Outdoor Spirit Group

A Fine Madness

daveoldgoat

One Calgarians' pursuit of year round skiing, is his personal passion and his friends describe his passion as; a fine madness. How does a fellow born in Speedy Creek Saskatchewan that spent his formative years with family and an agricultural academic father in Kenya, develop a passion for telemark skiing? He relocates to Calgary in his early adult years to study computer science.

Dave Hurd is a humble soul and wouldn't dream of banging his own drum, so it falls to his friends to celebrate his ongoing and most unique pursuit; to ski one day a month, every month of the year.

His first streak of year round skiing started in 1985 and it ended after 24 months on August 13, 1987 when Dave jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, fracturing his ankle. Streak one ends.

Streak two of year round skiing commenced a scant 3 months after the ankle fracture and carry's on continuously up to the present month (August 2008). Currently Dave's streak is at 250 months - almost 21 years of skiing one day a month, every month of the year!

In the winter the streak is easy to keep alive. The ski areas in Alberta and BC provide the luxury of lift access turns. As avid backcountry ski touring aficionados, Dave and his pals make regular winter sojourns into Kananaskis Country, our National Parks and the powder fields of British Columbia.

It's the summer and fall months where the streak becomes a truly fine madness. Sometimes solo and often with partners, Dave heads out to the snowfields and the remaining receding glaciers to maintain the streak. With skis strapped to backpack, he hikes to reach the snow, attaches his climbing skins to skis and ascends far enough to satisfy his need for gravity assisted tele turns back down. His favourite summer ski haunt is the Rae Glacier in Kananaskis. Affectionately dubbed 'Addiction' the Rae glacier is the easiest to access permanent snow, within striking distance of Calgary. The Rae glacier in the spring (when the Kananaskis #40 highway opens on June 15th each year) often has superb conditions, with the remaining winter snow pack in evidence. Later in the summer and fall the Rae is mostly dirty blue ice, interspersed with rocky bits that have fallen from on high and meagre snow patches. No matter, Dave finds enough snow to qualify as a day out skiing.

His canine friend and erstwhile companion for the past 8 years (Mica the mixed breed) accompanies Dave on ski tours. Mica is well known to Alberta Conservation Officers, having lightened Dave's wallet on a few occasions for being off-leash.

Always a telemark skier, his long time Fernie friends labelled him 'Tele-Dave' and the title is fitting. We don't think Dave would know what a heal piece isJ

Dave in the powder

So here's to a worthy streak and one mans Fine Madness; year round skiing one day a month, every month for 250 months' ...and counting.

Cheers Dave!

From your family, your fellow tele ski enthusiasts and partners in hedonism.