Manning Park Resort — March 6/20
Aging gracefully, and still skiing up a storm!
What a nice little gem this place is. A mere three hour drive from White Rock, and we are in the mountains in a winter wonderland. A nice surprise.
We were blessed by meeting a regular on the mountain, Gord. He graciously became our host for the day, which was great since we had no idea where we were going.
Gord represents my inspiration for continuing to enjoy this sport. He is 77 years young. I love it!! He boasts having hit the magic number for the $25 pass: age 75. He actually resides in the Yukon, but spends his winters here as the snow is better for skiing. Very cool.
A fun fact about Gord is he has tried to ski the number of times each year to match his age. At age 65, he almost made it. He skied 63 times that season!! That is A LOT!!
I also loved something important that Gord had to say, which really mimics what I stand for, and why I even blog about skiing (as it relates to mental health, and getting outside):
Any time I have to stay in a big city for more than four or five days, I get what I call “Nature Deficit Disorder” [NDD]
A great expression, indeed! I think I will adopt it. In that vein, Gord also commented on another important fact that goes along with being active and outdoors in the winter. He noticed that if he does not get himself out and on the hill much during the winter, that in the off season “his tummy is a little larger” and his joints a little stiffer. He actually took up telemark skiing only about five years ago to increase his mobility (much to his wife’s chagrin). Anyway, Gord said that following a less active winter, he then has less ability to do the summer things that he enjoys, like hiking and such. This is such an important factor for all of us to embrace, with whatever sport/hobby we can engage in during the winter months.
Gord was also full of interesting historical information about Manning. For example, there is a run called Featherstone, which he said was named after Frank Featherstone. He skied here until he was 91! His wife also skied until she was 88 or 89. How spectacular is that?! Fun fact: apparently Frank was about 5 feet tall, and his wife about 4'6". I would say that makes things easier when you don’t have far to fall, lol.
With regards to Manning itself, I would highly recommend it! It only has two chairlifts (a brand new one last year), but covers a great deal of terrain. The landscape is very beautiful. I understand it is also common for Manning to have over 10 cm of fresh snow overnight on a regular basis. Lots of powder to be found!
Whether it is skiing, hiking, biking, running or walking-please get outside yourself! Your mental health will thank you. :)
