Boy, am I sore! I’ve been very lazy this Winter season; in regards to skiing. I don’t ski nearly as much as I’d like to (mainly because I’m lazy, but also because I picked up another winter sport). And as a consequence, I feel that my level has sort of plateaued over the last couple of seasons. Anyways; to redeem myself, I figured I’d go skiing everyday during the four-day super long Easter weekend. Actually, I was planning to go a on a little motorcycle tour, with Spring weather and all. However… the forecast changed to RAIN!
Anyways, to close-off the ski season, I decided to ski over the four days, starting with Grouse, then Whistler, followed by Baker, and to finish off with Cypress. Grouse & Cypress are the local mountains, where I hold a season pass in the former. And, I sometimes go once or twice to Cypress during the season, which hasn’t happened this year, yet. Whistler and Baker are both around 135km drive, with the later being south of the border.
Anyways, it turned out that Baker and Cypress had their last day of the season on Sunday. So, I should’ve changed my plans a bit, but I didn’t bother, especially that some friends happened to be at Whistler on Saturday, and I figured meh… I’ll rest on Monday.
Grouse was very meh! Spring is here, and it shows. The runs weren’t great due to the warm weather. Whistler on Saturday turned out to be great though! It had snowed the previous night, with some flurries when I was there in the morning. Only for the skies to clear up gradually in the afternoon. I skied in the morning on Whistler, then moved to Blackcomb, to connect with friends. Loads of snow, which actually caused me some grief! My DIN settings haven’t been adjusted over the last few years, to keep up with my progress. Thus, my boots were popping off at the very onset of turning in some heavy snow, while over on the Blackcomb Glacier Bowl. We tried to tighten the bindings, but didn’t have the tools, and my coworker Ken, tried with no luck with some household keys. Ken suggested that I’d have to take the run going side to side, and to keep my weight on my heals. It worked, but I was starting to have major cramps in my legs, and lower back. I had been skiing since the morning, and having struggled with my boots popping off several times, and trying to put them back, with some serious wind, on steep runs had taken a toll me. I was beat! I had to make a stop every minute or so to catch my breath, and to allow my cramps to settle. Anyways, I finally made it to the bottom. I’m grateful for Ken and his wife Lisa that stuck around with me, and made sure I made it all the way to the bottom. As for you Blackcomb Glacier Bowl; we have unfinished business! I had decided to call it a day after that!
Next day (Day #3), I headed to Mount Baker. I decided to sleep a few more hours in the morning, as I was sore from the previous day at Whistler. The first thing I did when I got to Baker was getting my bindings tested and readjusted, then off on to the slopes. Boy, do the bindings feel great now. The runs were great. I didn’t stay for long though. After 3 hours of skiing, I started to feel the burn in my legs. Having had lots of fun skiing over the last 3 days, I decided to call it a day, and to call it a season. Both Whistler and Baker where relatively empty. I suppose it’s the end of season. Though, Blackcomb is still open for another month or so, Baker is closing for the season, both resorts have tons of snow! As for the local mountains, Cypress had its last weekend, and Grouse should probably follow shortly after.
Until next year!