This time I have lots to say! ( well, I always have lots to say, but sometimes it's not very exciting...) I've just gotten back from a road trip to Panorama Mountain Resort, where my friends Cam and Marko work. It was an awesome trip, full of adventures, as well as a number of misadventures!
Cam is a friend from back in NZ, and Marko is an awesome Aussie who I met in Vancouver... and proving once again what a small world it is, they both happened to be working at the same resort, and in the same department... and now they're best friends... (my work here is done...)\
My trip started of somewhat disasterously... I left Banff on my Greyhound around about 7.45pm on Sunday night... it's about a 2hour trip down to Invermere, the closest town to Pano Resort. I get to Invermere and my phone finally gets reception - and I then discover a message from Marko saying that he and Cam are stuck in Banff because they've closed the roads (they were on their way back from a road trip up north)... so, ironically, I'm stuck in Invermere with no where to stay and they're in Banff, with the same problem...
Thank Goodness for the Best Western... the visa wasn't so happy, but at least I had a bed for the night...
I finally managed to get up to Pano on the staff bus (the boys were somewhere on the highway, waiting for the roads to open, and sleeping in the car)... and managed to get in an afternoon on the hill before checking into my hotel room... the boys eventually made it back to Panorama, 2 hours late for work and quite tired... but the troopers that they are - they invited me up to the restaurant they work at (yay for Mile High Pizza) where they plied me with apologies and free Pizza. After they finished, we had a few beers at the pub and made a plan for the next day... the snow at pano has been pretty average (as it has been at a lot of the hills; spring is coming), so the boys thought it would be worth a road trip in Norry (their crappy Ford truck) to Kicking Horse (22cm fresh powder overnight, 90cm in the last 7 days!!).
We were up bright and early on Tuesday to get on the road... Kicking Horse is just under 2 hours away from Pano, so I get to see a bit of the Canadian countryside... The conditions at KH were beautiful - clear skies and lots of fresh snow! Even better, I got to ride for free because Pano staff get reciprocal passes (and I look enough like Kate (Cam and Marko's workmate) to use her staff pass).
The boys really poushed my riding, which was awesome - my first run for the day was down Bowl Over (a double black for anyone who knows trail conditions)... (photographic evidence on Flickr!). The powder was amazing - a foot deep and lots of fresh tracks. I did have a slight incident on the cat track which resulted in a blood nose and bruising on my eye socket, but that couldn't keep the smile of my face! Kicking Horse is reknowned for it's long runs - the longest being 10kms (that's a long way to ride!) but it is the best hill I've been to, bar none! It was an awesome day, and the bruises are totally worth it!
The drive back was pretty cool too - the sun was out, and daylight savings has just started, so it was light the whole way home... and the boys let me drive (what were they thinking!?) cos they both wanted to have ninja naps... so I can know drive on the 'wrong' side of the road, and know how do drive a standard (manual) when it's on the opposite side from what I'm used to...
The day was complete with a hearty dinner (cooked by me of course...), some beers and a few hours in the spa pool. What I would call a perfect day!
Unfortunately the next day I had to get back on the bus and come back to Banff... I wasn't really ready to come back, but at least the drive back through the Kootenay National Park was pretty enough to distract me! I'm hoping to get down there again before I leave Banff (only 5 weeks to go - scary!), or otherwise the boys and I are hoping to head north to Jasper for a few days... either way, it'll be heaps of fun!
That's about my news for now... work is the same, getting busier everyday, and the snow is melting :( ... I've started planning my trip East... and I'm heading to Whistler (west, just north of Vancouver) just after I leave here: for the Telus World Ski and Snowboarding Festival... can't wait!
xxx Pip xxx
Friday, March 16, 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
i'm getting worse...
hmmm, so it seems I am getting worse at writing my blog. just call me a slacker. sorry.
and the funny thing is (well, I don't actually think it's all that funny....) is that I haven't written in nearly a month, but I can't remember what's been happening!
I'll recap the bits I do remember:
I was lucky enough to stay up Sunshine Village (on the hill) with the new boyfriend Will the other week. He was living up there for a couple of weeks until they moved into their new apartment (another story). It was great - it snowed copiously and I had 2 absolutely awesome days of riding! The other great thing was that it cost me next to nothing... you get signed in as a guest to the staff accom area, it's $30 and that gives you a place to stay and 2 days lift pass! Being that a lift pass is usually $70 odd for a day, I was a pretty happy camper.
I was riding with Will (who has the patience of a saint when it comes to coaching me on my techinique!) and Mark, the crazy canadian I work with...
After an exhausting 1st day, Will and I left Mark to head down the ski out to catch the bus back to Banff... but it didn't end so good for him - he took a bad bail and broke his collarbone (really badly too - the xrays make me shudder...). Poor boy, he was all by himself and had to be ski patrolled out, and taken straight to the hospital, where he had surgery... and now has a permenent memento of that day - 2 steel plates, 8 screws and a massive scar! That's his season over, but he's on the mend and seems cheerful enough now (especially since I gave him a NZ flag and a pineapple lump!)
In other happenings, Heather, Will and Kyle moved into their new apartment (I pretty much live there...I'm like a permenant guest)... it's still looking a bit bare, but the have the essentials - a bed each, a couch, a TV and an XBox! Moving in was a mission, but lots of fun. Kyle's old flat was in Canmore, a town about 20 minutes from Banff, so we 'borrowed' a bus from his work (he's a bus driver) and took it to Canmore to load all his stuff into. It worked really well - buses can carry a lot of stuff you know! They've now been in the apartment (good old 105) for nearly 10 days, and it's definately already home!
Heather's friend Claire (scottish as shortbread!) visited for a few days so it was nice to have some other girly company... we spent an awesome day up at Louise, even though the snow is starting to disappear (i'm hoping it's just the Chinook blowing through, and not the start of Spring just yet)... it's been realy warm lately - up to plus 10 aty one stage! And my friend Kirstin from Calgary is visiting next weekend, so I'm really excited about that! It'll be awesome to catch up with her, and show her what a local I've become!
I've been working quite a bit lately (cos of Mark's accident, he hasn't been able to work, leaving us short staffed...) but I've got Sun - Weds off this week and I'm heading down to Panorama Mountain Resort to visit some friends and check out another mountain... I'm really looking forward to it - I've booked myself into the hotel and have already got my lift pass... it'll be great to get away from Banff (as much as I love it here) and see Cam and Marko... can't wait! It's coasting me a pretty penny, but it'll be worth it!
That's about all the excitement I've had in the last 3 and a bit weeks... I've gotta go and buy a board bag now, so I can get all my gear safely to Panorama... and also cos it's only 6 weeks until I'm due to leave Banff... which I am fast deciding I don't really want to do... I have so many good friends here and am having the time of my life... but the UK and Spain are calling, so it's a bittersweet thought!
Miss you all lots,
Love,
Pip xxx
and the funny thing is (well, I don't actually think it's all that funny....) is that I haven't written in nearly a month, but I can't remember what's been happening!
I'll recap the bits I do remember:
I was lucky enough to stay up Sunshine Village (on the hill) with the new boyfriend Will the other week. He was living up there for a couple of weeks until they moved into their new apartment (another story). It was great - it snowed copiously and I had 2 absolutely awesome days of riding! The other great thing was that it cost me next to nothing... you get signed in as a guest to the staff accom area, it's $30 and that gives you a place to stay and 2 days lift pass! Being that a lift pass is usually $70 odd for a day, I was a pretty happy camper.
I was riding with Will (who has the patience of a saint when it comes to coaching me on my techinique!) and Mark, the crazy canadian I work with...
After an exhausting 1st day, Will and I left Mark to head down the ski out to catch the bus back to Banff... but it didn't end so good for him - he took a bad bail and broke his collarbone (really badly too - the xrays make me shudder...). Poor boy, he was all by himself and had to be ski patrolled out, and taken straight to the hospital, where he had surgery... and now has a permenent memento of that day - 2 steel plates, 8 screws and a massive scar! That's his season over, but he's on the mend and seems cheerful enough now (especially since I gave him a NZ flag and a pineapple lump!)
In other happenings, Heather, Will and Kyle moved into their new apartment (I pretty much live there...I'm like a permenant guest)... it's still looking a bit bare, but the have the essentials - a bed each, a couch, a TV and an XBox! Moving in was a mission, but lots of fun. Kyle's old flat was in Canmore, a town about 20 minutes from Banff, so we 'borrowed' a bus from his work (he's a bus driver) and took it to Canmore to load all his stuff into. It worked really well - buses can carry a lot of stuff you know! They've now been in the apartment (good old 105) for nearly 10 days, and it's definately already home!
Heather's friend Claire (scottish as shortbread!) visited for a few days so it was nice to have some other girly company... we spent an awesome day up at Louise, even though the snow is starting to disappear (i'm hoping it's just the Chinook blowing through, and not the start of Spring just yet)... it's been realy warm lately - up to plus 10 aty one stage! And my friend Kirstin from Calgary is visiting next weekend, so I'm really excited about that! It'll be awesome to catch up with her, and show her what a local I've become!
I've been working quite a bit lately (cos of Mark's accident, he hasn't been able to work, leaving us short staffed...) but I've got Sun - Weds off this week and I'm heading down to Panorama Mountain Resort to visit some friends and check out another mountain... I'm really looking forward to it - I've booked myself into the hotel and have already got my lift pass... it'll be great to get away from Banff (as much as I love it here) and see Cam and Marko... can't wait! It's coasting me a pretty penny, but it'll be worth it!
That's about all the excitement I've had in the last 3 and a bit weeks... I've gotta go and buy a board bag now, so I can get all my gear safely to Panorama... and also cos it's only 6 weeks until I'm due to leave Banff... which I am fast deciding I don't really want to do... I have so many good friends here and am having the time of my life... but the UK and Spain are calling, so it's a bittersweet thought!
Miss you all lots,
Love,
Pip xxx
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