After lunch at the Bulldog Cafe, we had to say farewell to most of the group we've been hanging out with - Revy, C-Bass, Rich C, Sara, Sean & Juliann, Myra & Danny. The Carbons stayed for the afternoon classic clinic. The 5 skate groups from the morning were collapsed into one since most attendees were leaving. I'd slotted myself into the middle level but in the afternoon, I was with Coach Dave and the fast boyz. (Two of us were given the option of an intermediate session just for us but decided to tough it out).
On the plus side, we did an absolutely beautiful ski up to Alder Point and back. It was sunny and cool with heavy snow coating the trees. Perfect ski conditions, spectacular views, great company.
On the negative side, there was a lot of climb. According to AP (which rarely lies), I'd done 67 minutes of skate skiing in 2012 before today. So... it was a shock to some muscles and my cardiovascular system to ski for 3.5 hours today, especially after the season's first two days of classic skiing. Although I tried to cling to some remnants of good technique, I'm afraid some of this morning's improvements were set aside in favour of just getting my sorry arse up the mountain. I was one of the two slowpokes in our group but it didn't really bug me, and it didn't seem to bother the others either. Now that I've survived, I'm really glad I did it. It was a huge confidence booster.
Here are George, Eric, 'Bent and Coach Dave Harbocian.
Here are the views from Alder Point. Important: You should stop skiing when you arrive at this spot.
We shared a condo with the Carbons but our schedule was so busy that we didn't get a lot of time to relax and catch up. Next time! Their skiing skills have become quite good - and they both bought new skis here to add to their quiver. We all warned them this would happen. :)
Night view from the condo.