White christmas!!

Hey there folks! It's been a couple of days since the last update. Just getting a quick one in before I head off to bed. The arctic warning has finally been lifted! Instead of -25 days we now just have -10 days and it feels warm compared to what we've been through. I've had work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week which has been interesting, seems like a nice little cafe that we're running. Although it does sometimes get a bit cramped considering we only have about 40 or so seats in the whole joint. At least the food we have available there is fairly awesome, these gourmet cooked sandwiches and soup which is a pretty good way to spend your break.

Today on Christmas Day Jimmy, Pete and Sarah all had work but with 15cm of new fall over the past day and night I couldn't resist the mountain. So I headed up with some other mates I met on my kickstart in Vancouver and we went up Blackcomb mountain on the first gondola giving us a good few minutes to enjoy the whole mountain to ourselves and rip the freshly groomed runs up. We headed up to the glacier on the top of Blackcomb and hit some big powder runs on the way back down, of course I have to mention that there's only t-bars on top of the glacier and I finally managed to use them without stacking in a big way. This is a great step for me after the days of falling continuously on the t-bar after about 2m of the way up.

Anyways I'm hardly managing to stay awake here, better get some sleep. Jimmy has the day off tomorrow so we're heading up for first lift in the morning to get more fresh tracks!

Well it's still cold

Whistler, BC -18deg Bluebird days
Our "Arctic Outflow Warning" has been continued until at least Monday, meaning we'll be facing rather cold days for a bit longer. Haven't been able to grab any new pics off the mountain since pretty much anything that isn't lined with fleece will freeze instantly. I don't know if I've mentioned this but it's gotten to the stage where you have to avoid breathing through your nose since the air freezes your nostrils pretty much instantly.

I started work yesterday, although we weren't open for serving yet, just bringing all the stock up the gondola and putting it on the shelves and whatnot. The hut opened today, was going to go up and do a few runs then check it out but it's about -26deg up there and everyone else is at work. Might head up Saturday or Sunday if it's a little bit warmer. It should be a good time working up there, the outdoor grill is definitely on. As well as a bunch of cooked gourmet sandwiches that we're doing where you can choose a side and sauce and whatnot. Should be interesting, I'll write up more about it after my next shift on Monday.

Some of you may or may not have heard as well about the gondola accident that happened up here a few days ago. The main gondola for Blackcomb Mountain (called Excalibur), as well as the main gondola staff use to get from housing to the village, had a tower collapse not far from the base. Fortunately noone was hurt which is great news, it just means we're going to have to walk to and from the village now which is bad news :P Our main link with the village is a ski run which is now covered in snow, adding a bit of an element of excitement to walking down to town. You can read up more about the gondola incident at http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/excalibur/index.htm

Alas, I better get going. Got to get into town today and pay bills, why do they always choose the day before your bill is due to take down their online payment service for 24 hours to perform maintenance? Trickery and deceit I tell you!

You could call it a cold snap

I'll let the picture do the talking really, but apparently we're in the middle of an arctic wind. Gonna go up there and see if it's possible to board in this weather. Time to layer up!

The Season Begins!

Whistler, BC 2C Overcast
Today being laundry day gives me plenty of time to sit and write about the events of the past few days. Speaking of laundry day, I'm currently waiting on the results of whether I chose the right type of cycle to wash my whites in, time will tell!

Anyways, I arrived in Whistler on Monday and instantly unpacked, I will never underestimate the power of the act of putting your clothes in drawers as a way of making you feel comfortable. Also, finally got to see Jimmy again! We're in a group of apartment blocks specifically reserved for staff housing, conveniently called HOUSE. We've got a pretty nice little apartment with 2 bedrooms each with 2 bunks, a decent kitchen with a little toaster/oven that makes wicked nachos, and a lounge room which satisfies all lounging needs.

Tuesday was something of a paperwork day, wandering around trying to find everything I needed to get admin to start printing my staff pass. The village here really is massive, more of a mini city. To date I still haven't been able to successfully navigate it on my own, definitely need to grab a map today. Tuesday night, being the eve of one of the mountain's opening, there was a big party which they tell us is a tradition to do on the eve of the opening. That is to "Rock the mountain, and bring the snow", and their method for doing this is pretty great, that being handing around free beer and shots all night. Made for one crazy night, and definitely makes me start thinking about trying to get a DJ gig up here. At Merlin's Bar that night the DJ booth was in a gondola hanging from the ceiling, and big screens all around playing snowboard movies and such.

Basically today is a bit of housekeeping, doing the washing and vacuuming while the rest are at work earning a dollar. Looking forward to starting work next Tuesday, after chatting to Jimmy's manager on Tuesday night, she was talking up the huts higher up the mountain, which I believe I'm working at. Catching the gondola to work in the morning, and boarding home in the evening sounds amazing. And plus, going boarding means I finally get to strap onto my board. It's living next to Jimmy's board in the cupboard at the moment, one day, one day!

If you know of any snow-making dances then I'd love to hear it. Up around the top of the mountain is apparently excellent snow but it would still be awesome to have it all powdery down here near the village, instead of sliding around on ice all the time!

Until next time, time to see if my t-shirts are fun size...

UPDATE: haha! Take that "no tumble dry" sticker, my t-shirts still fit!