...that your day is not going to go to plan
yesterday was one of those days.
It started off well enough: Car rental return was smooth. Check-in and gear-drop were usual.
Security check seemed a little over the top.
Every 2nd passenger was setting off the metal detector, and required a pat-down... ok, no real problem with that – I'm early....
...shoes off, pat down, etc, etc, shoes back on...
...coffee and a bagel – so, they missed the cream/milk, easily fixed...
...plane is delayed – meh, it's only 15 mins...
...make that a ½ hr.
...ok, so now the plane has a maintenance issue (something to do with de-icing) and we're on standby as they try to shuffle the flight to another aircraft...
...depart 1 hr behind schedule on the new plane... all good, the shuttle wasn't going to meet you at the airport until 1215 anyway.
...short weather-related delay in the air...
...touchdown, collect baggage and move to the shuttle...
...there may not be enough room for your gear... hmmmm
The reason for this is pretty clear upon departure; the shuttle has been overbooked...
...as the only passenger not in a group, you're pretty much guaranteed to be the one to get booted off...
...at least your bags are easy to remove...
...and it gives you time to read while waiting for the next shuttle.
...Coffee (yay)...
...next shuttle is on time... until we stop to swap drivers, (15 min wait at the edge of town)...
...swap driver. Original driver departs with new bus...
...new driver does a safety check on the original bus...
...tyres are too flat to make it up the mountain safely...
...another 15 minute wait as the original driver returns with the new bus...
...swap luggage...
...get stuck behind a slow moving tow-truck...
...arrive in the village, collect keys...
…last person to be dropped off...
Expected arrival time in sun peaks = 1300
Actual arrival time in sun peaks = 1630
4 hr travel emds up being 7+1/2
With all the travel out of the way, I collected my lift-ticket, had another coffee (yay), and set about finding dinner / settling in.
early night = early morning.
It's cold and cloudy, but I start from an awesome position. Accommodation is ski-out to base lift, and ski-in from a green-run. :)
eschewing the first coffee of the day in favour of a quick run, it's off to the lift.
I always assume that between trips I've forgotten how to ski; and am amazed when, about 5 turns in, I link together a few decent ones.
Get to the base, and realise that it's time to caffeinate (yay)...
Sun peaks is a central village in the valley between three separate peaks.
The lift system is well thought out, and although the trip up is fairly long (distance and time) it's very easy to pick a new peak; within 2 hours, I'd been up on all 3.
We're away from the coast, and the difference in snow quality is quite noticeable.
Whistler gets icy or slushy if there hasn't been much recent snowfall; out here, it's cold enough during the day to maintain a very nice and skiable base.
The resort has a good variety of runs. Nicely pitched wide blues that are always groomed over night, and more challenging narrow blacks that have some mid-season bumps...
MY fitness was the initial let-down of the day (knees/fatigue), so I made the shocking decision to take a noon-time break for a couple of hours, before powering out for some non-stop skiing til the end of the day.
I'm exteremely happy with my recent jacket purchase; the skis and boots still work, and my goggle-repair held up for most of the day (there was a little moisture caught between the lens layers during some fog at the end of the day).
Internet is a little tricky to lock-down at my accommodation, but I have discovered an unsecured wireless connection about 5 mins away. The downside is that it's outside... and with late afternoon temps hovering at -5deg C - I can't really spend too much time online.
For the last few years, I've had a little internet chat with a mate (big hello to Leon) as the oscar nominations are announced; this year I'm hoping to brave the bitter cold, and continue the tradition at 0545 tomorrow morning.
In short – it's cold, skiing is still fun, and coffee rocks (yay).
See ya
1 comment:
For the record folks, Oscary goodness meant that he indeed braved the cold... wait, make that Arctic-sub-zero style temperatures. Scott and Mawson have nothing on this guy. The downside was regular typos as the gloves had to stay on. Considering the alternative was frostbite and a new business name "Stumpsound", probably a wise move..... A+ for effort Mr T.
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