At the end of Saturday, the lodge was full of telemarkers, skiers and snowboarders with rosy red cheeks and the continuous babble of hundreds of conversations that made the lodge feel like a living room, which is exactly the feeling Dougal Hines, the organizer of Troll Telefest, was looking for.
“The whole idea is just to have fun,” he said.
“People bring their kids. You got grandmas and grandpas here, the whole range of folks from the community, and that’s what I think makes it so sweet.”
Just over 50 people, from all over the Central Interior, were at the hill to take part in Telefest.
Though there were out-of-towners hitting the slopes at Telefest, Hines was proud of the depth of local talent that was on display, from the organizers to the bands to the toque, which was made in Cranbrook, participants recceived in lieu of a ticket.
“It’s homegrown, grass roots. We’re not Whistler, we don’t want to be. This is a small family run hill,” he said
For most participants the day ended in the lodge with beverages, a delicious supper and great music, but it began with bright sunshine bouncing off soft, forgiving snow, which was important for everyone who was learning how to telemark.
Down below, John Courtney, from Rocky Peak Adventure gear was residing in the future, demoing next years futuristic skis to anyone who stopped by.
After thee neophytes took their morning of lessons and everyone had lunch at the lodge, the professionals had their chance to shine in the race.
Skiers took the ski cross track at an alarming rate, loose-heeled as they were, riding up into the banking and catching air off the jump, before being spit out onto a wide open run, where they picked up even more speed.
At the bottom things slowed down, with an uphill ski-skate and a search for an avalanche beacon capped off the race.
The race, which Hines called a work in progress, hit some bumps as people pilled up at the bottom and race staff had to fend them off to keep them from seeing the placement of the beacons.
The race, though, settled little, done as it was with the only the beacon search timed, but accomplished its main goal by putting a smile on contestants faces.
It also served to increase avalanche awareness, the single serious part of the event.
After the skiing was done, the fun continued with Joey Only headlining the après ski and a delicious meal from the lodge staff.
The organizers also drew names and gave out all manner of door prizes, from beer mugs to an arc’teryx coat.
Though there were a couple bumps, Hines was happy with the event
Next year he hopes to grow the event and see it flourish here in the Cariboo. And he’s got some tricks up his sleeve to see that it will.
