SkiUphill cutting skins, fitting boots or mounting bindings, I am a physiotherapist at Rocky Mountain Rehab and Sports Medicine in Canmore. Technique and equipment play huge roles in performance, injury prevention and how much you...

I love mellow skin tracks. I love being able to glide effortlessly up a slope while staying flat on my skis. Each time I went to Utah I found myself cursing about those "in your face straight up" skin tracks. It seemed like I spent my entire time on the highest riser position. Being on a race heel with only 1 riser, I cursed a lot. More efficient or not? I don't think there is an answer to that...

Here in the Rockies we have long and flat approaches and I don't encounter many skin tracks that are too steep. Usually, if I can't keep going (with my race heels) it probably means that I should bootpack. I noticed from talking to fellow skiers that certain concepts are quite universal no matter how steep you like to ski uphill.

Overnight freeze, solar radiation, wet slabs, etc.

As a skier in the Rockies, I'm far more used to hearing about deep persistent slabs, wind loading and facets. With this Spring's skiing season seeming to last forever, I realized how little I knew about those Spring-only terms. Then I found myself bailing off a few awesome runs because of marginal overnight freezes (weekend warrior problems...) and spooky snow conditions and I realized that I didn't know anything about Spring skiing...