I just got back from a week of cross country skiing at Silver Star Mountain Resort in south-central BC, and confirm (once again!) that this is the best cross-country ski holiday possible. At this time of year, most skiers are scrambling for snow, and Silver Star has plenty of it! And with over 100 km of scenic trails, the area boasts the largest groomed trail network in the country.
A great trail network and snow will attract skiers, but what sets Silver Star apart is the easy access to trails. From most locations on the mountain, putting skis on is just a few steps outside the door: the main “road” in the village is track set and skier-traffic only – so you can finish your ski at the bakery, and then ski back home (or just ski to the bakery and back – we’ve certainly done that . . . ). The strong cross country ski culture is also special at Silver Star – at this time of year, cross country enthusiasts often outnumber the downhill skiers.
This was our fourth year staying with friends at the Silberne Spitzen house, a beautiful place perfectly equipped in many ways. The owner is a pretty fit skier himself and also guides snowshoe outings on what looks to be an incredible network of trails. As the house is located at the top of the Knoll, most outings end with a long uphill that will certainly get your climbing legs in shape for the ski season.
We made several trips to the adjoining Sovereign Lake Nordic Center — which boasts another superb network of trails with impeccable grooming, a nice lodge, and a stadium and race courses that have hosted many NorAm races and several World Cup events.
A Weekend of Racing
In other years, I have raced the first event of the NorAm race series at Sovereign Lake Nordic Center. This year, the Center hosted the Sovereign Lake Open. Although the race fields were smaller than the typical NorAm event, there was still strong competition with athletes from Thunder Bay’s National Development Center, the Ontario Ski team, Dartmouth College, and several other clubs. I raced in the Open Women’s Category (5 km skate Saturday, and 5 km classic Sunday).
In holiday mode, I had pretty low tech/simple ski selection and waxing, and hadn’t bargained on the warm temperatures that greeted us Saturday morning (0 degrees and snowing – at least it was a skate race!). I only had skis that were good in cold snow, and didn’t pack fancy waxes, inspired by a new trend to Low Fluro waxing for races that I hope takes hold.
I was happy to have some great opening races, placing 2nd on Saturday, and third on Sunday, with speedy Jennifer Jackson of NDC Thunder Bay winning both events. (Full results are here->skate; classic.)
All in all, this year’s trip to Silver Star was another great vacation.
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