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Skiing the Grand Canyon and Other Exotic LocationsMarg HayesBruce and I returned to Kaibab Lodge on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA, for our second season as XC ski instructors/guides/trail groomers. The lodge is some 40km by snowmobile to the nearest road and then 4 hours drive to Flagstaff, our nearest large town, so it's quite remote. Imagine a plateau, full of pines and aspens at a 3,000 metre elevation, surrounded by desert, and receiving heaps of powder snow...that's the North Rim! You can ski 7km on groomed trails from the lodge to a spectacular view of Marble Canyon, the start of the Grand Canyon. It's such a weird contrast standing in snow, surrounded by green pine trees and looking out over the red, hot, dry desert. I never tired of skiing to this viewpoint. We experienced some brilliant full moon rises from this spot. The highlight of every week was a visit to Pt Imperial and absolutely amazing views down into the Grand Canyon. The daytrip involved riding in comfortable 14 seater oversnow vans for 24kms and then backcountry skiing about 3.5 kms through old growth forests (unlogged), to reach an awesome viewpoint.No guest was ever disappointed ,especially since we always arranged for sunny, clear days, sometimes you could see for over 200kms to distant mountain ranges in Utah. One 3 day weekend, Bruce and I successfully completed a Rim to Rim hike and ski trip of the Grand Canyon. It involved descending from the South Rim down, down, down some 1600 metres over 6 hours to camp by the mighty Colorado River, then up, up, up on a narrow windy, precipitous track some 2,000 vertical metres over 25kms to reach the North Rim and snow, then a 35 km ski to reach Kaibab Lodge. I was physically exhausted, but a long hot spa, lots of soft drinks and sunchips and I felt much better. Walking and skiing the Grand Canyon is one of the most amazing things I have ever done, it's like being in a movie that is always changing. Our photographs don't do justice to the enormity of the Grand Canyon, it's truly one of the seven wonders of the world, and even more spectacular covered with snow. 1995/96 winter was a unusual snow season it was the worst in 50 years for Arizona, New Mexico, and southern Colorado. So instead of 6-8 ft of snow on the ground, we only had 1-3 ft. But we did have just enough snow to stay open, but this involved quite a lot of shovelling snow onto ski trails. Over Xmas we had 4 weeks of sunshine, so we had great suntans, but were praying for snow in the end. Fortunately February saw the snow improve. One day Bruce and I set ourselves the challenge of trying to ski the whole groomed track system in one day and despite the unfavourable soft snow conditions, and after many rests, we succeeded in skiing the whole 71.5 kms. We were tired but ecstatic. It now makes the Hoppet seem short (until Hoppet Day!) We finished work on March 20 and now it was time to play. We met up with 2 Aussie friends in Denver, and headed to the Colorado Rockies. Only 100kms from Denver is Winter Park, an inexpensive and friendly family resort for both downhill and XC skiing. We visited 2 XC centres which are "Dude Ranches" in summer. They each offered over 100kms of groomed trails, with spectacular views of 4,000 metre peaks. We then headed to Steamboat Springs and enjoyed relaxing in the natural outdoor hot springs, surrounded by snow and we even fitted in a little skiing. We XC skied at the prestigious downhill resorts of Vail and Beaver Creek. The downhill skiing looked incredible, but the XC trails at Vail are the worst I have ever skied because the tracks go round and round and a busy 6 lane freeway is only 20 metres away. We did hear that the backcountry guided trips were good value. Beaver Creek XC trails are at the top of a lift, and were much more interesting with good mountain views and varied terrain. Bruce and I then flew to Vancouver, Canada as our US work permits had expired. .We purchased a cheap $1100 car, and drove east. Our plan was to follow the snow across Canada. skiing and driving a few hours each day and then finding somewhere cheap to sleep. Once in the East we would head back into the U.S. (on tourist visas) and visit the New England States - THAT WAS THE PLAN. We left Vancouver, and drove to Manning Park for some peaceful lake and forest terrain. Then to Red Mountain and Into the Canadian Rockies to ski Canmore. We caught the last day of the season and had some exciting water skiing. The snowmaking is phenomenal. A great place to go if you like track skiing. We hired downhill skis and took to the slopes of Lake Louise. It was hard to concentrate on skiing with awesome Rocky Mountain scenery in every direction. We then drove north along the spectacular Icefields Parkway and stayed in some interesting rustic hostels right in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, with avalanches happening just a kilometre away! The potential for XC skiing on and off groomed trails in the Rockies is huge. It has everything! We left the snow and mountains behind to drive east across Canadian Prairies, which were much more populated than I expected. We renamed the Trans Canada Highway to the more appropriate Trans Canada GOAT TRACK. Through Saskatoon, then Winnipeg and finally into Ontario Province, with its 250,000 lakes. Suddenly, in the distance, we saw a huge flat mass of snow, it turned out to be FROZEN Lake Superior, which was great skating as long as you didn't think about the moaning and groaning noises coming from beneath your feet. Thunder Bay, population 100,000, is right on the Lake and has 5 XC centres in the vicinity, used mostly by locals. At Kamview Nordic, we were lucky again to catch some freshly groomed trails. Near Sault Ste Maire was more great skiing at Stokely Creek Resort. We had over 100 kms of trails to ourselves, and the manager's dog "Mogully" took us on a guided tour, via some beautiful, frozen lakes. Ottawa, the capital of Canada was next. We wandered around the old buildings and markets and gazed across the river at the French speaking Quebec Province. The next day saw us trying to understand French road signs as we drove to Gatineau Park, where the Canadian Loppet is held. It's a huge park only 15 minutes drive from Ottawa with over 100kms of groomed trails, and downhill skiing. There were lots of interesting warming huts and even some huts to overnight in. Quebec city is a fascinating French metropolis that is easy to fail in love with. The old city is still surrounded by a fortress where the British overthrew the French and later fought off the Americans. In mid winter you can ski right in the middle of the city where the battles were fought. We then headed south to the USA however US customs refused entry of our car. Disappointed, we reluctantly headed further east across Canada. The Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec is a ski tourers paradise. Skiing right next to the Atlantic Ocean at the end of April, while looking for whales and seals, was a real buzz. We ended our Trans Canadian trip in Halifax, Novia Scotia, sold our trusty car, which hadn't used any oil in over 9,000kms and headed home to Mt Beauty for another Aussie winter. If anyone would like information on places we've skied please feel free to contact us. If any qualified XC instructors would like to visit us at North Rim Nordic Centre, we are looking far guest instructors for 1 to 2 weeks next U.S. winter. If you haven't skied U.S.A./Canada, it's very different to Australia and great fun, so think about it. Marg Hayes & Bruce Wharrie, PO Box 163, Mount Beauty, 3699, Victoria, Australia
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