Activities

It has been our long term goal to ski together for winter outdoor activity. We are committed to one day a week and this is fairly easy for three seasons of the year but winter has been tough to figure out.

We tried snowshoes when the kids were little. Snowshoes are relatively inexpensive and easy to transport. If only they weren't so tiring for little legs! Snowshoeing was not fun for the kids and truthfully, it wasn't all that fun for us adults either. Where snowshoeing is really fun (I'm guessing) is in conditions and terrain where the only way to get around is in a snowshoe. Where we were hiking there were trails and most of the snow was packed down enough for our hiking boots.

Then three winters ago we discovered Mad River Rockets, a backcountry sled made in Vermont. Now these were fun. But a bit pricey too. We opted to start with one adult and one child sled and just share.

We did some great sledding early 2011 (with some good video also!) but on higher hills we reached a frustrating and cold point where some of us had to wait too long for other family members to do their run and then walk back up. 

All along though our dream was to backcountry ski as a family. Damien and I grew up skiing and snowboarding in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Conventional downhill experiences at ski resorts. We knew how much fun winter is cutting turns down the side of a mountain. In Damien's late teen years he got a taste of backcountry telemark skiing and introduced me to that experience. It was amazing.

Location and life circumstances prevented us pursuing that. But we had a taste and knew that, if we could, backcountry skiing is what we would really like to do for a winter outdoor activity. And when we had a family, that desire didn't go away. This was a dream we hoped we could make reality but we had a few obstacles to overcome.

• The cost of the gear. Outfitting a family for skiing in the backcountry was similar to investing in our summer gear - a quality tent, sleeping bags, lightweight cook gear, backpacks, etc... That was a lot of money for us and we just couldn't swing it with our other priorities. 
• The age of our kids. We are committed to pursuing adventure with our kids for as long as they want to hang out with us (forever, we hope). Backcountry skiing has a steeper learning curve than hiking or sledding. Yes, it can be done but we needed lots of practice time which brings me to my next point.
• Location. Up until this move we've been city dwellers. To use skis would require always using the car to go practice somewhere. We didn't have the time in our weekly schedule to commit to that. Not to mention that good places to practice backcountry ski technique were a bit of a drive also.

And then something happened. We moved. But before we moved we set an intention - this winter we would ski with our kids.

You can read our whole moving story here, but we moved because we needed freedom to pursue our dreams. It just so happens one of those dreams was winter skiing with our family. No, we didn't move just so we could ski - there was plenty of snow and hills in Maine. But our move was the perfect time to shift this winter activity goal to the front and center. 

We started a ski fund last winter. It took some convincing to get the kids on board - they each had to contribute a fair chunk of "change". Our winter camping trip, where they could try friend's cross country skis, helped boost their enthusiasm for saving money for their own skis.

Damien started slowing purchasing the gear the end of last season. Gear and shipping is cheaper in the US and we wanted to take advantage of that before we moved. We arrived in Nova Scotia with a few pieces and kept working at it. 

I should probably mention that Damien did a whole whack of research on what skis, boots, bindings and poles to get our family. Gear that would allow us to ski "regular" cross country and backcountry. Gear that wouldn't limit us too much to just one of those activities. Gear that could be used for multiple purposes if possible (trekking poles for ski poles). Gear that wouldn't break the bank. 

We finished our gear purchases early this month, nearly, but not quite, breaking the bank. We remind ourselves this is why we live in a 750 sq ft cabin (and pay living costs accordingly) - so we can use our resources to achieve our goals.

The last piece to buy was the adult skis which we found locally in an amazing outdoor gear shop in town (10 minutes from home). Finding stores like this in our rather rural location assures us that the skiing around here must be magnificent (so the locals say), otherwise shops like this wouldn't even exist. 

For the past week we've skied just around the chalet. Every day one of the five of us has been out in the snow, of which there is plenty - what a treat!

Tomorrow we're headed to a neighbor's hill to learn some more technique. We'll be staying local for a while to practice. One day though we'll take the left turn out our driveway and drive straight into the mountains where the big skiing is to be had.

But first, we need a roof ski carrier. I wonder if we could get the kids to start another fund?

Once winter arrives and the snow flies, one of our favorite weekly family activities is backcountry sledding. Thus far, this season has been missing one critical ingredient: the snow. That all changed this week when we had a huge dump; enough to merit a half-day off work due to poor weather.

Now that the snow is officially here, we are officially back on the sleds. We took the video camera out with us today and threw together this short video. Enjoy!

Artwork: Laurent Tougas

For the past few months we have been working towards eliminating the use of plastic for food storage. For some reason, the thought of potentially harmful chemicals leaching into our food doesn't hold much appeal for us.

Just recently I had the idea to use our backpacking kitchenware - pots, mugs, bowls, etc. - as storage containers for the fridge. Since they are not in use when we are at home, giving them a new task to do means we need less storage space for our outdoor gear. It also means that we can get rid of some other containers in the kitchen that we would normally have used for that task. I love having the opportunity to use items for multiple purposes, this is a fundemental principle of lightweight backpacking, why not extend it to the home as well for simpler living?

A side benefit of this idea is that it helps to justify the cost of purchasing higher quality backpacking gear. Titanium kitchenware, while durable and light-weight is more expensive than its steel and aluminum counterparts. Making the gear play a role at home as well as in the backcountry can make those higher prices seem more reasonable since the gear gets more frequent usage.

Titanium is a great material for the task of food storage. It doesn't contain nickel (which some people are allergic to) and is immune to corrosion. It is considered completey biocompatible and is therefore the material of choice for use in hypoallergenic jewelery, medical tools, and medical implants.

One example of a container perfectly suited to home food storage and backcountry use is the Snow Peak titanium bowl. They are a great price at $16 each and have a volume of just under 2-1/2 cups. Other containers that can be used include mugs and pots - pretty much anything that can reliably hold liquid.

Most outdoor mugs and bowls don't come with any sort of lid so I improvised a solution using a resource that all backpackers are intimately familiar with: Ziploc bags. Backpackers are no stranger to Ziploc bags. We like to reuse ours but no matter how carefully we clean them, the bags eventually wear out. I designed a sewing pattern using old Ziploc bags to create elasticized lid custom fit for each bowl/mug/pot that we own. This pattern will work just about any polythylene food-grade bag (i.e. Aloksak etc.) and is a great way to keep some plastic out of landfills a little longer.

The instructions for making your own lids are as follows:

Equipment and materials required:

• The container you want to cover (of course!)
• A sewing machine
• Used Ziploc, Aloksak, or other polyethylene bags
• Marking pen (i.e. Sharpie or similar)
• Polyester thread
• 1 mm round elastic cord (pick it up at any fabric store)
• Small safety pin

Instructions:

1. Trace the outline of the container on the outside of a bag using the marker. Make sure that there is at least a 1/2 inch of plastic beyond the edge of the traced line.
   
2. Using the sewing machine and your polyester thread, stitch a circle 1 cm (3/8 inch) outside of the line you just traced. You will be stitching through both sides of the plastic bag. Don't close the circle completely, leave about a 1/2 inch wide gap between the start and the end of the stitch. Make sure you backstitch at the beginning and end of the stitch to prevent it from coming undone.
   
3. Stitch another circle 1 cm (3/8 inch) outside of the first one you just completed. This time completely close the cirlcle. Again, backstitch at the beginning and the end of the stitch. When you are done, you should have three concentric circles: The inner one is the pen marking, the next one is the circle with the 1/2 inch gap, and the third one is the outer circle that goes completely around.
   
4. Cut the the plastic away from the outer-most circle, leaving about 1/8 inch of plastic around the outside of the stitching. You should now have a plastic disc.
   
5. Grab both layers of the disk from the middle and pull them apart.
   
6. Poke a hole through only one side of the middle and cut it out, leaving about 1/8 inch of plastic from the inner stitched circle. You should now have a round piece of plastic with a single layer in the middle and a double layer ring around the outside.
   
7. Tie the end of the elastic cord to the safety pin. Feed the pin into the outer ring, through the gap that was left in the stitching. Thread the elastic all the way around the outer ring and all the way back out of the hole. When you are done you should have the elastic threaded through the outer ring and both ends sticking out of the hole in the stitching.
   
8. Pull both ends of the elastic until your plastic disk looks like a shower cap. It should be small enough to tightly stretch over the container. Once you have the size right, knot the two ends of the elastic together and cut off the excess. The knot should pull back into the hole. You may have to shift the plastic around so that it isn't excessively bunched in any specific area (you will know what I mean when you see it!).
   

Voila! You should now have a perfectly fitted plastic lid for your container...

and a shower cap for your American Girl doll...

Note: I am not as concerned about plastic being used for the lid. I figure that since the food will mostly be in contact with the container rather than the lid, everything should be fine.