a delicate three-some
The Rule of Three
Cross Country Skiing
Omne Trium Perfectum
Everything that comes in threes is perfect.
We didn’t realize we were following The Rule of Three. One never knows this ahead of time. It’s a writing rule that loosely parallels a visual art concept, the rule of thirds. The three rule creates tension.
Once it’s resolved, the lasting effect is funny, effective and satisfying. ‘The Three Bears’, ‘The Three Pigs’ and ‘Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman and Tim Conway’ all follow the rule.
We weren’t expecting how this would unfold on an Olympics Family-Day long weekend of cross country skiing.
Vancouver Skiers forged a path to the Kelowna and Telemark Nordic Ski Clubs.
Leaving the Lower Mainland’s rush hour and arriving at the Kelowna Motor Inn by eleven thirty, we crashed early then laid down an energy layer of self-serve oatmeal, toast, bagels, coffee/tea, yogurts, and apples both mornings.
Rule Number One: McCulloch Lake home of the Kelowna Nordics (35 km east of Kelowna on Hwy 33)
We were cross country skiing by ten thirty. We explored some of the 75 kilometers of groomed and track-set, classic and skate- compatible trails (another 75km are snowshoe trails). Snowshoe director, Rick Gee, invites club members to try out the McCulloch Lake trails next year.
Under gorgeous sunny skies, -10 Celsius, we glide by Saw Mill, Log Cabin Loop, Ernie’s Lane, Beaver Run, Upper Meadow and Riverside before or after lunch.
The lower chalet birdfeeders lined the windows, and many chickadees (Black-capped, Boreal and Mountain), Nuthatch and a female Downy Woodpecker, nibbled on 50-50 peanut butter/lard mixture, rolled then stuffed into hollowed-out-log feeders according to a friendly club volunteer. The upper cabin was a great stopover with wood stove crackling, and we, like the birds, chattered and nibbled while studying maps or snapping photos.
Back for a 5:30pm Happy Hour, we carried on in that manner. Trip leader, Lisa Peter’s #1 best law firm in the world ie Olympics compliant, Lawson Lundell, supplied fun prizes. By then we’d heard our first bronze medal winner, Mark McMorris in Snowboard Slopestyle, reiterate how lucky we were to be doing the sport we love. With a twelve-hour time difference between us and Sochi, we still celebrated with the Dufour-Lapointe sisters, Justine and Chloe, in their Mogul’s gold/silver at Sochi’s Olympics.
We chose dinner favourites with either energy or dietary parameters in mind: The Spaghetti Factory (five blocks away), ABC Family Restaurant (across the street), in-house Mekong Chinese, in-room pizza, or Thai/Vietnamese choices, just a quick cab-ride downtown.
Rule Number Two: Telemark Nordic Club Trails on Kelowna’s West Side
(960-1220 meters elevation)
Telemark is named after a Norwegian county where the history of Nordic skiing dates back 2000 years. Telemark Nordics have over 50 km of groomed classic and skate cross country skiing trails with 62km of snowshoeing as well as biathlon and race circuits where 42 competitors engaged in their own Special Okanagan Olympics on Sunday. For one young man, he got into his zone for a 2x 2.5km Olympics sprint while we ate lunch around him. Pacing ourselves for the 1:30pm departure, we checked out the Aspen and Cottonwood-lined rolling terrain of Fern Creek, Telemark, and rollicked on Roller Coaster.
Rule Number Three: one dashboard light technical delay leads to a two and ½ hour electrical shut down
Just a ½ hour out of Telemark, the South Okanagan Charter Busline , aka Ernie, came to our rescue on a white steed with shiny red trimmings. Carol Burnett re-runs kept spirits up. In comedy, this third element catches you unawares. It’s the gag-line repetition. This was the Beginning-Middle-End of our 3-act trip in a ‘Go-Fight-Win‘ kind of way. Without the delay, would the skies have been so pastel? Would Merritt’s fast-food have tasted so good?
Would the two seats shy of a full busload have provoked such chivalry from Brian O., Helen E. and Katryn J.? Dave W., Lucy K. and Joyce R.? They definitely followed The Rule of Three: tension, energy and interest. All were generated. All were resolved satisfactorily. All with the greatest effect. The Rule of Three: Hip, Hip, Hurray!
