Foreword on this entry: This was written while on a plane and we’re coming into land. It’s a pretty bumpy landing so I am trying to keep myself distracted. The result is I’m a bit more ‘ramble-y’ than usual. My suggestion would be to read in a quick, slightly panicked, “Are we gonna die?” kinda way. You should then capture the true tone of the writing & hopefully not notice any lack of structure, grammatical errors or repetition.
So the weekend was spent in Whistler with my work colleagues. Not sure if I mentioned it before, but we basically were gifted an all-expenses paid trip to Whistler as a celebration for the end of the season. 🤯
I decided to give snowboarding a go; I’ve done it a few times before but never a full day. On the first day, the group headed off – there was the main group in front & a second straggler group behind. Me & a colleague (Andy) were in the middle of the two groups. Somehow we got on the wrong chairlift and lost everyone…. not a great start! Luckily Andy lives in Whistler so knew his way round. So straight off the bat, I had to jump on a chairlift with him, board a couple of small blues, navigate another chairlift & then cruise down to meet the group before they left the meet spot. Induction of fire!!! Was super glad for the few half-days I’d done before, or I’d never have managed it.
Once we met the group, I went for a quick loo break… came out & the group had all gone. Not a great start (Vol. II) 😂
Luckily, managed to find some other stragglers and spent the morning with them & we found the rest of the group at lunch. PHEW! I then found a different group who I spent the afternoon with. We read the map a bit wrong and ended up committing to some pretty tricky blues (European Red kinda Blues) and going all the way down to the wrong valley. I stacked it a few times A LOT. Very grateful for the helmet!!!
The evening was spent drinking & partying. All paid for by Ridestore (thaaanks)!
The next day was much the same thing, but we were a bit slower to get out on the slopes. I mooched around with village with some of the girls in the morning then grabbed lunch on a terrace by the slopes. In the afternoon, I went out to ride with my (awesome) roommate Caroline. She’d never snowboarded before so we went to the beginner slopes & I tried to show her the basics. I had no idea though so wasn’t much help. There was a lot of falling, bad advice & laughing. A day well spent!
In the evening we went to a super cool light show in the forest. It was pretty nice, similar to one I’ve been to in the UK but with more of a ‘story’ to it and I think more audio/music involvement than I’ve seen before. I didn’t take many pics but I’ve nabbed some that the photographer took.
Aaaand that’s mainly it, a very quick visit but packed to the brim with activities!
I didn’t spend much time with the ‘main’ group for the weekend, but that’s just who I am. I met some super cool girls who I hope will be friends for life AND I’ve improved massively at snowboarding, without spending a penny*. 👌
*Total spend: I did actually spend a little bit, mainly on some bottles I brought with me & dinner on the first evening. I’ve also been charged a mystery C$23 from the hotel where I had my card on hold. I think Caro may have stolen a robe…
**Side note on the Gallery: Some of them (the ones with Etienne) were actually taken back in Vancouver; we met up with him & a friend of Caro’s when we returned to the city on Sunday.
