Sun, Jan 28 2007 - intro to Snowshoe and then...Tubing! (View Original Event Details)
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Finally...Snow! Although the morning looked a bit scary for driving, by the time we hit the 400, the snow had cleared up and the sky was blue and the sun peaked out from the clouds. All 23 of us descended on the snowshoe rentals at once, and the Snow Valley folks were more than helpful with getting us outfitted with shoes and poles. The equipment is top notch (except for George's broken pole...) and the staff was incredibly helpful in helping us choose which trail to chose. A large group decided to go straight for the yellow trail, a long and steep uphill trek to the top of the ski hill, while a smaller group of us decided to take the more gradual uphill blue trail, and then detour to hit the yellow trail for the downhill bit. That was recommended to us by the staff, and I think we had the most fun as we ran down the hill, sliding on the backs of the shoes. However, the yellow team insisted that they had the best route. What was most important was the wide grins on everyone's face at the end of the trek. The trails were short, so we were only out there for an hour or so, but it was enough to get a taste for snow shoeing, especially with some steep up and downhills.
We all were overdressed and continually were stripping off layers, at least in our little group. We took a break before hitting the tubing runs to eat some lunch, but we were too warm for hot chocolate, and thirst quenching juice and water was far more tempting. It was amazing to see a large group at the table and Jenn tried to take a picture of everyone. While doing so, the general manager of Snow Valley came over and talked to those of us at the end of the table about tubing and assured Jenn that her camera would be safe - in fact, she could actually take films as she went down the hill! I think this put a dangerous idea in her head. We should have a link soon to some of her down the tube videos! One thing that impressed me about Snow Valley is that the people who work there went out of their way to accomodate our group, even on a busy Sunday afternoon. I can't think of tubing any where else!
Then it was time to tube!
The initial line up was long and our group got separated into smaller groups. We quickly discovered that the only way to go down the hill is to go in groups of six at once. Then head back to the line up to get towed back the hill. repeat!
You'd think that the fun would be endless, but it was COLD waiting in line! And even colder when the snow and wind whooshed into your face! After about 2 hours we had had enough and this time we were more than ready for hot chocolate!
The tubing went on into the night, but we were finished. There were 23 happy tubers at the end of the day and I think we've discovered a TOC winter tradition!
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.