I was a latecomer to the Silver Hares. The photos of smiling faces that kept showing up really caught my interest. Last Fri. myself and a friend joined the group. It was a beautiful day as we set off with our hosts  John and Shirley. They did a great job of keeping us all organized. John made sure at every trail crossing that we were safe and aware. Shirley stayed at the back of the pack with the tortoises, myself and my friend. It was nice to feel that you could stop and catch your breath if needed. Everyone was very understanding and accommodating. We had a fun ski and shared some good laughs.

What a terrific program. Koodos to you, Pat, and your volunteers.

Thank you for creating Silver Hares and a fun website.  It has been wonderful to change things up quite a bitand ski more at Silver Star and Sovereign.  Thank you for providing the option to join Silver Hares on Wednesdays when parking is easier for those of us who live down the hill.

Of course, this would not have worked the way it did without many volunteer leaders. Though I’m not there every session by any means, I have appreciated skiing with Brian Wills (but then I’m biased!), Cyndy Flores, Mike Murphy, Jason Sieg, Euna Kang and Lance Crump.  I’m grateful for their leadership skills and routes, as well as never leaving anyone behind.

The season is not yet over but skiing with Silver Hares next winter will be on my calendar!

What a lovely experience to ski with John and Shirley on the lower runs! Here are some of my takeaways:

• I am very aware of safety issues on the mountain when crossing alpine runs I was so pleased to see that our leaders made good solid reminders to us to watch for people skiing in the trees and the intersections.
• I really appreciated the pacing of our ski today with plenty of stops to regroup, rest and drink water.
• I absolutely loved that when I asked, I got some great tips on how to be a better skiier.
• Although I didn’t join in at The Black Pine, it was obvious that everyone was enjoying themselves.

Thank you to all involved!!

What a great group of coaches!

I didn’t see John ,Karen’s husband, whom I had as a leader twice, both times on the upper trails. He was great, very positive, and listened well to what the group wanted (as did all the leaders).

Other leaders I had included Cindy Shaw — very funny, with a strong competitive streak, I suspect! — Danielle Auclair, and Mike Murphy. All wonderful. They kept tabs on the group very well, skiing back and forth as the group fell into several natural groupings. They all took time for a friendly, encouraging word. Other leaders that I have skied with in the past include Euna Kang, Norm Crerar, Sandy Cook and Deb Hunter. I would recommend any one of them in a heartbeat.

I would like to share my gratitude to the Silver Hares Leadership Team. They have gone above and beyond to create an inclusive welcoming community of cross country skiers where the goal is to socialize and enjoy the skiing.

To the particular leaders I have had the pleasure of skiing with this winter – Brian , Jason, Mike, Lance,  and Cyndy – a heartfelt thank you for your time and patience when leading a diverse group of skiers.

For myself, will definitely be joining Silver Hares next year and thanks again for all that you have done to make this program a success. 

Such a successful program and attracting such interest, attendance and enthusiasm in one short season.

I would like to recognize all the Silver Hare leaders for committing their time and effort and especially those leaders I’ve met and skied with personally this season, namely; Doug Geller, Gregg Cancade, Phil Shaw, Alex Kline and Cyndy Flores.

I skied with various leaders (Alex, Lance, John, Cyndy, Phil, Amy, Euna) over the past months. They were all excellent and I discovered some new routes and made new acquaintances. This was definitely a great way to spend Saturdays! Thank you, everyone!!

The Silver Hares XC group has been a welcome offering at Silverstar. It has introduced me to many like minded people who enjoy a social ski. It is community that sustains us and is so vital to our sense of being.

I didn’t get a chance to ski with the group this year… but I certainly saw them on the trails and in the village. A common and important trait was that they were friendly and courteous groups of skiers. I trust that will continue to be a trait of the Silver Hares in the future.

As I talked to the guests on tour with me, on a regular basis they commented how impressed they were about the community building that this created. Seeing so many Silver Hares groups on the trails, guests noticed how friendly they were and how happy they seemed to be out on the trails. Many guests noted it was one more great thing about Silver Star.

Keep up the great work

I do think all the leaders who have volunteered, including the ones I have not had the opportunity to ski with, are all wonderful humans to donate their time and energy to our Silver Hares community.

Brian Wills:

Always a fast ski with Brian on interesting routes.  His enthusiasm and love for skiing is infectious.

Cyndy Flores:

Has been instrumental in my quest to become a better skier.  She’s been with me from the beginning and I hope the progress she sees is really down to her. 

Jason Sieg:

A friendly and patient leader.  Always makes the ski a really fun experience.

Lance Crump:

I love skiing with Lance.  He has a great way of conveying how to improve your technique.  A few helpful hints have really made a difference in my skiing.  He has the patience of a Saint!

Karen Evans:

She is the master of positivity and joy.  Her endless enthusiasm is remarkable.  

I was nervous my first day skiing with the Silver Hares. My security “blanket”, consisting of the two Crerars, were not skiing that day. My ski buddy Karen A. convinces me to come. Pat is one of our leaders. So up the gondola, above the clouds, new snow -perfect conditions. We head down Lars Taylor and the terrain is steep. Too steep. I fall twice but Pat stays by my side guiding me and giving me confidence. Pat points out the soft snow makes an ideal cushion. Pat is so gentle and understanding. We eventuality catch up to our group and enjoy a great ski around Silver Star trails. It is a warm welcome into a great group. Now I am so proud to wear the Silver Hare head band.”

Thank you Pat and Cyndy for making it happen.

My “Harey Saturdays” so much fun and indeed today was rather harey/hairy given the ever changing snow  conditions! I’m a classic skier , of sorts , and I’ve  been fortunate to have been led by John , Norm and Martin and Lisa George, all of whom  have been champs in sharing their patience, kindness  and humour. Martin even spoilt me by taking my skis home for a Martin-wax, such that he felt sorry for my novice approach to x-country skiing! How kind is that ?

To you all, bouquets of heartfelt thanks. 

I would like to thank all of the volunteer leaders for the Silverhares.

They did an awesome job and were extremely well qualified and welcoming.

I really appreciated Shirley who is so patient and a good technique spotter.

Norm C also lead well he is such an awesome leader.

I think John K and Greg did an awesome job too

SilverHares are such a success in its first year!  I have loved being a part of it. I will wear my SilverHares toque with pride on the trails in Australia too 🙂

Also wanting to say a big thanks to Alex Klein, who was the leader of the group most times that I skied with SH (skate to upper trails).  Alex is an inclusive leader, who makes sure everyone is comfortable in the group.  I had a great time, we always skied plenty of trails but there was also plenty of time for chit-chat!

Hope we can join again next time we are at Silverstar!

Thanks so much for spearheading up Silver Hares.  Although I didn’t get out as much as I would have liked, I did enjoy doing a wonderful bluebird ski up the upper gondola to Alder Point with leader Mike Murphy. That day I also met a few folks and convinced them to go up to also. I said I was slow and they all thought you had to be fast to be part of this group. They ended up enjoying the day. Mike was an encouraging leader too.

I had another 2 days on the lower slopes and can’t remember who led one day another day it was Norm and we had a great ski.

Thanks again I do enjoy getting up to Silver Star to ski when I can.

Keep healthy and safe on these tricky conditions now

I have been out with 10+ leaders, skiing with the Silver Hares. They have all been courteous and aware of various skiiers abilities. No one has ever been made to feel they don’t fit in the group. For me, no one leader stands out, they have all been OUTSTANDING!!

Michael and I have really enjoyed our skis with the groups and the social gatherings afterwards. Everyone has been very welcoming and encouraging. We have enjoyed the company, learnt a lot both about the trail options and skiing and I (Lynwen) have been challenged and encouraged to do more than I thought I could and I have got fitter and improved my skiing while meeting new people and having a lot of fun.

The leaders have all been great at helping the groups choose wonderful sets of trails for each ski we joined.  Many of the trails or routes were new to us so that was a great experience. They have also been very encouraging and supportive of the whole group catering for individual needs and the needs of the group as a whole.

Our first session was classic on the lower trails with Karen and John P. John was wonderful at welcoming us as new skiers to the Silver Hares group and a lot of fun to ski with. We made the mistake of skiing a bit too fast on the way down the hill to the lower trails and ended up in the fast group. But that was actually great as it really challenged us and changed our misperception of classic track skiing as being an easy option. Karen was very enthusiastic and had us skiing up Corkscrew which was a new trail for us and an aerobic workout, but also a lot of fun. This made us realise we have a lot to learn about classic track skiing and made us want to become better. There were lots of a few tips along the way on how to get better and a lot of encouragement as my energy started to lag up the final hills back to the village. I haven’t had such a good workout in a long time and no longer think of classic skiing as the easy option.

Our second time with Silver Hares was classic on the upper trails with Mike. It was great to chat on the way up in the gondola and see the group decide on the way down from options with a new trail for us the Lars Taylor track down to Paradise. It was an exhilarating ski down and for us great to learn a new route as we have only skied down Paradise from the top. We discovered that Lars Taylor was another great option. Mike was just great at making sure there were different options for different people in the group and ensured no one got lost at the different junctions with other leaders helping. It was a lovely ski out to Alder Point and then back along Moose Alley. Mike and the other leaders and group members were always careful to ensure safety as we crossed downhill trails and Michael was there ensuring we all got back ok.

Our third trip out was classic skiing on the lower trails with Lance. It was a fun ski with fast snow on the downhill legs and lots of fun exploring some of our favourite trials with the group. The uphill was a bit harder for us with a bit less grip on our zero skis. As I was getting tired at the end, Lance had lots of great encouragement.

While we love skating and that is what we do most at home we had been avoiding joining the skate groups as I didn’t think I had the fitness or technique to skate with Silver Hares at this stage. With Cyndy’s encouragement we did join a skate group last week and while it was a challenge for me with the snow conditions, it was also wonderful to push myself hard with very supportive leaders and group to do more than I thought I could do. We had not skied to Sovereign Lake and back before so learning 2 new trails (Aberdeen and Gold Mountain) as well as a few new ones at Sovereign was wonderful. Cyndy and Jason were so supportive and determined that I could make it. I would have been happy to let the others go on and get back in my own time, but with lots of encouragement it was great to finish with the group and it was a very enjoyable ski with lots of great conversation along the way.

Also  thanks for organising Silver Hares – such a wonderful achievement to have such large numbers of people coming back each week and so many wonderful social occasions. The promotion of Nordic skiing and the online posts and photos are really good. It is lovely to see so many people enjoying this fantastic sport at a perfect location. Silver Hares really is a great success!!

Morrie and I feel very lucky to be able to join the Silver Hares near the end of the season.  We were led by Greg/Sandy, and yourself with Danielle.  Greg was an excellent leader and Sandy provided me with a very valuable safety tip for skiing downhill on my skinny skis.

And thanks to you and Danielle for a tour of the Silver Star trails with the gondola ride!

We had the BEST snow conditions we have skied all year and loved the sunshine and visits on the trails and after for coffee/lunch.

We are sad the skiing is ending and looking forward to next season.  Thank you for being so inclusive for us itinerant attendees!!

Lisa and Martin George went above and beyond the call of duty by opting to escort two of us who were a little (okay maybe alot) slower than others  on an adventure up to around some of the upper trails.  Was a magical morning.  Thank you!

John P inspired us to tackle TJ’s and Heartbeat and made many safety checks to ensure that our hearts were still beating.  Thank you!

Norm taught us history and groomer cues (who knew blue poles mark where the ski tracks stop and start?) on the upper trails and Leslie volunteered to guide those of us who splintered off to give Alder Point a go.  Thank you!

Thank you, Silver Hares Nordic group, and for informing and organizing us for so many fabulous ski dates and other activities.  Thank you!

It takes a community to support Mr and Mrs. Hare’s vision of the warren. So I would also like to thank all of the other leaders that helped out in guiding us around the Silver Star trails. What a great winter we had and I feel so lucky that we have this new Nordic group to ski with and socialize with. It was the best of times!