Back Country Adventure
By Emily (age 10)
On February 22 ,2014 our family went on a back country ski trip. We travelled to Lake Louise, which is nestled in the Rocky Mountains to stay at Mosquito creek hostel. this adventure had me feeling nervous and excited. Nervous because there were no indoor bathrooms, excited because I was getting to spend the weekend with my friends. The walk to the hostel was breath taking, for you could see the mountains all around you. It turned out my nervousness was unnecessary, as the outhouses were actually little wooden structures, not the blue plastic kind, and they were surprisingly nice. When we arrived to our cabin we were greeted by happy faces and our beds were all made up for us. The main cabin had a common room , which had a very welcoming fireplace. The fire made the common room cozy and warm, which made it the perfect spot to play games.
My favourite part of the trip was skiing through the glorious forest at Pipestone with my good friends by my side. The best loved part of the Pipestone ski was the downhills at the end of the day. I felt like an olympian racing down a mountain. I had a wonderful time on this get away, and if anyone were to ask me if they should go on a back country ski adventure I would reply, “Go for it!!!!’
Track Attack Backcountry Trip
By Tyson (age 6)
I got two blisters from going up a mountain. We kept putting snow on us in the sauna. I drank half a bottle of hot chocolate. I liked that after the sauna we got two kinds of cake. I liked that skiing was good exercise for my muscles.
Going to Mosquito Creek
Sydney (age 8)
February 21-23, 2014
I loved the delicious fruit salad and yogurt because it was winter and strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries are out of season but there were also bananas. I went up a mountain that was 6 km, 3 up and 3 down. Going down was really fun! And playing games with my new friends. We also, at night rolled in the snow and then went in the sauna and did this over and over again.
A Beautiful Weekend
Jessa (age 10)
Feb. 24, 2014
I really enjoyed going to Mosquito Creek and being around lots of nice people. My best friend Emily was there and every morning she would crawl into my bed and play and talk with me. I got to sleep in the girls cabin with my sister, my mom, Emily, and some other good friends from skiing. A few people snored in the girls cabin, but I made it through the night anyway. In the morning after we got dressed and ready for the day, we would all go inside the commons room and play games by the fire place. In the kitchen, most of the parents would be making breakfast. After breakfast was done we all had to wash our own dishes and pack our own lunch. Then we would pack up and go skiing, we went skiing about seven or eight kilometers watch day. There was also a sauna. After dinner, the last night we stayed there, we all got our bathing suits on and went into the sauna. We ran back, and forth, from out the sauna we would jump in to the snow, jump back up and run back in screaming and pushing to get back in the warm sauna. Then we would go back in side, get changed, and play a few more games before bed. We went to bed at about ten o’clockeach night. Mrs. Kelly got all the stuff ready for us and organized it so it could happen. Ms. Breana works at Valhalla Pure and went skiing with us also. It was so fun and beautiful in the mountains and I hope we could do it again.
Mosquito Creek Hostel
By Ethan (age 12)
It was a great weekend at Mosquito Creek Hostel. We played lots of fun games like Spoons, Slap Jack, and Were Wolf, as well as some other games like Cops and Robbers and Home Free. We skied up a valley and then back down. After that, we got on our bathing suits and hopped in the sauna. After we got warm enough, we went outside and rolled in the snow. We had lots of competitions to see who could stay out the longest. When we were done, we went inside, changed and had some cake and ice cream. We went skiing again the next day too. We were all sad when we had to go and we all want to do it again soon!
Back Country Ski Trip!
By Anika (age 13)
Our family packed up the van and headed off on our ski adventure We travelled three hours from Red Deer to a little hostel called Mosquito Creek just outside of Lake Louise.
A short trudge from the parking lot through the trees brought us to the hostel surrounded by nature and Mountains. The hostel was divided into three little wooden cabins, which held the kitchen, common room, sleeping quarters and my favourite the Sauna. The Hostel had no electricity, but it did have solar powered lights . There was no running water, so you had to walk to the creek and chop a hole through the ice to collect water in a bucket , which we then brought in to boil. There are propane stoves, which allowed us to enjoy hearty cooked meals and hot chocolate. I helped to start the fire in the wood stove , which warmed the common area right up. At Mosquito Creek they only had outhouses, which caused me some concern. I imagined the little plastic stinky outhouses, but they were little wooden buildings. They really weren’t terrible,and they never smelled because it was always cold at night.
The food served was delicious and nutritious. We helped with meal preparation, everyone taking a turn. We made our own lunches which we packed for our break on the ski trail. ( a little tip – to prevent cold fingers pack mini mitts which you can wear while you eat)
Skiing in Mosquito Creek was a true back country experience. We set our own tracks through narrow paths and skied through the trees up the Mountain, I imagined I was David Thompson exploring the world!
Pipestone was very spectacular, nature and mountains surrounded us, while birds flew over us. The trails were groomed, which was handy because we didn’t get lost. Kelly taught us how to read the maps posted around the area. The weather felt mild and the sun filled us with heat . My favourite part of skiing at Pipestone would be the entertaining hills at the end. I was exhilarated as I raced down the hills.
Thank you so much Kelly for the awesome adventure can’t wait for the next one!