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Learning to Climb is Not Just for Young People

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

“Am I too old for this?”  I asked myself as I joined three twenty-something participants in a 5 day course to learn glacier travel and ice climbing.  I was two decades older than them and worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up, worried I had no business taking this beginner course at my age.   When I was a kid, I didn’t know anyone who climbed.  Despite living close to the mountains, the people I knew seemed content to drive the scenic highway and…

Ski Traverse Training – Haute Route

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Spring 2016 I’ve signed up for a spring 2017 ski traverse, in Europe, out of my comfort zone, where do I begin, when do I start commitment to training. Summer 2016 I was extremely active mountain biking and climbing, leaving me with a solid base to get started on ski specific training. My cardio fitness was strong and my movement and climbing strength was strong, not that I would expect to need to rock climb on this traverse, we are skiing, right…turns out 2017 was…

Rocky Mountain Adaptive — ShredAbility

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Rocky Mountain Adaptive (RMA) located in Canmore, AB and operating throughout The Bow Valley, has been an integral part of keeping my entire family active in the mountains. My daughter participates in their winter 10-week ski program. Where she is able to have a one-on-one ski lesson for 2 hours each week with an (over)qualified instructor. She is now cruising down the green and blue runs at Sunshine Village and Lake Louise, independently! When summer arrives to this part of Canada, she can be found…

Building Your Home Workout Space

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Fitness equipment is expensive, can be bulky and often collects a lot of dust, gym memberships and punch pass often collect a lot of dust too. If you have room in your basement, loft, or bonus room why not set up a small area that can be easily put away when not in use or better yet dedicate that area to fitness. Benefits of working out at home, the ability to get at it whenever it will work, your kids see you making fitness a…

8 Tips to Stay Motivated to Workout at Home

Thursday, March 15, 2018

There is a big appeal to working out at home.  You don’t have to drive to the gym on chilly mornings.  You can roll out of bed, throw on whatever workout clothes are on the floor of your closet and not worry about how you look or who you’re going to see and you can workout on your own time, whenever is most convenient for you.  Sounds great, right? Working out at home comes with its own challenges.  One of the biggest is staying motivated. …

How to get Fit for Mountain Climbing

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Are you planning to climb a mountain this year?  Whether you’ve chosen a local peak or you’re planning to travel to climb a far off peak, you know you need to be fit.  It’s very disheartening to climb partway up, realize you don’t have the fitness you need to get to the top and have to turn around.  It’s even worse to get to the top exhausted and then get injured on the way down because your legs have turned to wet noodles. So what’s…

To Roll or Not to Roll…

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Foam rolling is a popular form of self-myofascial (myomuscle, fascia-soft connecting tissue) release, using a tool (foam roller, ball). The initial benefits are short term (10 minutes). With use of two weeks or greater, the benefits will be longer term. Just like working on improving one’s fitness, when you do the activity twice a week you can maintain your level. When you do the activity three times a week you will see gains, this guideline also applies to foam rolling. When done effectively foam rolling can…

Learning the Meaning of Mountain Fitness

It was September 2014. I was nearing the summit of Mount Athabasca and I knew I was in trouble. My friend had convinced me to join her on an alpine course offered by one of the local guide companies, Yamnuska Mountain Adventures. I loved being out in the mountains and wanted to expand my skills so I agreed to sign up. My biggest concerns leading up to the course were whether I had sufficient prerequisite skills and if the weather would cooperate. I never thought…