February 19, 2007 – This past weekend I had the opportunity to compete at the Western Canadian Championships in Smithers, BC. Now, to be perfectly honest when the coaches suggested I go to Westerns I didn’t exactly exude as much enthusiasm as I should have. The thought of spending more than 24 hours driving to and from Smithers was just a little daunting. Now however my point of view is a little different.

Since I’m not really a true Westerner, I haven’t seen much of this end of the country and this was a great opportunity to do just that. I can now rave about the ski trails at all three stops we made in North Western BC. Smithers was of course one of our stops, but we also visited the Omenica ski trails in Burns Lake, and the Otway Nordic Centre in Prince George.

Prince George hosted the National Championships in 2005, but this visit was much different. Jaqui Benson the local expert led us around all of the “S” bends and down one or two straight stretches in ideal conditions. If all that comes to mind when you think about Prince George is slush, then it’s worth another try because the skiing was fantastic.

We arrived in Burns Lake to find a few centimeters of fresh snow, and strapped on our classic skis. The trails weave in and out of the forest usually on a gentle grade, but every once in a while there’s a steep hill dropping down into a gulley and shooting you up the other side (with a detour option) to liven things up.

The Bulkley Valley Ski Club in Smithers did a great job hosting the Western Canadians, the trails were very fun with short steep uphills and downs to match. Yes, Smithers is a little bit remote. I couldn’t get the Saturday Globe and Mail until Sunday at four o’clock, but there are lots of nice little coffee shops and a mighty fine skiing community.

I’m glad I took the time to venture to North Western BC, it was a great experience and if you have the opportunity don’t hesitate, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

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