Mount Washington is B.C.'s hidden thrill

| CRAIG HILL MCCLATCHY

"People are usually surprised when they visit Mount Washington," said Brent Curtain, the resort's promotions director. "Most people don't even know there’s a ski area on the island.

"When people think of islands, they think of palm trees and beaches. They don't think of mountains, and they definitely don't think of snow."

Mount Washington has offered something different for visitors since it opened in 1979 as British Columbia's first ski area with an indoor restroom.

Today, Mount Washington is still an original. It has the only natural luge run in the Northwest. This isn't the type of luging you see in the Olympics. There are no refrigerated concrete walls for you to crash into.

The luge track is as wide as a road and sloped gently. Still, I was surprised by how fast it felt like I was going (although I probably never broke 20 mph). And steering the luge sled with my legs proved to be a little tricky. I ended up jumping the lower track and taking out a small tree.

Mount Washington also has a more traditional tubing hill.

And its Nordic center has 55 kilometers of groomed trails that have lured the Swedish Olympic team here to train for the 2010 Winter Games, to be held 100 miles east at Whistler Blackcomb.

"Mount Washington is not as big as Whistler, but it has such a variety of things to do and it's not as crowded," said Daniel Orpen, a construction worker from Nanaimo, B.C. "It's almost as good as Whistler as far as I'm concerned."

Mount Washington is clearly a local ski hill, but it has big dreams.

While the natural luge run is special, the Nordic center is state of the art and the beginner runs are ample, Curtain knows this isn't enough to lure mainlanders.

The Outback, on the other hand, might just do the trick. The steep, tree-covered pitch on the backside of Mount Washington opened in 2005 and is quickly becoming the resort's signature terrain.

Unfortunately, on the day I visited, it was the area covered with a deadly layer of ice.

Standing at the top of the run, I was tempted to drop in regardless of the warning. But as I reached below my skis and tested the snow with my ski pole, it felt like I was poking a vertical hockey rink.

"The best skiers on the mountain are staying out of there today," said Max Oudendag, the resort's former special events coordinator.

Even under the best conditions, The Outback challenges good skiers and snowboarders.

Fred Ennis of Courtenay is a good skier who found The Outback to be over his head. "You start with steep chutes and then get into the trees," Ennis said. "I like wide open runs, and it's not that.

"If you don't know what you are doing, you will catch a tree, and that tends to hurt."

But for those who love carving lines between trees, The Outback is paradise. "It's gnarly," Curtain said. "Obviously you can't compare it to Whistler, but it's great skiing."

And it might be what finally lures the mainlanders to make the voyage to the island. "It's the best part of the mountain," Orpen said. "It's killer expert skiing."