Lessons learned

By Mark Sereda, SnowSeekers Inc.

Since joining the SnowSeekers team in early January of this year, I …‘the newbie’…’the rookie’…and/or even ‘the intern,' have learned some important lessons that I feel read the best in blog-format: short, informative, and (most importantly) useful. Not only am I learning how to professionally operate a camera and advancing my editing knowledge/skills, but I’ve also picked up some interesting life/athletic lessons along the way.

As a treat for those of you who drop by the website/blog, I offer my advice through recent personal experiences. Enjoy.


Nordic Skiing.
Kimberley, British Columbia offers up great viewpoints during some adventurous trails, perfect for Nordic skiing. After being relieved of camera-duties, Doc Pow took me down a few challenging paths, which he said took him back to the good old days. It had been a decade since I had last fitted my feet into Nordic skis, and knew some learning was at hand, or I suppose foot.

Turns out the entire body plays a big role in smooth movement on these skinny sliders. It began to slowly come back and soon enough I was coming up with entertaining descriptions of the movement-style required. The best was my idea to think of it as doing a “backwards-moonwalk” because your toes stay to the ski and you're propelling yourself forward. Think about it!
Extras:
- I keep my knees parallel to the set tracks to maintain balance.
- I noticed that pushing my ankles out, inside the tracks, during downhill slides helped me stay in the tracks.
- Always stretch before taking part in Nordic skiing and prepare yourself for some serious exercise, especially if you’re trying to keep up with Doc Pow.

But Nordic skiing with Doc Pow was relaxing compared to our recent tour with the Olympic Torch through Alberta. If I learned anything on that tour, I learned how to shoot on the fly – fast. The learning curve here at SnowSeekers is steep to say the least. If you haven't seen any of the footage, feel free to drop by www.youtube.com/user/TravelAlbertaCanada

For full stories on Western Canada's winter destinations, visit snowseekers.ca and friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

The influence of the Gibber By Will Colford, SnowSeekers

Dr. Garry Gibson – lead torch bearer for Camrose, and affectionately known as the Gibber – told the crowd carrying the torch was “a major highlight of [his] life, made all the more wonderful by sharing it with [his] community.”

It appeared as if the whole town was closed that day to come out and celebrate its leg of the torch relay. Most excited were the school kids, who not only got to “miss math class” for the event, but they shared a connection to Dr. Gibson through their teacher, Miss Olsen. 

Garry “taught me in high school,” remembers Olsen. “He taught Phys Ed. and coached me in both volley ball and basket ball. It was before he stared the biathlon program. Before the program, only the army was concerned with biathlon.” 

Having not one, but two former biathlete Olympians – David Leony and Glenn Rubertus  – Dr. Garry’s influence on the community is as strong as ever. I had a chance to ask Glenn and David about the Nordic tradition in Camrose. 

“Camrose owes its Nordic skiing tradition to its Scandinavian heritage. Many Swedes and Norwegians settled here and brought with them cross country skiing. Now we have a prominent ski jumping, cross country, and biathlon program,” says David.  As such, representing their country in the sport of their home town makes both Glenn and David feel as though they “carry the town with [them] wherever [they] go.”