Today was my last day at the conference and my last day skiing. The conference was excellent as usual. I really enjoy the smaller conferences which are more personal than the larger ones with 10,000 urologists present. Tonight I will attend the banquet. It will be the last one at Snake River Lodge as there will be a new hotel for the conference next year.
I met my ski buddies at 10:00 and we skied together until 1:00. In snowed 30 cm (12 inches) 2 days ago and 25 cm (10 inches) last night. The sun was out and the luminosity was excellent.
We skied one tree run after another on black diamond slopes. The snow coverage was amazing, pow-pow (powder) all the way down the mountain from top to bottom. It reminded me of the last time we came here with all the kids, pre-covid when we stayed on the slope in the big mansion which was offered to us at no extra charge as our condo was not available. With the excellent snow conditions, I used my semi powder skis all week. The 3 fellows that I skied with were super skiers and knew the hill very well. They seemed to know where the untouched powder stashes were hidden away. However, no matter how good we think that we ski, on these black diamond tree trails, there are always better skiers to admire. Most of the time, we were pretty much alone as it takes a certain amount of skill to do deep powder tree runs. On the pictures showing the trees, we actually skied between them. I bid farewell to my friends and did the last few runs on groomers to finish the day.
I snowed all night and kept snowing until mid day today. 30cm (12 inches) must have fallen altogether. This morning the winds were unbelievable. Several lifts were close and visibility was very poor. I missed meeting up with my buddies so I started out alone at 9:30 on one of the lower gondolas. I skied 2 runs, got rather discouraged and decided to go into the Caspar, mid mountain restaurant. I sat there for a while observing the 50 mile/hour winds, sipping a coffee, eating a muffin and licking my wounds. When does this get to be fun?
After while my friends came in for some refreshments. I reactivated the Jackson Hole app and found that 2 of my buddies were skiing the trees not far from the restaurant. The app is incredible, it allows you to find your friends no matter where they are on the mountain and follow them as they ski down the mountain. I waited for them at one of the lifts.
My luck changed and it started to become fun. I skied with my 3 buddies for the next 3 hours. The wind calmed down and the visibility improved. We skied the rest of the day off 1 lift coming down the mountain among the tightly placed trees. There was easily 1 foot of unbroken powder between the trees. Once, I put my ski pole into a mogul and my pole went down to my wrist. I practiced my newly learned technique of not jumping the turns. Rather, I let the skis just float over the snow while weighting and unweighting the skis to make the turn just like on hard packed snow.
I remembered what my son, Antoine, told me years ago about skiing the trees. I was braking at each tree while I observed him just flying through the trees. He told me: ‘Your skis are 5 ft long and there are 10 ft of space between each tree. There is plenty of room to pass. Find a line between the trees and just trace.’ I did it, it’s true, it works. When parking a car if you look at the curb, you will hit the curb. As he said: ‘just don’t look at the trees.’
Today was an epic day, bluebird all the way. I was up at 6:15 for my breakfast and conference at 6:30. I met my new found urology ski buddies. We left the conference at 9:00 and met up at the Bridger Gondolla, the main gondolla at Jackson Hole. The tram takes you up a little further but you have to stand in line and then stand in the huge gondolla with 60 skiers. I have been seriously allergic to standing in line my whole life. Usually, except at ski resorts, if there are more than 2 people in a line up, I come back when the line is shorter. My wife says that I have no patience. I do, just not for line ups.
One of my ski buddies showed me how to download and use the Jackson Hole app. It is quite amazing. It shows you a map of the ski area and tracks your skiing all day. We formed a group and if someone gets lost, the app will tell us exactly where he is. It also tells you the conditions, which lifts are open and where there has been grooming. By the end of the day, the app told me that I had done 16,950 vertical feet, as well as which trails I had taken and which lifts I had been on.
We skied on all types of terrain today including groomers, the steeps, the steeps with moguls and powder, open powder bowls and tree skiing. I might be improving my skiing as the trees seemed to have been moved farther apart by the ski guru. One of the fellows noticed that I was jumping my turns on the powdery steeps. He showed me to carve out my turns more round and finish the turn before beginning the next one. I did this and it was much less exhausting. I went down runs that I would not have done alone as there is safety in numbers especially in the steeps with moguls and trees. If you get hurt, there always should be someone to call for help.
We had lunch at noon and then skied until 3:30 to get to the conference in the latter part of the afternoon. The sun was out all morning which made the visibility considerably better. It clouded over in the afternoon which may mean snow overnight. We had 6 inched of snow last night which was really good for skiing.
I woke up at 6:15 so as to get to my conference at 6:30. There is a nice wholesome breakfast before the conference gets underway. The conference, which is called the Ralph Hopkins Urology Seminar, has been going on for over 30 years. It usually takes place at the Snake River Lodge. I am staying right next door at the Alpenhof which is under the same management which is convenient. They have just announced that both hotels will be closing for 16 months to 2 years for major renovations. That is rather surprising as I really like the Snake River Lodge. We are all wondering whether the conference will be held next year in Jackson Hole in another hotel or move to another location altogether.
The morning session finished at 10:30 so I put on my skis and away I went. The wind was howling at 30-50 km/h at the top so a few of the lifts were closed. There were driving snow pellets to keep you awake and visibility was zero at best. I skied on the blue (black) trails in the morning and really wondered if it was worth while to keep skiing. I have a little device called Carv which attaches to my ski boot, bluetooths to my iphone and then to my apple airpods in my ears. As a ski instructor, I get it at half price and the yearly membership for next to nothing. I am a walking-skiing advocate for the product. The device can analyze if I am skiing on packed powder, moguls or deep powder. It does this by analyzing the boot angle on my ski, my speed, direction and angle of the ski laterally, vertically and horizontally through AI. The nice lady on Carv can talk to me in real time, in the language and accent of my choice. She gives me a better performance score if I am carving rather than sliding my turns. I can set it to talk to me on every turn at the end of the run. She will give me advice on the pressure of my boot on the ski, the angle of my ski on the snow and give me a ski IQ for my performance on the run. It keeps a record of my daily performance which I can review at the end of the day. An IQ of 100 is average. I usually score about 130 for the day which is quite good. Given the difficult conditions my performance was less than spectacular, so as not to be too discouraged, I shut her off after a few runs. I hope that she was not insulted.
I had lunch at the restaurant at the top of hill to contemplate the rest of the afternoon. I met up with 3 urologists who I know from the conference. They had been skiing in the powder in the trees and said that the visibility was better there. I skied with them for the afternoon which was really fun. We did some great tree shots which for safety reasons I would not have done skiing alone. The wind lightened up and the snow pellets turned to powder improving the visibility. They are really great skiers and I was happy to spend the afternoon with them. There is nothing more rewarding than bombing down a black powder run when you know that you have full control. The sensation is really exhilarating. They are all skiing on dedicated powder skis ranging from 100s to 110s and even 116s in the middle of the ski. I am skiing on Salomon QST 92s which are pretty good except for deep powder. I will probably buy a pair of 99s for next season. I hope that this is not too technical for my non skier followers. We finished the day at 3:00 and I was really satisfied with the day. A ‘bad’ day skiing is better than a ‘good’ day at the office. Today was a great day.
My usual cafe miraculously got their cook back so I enjoyed a cappuccino, a yogurt and a muffin. My friends were late so I skied alone this morning. It was cooler last night, just below freezing so yesterday’s soft moguls had become heavier and harder to manipulate. I did a few runs on the mogul runs and then headed off to the ‘groomers’. The groomers are not really groomers here as the grooming is minimal. They have a designation of double blue that I have not seen elsewhere and would be considered to be blacks anywhere in the East.
I met up with my friends at noon at a restaurant at one of the peaks. We did a few runs together in the afternoon but I took a wrong turn and lost them. The sun came out this afternoon so the snow softened up and the conditions were more manageable. It was a great day.
We are supposed to have 10 inches of snow tonight and it should snow all day tomorrow. That should be memorable and perhaps I could do a few tree runs. So far the tree runs have not had any takers even among the expert skiers. I love ski resorts. Everyone is friendly, smiling and happy. Everyone always wants to know ‘how you are doing and are you having a great time.’ everyone in the gondola talks to each other and is curious about ‘where you are staying, where you are from and which are the best runs to take?’
My conference starts at 6:30 tomorrow so I will need a good nights sleep.
Last evening I was exhausted. I was a little under the weather to start with in Montreal. That being said, and combined with the long flight, my eyes were closing at 9:30. Considering the time change, it was really 11:30 so being tired was understandable.
I slept well, got up early and headed off to the slopes. Americans always like to arrive at the slopes early to get first tracks. At 7:45 there was a half hour wait at the tram and a ¾ hour wait at the Bridger Gondola. Neither one opens until 8:30. I skied over to the next gondola but had to wait until 9:00. It had been snowing very heavy wet snow all night, at least 10 inches and they could not open the hill on time due to avalanche danger. There was a small snow slide that covered a transverse track so they had to send up a snow tractor to clean it up.
I waited ¾ hour for the first gondola and then 1 hour for the Caspar chair half way up the mountain. I got fed up at that point, skied down and had a soup for an early lunch. By that time the avalanche danger had passed and the whole mountain was open. Jackson Hole is so big that once the crowd spreads out there is never more than a 3-5 minute line up.
I had arranged to meet my 27 year old friends that I had met last evening at the Mangy Mouse Bar but there were so many people at the bottom of the hill that we did not see each other. I skied alone for most of the day and then met one of the fellows miraculously on the slope. He recognized me so we did a few runs together meeting up with his buddies on the slope.
Jackson Hole is a tough mountain at the best of times. It is not a mountain for beginners. When you combine the steepness with 10 inches of heavy powder, you are in for a challenging day. They do very little grooming here so the moguls at the end of the day are 3 feet high. We skied on black diamonds for the rest of the day and they were impressed that I was able to keep up with them and even lead the crowd. In heavy powder with moguls, you have to jump every turn which for me is much less elegant than carving on hard packed Quebec snow.
At the end of the day we went for beers and nachos at the Mangy Moose. It was packed as usual but we were able to find a table and reminisce about our ski accomplishments. We will meet tomorrow at a cafe for breakfast at 8:30 – 9:00. I often have breakfast at that cafe when I am here. I usually order a cappuccino and a muffin. Surprise, surprise, there were no muffins. When I asked why, I was told that they no longer had a cook. I wonder, was he deported already?
‘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.
I took the last day to explore my neighbourhood. I am staying in the 5ieme in a 3* hotel called Hotel Claude Bernard on rue de Ecoles. This is a very central area on the ‘Left bank’ right in the middle of the student area. I am a few blocks away from the Sorbonne which I visited and photographed from the outside. I never realized how big it is. This is the area that I used to come to a lot as a student in Reims when I wanted to visit Paris. The area has not changed much except for the price of the hotels.
I walked through the 5ieme and the 6ieme taking pictures as I walked. Sunday, everything is closed in Paris. There are virtually no cars in Paris as there has been a major political effort by the mayor to restrict cars altogether. She has been successful. I did not see any traffic jams. There is very little traffic and very little place to park. In some areas you can not drive at all unless you live there or are delivering merchandise. People have adapted by taking public transport, walking or using a bicycle.
I had lunch at a Parisien bistro which is unusual for me when travelling as I usually have a good breakfast, skip lunch, have a cap in the afternoon and eat dinner around 7:30. Today, I decided to do ‘lunch a la Francaise’. I had an onion soup, bread and a ‘verre de vin rouge’. Wonderful to be so Parisian. The waiter addressed me in English. I continued speaking in French. Afterwards, I asked him why he had spoken to me in English. ‘Do I have an English face?’ He replied that I did. Is that a compliment or an insult? I guess that I will never know.
I am staying at a CDG Airport Ibis. All Ibis hotels resemble each other and this one is no different. Clean, modern, a bit sparse in decor and very convenient. I have 100m to walk to Terminal 3 where I will take off. The hotel provides an ‘all you can eat’ buffet. I usually try to stay away from these meals as they tend to have much volume and mediocre quality. The salad was very good, the cheese was excellent, the desert was very good, the wine was good enough table wine and the meat was ….. oh well you can’t have everything you want for the price.
My adventure terminates tomorrow when I return to Montreal. There are 3 parts to a trip: 1, the planning, 2, the trip, 3, the memories. The best part are the memories as they go on forever. The 2nd best is the planning. The 3rd and worst part is the trip itself. You must get over it as quickly and as safely as possibly to enter the memories part.
There is a site called Paris Inconnu or Paris Insolite which gives you places to visit in Paris for those of us who have seen the major attractions such as the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. I started my adventure with the ‘Les Egouts de Paris’, the museum of the Paris sewer system. This is a fascinating tour of the sewers of Paris including the typical sewer smell which we occasionally smell when sewers back up. The museum takes us on a tour of how the sewers first developed and improved with time. 150 years ago, people in Paris were dying due to the pollution from the lack of a decent sewer system. There are now 2500km of sewer pipes in Paris. You actually walk on a grate, over a huge pipe, and see sewer water flowing beneath you.
I then visited Remi and Marie Christine for a coffee in the afternoon. Remi dropped me off at the Cimetiere de Picpus. This is a small cemetery where Lafayette is buried under an American flag. He is a hero for both the French and the Americans. In 1791 during the French Revolution, 1,306 aristocrats, aged 16 to 85, were guillotined in 13 days and buried in a common grave. Much later, what was left of their families, got together to have their names inscribed on a plaque. Very sad.
As usual, I had dinner is a small bistro next to my hotel and splurged a little on the wine to celebrate my last evening in Paris.
Love,
Brian
My hotel shower and the beautiful view from my window. I don’t know who or what is behind the bars.
