From ski to surf

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Margo Goodhand is on top of Vancouver Island's ski resort Mount Washington. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Kayaking proves a lot easier — and much more fun — than anticipated. (SUPPLIED PHOTO)

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On the first tee at Crown Isle. (SUPPLIED PHOTO)

THIS is a great place," the fresh-faced Budget Rent a Car guy en­thused as we gawked at all the green grass just out­side the big glass doors of the Comox airport. "You know? You can ski and golf here — in the same day."

Yeah, yeah, we know. In fact, we've heard an even bigger local boast -- that you can ski, golf and kayak all in one day -- and we've come to put it to the test.

We've never kayaked before. We're not the greatest golfers, either. But we've left behind us -36 wind chills in Manitoba, and we want to make the most of this extended-weekend February stop in the middle of this sunny green Vancouver Island.

My husband first discovered the Comox Valley a few months ago on a business trip, and came back dazzled. It used to be a huge pain to get here from the Prairies -- literally a planes-ferry-and-scary-skinny-highway-drive type of production. But in 2001, WestJet started to offer direct flights from Calgary and Edmonton, and it has opened up a whole new year-round playground for the winter-weary.

Want to ski? Mount Washington is a half-hour away, and regularly boasts long runs with ocean views (at spring skiing temperatures), with the best snowpack in North America.

Golf? The Comox Valley has seven golf courses, and even in February, the year-round places are lush and surreally green to the winter-weary eye.

Pining to paddle? Well, we're no experts, but there's a whole lot of water around and on this scenic island. You can't miss it. And we lucked into a great little shop called Comox Valley Kayaks, where owner Don Lockwood rents out all the stuff you need (at about $25 for two hours), plus hooked us up with three of the nicest guides/coaches/security blankets you could ever meet.

We had a little help on this epic challenge -- OK, a lot of help -- from executive director John Watson and his Comox Valley Economic Development crew. I had written him a few months earlier, asking if they could put the three-sport day together for us. And Watson (a former Winnipegger) was pretty quick with a tongue-in-cheek response: "Margo: We all ski in the morning and then golf, kayak and spa through the rest of the day. With Blackberries we can get work done on the lifts and in between golf swings..."

We begged off the spa option, along with, oh, fishing, hiking, sailing, surfing, scuba-diving, etc. Didn't want to cut into that vital après-whew time. But it seemed (almost) reasonable to devote a morning to skiing, afternoon to nine holes of golf and early evening to kayaking. The real question was whether the weather would hold up. (Average February temperature is plus four). And for the most part -- with a high of a sunny eight degrees -- our day felt like May on the Prairies.

Here's how it went.

9 to 11:30 a.m., Mount Washington

We arrived on the hill the night before, picked up our rentals and slept at the Bear Lodge -- one of only two ski-in/ski-out places on the hill, although there's a large alpine village just below the main lifts. The next morning, still on Winnipeg time, it was easy to get up early, have breakfast and ski to the first lift by nine.

The fabled Mount Washington snowpack had recently shrunk due to a searingly sunny stretch of 16 degrees on the mountaintop. This meant that a lot of really interesting terrain -- an expert's back-country powder bowl called the Outback, for example -- was closed on our visit. A chagrined PR director Brent Curtain said all they needed was one good snow day and the whole mountain would be back in business. And a week later, they'd had another 50 cm and counting. But with only two hours to ski, it didn't really matter. Without the Outback, the 30-year-old Mount Washington skews family-friendly, with about 60 trails, and lift tickets at $59 ($44 for a half day). Down the road, too, is a beautiful cross-country ski centre called Raven Lodge, with panoramic views and 55 kilometres of terrain you'd never find on the prairies. Our first few alpine runs were long and easy, but when we ventured off the groomed areas, the solid-chunk moguls were just scary. As the day warmed up, the slopes softened and became much more malleable and fun. It was really tough to turn in those skis and head down for lunch and tee time...

1:30 to 3:45 p.m., Crown Isle Resort & Golf Community

Off with the ski pants and into the windbreakers. Within 15 minutes, the snow at the side of the road had vanished. Fifteen more minutes and we were turning into the driveway of this opulent resort, nicer than any golf course I'd ever seen.

The closest parallel was a Dominican Republic US$200-a-round extravaganza at Punta Cana -- and the comparison isn't that far off. There were palm trees and banana leaves at both resorts.

Staff could have looked down on the toque-heads from Manitoba, but they were friendly and welcoming, and snuggling into the leather seats at the restaurant made you feel as if you were at a cushy country club. Crown Isle is an ambitious upscale housing development as well, with hotel lodgings and a spa in the works. If you just want to pretend you live there, try the restaurant. Manager Randy Rai said it's open to all.

As for the golf, there were places on this par 72 championship golf course that were jaw-droppingly scenic, with about a dozen picturesque ponds framed against a backdrop of the Beaufort mountains. One of those ponds ate my ball.

It costs $45 a round in winter, $90 in season; and Crown Isle is the longest course on the island. I didn't want to leave here, either, particularly because I was going from the sublime to the surely-we're-gonna-drown...

4:15 to 6:15 p.m., cruising the Comox Estuary

Off with the golf pants and into the water pants, with a neck-warmer and borrowed neoprene gloves to finish off the ensemble. We didn't have a clue what to do. Even getting into the long, sleek, one-man pea pods was a challenge. But we had Doug Taylor as our guide -- a guy who had recently circumnavigated the whole island with a few friends -- and he had brought along two more experts, former Manitobans Monica and Trevor Russell. This turned into one of the highlights of the day, because the kayaks proved fairly easy to manoeuvre, and fast, and it was so cool to zip down in our little flotilla towards the Comox harbour, gawking at the birds and all the stuff going on along the shore.

It costs about $25 to rent a kayak for two hours. Throw in about a dozen bald eagle sightings, the meditative sweep of the paddles, and water so clear you could see right through to the riverbed, this was one really appealing sport.

Would we do it again?

Whatever for?

Next time, we'll spend a day skiing, at least; golf an entire round; learn enough to go on one of Lockwood's day tours.

I liked Brent Curtain's reaction when asked if he'd ever done anything similar. "I could, but why would I?" he laughed. "I don't have to. I live here."

margo.goodhand@freepress.mb.ca

If you go

The valley comprises three centres: The city of Courtenay, the town of Comox and the village of Cumberland (total population about 65,000). It's a small-town friendly place, with a bustling weekly farmers' market, some great restaurants (try Atlas and The Old House, for starters) and a wealth of riches for the outdoor enthusiast.

The official community site is www.discovercomoxvalley.com

Our airline tickets cost about $204 apiece each way, but flights start as low as $129. From Winnipeg to Comox, with the pit stop in Calgary, it's about three hours of flying time.

Bear Lodge offers slope-side condos, with balconies and fireplaces, starting at $119 a night. See www.mountwashington.ca. With all that snow, you can still ski well into spring.

Don Lockwood's Comox Valley Kayaks is at kayakutopia.com.

Lockwood's one of the founders of "Canada's premier multi-sport team relay event" (who knew?), where nine-member teams start atop Mount Washington skiing, then running, cycling, kayaking, canoeing... the Snow to Surf Adventure Relay, get it? (www.snowtosurf.com) This year it's Apr. 19.

Pining golfers, check out the webcam at www.crownisle.com.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast called Applewood Guest Cottage. You can see it at ApplewoodCottage.ca

At $110 a night, it's worth every penny.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 28, 2009 A1