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MOUNT WASHINGTON Location:
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada Description: Mount Washington Resort is in the middle of the island abutting Strathcona Provincial park. Basically a downhill resort with an adjacent XC area that extends into the park. The on snow accommodation is at the base of the down hill area. All XC activities are based around the new Raven Lodge a one km ski from the bottom of the downhill area. Getting There:
Comox airport has regular scheduled flights from Vancouver Accommodation: Privately owned homes in the old section and managed apartments in the newer section. The central Alpine Lodge has shops, cafeteria and restaurants. The general store on the entrance road has very limited groceries; it can arrange over snow delivery to the older section. Courtenay, a town near the airport, has plenty of off snow accommodation and a supermarket. Trails:
The 55 km of XC trails are all set for skating as well as classic with
over half classed “black diamond”. This is probably justified because
even when much of a trail is easy, it may have steep sections often with
tight corners. The coastal nature of the area means that the snow is often
wet and this means that after periods without fresh snow grooming is not
easy and trails may become even harder. The trail pass allows usage of
a chair lift that gives access to the highest trails. Other Features: Raven
Lodge is an excellent nordic day center with equipment rentals and instruction,
an equipment and clothes shop, food outlet and a huge open lounge. There
is no adequate waxing facility here (or anywhere in the resort) but management
is fully aware of the need and plan to have one by late 2002. Opinion: Close to Vancouver, reliable snow and great views of mountains in most directions At present, mainly a destination for people from the island (90 % of visitors) with the rest from lower British Columbia. This is probably because there are so many good XC destinations on the mainland and the snow in the interior is not only reliable but also powdery. The management’s commitment to XC can be seen from the investment in the new lodge and plans to extend the trails. Contacts:
www.mtwashington.ca
Report
by Stan McDonald. snjemcd@bigpond.com
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