The following is a column from Rev. Michael Tutton.
To remain alive, we need rest.
Sometimes, it’s simply the common meaning of the word: we lie down, cease motion, stop, nap and sleep.
But the word can also be associated with the results of rest: restoration and renewal. Often, it also requires people – quiet heroes in our communities — who make our rest possible.
Which brings me to Oakfield Golf and Country Club. The club has partnered in recent years with the scotiaxc.ca ski club, to allow for about five kilometres of groomed trails to flow over its gently curving topography.
Those trails bring me rest; they have restored me this winter with each stride along a course made by volunteer groomers, whether the dual grooves for diagonal stride or the corduroy ripples that allow you to push your skis in skating motions.
The first snowstorms led to a glorious winter day on Jan. 30, when the white coating contrasted against a brilliant blue sky, and I met Roland Daigle, one such volunteer, who explained the work that goes into the trails.
He estimated that if he were to total his volunteer hours preparing the trails, including hours spent carrying out repairs and fuelling the equipment, it would amount to two or three weeks of work.
There’s an art and science behind trail grooming. The key variable is the snow, which varies widely in its quality and quantity through the season.
When it’s wet, “I may need to allow the snow to dry sometimes,” he explains. And when it’s drier, such as the snow that fell during the overnight storm on Jan. 26th, he needs the wind to calm, or the wispy flakes will be blown back onto the tracks after he does his work.
Standing near the starting point for the loops, the 66-year-old skier explained there are several pieces of equipment pulled behind an ATV or snowmobile to make the tracks.
On many occasions, the snow is first crushed and compacted with towed, drum rollers. Then, Roland employs the Yellowstone Ginzugroomer, a grooming system which has knife-like blades to feather the snow, and a rolling mechanism that creates a corduroy-style, textured surface layer.
To a skier, there are few greater joys than sliding onto this surface shortly after its preparation, gaining maximum glide on each stride due to its smooth, prepared trail. After the skiers’ pound the snow down and sideways, Roland’s work becomes one of refreshing the track between snowfalls.
“I love it,” he says, casting his sunglass-covered eyes over his handiwork as people smile and ski, laugh and chat on the flats below. “I counted today 26 people in one hour.”
“That’s why I do it … It’s great to enjoy winter and be outdoors. I hope everyone else enjoys this in the same way.”
“It helps communities; it allows you to get to know your neighbours and other enthusiastic people who enjoy the same thing,” he said.
Inside the clubhouse, the servers, cooks and bartenders of Laurie’s Restaurant are now often hosting hungry skiers and snowshoers. Large windows allow guests to enjoy watching as athletes of varying calibres whirl around the course.
Walkers also have a path carved out for them, a courtesy he undertakes in part to encourage them not to undo the skiing areas.
Coming back to the idea of rest, as I circle the course, I’m left to ponder the Biblical meaning in Genesis, where the description God’s creation of the universe ends on the seventh day.
Then, God “rested from all the work of creating what he had done.”
The Hebrew word, Shabath, for rest suggests ceasing or desisting from labour, according to Strong’s concordance. However, in at least one usage (in Exodus 12.15) it’s meant in the sense of “putting away,” a given pattern or practice.
In our modern lives, when many urban dwellers work at desks and computers, and we scroll through our phones in every spare moment, perhaps Shabath can be understood as turning from our mental work to activities that focus on the body and the soul.
In this conception, rest means simply basking in Creation, moving our limbs along paths among trees and gazing upon Fish Lake.
Looking back at one of my recent visits, when I snapped a few photos of the evening sun as I flew down the opening hill, I felt deep rest. Though moving fast, the psalm 46 flowed through my mind: “Be still and know that I am God … I will be exalted in all the Earth.”
But along with that came a deep sense of gratitude for those who make these moments possible: the volunteers who look after the community centres, the ski trails, the houses of worship, and all of the other places that bring us deep peace and rest in the Spirit.
Rested, I returned to my work as a priest, able to carry on in caring for souls and reminded of what Jesus meant when he told his disciples after a day of many people “coming and going” with barely enough time to eat. “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest,” he said. (Mark 6.31)
Editor’s note: Scotiaxc would appreciate if people join the non-profit club for a very reasonable rate to help support this non-profit group in its preparation of skiing trails around the province.
Just log in to the website Scotiaxc.ca, click on membership and sign up.
Rev. Michael Tutton is a former national journalist who know works as an Anglican priest in the Parish of Fall River and Oakfield.