The Snow Princess...

Okay, so typically I only write about the adventures that I revolve around triathlon. The odd time though, I’m lucky enough to have an adventure outside of those activities – and today was one of those times!
It all started out with me driving to a wee mountain town in BC to visit my friend, whom I affectionately call ‘The Mountain Mountie’, herewith in referred to as ‘MM’. As soon as I got into the mountains I knew I was in my happy place – there was SO much friggin snow it was INSANE! Oh, and, it wasn’t bitterly cold. Yay! Snoopy happy snow dance time!

One half of the adventure was to involve a snowmobile. Now would probably be a good time to confess something – I’ve never been a fan of motorized sports. I thought if you aren’t being powered by your own body to go fast…then you aren’t working out; therefore it’s not a sport! Yes, I’m a fitness snob. So sue me, haha. Remember this statement as you read on though….

So we got all suited up – many layers of clothing, large helmets (okay, large on my pea sized brain!), and goggles. MM climbed on and I followed suit. Oh, did I mention I’d never been on one of these friggin things before?? So had NO idea what to expect. Actually, that’s not true. I expected a nice, calm leisurely ride up a mountain. Oh how wrong I was….LOL.

As soon as MM hit the throttle I was like ‘Whoa Nelly – this steed has power!’ (Oh, and he barely opened the throttle I should note, haha.) That is when my grip on MM’s jacket tightened a bit more…and my heart rate started to creep up.

As we began to climb he had to hit the throttle even more. Therefore, my grip on him tightened – pretty much in proportion to how much faster we were going, haha. Then we hit a few bumps. Oh, oh, oh! My arse was being bounced off the seat! My athlete prowess then kicked in. (Okay, you can stop laughing at that statement now!) I figured in order to stay on this damn machine I would have to hold on for dear life to MM. This meant my grip on his jacket became viselike, and I also decided I’d need to use my legs, so I pressed my knees against his legs. I also kept reminding myself ‘Engage your core!!’. Haha. I’m such a spazz! I can only imagine what it must have been like for MM to try and drive with me being a cling on!!

Every once in a while I’d have to wipe my goggle lenses off…which meant letting go with one hand. Gulp. It was worth it though, the scenery was absolutely stunning! All the trees from top to bottom were covered in ice and snow. It was like being in the adventures of Narnia! The only time I wished my goggles were covered in snow was when the trail was on the edge of the mountain. I have a wee fear of heights, you see, so I’d quickly shut my eyes till we passed it.

I’m not sure how long it took us to get to where the cabin was, but by then my legs and arms were pretty tired, haha. I have no idea what my biceps were doing but I felt like I’d done 10 sets of curls. Yes, I’m a wimp!

We stopped at the cabin for a while so MM could play in the snow with the sled. It looked like a blast. Who knew you could maneuver those things like that?? There were a few guys out there. One got stuck in a creek bed that was covered with snow. MM and others helped him get out, then he promptly got stuck in the same creek bed a bit farther up. OOPS! LOL.

We then took the sled a bit farther up, parked it and strapped on the snowshoes. I want to take this moment to thank MM profusely for breaking trail. He is 6’2” and even with snow shoes on the snow was up to his mid thigh! Had I been the one trying to break trail all you would have seen of me would be my purple dragon toque peeking out of the snow. LOL.

We made our way to a little clearing in between the trees. MM pressed down a little patch where we could put our packs and then we sat in the snow. It was awesome, I kicked back in my little snow recliner and felt like a winter Al Bundy. I refrained from the hand down the pants thing though….too much snow on me mitts, brrrrrr, LOL.

We enjoyed a little lunch there and just chilled. Kind of literally as after a while one’s arse tends too cool down, haha.

After lunch we wandered around for a bit with the snowshoes, then MM had a bit of fun on the sled while I made my way back to the cabin. I loved every minute of being up there. I don’t think I can describe how amazing it was to be there surrounded by all that snowy beauty. I love moments in life like that!

Soon enough it was time to head back down the mountain, and this is where the real adventure began, haha. MM wanted to take me down the mountain on a different route so I could snap some pics for me Mum. You see, this trait of loving snow was passed down from her. I knew she’d love seeing how much snow was there so wanted to get some good shots.

A good thought for sure, but a bad idea it turned out, as this particular trail was used very frequently and so was basically like a washboard ALL the way down! IT WAS INSANE!!! You know how I stated I was clinging on to MM on the way up?? Well on the way down I had him in a Vulcan death grip, LOL. I have NO idea how the man managed to get us down the mountain safely. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!!) First off I was friggin bouncing all over the place. Thankfully the sled had an amazing cushion or my spine would be sticking out the top of my back right now.

It was everything I could do to hold on. With one bounce half my arse was hanging off the seat. While that cheek was off the seat, the other cheek had a death grip on the cushion so I didn’t go right off. Haha. It was like my arse muscles formed a little hand that was hanging on for dear life! LOL. I would wait for a bounce where I could push up with my legs to get both cheeks back on the seat. This would last a milli second till the next bounce and I was half off again. It was hilarious!

Oh, and did I mention how many times my helmet smucked into the back of MMs??? It’s a wonder he didn’t end up with a concussion! I should add that my teeth and nose were happy that I was wearing a helmet too, haha. Of course the whole time this was going on I was giggling because of how funny the situation was. Perhaps I should have warned MM that if he was going to take me on this little trip that SOMETHING would likely happen. I am afterall, the Princess of Adventure, LOL.

We did get some great shots for Mum though. So I think it was worth it. My body on the other hand isn’t so sure. By the time we’d gotten to the bottom I felt like I’d done a few full body workouts in the gym. So sad…so very very sad. Haha. And I thought I was an athlete! So much for my theory about not getting a workout on a snowmobile!!

It was a great day and one that I will remember for a long time – even the bumps were well worth it!