Why Everyone Should Go Skiing
Liam Harrap, Guest Blogger
This blog is written by guest blogger Liam Harrap.
Discover the Canada in your backyard on skis
Canada is a big country. Like second-largest-in-the-world big. Like 41-times-larger-than-the-United-Kingdom big. There’s a lot to explore in this country. For some, winter can be an inconvenience for exploring. It’s snowy, cold, and dark. Thankfully, there’s an item that can make winter the best time of the year – skis.
Skiing is meant to be spent with friends. These skiers are watching a sunrise on the Wapta Icefield in Banff National Park | Photo – Liam Harrap
There are few things that make people as excited as skis. Skis mean adventure, adrenaline, and time spent with friends. Just because you’re going skiing, doesn’t mean you must jump off cliffs or ski steep slopes. You can just hangout on the granny slope and have the time of your life. Skiing can be simple.
Learning to ski by the Bow Hut in Banff National Park | Photo – Liam Harrap
People always ask whether snowshoes are better than skis. The answer is always skis. Walking is for summertime. Skiing is for winter. Skis can take you to places you never thought possible. Large glaciers, epic mountains, and thick forests. See a view that not even the Queen of England gets to see. Skis are the poor man’s limousine.
A bit nicer than the view from Buckingham Palace. Looking into Yoho National Park | Photo – Liam Harrap
Ski with the family. Enjoy a day without Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat. Unplug and watch the show provided by nature. Get some exercise – apparently, it’s good for you. Learn about the critters that call the forest home and see their tracks. You may be surprised to find that many species are still around in the cold. Learn about the wildlife that live right outside your front door.
A fly on the Freshfields Icefield in Banff National Park | Photo – Liam Harrap
Skiing is a perfect way to explore our national parks. Worried about the parks being super busy this summer with the free access? No problem, go in the winter and enjoy the quiet season. You may even have the trails to yourself.
Having some fun on Mt. Nanga Parbat in Banff National Park | Photo – Liam Harrap
Of course, there are risks with skiing. If you do want to venture into avalanche country, take an avalanche rescue course, practice your skills, and don’t ski alone. However, you can still go skiing if you don’t have avalanche rescue training. Ski at resorts or on trails that do not travel through risky terrain or stick with cross-country skiing. In the end, all that matters is that you’re outside and exploring.
Every so often, you inspect the snow with your face. At least Mt. Robson provides a beautiful backdrop | Photo – Liam Harrap
Want to improve your skiing ability? No problem. Take a lesson, find ski buddies, or join a club. Canada is a winter country, instead of fighting the snow, embrace it. Winter lives here.
Happy Skiing!
Liam Harrap is a master’s student in the Journalism program at Carleton University in Ottawa. He originally comes from Jasper, Alberta. A perfect place for climbing pointy things and survival skiing. When a snow day hits Ottawa, he’s the “weirdo” holding up traffic as he skis to school.
