Hollyburn Slush-O Wednesday Evening Training
April 23rd 2025 6:00pm - 8:00pm
This isn't your typical Wednesday Evening Training!
Commercial operations at Cypress have finished for the season, but
there's still plenty of snow up there. If you're comfortable travelling
in snowy terrain, join us for a romp around the winter wonderland!
This is not a beginner-friendly event. If you are new to orienteering,
we look forward to seeing you at one of our other Wednesday or Sunday events
instead.
Two courses will be offered:
- An on-trail course that is 3-6km, depending on whether you take a shortcut.
- You must stick to the ski trails and snowshoe trails - no off-trail shortcuts allowed! The snowshoe trails will not be marked, but should be visible due to the compacted snow.
- You are strongly recommended to wear either micros-spikes (Kahtoolas, Yak Trax etc) or snowshoes.
- You must carry a whistle and compass and know how to use them. We recommend carrying more of the 10 essentials too. Note that ski patrol will NOT be present, so you will be waiting a while for help if you have an incident. Large parts of the area have no cell service.
- An off-trail course that is ~6km
- You MUST have experience with travelling on snow to do this course.
- You must be familiar with winter hazards including tree wells and gulleys/trenches caused by streams under the snow. There are unmarked vertical drops of over 2m due to streams - you are unlikely to be able to self-rescue from these if you fall in! Most streams are not marked on the map.
- Lakes are marked on the map, but may not be visible on the ground. Coverage is very thin. Stay well clear!
- You are strongly recommended to wear either micros-spikes (Kahtoolas, Yak Trax etc) or snowshoes or touring skis. Tourers should only have to transition once, but I can't promise that the downhill will be very fun!
- You must carry a whistle and compass and know how to use them. We recommend carrying more of the 10 essentials too. Note that ski patrol will NOT be present, so you may be waiting a while for help if you have an incident. Large parts of the area have no cell service.
Check-in/check-out and map distribution will be by the Cypress nordic ticket office.
The map is based on the Hollyburn ski orienteering map, but I've added the approximate route of all the snowshoe trails. Ski trails are marked by solid green lines, snowshoes trails by dashed green lines.
Wednesday Evening Training
- What should I bring? Wear something comfortable that you don't mind getting a little dirty! If it's wet outside, you might want to consider a change of shoes and socks! A headlamp or flashlight and reflective clothing is critical in the winter months (late September to April). A compass is optional (we have extra ones for borrowing). For added safety, a whistle is mandatory for all GVOC events. Read more in the WET Introduction to Orienteering.
When should I sign up? Please sign up by Tuesday night so that we can print enough maps, although we have extra maps if you forget.
How much does it cost? All WETs are free with yearly membership.
Club membership: See details on the club home page. Please complete before your first event!