Tips & Advice

Get Tips and Advice from the guides at Mountain Trek. Nutrition, Hiking, Sleep, Detox and Fitness are just some of the topics we cover.

6 Healthy Travel Snacks That Are Pre-Packaged

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a woman on a public walkway eating a healthy snack

Guests at Mountain Trek are pleasantly surprised by the deliciousness of the snacks we supply during the hours they spend hiking on the trails. Many expect mass-produced “energy” bars to help fuel their activities but that style of snack is usually full of corn syrup and highly processed ingredients. We recommend people take a small time out of their week to prepare healthy items they can snack on throughout the course of their days.

Related Article: Top 5 On The Go Snacks

However, we’ve since heard from some guests, especially those who travel a lot, that it can be difficult to find the time to whip up some Loki Dip to go with those carrot sticks. So, we asked our nutrition expert Jennifer Keirstead to supply us with another list of snacks that people can enjoy when they’re traveling and don’t have access to their kitchen.

Our Nutritionist’s Picks for Healthy Pre-Packaged Snacks

  1. EPIC bars. These are basically dehydrated meat in power bar form. They’re made from grass-fed meats, high in protein, and taste like jerky!
  2. SuperFood Energy Bar. They’re made from plant-based, high-quality ingredients. No fillers!
  3. Justin’s Almond Butter. These are in squeeze packs and make great traveling companions. Pack a piece of fruit, or two, and spread on some creamy, high-protein almond, for a perfectly balanced snack on the go.
  4. Trail Mix. Try to avoid the prepackaged ones as they contain a lot of sodium. Instead, buy seeds and nuts from the bulk section and make your own. I like to mix unsalted cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried currants, and goji berries.
  5. Prepackaged veggies. Items such as baby carrots or sugar snap peas are easy to find and delicious with a container of hummus.
  6. Starbucks “Protein Box“. If you’re at the airport and grab one of these boxes and enjoy a hard-boiled egg, fresh fruit, cheese, and multigrain muesli bread.

Of course, being even just a little prepared with a snack in your purse, or suitcase can go a long way to help keep you on the right track nutritionally.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Why You Need To Stop Calorie Counting Right Now

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Calorie Counting

Recently Mountain Trek’s nutrition expert Jennifer Keirstead was asked whether calorie counting is beneficial for those who are looking to lose weight and improve their fitness. Below is her response but before we jump into it, let’s first define the subject at hand.

What Is Calorie Counting?

Calorie counting is the act of adding together the caloric value of food(s) that one eats. The history of this practice dates back to 1900 when Wilbur Olin Atwater and his associates at the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station determined the caloric values of a number of food components (i.e., the protein, fat, and carbohydrate isolated from various foods) by multiplying the heat of combustion of the food with correction factors that take into consideration incomplete digestion or oxidation of the food in the body. The conversion factors determined by Atwater and his associates remain in use today.

Why The Calorie Calculation Formula Is Skewed

Despite the fact Atwater built-in various correction factors for caloric values, they do not account for:

  • variation of individual absorption
  • the influences of an individual’s intestinal bacteria and that affects on absorption (these change depending on the history of travel, antibiotics, and present diet)
  • variation in nutrient density of today’s foods compared to foods from those used in the Atwater research of 1900, which were less processed, more organic and more local
  • and they exclude many nutrients that were unknown in 1900 (the number of known nutrients to science in 1900 was fewer than 16 whereas now it’s exponentially higher than that.

Moreover, both meal timings and meal composition also have an impact on how calories are absorbed by the body.

Why A Calorie Isn’t Just A Calorie

Now that we’ve looked at the history of calorie counting and why it can be considered inaccurate, here is Jennifer’s further response to why calorie counting isn’t worth it:

“Not all calories are created equal. Take the example of an ice cream cone versus an avocado: both are calorie-rich foods but the calories in the ice cream cone are considered “empty” because they don’t offer the body any nutritional value. They simply spike our blood sugar and leave us feeling lower in energy after we eat them. However, the calories from real foods, like the avocado, offer the body nutrient-dense calories that are full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Your body gains energy, antioxidants, and digestive support from the calories in real foods. But it’s important to remember you can still overeat the good calories too. It’s great to be mindful of how much we’re eating, regardless of where the calories are coming from!”

It can be argued that Mountain Trek stresses specific (and different) caloric intake for women and men but this is a rough guideline and it’s important to remember the entire nutrition tenant of the program includes many proven elements such as only eating real foods, abstaining from cortisol-raising foods such as sugar and caffeine and stressing the importance of meal timings and composition.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Beginner Workout Mistakes to Avoid

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As the Fitness Director at Mountain Trek, Cathy Grierson receives a lot of questions about exercise: when to do it and how often; what the best techniques are; and how to avoid injury. Recently she received a question that we thought warranted its own post-follow-up as it’s important for most guests of Mountain Trek Fitness Retreat and Health Spa: “What are some common workout mistakes that all beginners should avoid?” Cathy believes this is a big and important subject and so wrote the following in the hopes we can all learn from it.

close up of a person's legs running on a treadmill at mountain trek

Mistake #1: Only Doing Cardio

Many people, particularly women, believe the antiquated idea that cardio will make them slim and strength training will make them bulky. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Building muscle helps to raise your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and create a favorable metabolic environment for fat loss. Plus strength training strengthens our bones, improves our posture, and reduces the likelihood of injury.

close up of a person's legs stretching

Mistake #2: Neglecting the warm-up and cool-down stretch

Jumping right into a vigorous workout without warming up puts you at risk of injury. Instead, take at least 5 minutes to warm up the body, using lower intensity movements that mimic the exercise you are about to perform. Avoid static stretching during the warm-up and instead, use dynamic or moving stretches. Save the static stretches to restore worked muscles to their original length for about 5 minutes post-exercise.

a group fitness class

Mistake #3: Forgetting About Fun

It’s really hard to stay dedicated to something that you don’t enjoy. Thankfully, there are endless modes of exercise and there’s certain to be something out there that you will enjoy. Keep your expectations realistic. You do not need to be an iron-pumping bodybuilder or a marathon runner in order to reap the benefits of exercise. Think about the things you like and start with that. Is it music? Being outdoors? Spending time with friends? Build those things into your workouts to add some fun!

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

 Kirkland Q&A: Accepting a “World’s Best” Award

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Kirkland Shave with Nathan Lump and Joseph Messer of Travel + Leisure at the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards in NYC on July 20th.

One week ago today, Mountain Trek’s program director Kirkland Shave stood in front of a crowd of CEOs, venture capitalists and millionaires in midtown Manhattan and accepted a “World’s Best” award, without any socks on.

Travel + Leisure magazine had invited him to New York City, along with other winners of the World’s Best Awards for 2016, so as to bestow him with a trophy to take back to Mountain Trek Fitness Retreat and Health spa that read #1 International Destination Spa. It was an honour that came from scoring 98.13 out of 100, the highest of any destination spa around the globe. And, for those who know Kirkland, it’s not surprising to hear he went barefoot for most of the ceremony (although he did don a pair of shoes when he got up on stage.)

We sat down with Kirkland to learn more about what the event was like, how he felt in a room full of powerful business people and what the #1 International Destination Spa award means for Mountain Trek.

Thanks for taking the time for this, Kirkland. We’ve seen a lot of photos from the event and we have to ask, did you go barefoot the whole time?

(Laughs) I did wear shoes when I went up on stage to accept the award but most of the time I went barefoot. I’m just more comfortable that way.

Travel + Leisure Awards

What was your first reaction when you heard Mountain Trek had won the Travel + Leisure Award?

To be honest I didn’t even understand the ramifications when I first heard about it. I thought we had been placed on another top ten list and we’re kind of used to that so it felt good but it didn’t totally sink in. It wasn’t until I learned about Travel + Leisure’s premiere rating system and how well respected these awards are that I said, “how did our tiny little destination retreat even get on their radar?”

You can definitely thank past guests for that. They voted and said such glowing things the Travel + Leisure voting committee couldn’t help but take notice.

Absolutely and for that I feel an immense sense of gratitude towards our guests because without them voting for us, we wouldn’t have received the #1 designation.

Kirkland Shave at the Travel + Leisure Awards in New York City

Tell us about the event in New York City.

I was amazed at the different companies that were represented in the room. The best cruise line, airline, hotel – they were all high-end businesses! And here’s little Mountain Trek ranking #1 with them all. I kept shaking my head and thinking, “Is this real?” We were on the 20th floor of a luxury hotel in midtown Manhattan and there were people in full regalia serving us. Tonnes of catering too! But there wasn’t a huge crowd because only the number ones were invited to attend and of those, only one person could attend.

How were you received?

A most curious thing occurred to me when I was there: I realized I was the only person in attendance who was a service provider. Everyone else I met were owners or CEOs or venture capitalists from companies that owned cruise lines or hotels. They weren’t guides or instructors or anything like that. It was super corporate. There were even government dignitaries from around the world representing cities that had won. I felt a little like the odd man out and my suit definitely wasn’t quite as high quality as the others I saw.

Does any moment stand out for you about the event?

I met the guy who started Rancho La Puerta and who used to own the Golden Door Spa Resort. Today he owns a high-end hotel but he told me something that really stuck with me – he said he was really touched by the service we, and other retreats, provide. He recognizes that people need this. When he owned those spas, he’d see people arrive at his door and they were at breaking points in their lives. They were totally unhealthy and resorts such as ours give back and help them feel whole again. It’s karmic payback he said and he was really proud of Mountain Trek for that reason.

What was your favorite part?

I think it was the overall sense of pride I felt for our entire staff. I was the one who was fortunate enough to attend the ceremony and represent our organization but I’m one small part of an amazing team, not the owner of a team, and so I felt really proud for all of us. It really is one of the biggest affirmations for our staff in terms of the service they provide. The Tripadvisor testimonials we get are excellent and ongoing but to have a nine-person panel of experts on the Travel + Leisure Awards committee recognize us for our high quality of service is amazing. We’re not just a little ma and pa operation somewhere – we’re world-class guides, instructors, and service providers.

Why do you think Mountain Trek won the #1 International Destination Spa?

We’ve been doing our health reset program for over two decades and we’ve proven it works for people. The way we provide it and the quality of the program itself stands head and shoulders above other types of programs. Plus we offer it in the Kootenay mountains – one of the most beautiful areas of the world. And it should be said that we’re the only destination retreat that offers support prior to arrival, while at the retreat, and once they’re back home. That’s the type of thing that sets Mountain Trek apart.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Should You Eat Breakfast? Our Nutritionist Vs. The New York Times

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A recent New York Times article cited a study published this year by James Betts, an associate professor of nutrition and metabolism at the University of Bath in England, stated there is “no difference in weight change…between people assigned to eat breakfast for six weeks and those assigned to skip it.”

The article went on to say, “Dr. Betts said that, unlike randomized trials, observational studies of breakfast consumption could be misleading. They show, for example, that people who eat breakfast also follow other behaviors associated with good health. They tend to drink and smokeless, consume less sugar, eat more fiber and exercise more than those who skip a morning meal.”

The premise of the article raised some flags for us here at Mountain Trek because one of the main beliefs at our award-winning health retreat is that eating breakfast within thirty minutes of waking is essential. Doing so helps kickstart your metabolism and gives your body the energy it requires throughout the day. So, we sat down with Mountain Trek’s nutritionist Jennifer Keirstead to review the article and report carefully and then discussed the factors the study was missing and whether breakfast is, in fact, good for you.

You’ve had a chance to read the New York Times article. What was your first impression?

I was really surprised. I know there’s a movement right now with “Bulletproof” coffee which encourages people to put two tablespoons of coconut oil or grass-fed butter in their coffee every morning and that’s supposed to act as their breakfast and boost their metabolism. That concept, as well as the concept of skipping breakfast entirely, goes against a lot of what we teach at Mountain Trek.

What would be your retort to this article?

From a common-sense aspect if you start your day with a healthy meal it sets the stage for the rest of the day. I hear time and time again from our guests that when they skip breakfast and just end up picking at sugary things and jacking themselves up with caffeine and coffee it leads to over-eating later in the day when you’re less likely to burn those calories off.

So breakfast is important?

Absolutely, for those reasons I’ve already mentioned but also for metabolism. At Mountain Trek, we encourage people to balance their hormones to support their metabolism and by eating breakfast they can boost their anabolic (their good, calorie-burning) metabolism by 15% because it helps keep cortisol levels down which is that stress hormone that leads to catabolic hormonal responses. By keeping that cortisol hormone down it’s a way of communicating to the body that, “I’m going to feed you and look after you and you don’t have to go into that famine response when you store and hold calories and you’ll have sustained energy throughout the day.”

Perhaps the study cited by the Times needs to be put into better context?

I read the New York Times often and some of my favorite writers and health experts write for them. I guess I just don’t agree with the idea of this particular story that not eating breakfast is going to benefit someone’s weight and overall health long term. Also, the question needs to be asked, what are the people in the study consuming instead of breakfast? Just coffee? Caffeine has a dramatic effect for a third of the population by increasing their cortisol levels. For another third of the population, it suppresses appetite, which people might think is great for dieting but really if you’re suppressing your appetite in the morning when you’re metabolism is its highest you want calories coming in at the earlier part of the day because you’re more likely to burn them off than eating a late lunch and a huge dinner before bedtime.  And finally, caffeine affects a third of the population and their ability of insulin to unlock glucose and stabilize sugar. So we believe there are different negative effects caffeine has on people and if that’s all you’re having for breakfast and you’re not taking in whole foods then there’ll be long-term impacts.

So it sounds like this article and the report aren’t telling the whole story.

Yeah, it’s taking a snapshot and showing a small portion of people who didn’t gain weight when they skipped breakfast for six weeks. But what it’s not showing is the quality of life and energy levels after that time period. Your energy levels are going to drop when you skip meals and that’s going to affect your thinking. You won’t be as productive at work. You won’t have the energy to do that brisk walk around the park at lunchtime.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is an award-winning health retreat immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia. Our one or two-week program—featuring daily hiking, yoga, exercise classes, time in our state-of-the-art spa, and of course, delicious, healthy cuisine—will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

The Secret Formula to Proper Strength Training

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woman lifting weights for strength training

Don’t worry–we’re not expecting you to become a bodybuilder. But gaining a bit more muscle will help prolong your life. By increasing muscle mass, we increase bone density, burn more calories resting, and support an anabolic metabolism. 

Strength training is all about building lean muscle mass to help raise your basal metabolic rate (BMR) to create a favorable metabolic environment for fat loss. As we age, we’re prone to muscle loss; a 50-year-old person can lose 0.4 pounds of muscle every year! Compound that with muscle loss due to a sedentary lifestyle, and we start storing more calories than we’re burning. In order to combat this muscle loss, we must work our muscles to momentary muscular failure (MMF). 

Benefits of Strength Training

By strengthening our muscles we burn more calories. In fact, one pound of muscle burns six calories a day just resting. Compare that to one pound of adipose (fat), which only burns two calories per day. Also, when hormones such as HGH (Human Growth Hormone) are elevated from strength training, fatty acids are more readily mobilized and used for fuel. The positive outcomes include:

  • Higher energy levels
  • Increased strength
  • Counteracting osteoporosis and muscle decay
  • Stronger core for stability, balance, and posture
  • A longer life!

Our Formula for Effective Strength Training

  1. Start lifting, pushing, or pulling your body, or weights, to fatigue or MMF (momentary muscular failure), meaning you cannot do another rep.
  2. Do this 2x per week or 3x per week, allowing 48 hours between sessions for recovery.
  3. Work your largest muscles first, then your smallest. Ex: chest, then biceps; back, then triceps.
  4. Pick a weight that is difficult and intense to push, pull, or lift while maintaining good form. Max out your ability somewhere between 8-12 repetitions.
  5. Repeat each exercise twice with a 30-second recovery time between sets. Eventually, you can add a third set. Or increase the weight/resistance until 12 repetitions can easily be done on your second or third set, and then again increase the weight/resistance.
  6. Include compound exercises, such as squats, dead-lifts, rows, and bench presses as they fire the most muscles. Work your largest muscles first, your smallest last. Avoid muscle imbalance by ensuring you work both the front and back of your body. (Chest and back, quads and hamstrings, bicep and triceps, etc.)
  7. If you are new to strength training, hire a personal trainer to work with you to ensure good form, to motivate, and to reduce the risk of injury.

This formula will acutely inflame your muscle cells, which signals the growth hormone DHEA and other hormones to replace the smaller, atrophied muscle cells with larger and stronger cells. This reverses the effects of a catabolic metabolism, allowing us to maintain an anabolic, vital, growth-centered body for the rest of our lives.

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below:

Mountain Trek Nominated For Condé Nast Traveler Awards

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Vote For Mountain Trek in the 2016 Conde Naste Traveler Sirvey

Mountain Trek Fitness Retreat and Health Spa is honoured to be nominated for Condé Nast Traveler 2016 Reader’s Choice Awards under the category: “Hotels & Resorts.”

If you would like to vote now, you will be entered for a chance to win a 15-day/14-night Grand European Tour Cruise for two along the Rhine, Main and Danube from Amsterdam to Budapest with Viking River Cruises. The more you vote, the more chances you have to win! 

It means a lot to us here at Mountain Trek that we were nominated along with other world-class destination spas. Below is a video of our program director Kirkland Shave describing the contest in further detail and commenting on what it’s like to be nominated.

Overall the survey and voting only takes four minutes. There are 5 easy questions:

  • Go to the Condé Nast Traveler Readers Choice Awards page
  • Register with your Facebook account or with your email
  • Click on the “hotels and resorts” block
  • Choose 4 drop-down answers to the easy questions
  • In the search field enter “Mountain Trek Fitness Retreat & Health Spa”
  • Rate your experience by clicking on the right side of the bar graph
  • Click the month you stayed at Mountain Trek
  • Click what type of trip it was
  • Recommend a highlight
  • Click your favourite amenities
  • Click Yes for recommending Mountain Trek
  • Optional: Enter a note about why you enjoyed Mountain Trek
  • Click submit

Your vote will contribute to the results, which will be revealed in the November 2016 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Please note that all survey entries must be received by June 1, 2016.

Thank you for your support and your opinions are very much appreciated!

Condé Nast Traveler is a travel magazine based in New York City and is published 11 times a year. According to its media kit it has 3.2 million readers worldwide.

VOTE NOW

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Guess Which Mountain Trek Guide is Pregnant?!

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The Mountain Trek staff are one big happy family and it’s with complete joy we’re announcing that our family is growing by one this holiday season!

Guide Krista Van Ee, who’s worked for Mountain Trek for almost a decade, is 8 months pregnant! Her due date is just after our Winter Program ends but who knows – maybe we’ll have a special announcement to make to all our friends joining us for our Winter Program at the BC lodge Dec 27-Jan 3.

For those who might not know Krista, she is one of the first guides people meet when they arrive at our luxurious lodge in British Columbia. Originally from Vernon, BC, she followed her mother’s path into the outdoor guiding world and has never looked back. She’s been hiking, rock climbing and mountain biking in the West Kootenays for more than 10 years and was married in 2013. She and her husband bought a house not too far from the Mountain Trek lodge and Krista says she’s currently busy getting the nursery ready for the new arrival.

If you’d like to pass along a heart-felt congratulatory message to Krista, please leave a reply at the bottom of this page and we’ll ensure she gets them.

Again, we’re so happy for her. Congratulations Krista!

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7 Winter Sports You Must do in Your Lifetime

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Tobogganing for Fitness

Health and wellness during the winter months could mean enjoying home-cooked meals, getting a massage, visiting some hot springs, or reading a book by the fire. This winter, we encourage you to get outside, stay active, and have some fun! There are plenty of snow sports for every age and ability. Snowshoeing, for example, is a perfect way to float over the snow and enjoy a walk in the woods. We’ve compiled a list of winter sports that we think everyone should try at least once.

Tobogganing

Ideal for Beginners

What it is:

Whether you call it sledding, GT Snow Racing, or tobogganing, chances are you did this as a kid if you lived in a snowy place or ever visited one. It refers to the act of sitting or lying down on a device designed to slide over snow and then going downhill on it.

Why it’s good for you:

Firstly, it’s super fun! Your serotonin levels are sure to rise with this activity because it’s so enjoyable racing downhill. It’ll make you feel like a kid again! Plus, the hike back up the hill again is a great way to increase your metabolism.

 

Snowshoeing for Fitness

Snowshoeing

Ideal for Weight loss

What it is:

Unlike the devices from years past, modern-day snowshoes are small, light, and strong. They’re easy to attach to any winter boot and then you’re free to go wander wherever the snow takes you. And that’s the beauty of snowshoeing – you’re no longer beholden to hiking paths or trails. You can walk over frozen lakes and through forests that, in the summertime, are inaccessible because of the undergrowth.

Why it’s good for you:

When combined with hiking poles, snowshoeing can be the perfect aerobic activity in the winter. The snow provides a bit of resistance as you walk and your arms get a workout as you swing your poles. And the best part is it doesn’t require a lot of skill – you’re just going for a walk. This is exactly why we recommend this winter sport to stay active throughout the winter.

 

Cross-country skiing

Cross-Country Skiing

Ideal for Full-body fitness

What it is:

There are two types of cross-country skiing: classic and skate skiing. The latter requires groomed trails whereas classic can be done anywhere. It too is as good a workout as snowshoeing with hiking poles but requires more skill, equipment, and know-how in terms of putting wax on the bases. Still, when you’re gliding along at a fast pace, this sport can be completely invigorating!

Why it’s good for you:

This is an excellent aerobic activity in the wintertime that strengthens your legs, core, and arms.

 

Ice Skate for Fitness

Ice Skating

Ideal for Leg strengthening

What it is:

Simply put on a pair of skates (basically a supportive shoe with a steel blade attached to the sole) and launch yourself across the ice of a frozen pond, lake, or indoor arena. If you’re a beginner, you might want to take it slow at first and hang out to a wall or a helpful friend. But whether you’re a pro or a first-timer, there’s no doubting that ice skating is super fun!

Why it’s good for you:

Ice skating is an effective way to strengthen both the major and minor muscles in your legs as you maintain balance while striding along the ice to push yourself forward. It’s also great for your core muscles.

 

Hiking in the snow

Winter Walking/Hiking

Ideal for People pressed for time

What it is:

Because of snowy and icy conditions in the wintertime, many of us forego walking outside. But it’s proven we need to breathe fresh air and get Vitamin D from the sun, even during the colder months. The best way to ensure you have a safe outdoor walk or hike during the winter is to invest in a pair of Yak Trax or a similar device that adheres to the bottom of your winter boots and basically acts like studded tires for your feet. They grip and cling to any surface and ensure you have an enjoyable and safe walk – especially when you use hiking poles as well.

Why it’s good for you:

The World Health Organization recommends that we all walk at least 10,000 steps a day to maintain our health. That includes during the winter months. When combined with hiking poles, winter walking is a good way to get aerobic exercise.

 

Fat Tire Biking in the Winter

Fat Biking

Ideal for Cyclists and Mountain Bikers

What it is:

Fat biking is a relatively new sport that allows people to use specially designed bicycles with 4-inch-wide tires to ride over packed snow. Many ski resorts (both alpine and cross-country) offer fat bike rentals and you’ll quickly learn that it’s super-fun pedaling over snow!

Why it’s good for you:

Just like regular bicycling, this is a great full-body workout but because you’re riding on snow. There’s more resistance while you ride, meaning you don’t have to travel as far to get the effects of a great workout.

 

Winter Bobsleigh

 

Bobsledding

Ideal for Thrill seekers

What it is:

No doubt you’ve seen this event in the Winter Olympics but what you might not know is places like Whistler, Calgary, and Salt Lake City offer bobsled rides down specially designed tracks (ie: ones that aren’t as steep or fast as those in the Olympics). No experience is required.

Why it’s good for you:

This activity involves what we call “good stress” – you’re cortisol levels will go up during your ride down but then be washed away in a flood of euphoria. Plus there’s a bit of running at the start. But really, the reason this is good for you is to simply remind yourself you’re strong enough and brave enough to do anything!

What is Mountain Trek?

Mountain Trek is the health reset you’ve been looking for. Our award-winning health retreat, immersed in the lush nature of British Columbia, will help you detox, unplug, recharge, and roll back years of stress and unhealthy habits. To learn more about the retreat, and how we can help you reset your health, please email us at info@mountaintrek.com or reach out below: