« The Update ! | Main | Happy New Year »
December 28, 2005
A day of powder..
So both myself and SK had the day off today, we awoke to find the snow report indicating the freezing level had fallen to Village level and that 15cm of fresh snow had fallen overnight :)
We got into the village for 10am to find it completly packed, obviously the sight of snow falling outside peoples hotels rooms inspires them somewhat...
We decided on Blackcomb (local knowledge suggested it was the safer bet) and queued for the respective gondola.
30 minutes later we were up the mountain and facing monsterous queues for the main "Jersey Cream" lift, deciding life was too short to be spent queuing on a powder day we headed to the very top of the mountain to the glacier (up the cunningly named "Glacier Express"). The 'queue' consisted of about 10 people - probably helped by large notices saying 'Glacier Ski Area for Advanced/Expert Skiers Only' :o)
Although a little windswept at first we had a good couple of runs down the mountain to mid station.
At about 1pm one of the lights on the lift status boards twinkled from red to green and showed the highest lift on the mountain was open - allowing access to the glacier down the back of the mountain.
We got up as quickly as possible and did the small hike from the lift top to the entrance gate. We were part of a small group of about 10 'die hards' all looking for fresh powder despite the rather windswept conditions. A short traverse across a trecherous snow bridge brought us to the top of the long snow bowl - the lift station was an 11km ride away!
We strapped in and started the 4km run down the glacier itself in ~1m deep soft powder, despite the poor visability it was great fun and a fantastic feeling to just be effortlessly gliding over soft fresh snow.
The remaining 6km of steep cat track were fantastic as it weaved through the valley floor with meltwater alpine streams and pine forests lightly covered in fresh snow. Awesome.
A brief stop for lunch left time for one final run from the main restaurant near the top of the mountain right down to the Village base - a vertical drop of just over 1200m - a bit of a thigh burner over churned up 'mogaled' snow.
So what else is happening? We've just got back from the local - 'Dusty's Bar & BBQ' having taken full advantage of their $1/rib offer.
I've just found out due to the increased number of visitors I've got to work for the whole day tomorrow - not just the morning :o( - nevermind, it'll count as overtime.
I think we're going to 'Uncle Chris' house tomorrow for a late christmas dinner which will be very nice I'm sure.
Also with the lack of improvement on my knee I've decided to get some physio on it, just got to pick the right day - one where I'm not working or when the snowboarding will be remotely decent... April next year seems to be the next available gap.
Posted by edwardnorthridge at December 28, 2005 09:21 PM
Comments
A drunk comes out of a bar, and is accosted by a nun standing outside.
She admonishes him and tells him how bad drink was to his brain and so on.
He stops her and says, "What are you talking about?" "Have you ever had a drink in your life?"
The nun of course says "no".
The drunk retorts, "Then how can you criticise me if you haven't experienced it?"
So the nun agrees to "try" a drink. But she asks "What drink do ladies drink?"
The drunk says "Gin".
The nun says, "I'll do it, but have them put it in a cup so no one will notice".
The drunk goes back into the bar, orders a stout for himself and "a gin in a coffee cup".
The bartender yells, "It's that bloody nun again, isn't it!"
Posted by: G at January 1, 2006 03:44 PM