03/10/2010, Nanoose Bay
Jeannie & I with cousin Tim Armstrong, chef at Glacier Creek Lodge, Blackcomb
We stayed in Vancouver for a week of Olympic activity mixed with major renovations at Andrews. I painted the entire house inside, staying ahead of the new hardwood floor going down. His project to add a small section to the kitchen has now taken over every room in the house!
To recuperate, we headed back up to Whistler for another five days and enjoyed some more excellent skiing in the bowls of Whistler and Blackcomb.
And from Whistler we moved over to Vancouver Island where we'll spend a week or so exploring, then an end to our travels for the time being.
We're staying at the beautiful home of our good friends, Dave and Carol Morrison. Its a sort of extra house they have, and use infrequently. So while they winter in Palm Springs, we'll use it as a base for exploring.
Then back to PEI and Taxe (@#$%^&*)!!
I have posted more skiing pictures in the photo section. Its time to start thinkng about sailing again, only a few months away! This will be my last blog until we begin cruising again in summer.
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02/19/2010, Big White Ski Resort
"Snow Ghosts", Big White
From Apex we wound our way down into the Okanagan Valley and into the town of Pemberton. Then we re-traced our steps north past Vernon and began our ascent eastward towards Revelstoke. Passing signs warning "Chain-up area ahead" we carried on in our summer tires. In Vancouver, where we had rented the car, there is so little snow that few vehicles bother with them.
But we were fortunate to have bare roads all the way to the town of Revelstoke where we found our condo. Next morning we headed up to Revelstoke Resort, only a few miles out of town Its a new resort with only one building at the base and very muddy parking lots. Although not a large mountain for skiing, it is noted for its excellent snow and challenging terrain. And in three days of skiing we saw lots of both!
And then off for the last stop on this section of the tour to Big White. We again wound down into the Okanagan Valley, travelling south back to Kelowna then up again into the mountains fo a single day of skiing at Big White. It was just a single day as we have to be back in Vancouver for Saturday to attend the Olympic short track speed skating.
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02/12/2010, Apex Mountain, BC
SJL skiing the deep powder of Apex
Well, we left Silver Star on Tuesday and spent the night in Kelowna where we visited with friends living there. Then yesterday we drove down to Penticton and in 35 km in to Apex Mountain. And for 35 km we drove up and up and up! By the time we arrived at the resort, our ears were seroiously popping. And with the altitude came mountains of snow.
In Kelowna, the weather, typical for the Okanagan winter, was a warm 10C (50F) with not a sign of winter. In fact, we decided to buy a shovel and scraper for the car and had to go to three hardware stores before we found one. The winter stuff is all stored away, with the spring gardening centers opening! Some time I'll write about the many wineries of the Okanagan, where they produce beautiful vintages.
Up in Apex we found a small folksy base with few skiers about. We checked in for two days of skiing.
On Thursday we headed out to explore the mountain. We bought lift tickets for two days, and in two days, no one ever looked at them. Cecking out the mountain we found we were virtually alone. No lift lines meaning no skiers around! We got to the point where we felt crowded if we saw another person on our run.
In mid-morning we skiied down to watch the Chineese Aerial team practising... fantastic the heights they achieve! That makes three Olympic teams we have seen. We saw the Austrian Downhill team at Sun Peaks, and the Russian Biathalon at Silver Star. So we're clearly getting into the Olympic mood!
Today we headed out for more skiing into sunny skies and another 15 cm of fresh snow. And again no crowds. But we did see some vintage gear, rear-entry boots dating to the 1970's and some long straight skis!
By late afternoon, after a day of countless runs in the fresh powder and soft moguls, we were exhausted and headed back to pack up for our next adventure, up to Revelstoke, BC's newest resort in the Selkirk Mountains.
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