Snowboarding: Tahoe and Whistler -- February 2014

In the winter of 2012 I finally took the advice of my good friend Rob and tried out snowboarding. I was immediately hooked and thanks to the awesome instructors at Not-So-Pro (my local snowboarding club) I improved my skills enough that in 2014 I felt it was time to visit some proper mountains.

With Rob living in Houston for the year, we agreed we should meet somewhere in the U.S.A. so that he could have a small slice of proper winter fun. We chose the Heavenly Resort at Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains straddling the border of California and Nevada. To make the trip even more awesome Matt and Adrienne were able to drive up from Cupertino to join us and my friends Mike and Alex were also able to come up for a couple days from San Francisco.

After Tahoe, I returned to Toronto for a week (via Houston to visit more with Rob and Janet). But I was soon off again to ride at North America's largest resort: Whistler-Blackcomb with my good friends Sue and Joe! Joe had a conference right in the Whistler village and I came along to keep Sue company on the slopes. Coincidentally another friend from Toronto, Andrew, was there at the same time accompanying his wife Corrine who was also on a conference.

Both trips were fantastic on so many levels. The details of each day are below.

• February 7
• February 8
• February 9
• February 10
• February 11
• February 12
• February 13
• February 14
• February 15
• February 16
• February 25
• February 26
• February 27
• February 28
• March 1
• March 2

This morning I woke up pretty early to catch my flight to Reno via San Francisco. I had an interesting seat-mate on the way to SFO, a professor from the University of Toronto who specialized in computer hardware architecture and design. He was headed to a major conference in San Francisco and was accompanied by a half dozen graduate students and at several points it definitely felt like he was leading an elementary school trip.

At SFO I met up with Rob and together we flew to Reno. That 25-minute flight was probably the most terrifying flight I've ever been on. As we approached Reno the plane moved in all sorts of directions that I previously thought impossible for aircraft in flight. The pilots didn't seem concerned though and we soon landed. There are regular shuttles between RNO and South Lake Tahoe and we were extremely fortunate to arrive in time to catch one immediately after landing. If we missed it we would have had to wait two hours for another.

The drive to South Lake Tahoe was rather exciting. A massive storm is rolling into the area today and tonight and there were very high winds on the roads from Reno. Lake Tahoe is located at about 6200' above sea level but it is surrounded by mountains so you must drive up over one of a small number of passes to access it. Our path took us up to 7500' above sea level before descending to the town. They regularly require people to put chains on their tires to traverse the passes, but fortunately that was not necessary on the Reno side tonight. Matt and Adrienne did require chains coming in on the San Francisco side, but they were ready and had no real problems.

Rob and I are sharing a two bedroom suite with Matt and Adrienne and although it is an older place it is very clean and extremely close to the gondola that takes you up the mountain. By the time we arrived Matt and Adrienne were already checked in and had eaten so Rob and I went out on our own to find dinner. We ended up at an excellent pizza place in the village that serves a ton of excellent craft beer. It was too busy to get a table so we just had a couple beers at the bar while waiting for them to make us a pizza to take back to the hotel. The food and drink were most excellent and after chatting with Matt and Adrienne for a while we all went to bed.

Chains on the tire of Adrienne's car

This morning Rob and I were up early to hit the slopes. The storm (which continues this evening) was pounding South Lake Tahoe with rain but up on the mountain it was snowing heavily. The wind meant that many lifts were closed but we were able to access a couple and get in a good morning on a few trails. The snow was amazing!

Due to the warmer weather we were pretty soaked by about 1pm so we decided to stop for lunch. The lodge was totally mobbed so given that most lifts were closed we decided to stop for the day and head back to the hotel to get cleaned up before grabbing lunch in town. Mike and Michal and Alex and their friends all successfully arrived the night before, but they were very late getting in so they didn't get started on the slopes until we decided to finish so we did not get to ski with them.

For lunch Rob and I were too late to eat with Matt and Adrienne but we followed their recommendation and hit up a pub in town on the Nevada side of the border. This meant that people were smoking in the restaurant and that there were slot machines. But the beers and burgers were great and it was cool to walk around a bit (despite the ever-present rain).

After lunch we made a trip to the grocery store to stock up the fridge a bit and to get some beers. For dinner the four of us mostly snacked on carrots, hummus, guacamole and chips, Adrienne's homemade salsa and random snacks from Trader Joe's (the best place in the world). Rob, Matt and Adrienne then settled in to watch "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and I made an attempt to go visit Mike and everyone with him at the cottage they had rented.

The hotel concierge helped me call a taxi but as I waited it became clear no one was coming. We tried several other taxi companies but the rain in town and the snow at higher elevations was creating high demand combined with slow travel times. After waiting an hour I gave up and returned to the room. There I called Mike and explained the situation. It sucked we didn't get to visit but they had had a much harder go of things than I. It took them over ten hours to drive up from San Francisco due to the weather (Matt and Adrienne were just a couple hours ahead of them but they managed to miss the troubles). Their cottage was up at a higher elevation so our rain was heavy snow for them. It was probably for the best I didn't make it out there as I may not have been able to get back. Anyway, I wished them well and then watched the rest of the movie with Rob, Matt and Adrienne before turning in for the night.

View from our hotel window

Me after an excellent morning of snowboaring

Rob after an excellent morning of snowboaring

Burgers!

Beer!

Burger!

Garlic fries!

We woke this morning to more of the oppressive rain and even harsher winds that had closed all lifts at all resorts in the whole region. Fortunately the rain meant snow on the mountains and unlike Mike and his friends we're staying longer than the weekend so we should be able to enjoy the fresh snow tomorrow (when the storm is predicted to be done). With no way to snowboard the four of us decided to go check out Reno for the day.

The drive was fine with the pass being mostly clear (while the pass to San Francisco was closed for part of the day due to avalanche risk). The mountains here are gorgeous and driving through them out into the deserts of Nevada was amazing. Once through the mountains we stopped at Trader Joe's in Carson City (because it's an amazing store) and then we pressed on to a vegetarian cafe in Reno for lunch. I had a delicious frittata and thoroughly enjoyed the lovely sunny weather (it was like 10C which was delightful compared to the winter Canada has been getting). After lunch we hit up a crazy-good bakery for dessert and coffee. We all ate too much and then wandered out to walk around downtown Reno a bit. We saw the cool Reno sign and also a huge climbing gym with an extremely tall outdoor climbing surface (lead-only!).

Next we drove to the outskirts of town to visit the Patagonia outlet which was excellent. I didn't get anything but everyone else did and I think if I had been better prepared I could have gotten some good stuff. We then finished up the visit by going to a yarn store Adrienne was interested in.

At first the store seemed pretty normal. Friendly staff, a bunch of yarn and crafty things. But just before we were going to leave they asked if we'd like to see the back area. Adrienne said yes and then they opened a door to a gigantic warehouse full of yarn and fabric. I've never seen so much all in one place. There was a cool guy back there who does quilting, and showed us several quilts that were insanely detailed and beautiful. It was really really cool.

Our drive back to Tahoe was even easier than the drive out and at the hotel we made a big salad for dinner. Then we played some games and made plans for snowboarding tomorrow before heading to bed.

Cool mountain tunnel just outside of South Lake Tahoe

In the mountain pass to Reno

Coming out into the desert

Coming out into the desert

Almost out of the mountains

Checking out the beer at Trader Joe's

Rainbow between Carson City and Reno

Rainbow between Carson City and Reno

At lunch

Walking in the sun after lunch, who needs a coat?

Deserts at the cafe

Deserts at the cafe

Rob's desert

My desert

Adriennes dessert

Matt and his desert

Rob, happy with choice of cafe

The Reno sign!

Rob with the Reno sign, blocking traffic

Awkward, middle-of-the-road-selfie

Climbing wall over the Reno sign

In front of the Reno sign

Driving out to the Patagonia store

Dinosaur gas! It is made of dinosaurs!

Yarn store

A small secion of the giant warehouse in the back of the yarn store

One of many insane quilts

In-n-Out Burger!

Guacamole has chips in it right? Also, awesome new toque knit by Adrienne

An excellent beer

It was raining a bit when we woke up this morning but blue skies quickly appeared and soon Rob and I were riding the gondola up the mountain. The views were terrific and at the top (elevation: 9100' above sea level) it was (literally) clear it was going to be an amazing day of riding.

We spent the morning on the Nevada side of the mountain then went to the big lodge at the top of the gondola for lunch. After lunch we explored the California side where the powder was much deeper. Niether of us had ever ridden in anything like it before. We fell a lot, but it was so soft it didn't matter. On the California side the highest lift topped out at just above 10,000' above sea level which was pretty cool. The human body starts noticing elevation around 8000' above sea level and at 10,000' I could definitely tell I was high up.

The views were amazing everywhere. There were spots we could see the lake and the desert at the same time with snow-capped mountains in between. It was one of my best days of riding ever.

For dinner the four of use went back to the pizza place and managed to get a table. Rob and I each had a beer while waiting for our food, and then with dinner we decided to go all out and each get a different bottle of special edition beer from Deschutes. Rob got the Black Butte XXV, 25th Anniversary Resever Porter. At 11.3% it is a big, bourbon barrel-aged version of their standard porter and it was excellent. Personally though I preferred my choice, The Abyss, an 11% imperial stout with a long ingredient list and aged in three different types of barrels (bourbon, pinot and virgin oak). I found it to have a bigger body than the Black Butte, and for me bigger and bolder is better.

After dinner we rented Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing" from a Redbox at the grocery store. I've seen it before but it is still a great movie. We went to bed right after the movie, excited for another day of boarding.

Looking like a good morning

Riding up the gondola

Riding up the gondola

Snow-covered tree

One of our favourite areas on the Nevada side

Powder!

It's amazing here!

The deserts of Nevada

Winter!

Panorama with me and the desert

On the California side, overlooking the lake

Winter!

More desert

More desert and me

More desert

At the bottom of the gondola

Matt at dinner with root beer

Pizza!

Pizza!

Epic Beer!

Today was our last day so Rob and I were out early and got on the gondola as soon as it opened. We had an excellent morning of riding, mostly on groomed trails but there was still powder to be had in some areas. The day was totally clear so we had so amazing views. After lunch at the lodge we rode all afternoon finishing up on a top to bottom run on the California side which took us from around 10,000' down to just over 7000'. At the top it was windy and cold with hard packed snow, in the middle it was moderate with powder and towards the bottom it got quite warm and the snow was slushy. The way elevation changes the climate here is crazy.

For dinner Rob and I met up with Matt and Adrienne and went to a little restaurant near the lake where I had a pretty decent tuna melt. Now we're all back at the hotel relaxing and getting ready to leave tomorrow. The snowboarding has been fantastic but it's time to go to Houston!

Panorama of the first run of the day

Ready to ride

Panorama of a really good run

Looking off the back side of the mountain

Lake and trees

Cool clouds

On the last run of the day

Panorama of Lake Tahoe

On the beach before dinner

At the beach before dinner

Today was a travel day. We woke up early, packed and said goodbye to Matt and Adrienne. The shuttle back to the Reno airport was easy and the drive was nice. The high winds had returned though so our flight out was as rough as the flight in.

We connected in Denver, which is one of the nicest airports I’ve been too. We had dinner at an amazing restaurant right in the airport. I’d go back to Denver just for that place!

Our flight to Houston was easy, but all the flying plus moving east by two time zones meant it was midnight by the time we made it to Rob and Janet’s place. I crashed on the futon and was soon asleep.

Leaving Tahoe

Exiting the mountains in Nevada

Ranch in between Carson City and Reno

Ranch in between Carson City and Reno

Rob's dinner in Denver

My dinner in Denver

Rob and Janet are living in Houston for a year while Janet does a fellowship at a hospital here to complete her training in pathology. Rob kept his job, and works from home every day. Since today was a weekday and I also have the ability to work remotely we both worked today (and will again tomorrow). As such, not too much happened of interest.

For lunch we went to a place called Torchy's Tacos which served some of the best tacos I've ever had. After work, we got some groceries and Rob made dahl and sprouted rice for dinner. We also picked up some fun new beers at a store called Specs. Janet soon returned from work and we all ate and chatted. It was good to catch up with Janet finally as I've seen Rob a bunch since they left, but not her.

Today was another working day, similar to yesterday. The main difference was that on Friday mornings Rob works from a cafe down the street just to have a change of scenery. So I did the same. The cafe was lovely and the walk to and from was beautiful. Warm and sunny, with a sun that is much stronger than the one back home in Toronto right now.

For lunch we went to Gatlin's BBQ which is considered one of the best BBQ places in Houston. We each got a massive pile of meat (including brisket, pulled pork, deer sausage, and baby back ribs) and then shared some peach cobbler for dessert. Oh, and it was warm enough to eat outside on the patio. Best lunch ever.

For dinner Rob made Janet's Holy Moley Veggie and Rice Soup which we ate with avocado and some chocolates. It was delicious and once again the three of us spent the evening chatting before bed.

Me and my meat pile at Gatlin's

Veggie mole

Today was a big day! First the three of us got up early to do Rob and Janet's weekly shopping. We started out at a huge outdoor Mexican produce market with many good deals on some very good produce. Then we went across the street to El Bolillo, an insanely good Mexican bakery. We got some tres leches cake, guava empanadas and jalapeno kolache. It was all delicious and cost next to nothing.

Our last stop was Trader Joe's, because, as previously mentioned Trader Joe's is awesome. The one we went to in Houston used to be a movie theatre and they've tried to keep that spirit with hilarious fake movie posters and other movie-related decorations.

After unpacking the groceries back at Rob and Janet's place, Rob and I left Janet to work and we drove around Houston a bit before heading to Brazos Bend State Park to do some walking and see some alligators. The weather was sunny and about 20C so it was a great day to be outside. The park has a large number of walking trails and there are alligators just living all over the place. There are a number of signs warning you to keep your distance as the gators can move quite quickly for about thirty feet. In addition to the alligators we saw a lot of turtles and a wide variety of birds. We also saw a hawk land with a live snake clutched in its talons. Then it ate the snake.

After the park we drove to Kemah Boardwalk on the bay near Houston. It's a bit like Coney Island in New York. We only stopped for one reason, to ride the wooden roller coaster! It was great!

Our next destination was the USS Texas, a large battleship built in 1914 which was the most powerful ship in WWI. It remained a significant part of the US Navy through WWII, participating in the final bombardment of Japan in 1945. We were able to wander all over inside and out and it was really quite amazing.

Back in Houston we picked up Janet and went to a fancy Mexican restaurant called Hugo's for dinner. I had a couple very delicious mezcal-based mixed drinks and for dinner I started with a ceviche with fruit platter and followed with a short-rib mole. For dessert I had fancied-up churros. It was a spectacular meal; the short-ribs in particular were meltingly delicious. Also, I was able to try cactus which was part of Janet's excellent roasted veggie platter. It was pretty good!

Back at the house we chatted a bit and planned out my last day before heading to bed.

Cool roof near the back of the market

At the market

At the market

At El Bolillo

At Trader Joe's

At Trader Joe's

At Trader Joe's

At Trader Joe's

At Trader Joe's

At Trader Joe's

At Trader Joe's

At Trader Joe's

At Trader Joe's

Some desserts

Old oak trees on a secluded street in Houston

Old oak trees on a secluded street in Houston

Old oak trees on a secluded street in Houston

Entering alligator-town

In the park

In the park

In the park, our first alligator sighting!

Turtles

Bird

Rob napping

Turtles

Me at Brazos Bend

Reflection

Big gator

Bird

Lots of alligators, one smiling

No clue what I am doing here, but it is clearly something awesome

Baby gator at the visitor centre

Wooden roller coaster at Kemah

The USS Texas and I

Gun

Rob and Gun

Me and Gun

Bunks

Valves

Reconstructed shop for sailors

Dentist

Surgery

Dials and things

Bunks

Me climbing up into one of the big guns

Looking down out of the big gun as I exit

Superstructure

Facing forward

Guns

Endless oil refineries outside of Houston

Our original plan for today was to go to a shooting range and try some guns, because we're in Texas! Unfortunately the logistics for absolute beginners were a bit trickier than expected (something about safety) and Janet's friends couldn't join us due to work so Rob and I instead went to NASA's Johnson Space Center (with a stop at El Bolillo on the way for snacks)!

I was much more impressed with Johnson Space Center than what I remember about Kennedy Space Center in Florida from my visit as a child. The first thing we did was a back lot tour which took us through a brand new mission control room which will be used as part of future missions to asteroids and eventually Mars. The room had some screens in it broadcasting six different views live from the ISS. While we were there the sun set on the space station which was very cool.

The other cool part of the tour was a giant warehouse holding an original (unused) Saturn 5 rocket. It was gigantic and very cool to see up close. After the tour we wandered around the other visitor areas for a while before heading back to pick up Janet and my stuff to go to the airport.

On the way to the airport we stopped at Mi Tienda, a huge Mexican supermarket. We got churros for me and fresh delicious corn tortillas for Rob and Janet. The store was pretty amazing and crazy-busy.

My flight back to Toronto was uneventful. We flew over Lake Erie on the way in and the lake is frozen solid except for a few cracks here and there. As we flew over, the full moon would occasionally reflect just right off the water in the cracks to make them look like lightning on the lake. It was a bit magical.

Anyway, that's the end of my first trip of February. It was spectacular and now I have a whole eight days before I head to Whistler with Sue and Joe. I can't wait!

At El Bolillo

At El Bolillo

Full-size model of the space shuttle to be used for a new exhibit next year

Live streams from ISS

Shiny new mission control

Rocket park, containing old bits of various craft and the big Saturn 5 rocket (inside the building)

In rocket park

In rocket park

In rocket park

In rocket park

The Saturn 5 Rocket

Primary stage of the Saturn 5 rocket

Science-y bits

Secondary stage of the Saturn 5 rocket

Tertiary stage of the Saturn 5 rocket

Lunar landing module

The whole rocket from the front

Leaving rocket park

After a short break from travel I got up very early this morning and made my way to the airport to meet Sue and Joe for our 8am flight to Vancouver. Our plane left a bit late due to a flat tire, but otherwise the flight was fine. It was a larger plane than I expected (3x4x3) and it was all fancy and new.

In Vancouver we picked up the rental car (a big all-wheel-drive SUV) and then headed into the city (since there are no real highways and you have to cross the city to get to Whistler). After more than two seasons on the very cheap equipment I bought for learning I had decided to buy a new snowboard, new boots and new bindings. I did my research in Tahoe and at home in Toronto and found a great shop in Vancouver that was on the way to Whistler. I had contacted The Boardroom in advance of this trip to get advice and ensure they had the gear I wanted. Not only were they super helpful and had the stuff I wanted, they are also having a massive sale right now with all boots and bindings 40% off and the board I wanted 20% off.

Sue and Joe dropped me off at the store and then went to eat lunch (and get takeout for me). I spent about an hour chatting with the staff to find optimal boots and bindings to go with my new board. They were fantastic and I couldn't have been happier with my experience there. Sue and Joe returned from lunch just as I was finishing up and then we continued the drive up into the mountains. I am very excited to try my new gear on the slopes tomorrow. I ended up getting a 155cm Never Summer SL board, with Forum Shaka bindings and DC Judge double-boa boots. The board is made in Colorado and the brand has a reputation for durability and performance.

It was sunny and clear today so our drive out of Vancouver to Whistler was both easy and beautiful. I've never been to Canada's west coast before and I'm definitely impressed. I'm already thinking about planning a trip to return and explore the area.

We're staying at the Fairmont hotel in Whistler which is spectacular. They take care of everything and it's right at the foot of the Wizard lift on Blackcomb mountain. Accessing the hill will be very easy. After checking in we chatted for a bit in my room while I set up the bindings on my new board. Then Sue and I checked our boots and boards with the ski valet service provided by the hotel and the three of us went to the Keg for dinner. Steaks and beer!

Ground crew changing a tire on our plane at YYZ

My new board waiting behind the counter for me at The Boardroom

Driving out of Vancouver

Driving out of Vancouver

On the Sea-to-Sky Highway

On the Sea-to-Sky Highway

On the Sea-to-Sky Highway

On the Sea-to-Sky Highway

On the Sea-to-Sky Highway

On the Sea-to-Sky Highway

My new board with bindings

Sue and Joe enjoying wine while watching me mess around with my new board

Sue and I met early this morning for breakfast at the cafe in the hotel. It was pretty good and not too expensive so I imagine we'll get breakfast there every day. Sue had a full-day lesson today so after breakfast I left her and started exploring on my own. I stuck with the Whistler side today, spending the morning getting used to my new gear. I'm pretty happy with it, but the boots will take a bit of breaking in I think. I had to adjust the bindings too, but fortunately the resort has stations with tools everywhere for just that purpose. The weather is a bit crazy today. There is a temperature inversion, meaning it is hotter at the top of the mountain than the bottom. It's not really hurting the snow, but I was very warm for most of the day.

At 11:30am I joined a mountain host for a tour of some of the intermediate areas of Whistler. This is a free service provided daily that helps you figure out how to get around this gigantic resort. I didn't realize when I joined the tour but it is over two hours long. By the end I was exhausted and starving, but it was worth it. The tour was really helpful and took us over some great terrain. I had a blast attacking pillow-soft moguls while receiving spectacular views of mountains. The mountains seem to go on forever. It's crazy and beautiful.

After the tour I had lunch with one of the other boarders in the group: a sixty-something year old man from England who has never skied, only boarded, and when he's at home he regularly surfs off the south-western coast of Britain. And he is a software developer. It was lots of fun chatting with him to say the least.

With what remained of the afternoon I explored the Whistler side a bit more and then rode the Peak-2-Peak gondola to Blackcomb mountain in order to make my way back down to the hotel. That gondola ride was insane. It breaks all sorts of records like the longest span between towers (3.03km) and highest point above ground (436m). The views of course were also spectacular. On the Blackcomb side I rode down some easier routes eventually ending up at the hotel where I got cleaned up and then met Sue for dinner (Joe had to do conference things).

Whistler seems to be almost exclusively staffed by young people from Australia and New Zealand so it was no surprise that there was an Aussie Pie Shop in the village. This is where I had dinner and it was fantastic. Sue wasn't in the mood for pie so she got KFC. After dinner we hung out at the hotel for a while before going to bed. What a great day!

First run of the trip!

Mountains

Mountains at the top of the Peak Lift

Mountains at the top of the Peak Lift

Mountains

Mountains

Heading down Blackcomb at the end of the day

This morning I rode with Sue. We headed up Blackcomb to the Peak-2-Peak gondola which took us over to Whistler. There I took her on some beginner trails which she enjoyed and then I left her in a learner area in order to go meet up with Andrew and his wife Corrine to join them in exploring some more advanced terrain. We spent a bunch of time at the Symphony lift and the Peak area. The riding was great and I did some stuff that was steeper than I've ever done before.

At the end of the day Andrew and I went to an Irish pub in the village for a couple pints and to chat for a bit. There was a live band and I was able to get Central City's Red Racer IPA on draught along with a nice beer from Deschutes. I'll be meeting up again with Andrew tomorrow to start exploring Blackcomb mountain.

For dinner I found Sue and Joe and we went to a fancy restaurant with some of Joe's co-workers. The food was excellent. I had oysters to start, and then a dish with scallops, chorizo and lightly breaded cauliflower. Joe let me try some of her duck and it was probably the best prepared duck I've ever had. Joe's co-workers were nice to chat with and we all had a great evening.

Sue and the mountains

Me and the mountains

The mountains

Sue and I and the mountains

On the Peak-2-Peak gondola, headed to Whistler

On the Peak-2-Peak gondola

Andrew and I

Mountains

Mountains

Mountains

Mountains

Sue had another full day lesson today, so I headed up Blackcomb on my own with plans to meet up with Andrew later in the morning. I started by going straight to the top of the Glacier lift which afforded spectacular views. It was also interesting to compare the terrain against Whistler. Blackcomb feels more rugged and craggy, with rocks everywhere including on the trails. There were also "glacier cookies" which are chunks of ice that have fallen off the glacier above and look like chunks of snow but will send you flying if you run over them.

I found the alpine runs to be too icy and extreme so I left the area and headed down to the Crystal Ridge lift. The snow there was wonderful and the runs were excellent with lots of variation. Andrew soon joined me and we were able to get in a huge amount of riding. After a late lunch we explored some other sections of Blackcomb and then I returned to the hotel exhausted but ecstatic at how good the day was.

Joe was busy with her conference again tonight so Sue and I had dinner at an Italian place and then watched Disney's "Frozen" on pay-per-view. Sue enjoyed her lesson again today and we both liked the movie.

View from the top of Glacier lift

View from the top of Jersey lift

Andrew as we prepare to head down at the end of the day

Joe was finally done with her conference today so Sue spent it with her. Andrew headed back to Toronto yesterday and so I was on my own. I decided to continue exploring Blackcomb and started out in the alpine area at the top of the 7th Heaven lift. There were some excellent runs there but it was overcast so I had some difficulty. Above the tree line it's hard to distinguish features in the terrain. With no sun the contrast was very low and with no trees there were no other visual clues. I often found myself suddenly going up or down without realizing.

Next I went back over to the Glacier lift and then tried to take one of the T-bar lifts to the very top. Most lifts are a bit awkward for snowboarders (they're all designed for skiers) but T-bar lifts are by far the worst. I fell off about halfway up and had to ride down a service area to get out. I decided not to bother trying again.

For lunch I headed over to the Whistler side on the Peak-2-Peak gondola and then explored a few areas I had missed earlier in the trip. The conditions were good, but I was soon exhausted so I headed back to the hotel. There I met Sue and Joe in the outdoor hot tub where a waiter served us drinks. It was quite decadent. For dinner Sue and Joe paid for my meal at the fancy hotel lounge as a thank-you for keeping Sue company while Joe worked. It was hardly a challenge but I still appreciated the delicous meal quite a bit. I had a brilliant beef sandwich thing, along with more beer from Deschutes, a nice Scotch and some fancy single origin dark chocolate.

After dinner we all watched "Philomena" on pay-per-view and chatted a bit before heading to bed. Tomorrow we return to Toronto and real life.

At the top of 7th Heaven

At the top of 7th Heaven

Snowing, the beginning of the next storm

Today we got up early, packed and checked out. With a new storm system arriving overnight we knew the drive down to Vancouver and the airport would be rather exciting. Fortunately we had the AWD vehicle and we went slow so there were no issues. It would have been amazing to stick around and enjoy the fresh powder from the storm, but it was time to get back to real life.

Our flight back to Toronto was uneventful and soon I was home. February was an amazing month and I've definitely improved my snowboarding (skill and confidence). I'm already starting to think about where to go next winter and I'm very sad the season is drawing to a close. But I can't complain, I was very fortunate to be able to do two trips this year and even more fortunate to be able to share them with such amazing friends.