Georgian Triangle

KIMBERLEY -- If you can imagine what it would feel like to race down a snow covered hill on nothing but an innertube, then you might want to visit Talisman Ski Resort this season. Snow-tubing is the newest trend to hit the area resort.

"It's going really well," says Todd Lewin, marketing manager at Talisman. "The mild weather over the Christmas holidays threw us for a loop, but now that we have snow, it's taking off."

The excitement of speeding down the newly made hills is enough to get your blood pumping harder and your heart beating faster. No wonder it's called "Adrenaline Alley".

Talisman is located south-east of Owen Sound, just outside of Thornbury. This area has been popular for a long time because of its scenic mountains and great skiing conditions. Snow-tubing is just one of the new things to do at Talisman this year. Other things include winter horseback riding and sled-dog skiing. Of course, there are still several great hills and trails for cross-country and downhill skiing and snowboarding.

"It's all part of our makeover this year....because of our family market," says Lewin.

He says the idea for snow-tubing came up when he and a few others visited a Quebec resort and saw it there. There are also resorts in the United States that offer snow-tubing. Talisman is the only resort he knows of in Ontario that has snow-tubing. The resort has four different snow-tube runs, each 900 feet long.

TODD LEWIN, MARKETING MANAGER, at Talisman Resort, shows how easy it is to sit on a snow-tube and be lifted up.

A specially designed lift takes people up to the top with their snow-tubes. The tubes look like an innertube, but are more heavy-duty. They have a nylon shell and plastic bottom. One size is used for adults and children. There are no straps or belts to keep people in, but there are two handles to hold onto. There are 150 tubes at Talisman altogether. Riders can speed down at up to 40 km an hour. Only one person can sit in a tube, but up to four tubes can go down together, making sort of a train.

Lewin says snowmobile suits are a great thing to wear for snow-tubing. If you don't have one, you should at least dress very warm, he says. There are people called "Starters" at the top of each run to tell the "tubers" when it's their turn to take off. There are more people helping at the bottom.

"There is more staffing involved, for safety reasons....it's been a lot of work and it takes a lot of maintenance," he says.

People can snow-tube Wednesdays to Sundays, from 12 noon until closing. They can tube under the lights on Friday and Saturday nights until 10:00 p.m. For adults, seniors and teens it costs $8 for two hour heats or up to $20 for a full day on weekends. For children 11 and under it's $6 per two-hour heat and up to $16 for a full day on weekends.

Families will have a ball if they visit Talisman this season. There are chalets that can be rented for vacations. There is a lodge to warm people up with hot drinks and food, and many activities to fill the hours.

Children as young as 18-months-old, along with their parents and grandparents, can take everything in.

EVEN THOUGH SNOW-TUBING IS THE newest cool thing to do at Talisman, the ski hills are still top of the line. The trails and hills will excite skiers from beginners to intermediate.

COLLINGWOOD -- The ski hills and trails around Collingwood were crowded all this week as athletes from across the world competed in the Special Olympics. Over 2,000 athletes split their time between Collingwood and Toronto for the 1997 Winter Games. Sporting events included figure skating, speed skating, floor hockey, snowshoeing, downhill and cross-country skiing. A new sport was also brought in this year as a demonstration. It's called Eistocksport and it is like curling but is not played on ice. All the skiing events and the snowshoeing were held in the Collingwood Area.

The Special Olympics is open to athletes with disabilities. The first games were held in the United States in 1968. This year marks the sixth Special Olympics Winter Games. Athletes came from about 80 different countries. There were 80 Canadians participating.

Opening ceremonies were held February 1 in Toronto at the Skydome.