Well, only a few things of note have really happened since I last updated. As you can probably guess, lifes become pretty routine over the last few months. Not that I really mind. Any routine that lends a great part of the time to skiing is fine by me.
Last week, Dave, Ralf, Steve and I finally hit the last part of the mountain we had yet to ski: Terminator Ridge. A big part of the reason it had taken us so long to do it is the 20 minute, steep, uphill climb that you have to do to get to the chutes. In the end it wasnt that bad and we took a few breaks along the way to admire the view and take some photos. We hit Truth, the first double black on the ridge and I didnt find it that challenging. It was tricky to get into but once there it was just a matter of taking short, quick turns until it opened out.
I did it (Terminator Ridge) again a few days later with another group of people and this time we did Dare; the next one along. Both the chutes were fairly nice and Ill have to do the hike at least once more to do Consequence, the last one.
Last saturday, Ralf and I went on a roadtrip to Canmore to visit John and Matt. On the way there we stopped off at Lake Louise and Banff and looked around. Lake Louise is still frozen but it looks like it would be incredibly beautiful in summer. Since it was the Easter weekend, the area was full of tourists so we took a few snaps of the lake and chateau and left fairly quickly. Banff was pretty much what I had expected; a nice looking, tourist town. We took a short walk and ducked into a few stores to get a couple of things (I bought a ski bag) before hitting the road for the last 20 mins to get to Canmore.
We met John at the local Dairy Queen and he took us to look at his new place and a walk round the town and along the river. We then took a drive up to the national park where John does his dog mushing. It was a nice drive into the mountains and then following a meandering (and mostly frozen) river through to where the site was. We couldnt really have a good look around but we arrived in time to see the dogs coming in from their final run of the day. After going a bit furthur into the park, we turned around at about 6:30ish (it gets dark at around 8 at the moment) and started driving back the way we'd come.
By the time we got back to Johns, Mat was back from work so we all went to a local pub for dinner (mmm Bison Burger) and Ralf and I headed back to Golden. Since it was about an hour and a half drive home we got back at around 10:30pm. All up it was an awesome day. I was getting worried I wouldnt get to see Banff or Lake Louise while I was here, which would be pretty poor, since I live only an hour away.
We (the A crew) are really starting to feel the impact of being so many people down. Going to work has become a big chore because, as one of the last 3 gondola operators, I know Im going to be working on the gondola at least twice out of the three or four days. The lifting of the skiis (at the bottom) and having to be constantly concentrating on what people and cabins are doing (at the top) really drains you. Especially as we tend to get way fewer ride breaks on the gondy. O well, only 4 or 5 shifts left.
Ive revised my travel plans slightly and decided Ill be leaving on the 11th of April at 2 in the morning. After that I fly from Calgary to Vancouver, spend a couple of days there and then fly back to Adelaide with a stop over in Aukland. Meaning I should touch down in Adelaide at around 10:30am on the 15th of April.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Latest photos:
Terminator Ridge
Trip to Canmore
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Saturday, 8 March 2008
SNOW, Finally!!! and More Visitors.
Thats right, we finally got more snow! After all most 3 weeks of nothing, we finally got some more white fluffy stuff. It came in bits and pieces but overall I think we got around 30cm over about a week. Unfortunatly it came too late for Baz, Nud and Mancer who arrived and left before the skies opened.
They arrived on a monday which meant we all went to Fresh Meat at The Roadhouse that night. We grabbed some dinner at Smittys (an american style diner that I can see from my front door) and then headed out for a few beers. The next day I took them up the Gondola and showed them the ten road (the 10km cattrack from top to bottom), for the next couple of days I skiied around with Baz while Nud and Mancer did their own thing.
On tuesday night Baz, Nud and I went to see Jumper at the Golden Cinema then went and grabbed a couple of beers at Packers. Overall it was a pretty cool couple of days and it was good to hear about what was going on back home.
Recently it was Johns 22nd Birthday so we all went up to the hill with the plan of going cross country skiing and taking some food and beer for the trip. Unfortunatly we never made it to the cross country skiing, we first headed to Peaks to grab a couple and then headed up the the Eagles Eye to grab some lunch. I think that might have been the point where the skiing idea left our minds. A few of us decided to ski down to the Yurt and have a couple there while sitting in the sun before going back to join eveyone else back at Peaks. Another awesome day drinking and skiing on the hill, always fun. :D
In the last few weeks we've begun to lose a lot of people. At the beginning of the season there were around 25 to 30 aussies and kiwis living at the sportsmans who also worked on the hill. As of the beginning of next week we're going to have 14. So many people are leaving. Two of my fellow Adelaidians, Matt and John, the two guys I went to highschool with are both leaving for Canmore as John has got a job dog sledding there; something he does for fun at home. The number of lifties are dropping pretty fast, even though we've just got a few new people we're still going to be fairly short-staffed.
As for the skiing, it still hasnt got old; I dont think its something Ill ever get bored off. The last couple of days a bunch of us have just been doing Jib runs, which involve just skiing down the hill hitting as many little jumps as we can find; which is a fair few because we know the hill like the back of our hands. Ive recently got my 180s going really well so Im wondering where to go next. Ill probably try for a Mute grab or a 360 and try not to hurt myself too much :P.
Anyways Ill be leaving Golden in almost a month to the day, April 10th is my planned date to leave so I should be back around a week after that.
Have a good one.
PS here are some links to photos and a video I recently uploaded. The video is one I recorded a while ago of me skiing from the top of the gondola to the bottom although ill probably do another one before I leave and take a better route.
Johns Birthday
I recently added more photos to this album.
Whitewall and Feuz Bowl
Skiing Kicking Horse: Top to Tail Video
They arrived on a monday which meant we all went to Fresh Meat at The Roadhouse that night. We grabbed some dinner at Smittys (an american style diner that I can see from my front door) and then headed out for a few beers. The next day I took them up the Gondola and showed them the ten road (the 10km cattrack from top to bottom), for the next couple of days I skiied around with Baz while Nud and Mancer did their own thing.
On tuesday night Baz, Nud and I went to see Jumper at the Golden Cinema then went and grabbed a couple of beers at Packers. Overall it was a pretty cool couple of days and it was good to hear about what was going on back home.
Recently it was Johns 22nd Birthday so we all went up to the hill with the plan of going cross country skiing and taking some food and beer for the trip. Unfortunatly we never made it to the cross country skiing, we first headed to Peaks to grab a couple and then headed up the the Eagles Eye to grab some lunch. I think that might have been the point where the skiing idea left our minds. A few of us decided to ski down to the Yurt and have a couple there while sitting in the sun before going back to join eveyone else back at Peaks. Another awesome day drinking and skiing on the hill, always fun. :D
In the last few weeks we've begun to lose a lot of people. At the beginning of the season there were around 25 to 30 aussies and kiwis living at the sportsmans who also worked on the hill. As of the beginning of next week we're going to have 14. So many people are leaving. Two of my fellow Adelaidians, Matt and John, the two guys I went to highschool with are both leaving for Canmore as John has got a job dog sledding there; something he does for fun at home. The number of lifties are dropping pretty fast, even though we've just got a few new people we're still going to be fairly short-staffed.
As for the skiing, it still hasnt got old; I dont think its something Ill ever get bored off. The last couple of days a bunch of us have just been doing Jib runs, which involve just skiing down the hill hitting as many little jumps as we can find; which is a fair few because we know the hill like the back of our hands. Ive recently got my 180s going really well so Im wondering where to go next. Ill probably try for a Mute grab or a 360 and try not to hurt myself too much :P.
Anyways Ill be leaving Golden in almost a month to the day, April 10th is my planned date to leave so I should be back around a week after that.
Have a good one.
PS here are some links to photos and a video I recently uploaded. The video is one I recorded a while ago of me skiing from the top of the gondola to the bottom although ill probably do another one before I leave and take a better route.
Johns Birthday
I recently added more photos to this album.
Whitewall and Feuz Bowl
Skiing Kicking Horse: Top to Tail Video
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