March 29, 2006
Blackcomb CONQUERED
I have scored victory over Blackcomb by completing all its runs today. I have 2 left do to on Whistler which will be done tomorrow then I guess I'm finished.
Today was beautiful as ever, I have an awesomely brown face now but the rest of my body remains a pale English-rose style white. So really it just looks like I am dirty.
Roadtrip '06 starts on Friday, using my newly acquired age we have rented a Pontiac Sunfire for a drive down to Seattle and stopover in Vancouver (staying in the lovely Waterfront Fairmont). So no doubt I will be poor as hell when I get back which is great news, the necessity to find a more reliable source of income (thus job) over the summer is becoming a little more apparent by the day. But then I knew I only really had the funds to be a bum for 6 months...
Finally, the visa application is underway. So far my impression of the lawyer who is handling it isn't very impressive, and since I struggled to find any opinions on them anywhere on the net I am going to update the entire process here in the hope that it helps someone else in choosing. So using Campbell Cohen from http://www.canadavisa.com let's hope they dont disappoint.
Posted by Mark at 7:30 PM | TrackBack
March 20, 2006
Goggle Tans
The weather has been incredible the last couple of days, hitting double figures in celsius with the sun being warmer than the height of summer in the UK. Of course this means 2 things:
1) Goggle tans
2) The snow is melting
However, 2 is going to be rectified at the end of the week when we're forecast half a metre of new snow. I have 3 runs left to do on Blackcomb before it's completed, pretty simple ones. Here's a pretty picture I took today:
Posted by Mark at 6:29 PM | TrackBack
March 16, 2006
Spankys Ladder
Yesterday was indeed activious (that's a new word). A pretty late meeting with only one goal, strike off a couple of the double diamonds up on Blackcomb, namely a group of bowls called Spankys Ladder. I figure actually the hike up is called this as it is sheet ice with random footholes and a good drop just off to your left, great fun and some moron decided it'd be a good day to ski (hint: me).
Up at the top the view over the glacier is spectacular, a ledge leads into 4 bowls namely Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond and Garnet. We hit the Ruby first under the impression it was the easiest and indeed it was a relatively pleasant double diamond, the powder was awesome considering it hadn't snowed for a few days. The hike up and out and down to the Glacier road took an hour so we headed up again to hit the next bowl, Sapphire.
At the entrance is a sign proclaiming icy conditions, well we're all used to them from November but they failed to mention the sheer rock face you were also skiing over. Phil headed over first, board attached, hit a rock and somersaulted over a couple more. Not very stylish but it worked well. The rest edged down on their arses using boards for stabiliy. Next comes ski-boy, for some reason I decided it'd be wiser to take my skis off and use my boots to dig into the ice. Note: ice is TOUGH. I slipped, over the side of the traverse, managing to hit about 3 or 4 rocks on the way down ouch. The worst bit was letting go of my skis, one of which decided to make its own way down the lovely powdery bowl we were now in! Phil chased it down and caught it within a 100 metres or so but I still had to get down a double black diamond in about a foot of powder with one ski. Superb.
I have about 5 runs left on Blackcomb before they're all covered - obviously all double diamonds but there's plenty of time for the bruises to heal yet. Not looking forward to "Blowhole" which looks like a half pipe... vertical.
Posted by Mark at 11:17 AM | TrackBack
March 14, 2006
ColdFX
Ok so I had a cold yesterday. Today I don't. That is the magic of North American drugs, as advertised by the mighty Don Cherry, ColdFX is possibly the greatest drug known to man. The fact that its only ingredient is something called CWT-E002 shouldn't put you off because that is seemingly the formula for magic dust.
Little else to report, I am starting to proceed with my immigration application which I'm told will have me a Canadian citizen within 6 months - I am somehow screwing the system by being offered a "fulltime" job by Chris which means I avoid the normal 27 month processing time and having to prove myself with a bunch of documentation.
I seem to be working a lot more these past few weeks and going out a lot less, which is fine by me. Funds are beginning to run low and if I am genuinely going to stay then I should stop pissing away money as it's going to be a tight few years.
Posted by Mark at 9:44 AM | TrackBack
March 11, 2006
Flute hike!
Today was Flute hike day again, I only remembered half way up the 30 minute walk that the last time I did the Flute I went on to bust my knee on the way back down the mountain.
This time was different thankfully and the weather and sun were glorious up at the top, I wish I'd taken my camera. Instead we had a picnic which was just as exciting if a little chilly.
Here's a really poor picture of the hike:
Posted by Mark at 4:07 PM | TrackBack
March 7, 2006
Incredible Powder Day #87
The apline opened on Blackcomb today after a 2 day storm and blessed us with ~50cm of fresh snow. Getting up at 8am, everythng seemed to get timed to perfection as we hit each lift just as it opened and got fresh lines down each run. Five hours (no breaks) riding later (and a bit of damage to the knee again) I am absolutely shattered, almost like the beginning of the season, my arms barely work and my back feels broken.
Nothing like snow up to your waist though. Just don't fall over.
Posted by Mark at 4:22 PM | TrackBack
March 6, 2006
Awesome day #54
I am beginning to run out of room for memories on this trip, today was another incredible day. It puked about a foot of snow overnight and the storm looks to stay over the early part of the week, made only better by the sheer lack of people here - seriously the village is dead. Phil, Gwen and I tracked out most of what they were able to open (due to 60km/h winds) and almost like the beginning of the season I am absolutely wasted, my whole body aches. I figure in the 4 weeks off I had I lost most of my stamina.
Who'd have thought I'd be getting up at 7am, exerting myself physically to the point of breaking and still not be moaning. Certainly not anyone that knows me.
Yesterday was much the same, the snow started around 11am when we headed up the hill (timed to perfection) to find a good couple of inches in places. With my knee feeling a whole load better I took on the challenge of a jump down the side of a piste and promptly landed on a) my face b) my bad knee. The laughing from Mark and Phil soon stopped when I hadn't moved for a few minutes. Luckily my helmet took a lot of the impact and I only saw black and fuzzy colours for a few minutes. Aces.
Erica is rather bizarrely in town, and we caught up for drinks yesterday evening, I struggled to maintain conversation in my half comatosed state (due to the fall and tiredness) but it was nice to see her.
Little else to report, we've barely been out since Ads left, just a few quiet nights watching the hockey but I have been busy maintaining relations with Robyn which is better than any night out.
The big TWO-FIVE is looming a week on Saturday, there's something to be said for settling down at that sort of age but hell when you're having this much fun it's easily forgotten.