Manning Park Trip Report

Snowshoe Group
36 Ski Buddies traveled to Manning Park Lodge for the club’s first ever trip to Manning Provincial Park, BC, Canada. The drive through the BC Cascades and over Allison Pass gave us an idea of what awaited at Manning; the drama of the scenery got us excited for the days ahead. We arrived at Manning Park Resort in light snowfall on Thursday afternoon/evening. The resort is located at the 4,000 ft. level in a sheltered valley surrounded by Cascade Peaks. We settled in to our chalets and cabins, took a quick afternoon cross country ski and planned our adventure for the next day.
Manning Cabin: Snow the next morning on the cars in front of one cabin.

Friday morning broke partly sunny and several groups of Ski Buddies set out on different treks. Snowshoeing to the summit of a nearby peak, cross country skiing on the freshly groomed cross country trails, telemark skiing in and out of bounds at the Gibson Pass downhill ski area and hanging out at the lodge to enjoy the many amenities were just a few of the activities. My group cross country skied through fresh snow around beautiful Lightning Lake. The lake outlet was traversed by an old wooden “hikers only” suspension bridge. As we skied across the bridge I was in awe of the scenery and sharp, craggy, snow covered peaks glowing in the sunshine and set against a piercing blue sky. This combined with the quiet, frozen, snow covered lake below made for a magical spot.
Bear's Den Pub: Enjoying Happy Hour
Friday evening found the Ski Buddies group sharing tales of the day’s adventures at the Bear’s Den Pub. This pub is a great space with a large field stone fireplace, big BC timbers framing the room, a gaming area and a fine selection of local BC brews! After a few libations and some exciting tales, the group headed back to potluck dinners in the chalets and cabins. The evening ended with a trip to the Manning Park Resort aquatic center which offers a large indoor pool, two hot tubs, sauna, steam room and health club. Many of the trip members remarked that they were very impressed by the quality of the aquatic facility.

Ski Hill
WOW!! Saturday morning greeted us with new snow and a lot of it! Off we went, into the storm, on new snowbound excursions. One group of Ski Buddies went to the Gibson Pass ski area and enjoyed a day of boarding, downhill and telemark skiing in all that new snow. The Gibson Pass ski area is a delight to ski and ride; no crowds and fun terrain. Another group of Ski Buddies braved the storm and did an adventurous snowshoe trek that started from the top of the ski area, headed out a long ridge and ended on a remote peak. From all accounts this was an exceptional day of snowsports fun!

Saturday Happy Hour

On Saturday evening the group met for dinner at the main dining room at the lodge – the Pinewoods Restaurant. Stories of the day were traded over hearty food and drink. After dinner an event unfolded that, as far as I know, was the first of its kind in the history of the Ski Buddies club. Many Ski Buddies rented ice skates and hockey gear and proceeded to organize a hockey game at the lighted outdoor hockey/ice rink, a facility that is a signature of Manning Park Lodge. Those that did not skate cheered on the players by the warmth of a fire that was burning next to the rink. The ensuing hockey game (if you can call it that!) was a ball. Dang – some of those women can skate!!! Personally, I forgot how much fun hockey can be and how physically exhausting it is. The event was punctuated by the fact that it was snowing heavily at the time. The scene that was created - all that snow coming down on the rink (magnified by the rink flood lights), a warm fire burning and all the Ski Buddies enjoying themselves in the winter wonderland of that night is an image I will not soon forget. I have no idea what the score of the game was or which team won, all I know is that a great time was had by all.

On Sunday, the last day of the Manning Park Trip, some of the Ski Buddies decided to get a jump on the drive home and left in the morning. Other members of the group decided to get in one more morning of outdoor fun before hitting the road. The previous day’s storm cleared out and my partner and I decided to head back to the Gibson Pass Ski Area. When we reached the summit for our first run we were treated to one of the finest views that I have seen from a ski area. The North Cascades mountain range spread out before us and the sharp, serrated, Matterhorn-like peaks of Mt. Hozomeen were front and center. It was an awesome sight! We spent the morning enjoying the fun terrain and spectacular scenery.
X Country Ski in powder!
Manning Park Resort and Manning Provincial Park are true gems. We have received so much positive feedback about the trip that we have already booked for next year. Come and experience this great place for yourself. The Manning Park trip will take place January 9-13, 2009 so mark your calendars and sign up at the potlucks in the fall.

Craig Mabie – trip co-coordinator