The Stoke Guest Post: Jeni Wolowic Wants to Cross Country Ski!
Posted in Life in Revelstoke on March 28th, 2008 by jeni – 1 Comment[EDITOR'S UPDATE: Success for Jeni! ]
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a special guest post from Jeni Wolowic - she’s in Revelstoke for a week and is looking to cross country ski, if any Revelstokers want an XC partner!
Where can you rent cross country skis in Revelstoke? Email or post a comment.
I have to admit, Revelstoke, you disappoint. Now I will also admit that I am partially to blame for my own disappointment, but I had expected a little more from this mecca of snowfilled fun. Due to injuries, I cannot downhill and hope to walk away still intact. Thus I am sidelined from the epic powder on this trip, but had hoped to scout out the local Nordic ski trails to work on my new pursuit of skate skiing.
While everyone else from our crew piled on layers, snapped up helmets and adjusted their boots for a day on the mountain, I checked out the Nordic Ski Club web page. They advertise 22 beautiful and challenging kilometers of trails just outside of town and a 5km track laid out in the local golf course. Perfect. The rest of the crew can salivate on the adrenaline highs of drops and face shots, and I will spend the day embracing endorphin highs and peaceful snowflakes the size of dimes.
Well, its Sunday, and nothing opens early on Sunday in Revelstoke - except the liquor stores. So I spent the morning driving around the snow-covered streets. I made my way to the golf course, only to find the road had not been plowed or driven on, and even more saddening - there was no sign of a track laid out on its rolling acreage. I will now gloss over the tense few minutes trying a three point turn in 8 inches of fresh unplowed, undriven snow to summarize that the golf course… a no go.
By the river , Revelstoke is beautiful even on a grey, snowing day. But having scouted the town I found nothing was open to rent any equipment. My heart sank, but I did find an open coffee shop downtown. Warm and inviting, a delicious double latte helped lift my spirits. While sitting there pondering my unlucky fate, I overheard a group talking about cross country skiing. “They are grooming the trails now. They will be great this afternoon,” a local told a group of visitors. My hope returned and I grabbed his attention as he waited for coffee: “Do you know of a place I can rent cross country skis?”
His brow furrowed, a look I expected since I already knew everything was closed today. But what came out of his mouth I had not expected. “I don’t think there is a place to rent them in town. There should be.”
What?!?! It is sad enough that the trails are only groomed by volunteers and I hold little hope they will be groomed during coming weekdays after our expected significant snowfall, but no equipment? Now yes, Nordic skiing is the ugly little sister of the alpine empress and far less profitable, but I had some hope. At the very least, I expected some information on the web that would have advised me to rent gear elsewhere and bring it with me.
As I write, my hope is pretty pulverized, but not completely crushed. Our crew is convinced there must be some place or at least some place to demo some classic or skate skis. There is a bike shop in town outfitted for the off season cross training cyclist, like myself, but they don’t open til Tuesday. And tomorrow I shall follow the lead of an old link from the club’s website and explore another downtown shop.
I hope, Revelstoke, that you don’t let me down!
Snow down by the Columbia River
