During a strategic planning session at my work recently, someone mentioned that we should all head to the ski hill for a staff ski day for an opportunity to spend more quality time together. We have staff spread out all over Vancouver Island and it makes it difficult to connect in person a lot.
When we do get together, it's typically for a full-day workshop or larger meetings, although there are fun and more casual events as well. But nothing like a day at Mount Washington Alpine Resort where folks could ski, snowboard, snowshoe or walk around the resort. There were no rules, as long as you came if you were able.
It was my first time going there and I decided that snowshoeing would be my best bet as last time I snowboarded, I hurt my tailbone badly and have stayed away ever since. Skiing was also out of the question as I hadn't skied in well over 20 years and my last experience was not necessarily positive so I crossed that option off my list and decided to snowshoe.
A co-worker joined me and it was super casual, slow-paced and quite enjoyable. Minus the fact that my snowshoes are uncomfortable to me so I decided to take them off part way. Besides, the trails were basically snow-packed so I could very easily just walk in my boots. We ended up clocking almost 8km out in the forested snowy trails and it reminded me how much I loved the snow. I do not miss it though as we do get snow a couple of times a year anyway but if I do want more, deep snow, then I know where to find it: Mount Washington Alpine Resort. The trails provided lovely scenery along the way (even the ones that we accidentally ended up on that were no longer marked) and it made for a serene experience and the best way to spend a day outside of the office.
After our trek, we went for lunch and a beer and then joined up with other co-workers at the main lodge nearby the tubing where we were to gather as a group for an hour of staff tubing time. Tubing was a hoot. I hadn't gone tubing in even longer than I have gone skiing so you can imagine that I giggled a lot. We couldn't connect all together to go down because the hill was too fast and I'll tell ya, it was fast but it was also the perfect speed for me.
Overall, my first trip here was a great experience and I will likely return again sometime with my family for some tubing, and maybe some ski lessons.
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