Woke today to rain and worry. Did I mention that on the drive up from Vancouver there was no snow? Anywhere? Even in Whistler Village? And now it was raining.
Well, nothing for it but to move hopefully forward. Lift tickets were discounted due to the weather, and Graeme and I received a further discount with our Blue Mountain season passes. Okay, so maybe it was going to be crap, but at least it would be cheap crap.
Got to the top of the Blackcomb Gondola (Excalibur) and the world was still worryingly green. This was our first time at Whistler/Blackcomb, and we had no idea how far up we were. Up the next lift, and the world began to whiten. Feeling heartened, we headed off to the next lift upwards, the Jersey Cream Express, and life became a bit more promising. We fooled around a bit on our own, and then met up with the guides that were co-ordinated by Altitude. We went with Blair, who was leading snowboarders on easy blue routes, along with his lovely boyfriend, Chris.
Down the first route with the group. I got to the bottom, and there they all were, waiting, all looking perfect. Me, I looked like a snowman, having spend a significant amount of time rolling down the mountain. They all pretended not to notice as I blew snowballs out of my nose and gathered myself.
Next we went out of bounds, and went on a charming jaunt through the trees, which were mysteriously clinging to the near-vertical face. Okay, that's an exaggeration. It's how it felt, though. Boarding in Ontario in no way prepared me for this.
Blair realized that I wasn't really "keeping up" and toned it down a notch, sticking to easier, cruisy blues, and things went better for me after that, though I still feel bad for being the lowest common denominator.
Kitchenettes should be manditory in all hotel roomes. We had pork chops, baby bok choy, broccoli and red peppers for dinner, all masterfully prepared by Graeme on our hot plate.
Afterwards we went to David's chalet to soak in their hot tub, as the hot tub in out hotel was under renovation. Always travel in packs. Other people will always have things you want to use...
Pics are here.
Posted by Ken Allen at January 31, 2005 11:20 PM