For most people, winter begins when the weather begins to get cold, snow begins to fall, and ice becomes a daily part of the outdoors. For me, winter begins when the ski resorts open their doors for a new season. I was never interested in cross country skiing before, and I always use to hate the snow, ice, and cold, and it never made sense to me why people liked doing winter activities.
I hadn’t been cross country skiing since I was a kid, but I thought it would be a good idea to give it a try, something new that I could do to get physically active. It started last March, when my aunt and I went cross country skiing up north. The weather was terrible, rain for the most part of the early morning, with rain in the forecast for the rest of the day, and little snow in the city.
The lack of snow and the abundance of rain wouldn’t stand in our way, we decided to chance it and drive up north to see if the ski resort had any snow left on their ground. As we driving north, the rain got harder, but there was some snow on the shoulders of the highway. It was suggested that if there was no snow up north, that I should strap my skiis on and be pulled from behind the car along the shoulders of the highway 400.
Lucky for us, when we got up there, there was lots of snow on the ground, and the rain let up. We had a great day cross country skiing. I quickly learned what I had been missing all those years. When you are doing a winter activity, it works your body up that you hardly feel the cold. Unfortunetly for me, that was the last weekend that the ski resort would be open, the ski season had ended. Just as I found a new passion, it closes down.
For the past 8 months, all I could think about was when is the snow going to come, and come hard. I kept myself busy throughout the summer running races, including the half marathon, but still yerning for ski season to begin. Just this past weekend, the moment I have been waiting for, the ski resort opened their trails to cross country skiing during weekend hours.
This time, things would be different. We were treated with the best weather you could ever ask for. The skies were bright blue, not a cloud in the sky, and temperatures were mild. We hit the trails for half the day, making some tumbles down some hills, but it was great. It was great to in the outdoors, experiencing the fresh air and for the phsyical aspect.
Whether you go cross country or downhill skiing, both are a great workout and a way to have fun this winter season. Most ski resorts have already opened for downhill, and some are opening earliar than ever for cross country. If you have your own equipment, the only cost is for the trail or for the lift, and can be affordable. Even if you don’t have your own equipment, all items can be rented from the resort for a day of fun.
For a list of all ski resorts in Ontario, you can check out the link below. Its a great activity to do in a group or individually. It’s something that I never use to understand, and now its something that I can’t go without. And that’s Whatz Slammin.
