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Life on the Haig

Distant fires leave a thin veil of smoke upon the ethereal alpenglow, illuminating distant peaks with crimson bands of light.

Distant fires leave a thin veil of smoke upon the ethereal alpenglow, illuminating distant peaks with crimson bands of light. Cast in mysterious tones by the setting sun, the alpine sky turns alien, conjuring a purple prelude to an approaching overture from distant stars.

Around the glacier, 3,000 metre mountains named Jellicoe, Robertson, French and Sir Douglas protect the silent surface of the Haig. It’s late in the season and watermelon snow dapples the pink ground while a lone groomer carves five kilometres of track in the darkness, painting ribbons of white trail upon the ancient slab of snow and ice.

Northern winds whistle past three lonely aluminum domes 400 metres below the ski track, moaning constantly over the only evidence of human existence for 20 km.

Welcome to the Beckie Scott Training Centre.

A high-performance training facility perched in perfect isolation 2,400 m above sea level in Kananaskis Country, the idea for ‘The Haig’ germinated in 1986 after Nordic athletes began camping at the base of the glacier in search of snow.

In 1991, in the wake of the ’88 Olympics, the training centre was built, and now consists of three buildings that house 24 athletes a week, four months of the year. Such an unearthly site produces stratosphere-shattering athletes.

“The site was chosen because the Haig glacier is flat, has few crevasses and is relatively stable,” said Mike Norton, sport manager with the Bill Warren Training Centre. “There’s avalanche danger early in the year, but we haven’t had any problems with crevasses.”

One of a kind, it’s become a Mecca for most North American ski clubs in search of altitude and accessible snow, reducing the need for expensive camps in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s a favourite camp for many teams and the national cross-country ski and biathlon teams still ensure their top athletes get at least one chance a summer to experience the Haig. Others, like Rocky Mountain Racers, visit four times a year.

Isolation requires self-sufficiency, so propane and solar energy powers the electrical systems, as well as the one-of-a-kind groomer and toilet system.

“We use 15 500-pound propane tanks a year, but that usage has dropped since we installed new solar panels,” Norton said.

To reduce the amount of effluent flown out of the camp, human waste is burned in one-of-a-kind propane toilets and the men are encouraged to urinate outdoors (that policy had unforeseen consequences, and this year attracted a mountain goat in search of salt, following male skiers). A shower is also a fairly recent addition, however, hot water isn’t a guarantee.

“You weren’t expecting the Hilton, were you?” Norton said.

Water is collected from a nearby spring, but the system is far from foolproof. A -20C degree night in mid-September froze the pipes and the athletes had to haul buckets of water from a nearby pond three times a day. Drawing water straight from the glacier isn’t an option, Norton says.

“There isn’t a filtration system on the planet that could handle all of the sediment coming off the glacier,” Norton says.

Below the natural beauty of snow and ice, the camp is an organized chaos. The training centre can handle 24 athletes at a time, however, on this day double bookings mean 31 arrive for dinner. Every Monday, $2,000 worth of food and supplies for the week are flown in to feed the hungry teams. Massive boxes of fruit, energy bars, trail mix and Fig Newtons are used for snacks, while the rest of the meals accommodate the athlete’s vast array of tricky dietary needs. Staffers Joel Pacas and Darren Farley perform a head count. Worry creeps across their brow.

“We’re going to run out of food,” Farley mutters, a little too loudly.

Wi-Fi is a recent luxury and the accommodations are tidy, yet sparse. Broken skis from spectacular Haig crashes and faded athlete posters hang from the walls, while a pile of board games, old copies of Cosmo, an ancient tube television and VCR help end off boredom on chilly nights. A disc golf course weaves through the moon-like landscape, while hikes across the British Columbia border are accessible.

This week, the Canmore Nordic Ski Club is finishing a weeklong camp on the glacier. Teenagers bagged from a week at high altitude sprawl in front of the television, resting up before the jog out.

CNC head coach Alain Parent uses the camp as a reward for his team at the end of a summer.

“It’s a great goal for the kids at the end of the season and a good team building experience as well,” Parent said. “The snow is also the best we’ve had all year.”

Shortly after, three more teams trundle up the 17 km trail and arrive in time for dinner. Foothills Nordic Ski Club, the Cross Country Alberta ski team and a collection of American skiers arrive. Newcomers express wonder, while coaches banter about training plans and reminisce about how things have changed on the glacier.

Athletes pay about $120 a day, which includes a bed, three meals, snacks, and 18 kg of equipment each flown in by Alpine Helicopters. National teams fly in, while club teams jog the 17-km trail from Upper Kananaskis Lake to the Haig.

“The biggest expense is the chopper trips, and they go up several times a week,” Norton said.

After a first restless night (“It’s harder to sleep at this elevation,” Pacas says), the athletes hike 45 minutes up to the glacier. Pacas and Farley take turns grooming with the propane- powered Bombardier, once at 7 a.m. and again at 7 p.m. Alberta Parks forbids the use of liquid fuel, so propane is used.

Under the watchful eyes of their coaches, teams typically ski for two hours in the morning. Coupled with the hike up at elevation, it provides a good fitness test for athletes who will reap the benefits at lower altitude levels. The afternoon includes lunch and often a nap. The number of skiers who rave about naps at the glacier is uncanny.

“We come up here for the skiing, but also the camaraderie. It gets the kids away from distractions,” Parent said.

The route off the Haig descends through an unsanctioned trail to Turbine Canyon, through spectacular scenery out to Upper Kananaskis Lake and back to civilization. Stronger and faster thanks to the altitude boost, athletes scoot past Maude Lake, The Forks and the final shoreline slog; in their minds planning a return.


Rocky Mountain Outlook

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