Whistler, Day 5

Our very last day on the mountain could not have been better -- well maybe more powder -- but great visibility, sunshine to help with some of the crippling cold, and still lots of energy to do some great riding. Some of the great jumping shots:
I am not going to post MY jump at the spot where the guys jumped, because my Mom would have a heart attack. I am just fine, but took a good spill. My helmet did its job really REALLY well, but now I have to get a new one! It could not have been a better place to take a fall with all of the really soft/deep powder! Those of you that follow me on Twitter saw the pic I took of my helmet!

We also went back up to the top of Whistler so we could get a group shot with "Rocky" -- who will surely be the icon of the 2010 Olympic games...it is so cool!

The best part was the finale of our Whistler time -- we finally made it to the coolest bar at the base for Apres Ski, and were shocked to find out there was a Fire and Ice show of the pros jumping through a ring of fire! We ran outside and grabbed a table, and had the best seat in the house (and in the real Real REAL cold). It was INCREDIBLE. Or in Joel's words, "This does NOT suck..." :)

We are packing up now -- time to head to Seattle and then fly home tomorrow evening!

Whistler, Day 4

Back to the mountain we went for 2 more days of skiing/riding!

After a day of shopping/rest we were all feeling pretty good, and ready to enjoy more mountain time. The visibility during the first half of the day was terrible. None of us could really see the terrain, so we were not doing anything too crazy. We ended up finding the glacier where you had to take off your gear and hike up quite a ways, and after THREE people said no, I finally found a girl to take our group picture:

We met up with Rosa and Andy for the afternoon of skiing on our favorite run of the trip (Bark Sandwich). The sub finally came out and we were able to have some more fun in the trees. The day ended by riding the Peak-2-Peak chair again, and trying to un-freeze our CamelBacks...

Stay tuned for day 4!

Whistler, Day 3

The LEAST extreme day of our trip -- we slept in, went out to lunch not totally awake;

then shopped for the entire afternoon/early evening. All of us had a hard time finding just the right combination of "Whistler" and colors and apparel for the right price. I still cannot believe how much time was spent shopping -- and Dave was by far the least happy about it. Joel and I win for the most shopping.......yay? No, not really. Needless to say, not many pictures of that.

But last night we made reservations at a steak house for dinner. The Keg was our restaurant of choice, since we wanted steak and did not have any nice attire for some of the crazy-expensive restaurants up here in the village. But the wine was really good -- 2 bottles worth!

In closing, it is SO TIRING to shop all day...see exhibit A below. Yes, he is sleeping on the window bench of our condo, with a fold-out couch bed just 5 feet away...

Whistler, Day 2

Day 2 we found some great stuff on the mountain. We finally worked our way to pretty-much the top (of Whistler mountain) where we encountered winds like NEVER before. This stone sculpture is the "Whistler" logo and we believe it is going to be all over the Olympics. It took three shots to get a clear image of it because the wind was throwing powder EVERYWHERE.

After we made it through the wind-chute -- we found a spot with lower winds for a couple of pictures. It was clear and sunny which meant we found great tree runs with deep powder. I found powder that was a little TOO deep...and got stuck for awhile. But the boys hit a really great jump (nobody landed it) but at least the landing was soft!
Since we are taking today off, we decided to stay up really late and enjoy lots of Canadian beer...so it is a slow start to our free-day. But I hope to get some shopping (so does Joel -- look out ARC'TERYX store) and a good steak dinner tonight!

Whistler, Day 1

The day finally arrived -- the 18-months of planning (again, thanks to Joel) were all to start the mountain time. After getting our 2-day lift tickets - just in case - we made our way to the gondola up Whistler Mountain. The day started a little rough with conditions that weren't ideal, but once we found Bark Sandwich (the name of a run) we were in heaven!

It snowed in the afternoon, and Mark definitely wins the Trick of the day with a complete somersault. His skis didn't even pop off! Dave was taking a picture, but we all wish that it was a video... :) We made it through the slush at the end of the day/mountain base -- and off to Black's Pub for some beers and to talk about our plan for tomorrow.

This evening we kept it really low-key -- the boys were on the phone with their girls (Mark is a chatty-Cathy for sure) while Dave and I 'internetted' and downloaded pictures. Since I don't have photoshop on this laptop, it is very hard to open/resize images. So there will only be a couple images straight-from-the-camera on this blog!

Vancouver

Tuesday morning we woke up to search for breakfast. After it was decided that a $30 hotel breakfast buffet was a bit too much, we were told to hit a food-court for a quick bite. It was overcast and drizzling slightly, but we still wanted to walk around and see the town!

First stop was Canada Place, where we could walk somewhat away from the city and see the port and skyline.

It was recommended that we take the Seabus across the bay since it was a pretty cheap trip, and neat to see the city from an even greater distance.

And what did we do next? A mid-day beer at another local-pub! We knew we wanted to see a bit more of the city, so back on the train we made our way to China Town. It was pretty amazing to walk into another world that spans a few blocks...and see some beautiful gardens. We were losing light, and had a list of 3 places that were a "must see" on the drive to Whistler. After getting our bags/car from the hotel we began our drive (courtesy of chauffeur Joel)...

Shannon falls was the first recommendation, and WOW it did not disappoint! I tried to take as many pictures as I could, but I really do not think that it could capture what it felt like to walk up to this immense water-landmark.

It was dark and we were hungry so we took in the scenery from the car and made our way to Whistler. After a LAVISH dinner of McDonalds we found our condo! The space is quaint, and we walk to the lifts because we are so close. There are TONS of stores with all my favorite brands (Burton, Volcom, North Face) -- and we hope to shop on our day off. We were all so tired, we went to sleep. Had to get ready for our first day of Whistler skiing!

The Group Shot

If we ever were A) a band and B) made an album...this would be the cover...