Fit For Snow, West Kootenays of, Nelson, BC (2026)

01/01/2026

Wishing you all the very best for 2026. Here at Fit for Snow we are hoping that this year the world embraces, peace, tolerance, love, security, good health and a slowing of climate change.

12/29/2025

Are you using sport drinks to stay hydrated? You can reduce plastic consumption and safe cash by making your own.

For every litre (quart) of water add 1/4 tsp salt. You can use regular salt or something like Himalayan salt for traces of other minerals. Adding a bit of sugar, honey or maple syrup will make it more palatable, and also increases the rate of absorption in the gut. Start with 1-2 tablespoons and adjust to taste. You can use non-nutritive sweeteners but they won't have the stimulative effect on water uptake.

Adding other ingredients is optional, but can help with taste, acidity, and electrolyte balance. The simplest is to replace the water with 1/2 strength orange juice for flavour and potassium. Lemon, lime or apple juice can add flavour and like OJ are good sources of the antioxidant vitamin C, but they do not contain significant potassium. A pinch of baking soda can balance off the acidity of these citrus juices. Drinking your fluid cold also helps with absorption.

If you want to avoid the sweet taste, a bullion cube or miso are also high in salt, so they will work as well.

12/28/2025

Wow! Look at this snowfall!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSvZjazDddy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

12/27/2025

Busiest week of the year at the hill! Are you feeling stretched a bit thin?

Here are 4 things you can do to get through this week with a smile on your face and without twisting a knee or shoulder.

1. Sleep. There is nothing as restorative as a solid 8 hours. When you have to be first on and last off the hill it makes it very hard to meet that need, even if you don't have a family waiting for you at home. If you can't get more hours what you can do is make the ones you get the best possible quality. Dark room, cool temps and quiet environment can be achieved with an eye mask, open window and earplugs if your roomy doesn't cooperate. Set aside 10 min before you get into bed for a relaxation exercise to calm your mind and set aside all the stresses of the day.
2. Water. Stay hydrated. If you've been consuming alcohol you are likely in a water deficit. Even without the dehydrating effect of alcohol, most people forget about drinking water while at work - or do so deliberately so that they don't have to p*e at inconvenient times. If you sip your water instead of chugging it, the reflex that causes urination is not as pronounced and the water will stay in your body more effectively.
3. Stabilize your blood sugar. Alcohol, fatigue and the sugar and fat rich holiday diet decrease the availability of energy to your nervous system and muscles. This slows your ability to react quickly to an unexpected event like your car losing traction on winter roads, a guest falling while loading the lift, or catching an edge. It also affects the way you make decisions, increasing your risk propensity.
4. Hug a friend. The holidays are full of expectations and FOMO. Connecting with someone can help stabilize emotions that might otherwise be painful

12/25/2025

Whatever your belief system we hope that you enjoy the holiday season. Open your hearts to the joy of snow, friends and family, not just today or tomorrow but everyday. These are the true gifts of life.

12/23/2025

Feeling overwhelmed? Here are a few strategies that can help.

1. The 5-4-3-2-1 method. This is a simple and highly effective way to redirect your focus when you feel anxious or panicy. Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.
2. Box breathing. Breathe as deep as you can on the following pattern. Inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 4, wait for a count of 4.
3. Eye flicking . Move your eyes from side to side focussing for a moment on what you see, before flicking your eyes to the other side.

These simple tools can be done anywhere, even when you are in the grips of extreme feelings. The don't cure your anxiety but can help reduce intense feelings and create enough space to safely seek out help

12/21/2025

Coming into the busy holiday season, combined with the excitement of the start of the skiing and riding season! There are sure to be lots of reasons to have a second, third or fourth beer. Or maybe you prefer other ways to celebrate with friends. No doubt, it can be disinhibiting, make you feel connected and able to have fun. It doesn't hurt anyone, does it??

Here at Fit for Snow we've always striven to take a gentle approach. We can't change the entire culture of snowsport resorts so instead we have tried to work within the system, and just provide information so that you can make your own choice. well, it turns out that you told us you want more.

So the answer to the above question is that it does hurt. It hurts the person it's happening to, their families and friends, their co-workers and the guests that they are meant to be serving. So this year, stop. Instead of using a substance to connect, make a real connection with someone. Listen to them, see those who feel isolated, and reach out. Because it will make a difference, the person sitting next to you might be the one who needs a friend.

For Americans between the ages of 18 and 25
1 in 11 is a heavy drinker (binge drinking on 5 or more days in the past 30 days).
1 in 10 has an alcohol use disorder.
1 in 7 has a substance use disorder.
1 in 13 has an illicit drug use disorder.
1 in 17 has a ma*****na use disorder.
1 in 100 has an opioid use disorder.

12/20/2025

Here's a cool post from quicksnowteach that highlights the effect of how the anatomical differences in the male and female skeletons can impact stance, center of gravity and the risk of knee injury!

There are some differences between the technique used by women and men, but it's important to note that these differences are not absolute and can vary from person to person.

CENTRE OF MASS
- Women commonly have an 8 - 15% lower longitudinal center of mass than men. Lower center of gravity than men, which can affect their balance and stability on the board. As a result, women may need to adjust their stance and movements to compensate for this difference.

QUADRICEPS ANGLE (Q Angle)
- Females had a significantly higher Q-angle and hip joint internal rotation angle, and a significantly lower arch height index than males
- The wider pelvis and increased Q-angle in females is linked to the higher number of knee injuries, in particular ACL injuries, in women due to the decreased knee stability and decreased shock absorption properties in the knee.

PELVIC TILT
- Women usually have more pronounced forward pelvic tilt (anterior). The acceptable posture for women includes tilting the front of the pelvis downwards, lifting the tailbone, and moving the hips backward, resulting in a greater curvature in the lower back.
- Differences in pelvic position and motion in all three planes can be observed. Females walk in more anterior pelvic tilt, and have greater excursion in pelvic obliquity, and slightly greater pelvic rotation while males maintain the pelvis closer to neutral

12/19/2025

Most people know that foods that taste sweet are generally high in sugars - small, fast digesting carbohydrates that are great fast fuels, but which can cause the release of the hormone insulin and a subsequent drop in blood sugar if you aren't engaged in exercise. You might also know that highly processed starchy foods like white bread, pasta and white rice are also digested very quickly and can cause an insulin response.

But did you know that there are some simple tricks that you can use to change the physical structure of the starch molecule and make it more resistant to digestion? By slowing down the breakdown of the starch you can change it's glycemic index and decrease the insulin response.

If you want to reduce the amount of fast digesting carbs in your diet, all you have to do is cook your rice or pasta in a large batch and refrigerate it. When you reheat it in a microwave the starch molecules stay in a more crystalline form. This is also true of cold potatoes, although if you warm them back up they become more digestible again. Bread that is stored in the fridge has a lower glycemic index than fresh bread (although you cannot beat the taste of bread right out of the oven!). And oatmeal eaten as overnight oats; soaked in milk and eaten cold has a slower digestion rate than fast-cooking oatmeal, comparable to cooked steel cut oats which are much less processed but much more expensive.

The health outcomes of increasing the amount of resistant starch in the diet are still unclear, in part because it's complicated. There are 4-5 different types of resistant starch and the formation of these compounds depends on the food you start with, the way it's prepared. People with metabolic challenges like obesity, pre-diabetes, type I and type II diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease seem to get more benefit than healthy people, and even the population of gut bacteria that you host may make a difference. But there is evidence that blood sugar and insulin levels are better, lipid profile may be improved and inflammation levels are lower, all very good things for health.

Whole unprocessed foods (a fresh apple rather than apple juice) will always require more digestion to break down the cell structure of the food, but knowing that cooling moist cooked starches and either reheating in a microwave or consuming them cold can have a big impact on maintaining a stable blood glucose is powerful.

12/18/2025

Looking good for the west

12/17/2025

Taking a break from biochemistry - if you work in your boots one of the best things that you can do for your feet and your liners is to make sure that you dry them out. Every night. Even if they are hard to put together.

Here's Fit for Snow's tip to get your liners back into the boots without taking the skin off your knuckles.

1. Push the tongues of the liners deep into the liner and pinch the sides together
2. With the boot facing you, insert the toe of the liner into the top of the shell at a very slight angle off the direct
3. Pinch the back of the heel of the liner and feed it into the shell
4. Pesto!

12/16/2025

Understanding the weather is perhaps one of the most powerful skills you can have in your backcountry toolbox. Join Avalanche Canada on Wednesday to for a free webinar and learn where to get the best weather data, how to interpret it, and how it should impact your plans.

Register now: https://bit.ly/avcanwebinardec13

Fit For Snow

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