Day 9 - May 22nd
As predicted it was a very cold night. Today was the final day of the season and we were going skiing. This was to be my first attempt at skiing, and what a place to try it, Whistler. Drove down to the village and ended up getting a good deal. It cost us $32 for the lift pass and $30 to hire Skis, poles, boots and a spiffy suit. Some of the more adventurous took the snowboarding option.
Then up the gondola we went. As we got higher it did get colder and the snow was getting thicker. The only area open was about the top third of Whistler Mountain. This was still a nice big skiing area. More than I could ski in a day thats for sure. There we were at the top. There was a snowboard competition going on a bit further up and quite a few people around. The plan was to stick to the green slopes, but even the first one looked very steep for someone who had never skied before. Being on skis was something very different, not much friction there at all. So down the first hill I went, picking up a heap of speed. Then the old how do I stop this thing popped into the head. Well I came a cropper big time. It must have looked great but it did not hurt so this was a good sign. That sort of set the tone for the day. I fell over more times than I care to remember. Unfortunately I lost the gang early in day when i made a pit stop.
Some of the stacks were huge with me, my skis and poles all ending up in different postcodes. It was a great deal of fun. By the afternoon I had learnt to swish and carve down the slopes, all about weight distribution and I had a bit more confidence up. Spent my time on the Upper Whisky Jack, Ego Bowl and Marmont runs. During one run it started to snow, so I swished to a stop to enjoy the moment. How cool, the first time I ever saw it snow was on skis at Whistler. That just made my day. I found the skiing hot, hard work and the only time I was cold was on the chair lift and it was sleeting. It took ages to get back up the top. By the end of the day I was very sore and stiff. Some times I would just go Kamakazy and stop when I fell. The thighs were burning but a great day was had by all. We did not do too much that night as everyone was damm tired.
Back to Canadian Parks West Page or on to Day 10.