A snowy discovery

Could this be the long lost grave of Dagger Jim?

SNOW CONTROL

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A tip of the hat to all the Sled Dogs who have been on-site at The Lake over the past week in making this happen. Once again the hard work pays off with a passing grade from the FIS - great job!

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The next five days stand to be a challenge for the crew as Mother Nature is throwing more snow and arctic like temperatures at the track. Get out there and lend a hand this weekend.

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WE'RE ROLLING

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Saturday marked Day One on snow for the 2010 Winterstart World Cup as Darrell, Jim, Mike, Craig and Dan made the trek to Lake Louise to check in on snowmaking, cats and all the great work of The Net Monkeys.

While things may look a little rough around the edges snow wise things are progressing well so far. The shots from the webcams may look sparse but one has to remember that it is only November 8th. As Darrell so aptly put Saturday morning, "I have been standing on grass more than a few times on the same date."

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Craig, Jim and Darrell - givin' their best Don Cherry

After a brief meeting in The Jury Room with Doug Savage The Team loaded up The Glacier Chair at 9am in there best Saskatchewan Ski outfits. Following a hike up to Platter Base The Crew successfully skied down to the Top of Fallaway!

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Of note, The Resort opened Glacier Chair and the Wiwaxy 500 on Friday morning. It is just 4 widths wide in a couple of places!

Upper Wiwaxy

Dan surveys Fish Net

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The long range forecast for the next two weeks calls for daytime highs hovering just below the freezing mark and lows in the -7°C range. With Randy and the Crew having all A Nets hanging and the weather looking good the arrival of the first volunteers this weekend is perfect timing. See you there!

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Meeting of the minds at Net 2B: Mark, Jim, Dan, Mike, Darrell

Award Winner

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Stephen Brunt of The Globe and Mail put this video essay together as The Olympics drew to a close in February.

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On November 4th, Brunt along with TSN producer Matt Dunn won The Gemini Award for Best Sports Feature Segment for the four-minute piece that aired on The Olympic Consortium of networks.

Winterstart Presser

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Alpine Canada, Bombardier and The Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup Race Organizing Committee invite you to the annual Winterstart World Cup Press Conference, Tuesday November 9th at Flames Central in Calgary. Come join friends and family and meet the 2011 Canadian Alpine Ski Team over lunch and a libation.

NEW GEAR

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The 2010 Sled Dog Gear design is here. Available in "Dodger Blue" three options are available to you.
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SHORT SLEEVE: $20 ● LONG SLEEVE: $30 ● HOODY: $50

Pieces are 100% pre-shrunk cotton; t-shirts are tagless, flat collar design. Sizes available are:

S: 34-36 ● M: 38-40 ● L: 42-44 ● XL: 46-48 ● XXL: 50-52 ● XXXL: 54-56

To ensure delivery by World Cup all orders must be received by 5pm MST, Wednesday, November 10th. Payments can be made via Interac Email Money Transfers to thesleddogs@telus.net.

Interac Email Money Transfers are a simple, convenient, and secure way to send and receive money directly from one bank account to another. All you need is access to online banking through a participating financial institution, and you can send money to anyone with an email address and a bank account in Canada — without sharing any personal or financial information. It's a great alternative to cheques and cash. For a list of those who offer this service visit http://www.interac.ca/consumers/productsandservices_ol_emt_list.php

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Globe and Mail Columns

The Globe and Mail's Stephen Brunt posted this column on October 27th after members of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team visited Toronto. Read his post at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/stephen-brunt/spotlight-shrinks-for-winter-athletes/article1773881/

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James Christie on John Kucera's return at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/kucera-in-top-shape/article1773999/

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Manny on FAN 590

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Canadian Cowboy Manuel Osborne-Paradis appeared with Bob McCown and Stephen Brunt on Prime Time Sports this past Tuesday while on tour in Toronto. Check out his interview and hear his appreciation for the Lake Louise Crew by clicking on the link below.

http://www.fan590.com/ondemand/media.jsp?content=20101026_174734_10152

30 Days until Racer 1

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Winter has arrived and snowmaking is underway at Lake Louise. Checkout the webcam at www.skilouise.com to see how things are progressing; as you can see Fallaway and the top of Gunbarrel are starting to fill in.

Upcoming events and information for your attention this last Wednesday of October:

BANFF SKI SWAP

The Banff Alpine Racers and Bow Valley Quikies host part two of their annual Ski Swap this Saturday at Mount Norquay in Banff.

This is your last chance to find great deals on “new” boards for the race track. Retailers from across Southern Alberta will again be on-site with new and demo product at blowout prices as well as race and rec’ gear from all walks of the ski community. It is a great place to pick-up race skis at a cheap price.

For those with gear to sell, consignment takes place Friday evening and Saturday morning. Skis, boots, helmets, poles, clothes and other winter sport equipment are welcome. $1 is charged for each item consigned. The Clubs retain 20% of the sale price, which you set, and you keep the rest.

Mount Norquay Day Lodge

Sale: October 30th, 2 pm to 9 pm

*** Early Bird Sale: 1 pm to 2 pm ***

Consignment: Friday 5 to 9; Saturday 9 to Noon

*** Early Bird tickets are available for sale Saturday morning during Consignment. Tickets are limited to 100 at cost of $10 per person and allow you in the door 1 hour before the sale opens to the public.

THE DOG HOUSE

So far - awesome! That said The Dog House at Camp Canada still needs support. The “Dog’s Best Friend” program, an effort to take care (feed and wine) of ourselves, has sponsorship spots available. Please contact Craig via thesleddogs@telus.net to help your fellow Sled Dogs!

Who: Anyone – why not you?
What: Be a “Dog’s Best Friend”
Where: Camp Canada
When: 6pm nightly
Why: For the love of a Dog!
How: $100 per evening

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Johnny Ford, Sue and Tara: they have some help, but need more!

PAW PRINTS

The 2010 version has been delayed at the “editors” thus the 2009 edition of Paw Prints will be sent to all new volunteers in the next 24 hours. Of note are the changes to pages 12 and 13 - Event Schedules:

● November 13/14: 1st Day for Volunteers, Build Weekend/ FIS Snow Control
● November 20: Build Weekend – THE BIG ONE!
● November 24: 1st Men’s Training Run
● November 27/28: Men’s Downhill/Men’s Super-G and Ladies’ Crossover
● November 30: 1st Ladies’ Training Run
● December 3/4: 1st and 2nd Ladies’ Downhill Races
● December 5 : Ladies’ Super-G and NorAm Crossover

BUILD WEEKENDS

The Sled Dogs are responsible for the Men's, Ladies’ and NorAm events at Lake Louise which run concurrently until mid-December; this includes building, maintaining and tearing down the race hill. Building the course is no small task – your help is needed. Many hands truly make less work!

All local crew, those within driving distance including the likes of Calgary, Edmonton, Kimberly etc, are asked to help out on at least one of the November 13/14 or 20/21 weekends with the preference being the latter.

As the website is now closed to changes please contact Craig, Mike or Julie to arrange participation if you have not already committed to help out.

DUSTIN - given 'er!

SKI CARDS

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Looking for the deals on skiing in and around The Rockies this winter? Here's the latest pricing released by local operators. Of note, Lake Louise has partnered with Kicking Horse and Castle Mountain for 2010/2011.

Louise (Kicking Horse/Castle): 2 days free, $50/day each after at all 3 resorts - $99.00
Sunshine (Marmot): 1st, 4th, 7th free, $13 discount at each - $79.95
Panorama: 4 days free, $15 discount after, Christmas & Family Day blackouts - $134.00
Nakiska (Fernie/Kimberly): 1 day at Nakiska; $10 discount @ NAK, $8 @ FSV & KIM - $39.95
Fernie (Kimberly/Nakiska): 1st, 4th, 7th free, $13 discount at FSV & KIM, $8 @ NAK - $74.95

Louise/Kicking Horse/Castle: http://www.skilouise.com/louise_cards.php
Sunshine/Marmot: http://store.skibanff.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1011SMC
Panorama: http://www.skipanorama.com/snowcard
Fernie/Kimerly/Nakiska: http://www.skircr.com/loyalty_cards/index.asp

Daily Prices

Louise: $76.00 ● Kicking Horse: $73.00 ● Castle: $64.00
Sunshine: $76.00 ● Marmot: $74.00 ● Panorama: $72.00
Nakiska: $66.00 ● Kimberly: $60.00 ● Fernie: $76.00

LET IT SNOW!

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Mother Nature delivered some last Friday and so did Tony and the Crew.

http://jetvision.tv/video.aspx?playerID=30&videoID=&tabName=&categoryName=
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FINALLY A NEW POST!

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CANMORE SKI SWAP

The Banff Alpine Racers and Bow Valley Quikies are hosting their annual Ski Swap this Saturday in Canmore.

The Swap is a great place to pick up a new pair of boards for the race track, gear for family members who seem not to stop growing and to find some great deals on clothing. Retailers from across Southern Alberta will be there with new product at blowout prices as well as race and rec’ gear from all walks of the ski community – no straight skis or rear entry boots though!

For those with gear to sell, consignment takes place Friday evening and Saturday morning. Skis, boots, helmets, poles, clothes and other winter sport equipment are welcome. $1 is charged for each item consigned. The Clubs retain 20% of the sale price, which you set, and you keep the rest.

710 Main Street (the old SAAN store)

Sale: October 16th, 2 pm to 9 pm

*** Early Bird Sale: 1 pm to 2 pm ***

Consignment: Friday 5 to 9; Saturday 9 to 12

*** Early Bird tickets are available for sale Saturday morning during Consignment. Tickets are limited to 100 at cost of $10 per person and allow you in the door 1 hour before the sale opens to the public.

Can’t make it this weekend, don’t worry! The Clubs does it all over again in two weeks time at Banff Mount Norquay – more details to follow.

SLED DOG SCHWAG – COMING SOON

2010 Sled Dog clothing is in the final stages of design. Keep an eye on The Sled Dog Blog for this year’s t-shirts and hoodies.

VOLLEY KICKOFF

Our friends at Willow Park Wines and Spirits are graciously hosting an evening in our honour at their flagship store again this year.

Tuesday, October 26th, 5:30 pm - 10801 Bonaventure Drive SE

Thanks to Peggy Perry and Wayne Huneset for their continuing support of the Sled Dogs!

THE DOG HOUSE

It’s back! After a tremendously successful first year the “Dog’s Best Friend” program returns in an effort to take care of ourselves.

The goal: to enhance and improve the experience at The Dog House at Camp Canada using funds raised by “Dog’s Best Friend” for non-sponsored items, specifically après snacks and wine.

Lisa, Carleigh, Paul, Kelly, Wayne, Mai and Super Dave: they need your help – a lot!

Who: Anyone – maybe you!
What: Be a “Dog’s Best Friend”
Where: Lake Louise Inn - Camp Canada
When: Evenings available over the entire event
Why: Support of your fellow Sled Dogs
How: $100 per evening

Contributions can be arranged by contacting Craig via thesleddogs@telus.net

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Website Patch

There is an incompatibility between the registration web page and Internet Explorer - Version 8. Simply apply the patch as prescribed below and the functionality of the “Create New Account” button will restored. The process is found "Tools" in the menu bar.

Dog Day Afternoon

Stampede is just nine days away, the Dog Day Afternoon a mere sixteen!

Response has been strong with 30+ people having signed up to experience “How the West is Fun.” Do you have your ticket yet?

If not, rest easy as our friends at Stampede have extended the date to order this great package. If you are planning on attending you must forward your RSVP to yours truly by next Wednesday, July 7th.

To those who have already committed please forward payment via INTERAC via your on-line banking service as soon as possible. All orders must be paid for in advance of the event; pick up rendezvous TBA.

Thanks from Manny