It’s been a busy week for myself.  Between covering the MGT snowboard camps, school starting and my girlfriend getting back from Calgary, I totally forgot that I had other things to fill you guys in on.  Namely, some of my escapades before, during and shortly after the New Year.  So, here it is now, only about a week late, a not so up to date update.

As you may have read, I injured myself while lapping the Quiksilver park one icy winter’s eve.  I figured the best way to speed up the healing process was to spend a few days in Whistler, where the snow conditions weren’t as good as the local mountains.  Obviously this would make me less depressed about not snozzboarding. So I booked a bus ticket with Greyhound.  It’s super cheap for students, coming out to $43 round trip. That’s cheaper then gas, even with the current low prices!  Anyways, I stuffed all I would need into one small backpack and trekked out to the Upper Village, where I bummed a couch off my good friend Anna, who was in town for a family reunion.  Fortunately for them, I brought the killer north shore snow conditions with me.  The night I got there, it started snowing nice big, fat flakes. I spent two days off the board, walking around town, catching up with people I hadn’t seen in over a year and looking at the boards available in Whistler, all whislt drinking a large mug of tea. I didn’t bring a travel mug, so it literally was a large mug of tea.

I spent the night of December 30th with Anna and her cousins, on the hunt for those ever elusive yam fries, eventually finding some at the base of Blackcomb at Monk’s Grill Steakhouse and Bar.  I nabbed myself a super large flower pot, to woo the ladies with and such.  There was also some pointless meandering through the streets of the village and other such hooliganistic activities, such as going into stores and trying things you probably wouldn’t buy to wear on a normal day, such as a mummified version of myself.  I also found a sign that could get me out of daily responsibilities. 

 

Anna and the Gang

The Mummy One Million: Yet Another Sequel!

The next day, I woke up nice and early to get the most out of the day.  That was the plan, anyways.  I rolled out at 1 in the afternoon and got myself presentable before getting some breakfast for lunch.  Anna’s mom was nice enough to prepare a full meal for me, complete with a large mug of tea.  Awesome!  After scarfing the eats down, I went off to the village to browse shops and see what was kicking around Whislter in terms of reverse camber boards.  Surprise! There was nothing.  Looks like I’m not getting one this year. Dang.  Anyways, I spent the majority of my time at Showcase by the IGA talking to shop guy Jay.  He was super rad.  We discussed snowboarding and almost everything related to the latter for about an hour.  If you’re ever in Whistler, be sure to stop by and say hi to Jay.  He may even give you a high five.  I also purchased some rub on wax and daydreamed of New Years day on the mountain.

That night was New Years Eve and what a gong show it was.  Anna and I met up with local friends and shred heads Becka Peglar and Oli Mason, accompied by our friend Shawn Cavanaugh from The OG Bay, California, claining Pac as a source of pride.  That a direct quote.  Much ridiculousness ensued at The Crystal Lounge, where we sang along to journey, danced the robot, exchanged high fives and I somehow managed to climb a lamp post. The pictures tell most of the story.

Thumbs up for the robot!

Shawn couldn't find the button to take the picture...cause the camera was upside down. I spotted those girls from the pole.

I tried climbing it the next day and was amazed at how difficult it was.

Happy New Years!

Kristin, Myself, Lisa and Becka. I came dressed up and left dressed up, but everything in the middle was party shirt only.

I went to bed at 3 in the morning and woke up at 6 to go shred.  It had been snowing all night and it was still snowing when I woke up and got to the hill.  I did a couple of laps through the park, getting frist tracks in there.  People like going up to the bowls for first tracks.  Little secret for you all, park is where the untouched powder is and riding a box with a bunch of fresh pow is just an added bonus.  After a few laps, I met up with my buddy Jon Scott and did a coupld tree lines with him before we decided to head over to 7th Heaven, which was on standby.  We waited at teh base for about an hour before they finally opened the lift and were able to get 4 runs of fresh tracks before the crowds hit.  Best four hits ever.  While most stayed on the well traveled paths, we cut some trees lines between the carve tracks and were able to keep the snow beneath out boards fresh with endless line options.  I eventually said bye to Jon and met up with Oli, Becka and Shawn who had managed to wake up and march over to the hill.  More great powder runs ensued and a lap through the park before we called it a day and head down the mountain, picking up some hit tracks on the way down.  Another secret, stay to the edges of runs to get those super fun quick hits that you can spin madly off of.

Waiting for first tracks.

It was fun till you got stuck in powder waist deep...then it was even better!

We all woke up to ride and the day turned out epic. No complaints here.

I left Whistler that night and had a hearty home cooked meal that night.  The next morning, I was up at 6 again and this time, I was heading down to Baker after hearing that they were getting some dry, fluffy powder that you could motor through.  I primed my big mountain board and hit some backcountry style booters, carved nice, narrow chutes and tweaked methods off cliffs all while staying in bounds. Ohhhh yea!  Want to ask me about the best week of my life?  You just read about it.  A straight week of powder.  What more could I ask for excpet…a few more?

On the other hand, powder sucks.  Hit the Quiksilver park.  Hella handrails!

Spread the Bromance (courtesy of Raewyn Reid)

Sam