The last time I was on a snowboard was five months ago, back in August last year, when I achieved the very first of my 100 goals, by snowboarding on the huge indoor ski slope in Dubai. You can read more about that here.
That was a brief session of only two hours, and is the only time I have been on a snowboard in the last three years.
So before coming up to Whistler, about two hours north of Vancouver, I should have perhaps done a little more exercise in preparation for the slopes than I actually have. I don’t think that sitting in the driving seat of the RV for hours on end is the best form of snowboarding preparation!
So when I came up to Whistler yesterday with Jason and Jonathon, I guess I was not quite as fit for boarding as I could have been. They are both keen skiers, and even though I got the impression that they were taking things easy for the day, I struggled to keep up with them, and by the end of my first day on the slopes my legs were like jelly!
However, I still had a brilliant day! The snow was good, although still a bit thin in places, and we covered both sides of the twin resort, spending time on both Blackcomb and Whistler itself, which is made very easy by the new Peak 2 Peak gondola joining the two summits.
Visibility was pretty good, and for a few minutes it looked like the sun might try to come out, but it never quite made it. Later in the afternoon it got a bit windier, and temperatures at the top of a couple of the chairlifts reached -17 deg C. With the wind it felt even colder. And I thought I had escaped this sort of thing when I left Whitehorse!
At the end of the day, after a bite to eat, Jason and Jonathon dropped me off at the hostel I had booked into for a couple of evenings, and then they headed for home. I am planning on staying up here for a couple of extra days.
I was up early today and back out onto the slopes first thing. It was very quiet for the first few runs before the resort started to fill again for the day, and I had some great runs while my legs still felt in reasonably good shape.
As the day wore on visibility reduced, and the snow started falling, and my last run of the day was down an almost deserted stretch of piste covered in fresh powder – fantastic!
There is a lot of fresh snow on the ground this evening, and tomorrow, my last on the slopes here, should be a great day.
Many thanks to Jason and Jonathon for getting me here, and joining in on a great day on the slopes.