I recently went to EC Manning Provincial Park (twice, actually), and thought it would be good to write about my experiences while everything is still fresh in my head!
Visit #1
Back in January, a couple of my friends had asked if I would be interested in going to Manning Park with them to try out cross-country skiing. While the idea made me nervous, as I do not have a lot of experience in winter sports (except for ice skating), I thought it would be fun to try something new!
For those who are not familiar with the area, it takes about 2-hours to get to Manning Park Resort from the lower mainland. Once you reach the Crowsnest Highway, you will drive through a beautiful winter wonderland for about 30-minutes before arriving at the Resort – visualize snow on the trees and picturesque mountains.
Once we reached Manning Park Resort, we got changed, paid for our park passes, and rented boots, skis and poles – we thought we were all set! But, we quickly realized we did not even know how to put the skis on… so back in the rental hut we went to get a few tips before actually getting started (note that we had opted to try figuring things out on our own, rather than paying for lessons).
Our plan was to try skiing on the trail around Lightning Lakes, and also to check out Beaver Pond. Both of these trails are considered “green,” aka easy trails for beginners. First up was Lighting Lakes!
As we started down the trail, I definitely felt out of my element. It took me some time to get into a grove and develop a “feel” for the skis. The hardest part was figuring out how to stop – for those who have never tried cross country skiing, my understanding is that the skis are quite a bit lighter than alpine down-hill skis, making it difficult to “pizza” stop. The other challenge was getting up small hills – again, because the skis are light, you have to apply a lot of pressure, otherwise you will slide backwards! Needless to say, there were a handful of instances where I simply took the skis off, as I did not feel comfortable going up or down the hills.
We made it a little over one kilometer on the Lighting Lakes trail before hitting a large hill, which we took as our sign to turn around – we decided to try our luck on the Beaver Pond trail instead. However, we only made it part way through this trail, as well, before it was time to return our gear and head home.
Overall, I really enjoyed my first experience cross country skiing – Manning Park is incredibly beautiful and peaceful! Since we did not complete either of the trails we started, we definitely felt there was unfinished business at the Resort and started planning our return.
Visit #2
Our second visit to Manning Park Resort was just this past weekend. Our small skiing crew expanded by two people this time – Justin and our friend, Craig, were not able to make it previously.
I am happy to report that my second attempt at cross country skiing got off to a much better start than the first. The staff member who was setting us up with our rental gear was impressed I remembered the drill for getting sized up for my skis and poles. I also managed to impress Justin with how quickly I was able to get my skis on and off – apparently I made it look easy!
We decided to start our skiing adventure at Beaver Pond this time, since we did not get to finish this trail during our first visit. After only a couple of minutes, I got the “feel” for the skis, and we were on our way! We encountered one really big hill – even bigger than the one that scared us away on the Lighting Lakes trail last time – and a couple other smaller obstacles. But in the end, we finished the trail and went back to the lodge for a snack.
A few of us decided we still had some energy left after taking a break, and wanted to try tackling part of the Lighting Lakes trail again. This trail has a handful of small hills along the way, and while I was not able to go up them last time, I had a lot more success this time around. However, for one of the hills, I did not apply enough pressure to the skis and slid backwards… crashing into my friend, Iwona (sorry, Iwona!). I was laughing so hard at what had just happened, that when I got up, I fell again! I wish I could say these were the only “accidents,” but there were many more.
After we turned around to head back, there was one decent sized hill that I had not attempted to go up or down during the first visit, but I decided to attempt both directions this time. However, when going down the hill, I lost my balance right near the end and went crashing down! The even more unfortunate part was that Craig was next in line, and he decided to start heading down the hill once he thought I was in the clear, and he was already part way when I fell. As a result, he decided to purposefully crash to ensure he did not run into me (sorry, Craig!). I know you are probably thinking that Justin must have had a perfect day since I have not yet mentioned him falling down, but do not worry, he had a few mishaps, too ツ.
Overall, I felt a lot more comfortable on the skis the second time around, and I felt we covered a lot more ground – we completed one full trail, and part of a second, whereas the first time, we did not complete any trails. However, I get the feeling we will be back at Manning Park again soon, maybe not this season, but we need to complete the full Lighting Lakes trail next time, and I have a couple of hills that I need to conquer!
Always grateful,
Michelle
PS – on our way home from Manning Park, we stopped by Mountainview Brewery in Hope. This place is awesome – 10/10! Great craft beer and so many plant-based food options!
Exploring With Gratitude 