Sun...

...shine


today was close to a perfect day,

10 cms of fresh snow (flurries) over the past 24 hrs is a fantastic way to start your last day in town.

since the WEST BOWL T-Bar (off the back side of mt Tod) is only open on weekends; it had a nice collection of powder accumulate over the week.

The top of Tod mountain was also above the fog today :) so it was skiing fresh tracks in the sun (even better)...

logged a lot of vertical today, only pausing to collect my camera for some photos in the afternoon, once the fog in the valley cleared up.

My knee held up pretty well – and I sucessfully managed to not injure myself any further.

when I stopped in to collect my camera; I discovered a little gift sitting just inside my front door.

It turns out that one of the managers of tourism sun peaks had read my recent blog entry re: adventurous travel from vancouver (big hello to Christina). Along with the card was a bottle of wine and a nifty bottle opener.

Wow; was definitely not expecting that. I've gotta say that as far as pleasant surprises go – this is a very good one...

I should probably clarify a few things;

The drivers from the shuttle company were always professional, courteous, and genuinely felt bad about the mistake. I wasn't really inconvenienced in any way - as i'd always planned to settle in during my afternoon arrival, and I still managed to pick up my lift ticket for the next day.

Lastly, Sun Peaks has been a fantastic holiday destination. The entire mountain has been amazingly firendly and welcoming. Absolutely everyone - the lift company staff, shopkeepers, and especially the locals; have been nothing short of fantastic.

It's something that I always look forward to when travelling to a ski-town. Everyone you meet – loves the snow-sports culture, and is genuinely pumped to be there.

Photo-time.

- top of the world – highest lifted point at sun peaks – top of the burfield chair



- Facespace photo from the top.



- Ski patrol “warming-hut” at the top.



- Closer shot of the burfield chair.



- Caution (steep descent to the crystal bowl area)



- The crystal chair



- unloading station of the crystal



- entry to the bowl (which had been shrouded in fog all week)



- my skis...



- arty stuff – chairlift shadow



- more arty stuff – chairlift sillhouette



- nicely cut-up run at the end of the day – unsure of the run, could be “lunch time”...



- sunset through the trees (filtered through my ski goggles)

ok, I guess that's it from sunpeaks, sadly the time has come to return to the heat down under.

Tonight is - Pack-then-Party.

Tomorrow morning is - shuttle to airport, fly to Vancouver, store skis, meet some people for lunch/etc, and finally – board another 15+ hr flight...

see ya

Bonus photo


- detail of the silhouette chairlift...

mild strain...

...of the ACL on my right knee yesterday. (self diagnosed - no way I'm going to call in my insurance to just have it confirmed)

Nothing serious, infact - was out skiing today (keeping it VERY easy) and it seems to have loosened up a little. it's the same little bugger that got a "mild strain" back in 2003 when teaching at hotham. last time it was an embarassing edge catch while skiing backward and looking at my kids, this time an embarassing twisting fall into powder...

It's been snowing (well flurry-ing) for bits of each day since monday, hence the lack of photos... been skiing.

I also managed to forget to pack a Battery for my waterproof/ski camera, so if I do take out the LX3 I'll have to wait for a good day (don't want to fall and kill it).

Sun Peaks is a really nice destination - good terrain, simple village lay-out; and DRY SNOW.

ok, getting cold again.

catch you all soon

Ian

Sometimes you realise early on...

...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

goodbye...

...Vancouver

it's been swell.

it's also been mild and dry(-ish) during my stay, for this I thank you.

alas I must away to the ski fields of the interior.

alrighty, enough of that.

Today = drove out to Richmond (south, and near the airport)

if you ever get the chance to head to the Richmond centre mall, here's some free advice; Don't

enough said.

some pretty pictures on the return journey.


- north arm of the Fraser river, separating Vancouver and Richmond



- more of the same



- and one more

I'm off to the airport in the morning - return the rental car and fly to kamloops (about an hour), to catch a shuttle into my first ski village in over 6 years...

wow, has it really been that long... I guess so.

Unsure of my Internet connectivity in town. For a little while today, I was also unsure of my accommodation. I've been convinced that all is well, and I won't be camping out under the overpass.

if I get net, see you soon, otherwise; catch you in a week.

too much...

...of a good thing.

sometimes, a good idea can be strangled in its execution.

in our over-litigous society, warning signs have become a guilty pleasure of mine.

the sheer number of warnings on display at the enterance to the Lynn Valley Park in north Van; is just astounding.

to be completely clear - I'm all for warnings. If these over-blown and quite-frankly ridiculous signs can result in the saving of even one life, then great. But sometimes, you just have to laugh at the poor execution of a great idea.


Lets start with a good one


- displayed at various places where people might think about jumping a fence
- very straight-forward in it's message. go beyond here at your own risk
- don't do it.

however if we return to the warnings at the enterence of the park; alongside the trail maps and other information boards, we get the following...

to be fair, all of these were accompanied with text describing the actual warning, but it's certainly funnier if we just look at the pictures.

- careful of the cliff, you might fall... good advice


- ...and need to go swimming... ok.


- ...but it's cold... again, thanks for reminding me (this could actually be useful in summer)


- ...and you will drown... wow, bummer.


- ...unless you have magic shoes, in which case you will float... say what now?


- ...If you are a girl, your magic shoes will cause you to drift into the cliffs... ...well that's strangely specific


...ummmm...


-...what...


- ...the...


...f*ck...


- ...now you're just messing with me


- WHAT! seriously - you have to stop. why decapitate a harmless dog? he wasn't doing anything, that's it - i'm out of here...


Others


- NO BOGANS!



- ...if you climb a fence, you might hurt your nuts...



Once I'd recovered from the humourous signage, and moved into the park; I found the suspension bridge


- first built in 1912... with a span of 48m, hanging 50m above the creek



- the bridge, back in 1915



- is it scary?



- not really



- the supports are anchored pretty well into the rock



- and as you can see in this detail shot - the bridge cable is mighty and strong



- shot of the trail, with raised walkway (couldn't tell if it was to protect me from the forest... or the forest from me)



- moss on the trees (oooooh furry...)



- cool tree-stump



- reflection = pretty?



- scary waterfalls!



- massive cliff (actually about a foot high, but the macro makes it look HUGE)


what else... Oh, I saw fantastic mr fox last night - 'twas pretty good. nice use of the stop-motion-style.

Last day in vancouver tomorrow - probably spend it packing... for the snow!

see ya