Feb. 2, 2025,
Hi Everyone
‘All my bags are packed I’m ready to go, I’m standing here outside your door, I hate to wake you to say goodbye,’ Thank you John Denver. I know how you must have felt. I am sitting in Trudeau Airport in Dorval getting ready to board a plane to Jackson Hole. This must be my 35th or 40th ski trip out west. Alone this time, I always start to reminisce about other trips many years ago. I am quite lucky as I am able to combine a ski trip with a medical conference.
Every year there are urology conferences in Vail, Aspen, Jackson and Whistler in the past. The conferences begin at 6:30 am and run to 10:30. Then there is a nice break to ski. Half the people who come here don’t ski but love the atmosphere of Jackson Hole. The conference resumes at 4:30 to 7:00 pm. A good breakfast and a 4:00 pm hearty snack is served. There are usually 80 urologists here and the lecturers come from high power university centers such as Harvard and the Mayo Clinic. I would rather come to a small conference such as this one where I can talk to the professors, rather that being lost in the crowd in the major conference where there are 10,000 urologists present.
The first time that I came to a ski-urology conference, I came alone as the kids were too young. Antoine was the first one to accompany me as it was his Bar Mitzvah present. Melanie came next and we stayed at Chateau Whistler, a Fairmount Hotel. Dominique came next with the twins and we rented a condo. Eventually the whole family came and the condo went from a 1 bedroom to 3 or 4 bedrooms. Then came the boyfriend and the girlfriend. We were always broad minded in our family. Each couple took turns cooking the evening meal and we packed lunches to save some money. The rules were very simple, I pay, they cook, and we all eat and drink. A few years ago we were a group of 8. For the last few years I have come alone as my kids have young babies and it would be impossible to fly with them. Soon however, when the grandchildren are older our family trips may start up again.
I was up at 4:30 and a taxi picked me up at 5:00 am. I like to go to the airport early with 3 hours to spare as you must pass American customs in Canada and it can take some time if you don’t have a nexus pass. I got through customs very quickly and had a breakfast at one of the private lounges. The flights went well with no delays and I arrived first in Denver for a quick cappuccino and a muffin and then onwards to Jackson Hole.
They warned us on board that there would be a lot of turbulence as the weather was stormy. The last plane had to fly around Jackson Hole Airport a few times as the visibility and strong winds made landing difficult. Needless to say the landing was bumpy!
We arrived in Jackson Airport and it was raining. Apparently it has snowed a lot the last few days. I took a taxi to the Alpenhof Hotel where I am staying. It is next door to the Snake River Lodge where the conference will take place. The 2 hotels are under the same management so I have privileges at both hotels. It is less expensive and made sense as the American dollar is very high.
I am sitting in the Mango Moose Bar where I have been many times before with friends and children. I am 30-40-50 years older than the other patrons. There is live music with what I would call hard rock country music. I can’t hear myself think but it is really fun to be with the younger crowd. There is a slight drizzle outside but my table mates assured me that they had skied today and it was snowing up top. The snow at the bottom of the hills is somewhat mushy spring like conditions so I will use my wider powder skies tomorrow. I am sitting at a table with about 10 fellows who were in high school together 7 years ago. Apparently they do a ski trip to different ski centers every year. I will meet them at the Bridger Chair Lift at 8:30 tomorrow morning and will do some runs together. Hopefully, I can keep up with them. They also play a lot of hockey and one of them made a 70 x 40 ft rink in his back yard.
Love, Brian
gobriantravel 