Who said training can't be fun?

There are two things I learned yesterday; the mountains around Whitehorse are amazing, and climbing them is even more so.

On our “day off” training, Graeme Rennie, Tori Owen and I decided to hit up the trails and climb Caribou Mountain, a 6,500 foot peak just outside of Carcross. Starting at the crack of ten, we drove the scenic rout down to the trail head (every road around Whitehorse is a scenic road) and immediately started hiking up a fairly steep trail.

Only a short while in, we emerged above tree line to some spectacular panoramic views that I’m sure will rival anything Edmond Hillary saw on the first ascent of Mt. Everest.....keeping in mind I’m an east coast kid and anything bigger then an ant hill seems pretty spectacular in my eyes. It was at the first peak of 6,000 feet that we decided to attempt a human sculpture of an orienteering symbol. I'll let you use your imagination for this one....

Shorter then expected, we reached the chilly but spectacular summit. Staying just long enough to down a chocolate bar, (which is ten times better on the top of a mountain just so you know) we attempted to glissade back down the mountain. A combination of soft snow and cold hands halted this idea so we resorted for the less fun, but still pretty amazing decent back down the trail.

While sitting in a cold northern lake after the hike, we all agreed on two things; just because it’s fun doesn’t mean it isn’t training, and two, we all want do this a thousand more times....

Sore legs for an amazing day and a great view = a worthy compromise

-Graham Ereaux