We awoke to another bluebird day with the temp. up 10 degrees to 5 C. We took the Blackcomb Gondola to the top of the mountain and then took the Peak to Peak gondola to Whistler. The gondola is the highest and probably the longest ski gondola in the world. It rises 1 mile above the valley below. It can carry about 20 passengers at a time and there are several going up and down in the same direction. Most gondolas only have 1 up and 1 down at a time. Every dozen gondolas there is 1with a plastic see through floor. Some people wait in line to take it while others avoid it at all costs.
We skied on Whistler Mountain today with Julia’s aunt. In the afternoon the girls skied together on intermediate slopes while Antoine and I did the high bowls which were steep black diamond runs. The bowls had good coverage with soft moguls as big as Volkswagens. Our best runs were on Sun Bowl which as the name suggest faces the sun for much of the day. The slope must be about 40 to 45 degrees and the moguls were topped with soft snow making them rather nice to ski around. Falling is out of the question as you could easily slide 100 to 200 meters. We did not fall. My skis were great in the soft broken powder snow.
We skied until 4:00 pm and were both pretty tired. Our thighs were burning. We met Julia, Dominique and Heather, my friend’s daughter who lives in Whistler, at the Handlebar Bar for piazza and beer. Unfortunately we missed the last chair and had to walk several hundred meters up hill to our condo.
We arrived in Whistler yesterday afternoon and took possession of our condo. The girls went out shopping for food while Antoine accompanied me on my quest for gortex ski pants made by any company that had pants that fit me. Apparently, this is the last year for goretex to be manufactured. It is a wonderfu material designed by Mr. Gore who passed away a few years ago. It is 100% waterproof even in pouring rain and breaths so you don’t get overheated. It also lasts for ever and is virtually indistructable. Unfortunately, the manufacturing process is carcinogenic for the factory workers and it is impossible to recycle. I have been looking for gortex lined (not a shell) pants that fit me for over 1 year. After visiting a number of stores and trying on a dozen pairs of pants I finally found one made by Peak Performance, a Swedish company. I must have one in black as that is the colour for ski patrol pants. There was one left in the world so they will ship it to me in 2 weeks. Wow!!
We were up early and skied from 9:30 to 3:30 with a short break for lunch. Whistler is a fabulous ski station. It is divided into 2 parts, Whistler and Blackcomb. We skied all day on Blackcomp and didn’t ever touch half the trails. The Whistler Resort is huge, the biggest in North America and twice as big as most of the other resorts. It was a bluebird day with sunny skis, a few clouds and -5 C. You could not ask for a better day of skiing. The day started off with hard packed snow which eventually softened up around noon. We did groomer, broken powder runs, bowls and tree runs.
Spanky’s ladder is a snow ladder, 100 meters high at the top of the mountain and leads to expert black diamond and double black diamond trails. We took off our skis and started climbing. I make it ¾ of the way up and was gasping for breath hopefully only because of the altitude. Antoine generously climbed down to meet me and took my skis up for the last ¼ of the climb. The climb was well worth the effort as the run was largely untracked in places allowing me to enjoy my new skis. At the end of the day we did a diamond, tight, steep tree run appropriately named ‘Where’s Joe’ as is difficult to keep your colleagues in sight. This was the first time that I was able to try my skis on a tree run and they performed really well. To reward ouselves for a day well done, we had piazza and beer at the Handlebar, Bar where we met Dominique.
We each take turns cooking. Last evening it was Dominique’s turn. Tonight it is Antoine and Julia’s turn. They all know better that to ask me to take a turn.
Yesterday, we had a croissant and coffee in the hotel allowing me some time to write my blog. I then had a very liquid day that I will explain. We had our usual scone and cappuccino at a local coffee shop and then walked towards the port where we had arranged to meet up with Antoine. We toured the port allowing me time to admire the many sailboats. I could walk along docks and look at boats all day in any waterfront city and never get tired of taking similar photos.
We ate lunch at an upscale Vietnamese-French restaurant where we were the only individuals of white origin. Antoine and Dominique had salads but I was not hungry so I just drank a Vietnamese beer. We then took the ferry boat to Granville Island. The island is a cute destination and is filled with book stores, restaurants and shops. After walking around for a while we stopped for a liquid snack at a sake bar. We each drank a few glasses and left with a bottle of sake to take to Whistler. If I continue with this ‘healthy’ diet I will begin to look like the fellow in the film ‘Supersize Me.’
We later met up with Antoine’s wife Julia and her family at a renowned bub in downtown Vancouver just steps from our hotel.
This is my second trip out west to ski and probably my 40th altogether. We flew on a direct flight from Montreal to Vancouver, the only incident being that my wife and I were not seated next to each other. The flight attendant offered us chocolate bars and drinks an hour into the flight. I chose tomato juice and wine which I realized was an error on my first sip at 10:00 a.m. They no longer serve food on domestic flights so we brought along our own empanadas. I was able to drink the wine with the empanadas for lunch.
We are staying in Vancouver for 2 nights at a downtown boutique hotel called the Victorian. It is located in a great area close to walking distance to the major attractions. We walked along Hastings Street to get to Gastown which is the older part of downtown Vancouver. When I first came here 40 years ago, there was 1 block on Hastings where all the druggies lived on the street. The area has expanded greatly since then as Vancouver attracts down and outs from all across Canada due to the climate here and the ability for one to sleep out on the street in the winter. For one reason or another we have left a large segment of the population behind in our country. I don’t know the solution.
We walked all over the downtown area. There are an over abundance of coffee shops, all quite cute and selling $8.00 croissants and $6.00 cappuccinos with 18%, 20% or 20% suggested tips. There is a beautiful view of the mountains in the distance and one can see the harbour as well. The beach is not far away. The flowers are in bloom everywhere. Vancouver rarely gets snow and had non this season. Later we met my son Antoine for dinner at a local Italian restaurant. I never take home a doggy bag but the bread was so good we took some home for breakfast.
Last evening we had the conference banquet. The conference has been going on for 46 years and I have attended many of them. The atmosphere is very relaxed and many of the urologists bring their wives and children. Everyone is dressed in ski centre casual. The food and wine were adequate and everyone was in a very good mood. The conference, although the numbers were decreased compared to recent years was very successful. Personally, I prefer the atmosphere of smaller conferences where you can speak freely with the conference presenters. I met some old friends as well as a couple, Marty and Ellen from Denver. He is a paediatric urologist originally from Winnipeg and almost took a position in Montreal. Ellen is an excellent skier and we arranged to ski together today.
One of the conference leaders, Brian, who I knew from previous meetings, asked me how many conferences that I had attended and if I could say a few words. Never at a loss for words, I told a little story. Dr. Ralph Hopkins organized the conference until 2013. At the conclusion of the conference, in Jackson Hole,while I was putting on my ski boots, he came up to me and addressing me by my first name, asked me how I had liked the conference. I was rather surprised that Dr. Hopkins, the conference leader would even recognize me. After all, I am not very important in the urology world. He then asked me if I enjoyed the skiing and would I be back next year. I replied affirmatively and we shook hands promising to see each other the following year. 3 months later he had a cardiac episode and passed away. I month later I had a heart attack and a quadruple bypass. I can only imagine him looking down on me from above and muttering to himself “Hey Brian, where are you, we had a deal!”
Ellen and I met at 10:00 at a prearranged area at the bottom of the hill. It was a bluebird day, 5C and sunny. The powder that had fallen the day before and though broken, still gave adequate coverage with no ice showing. We followed the sun, skiing from one end of the mountain to the other. We did blues, blacks, tree runs, powdered bowls and trails. She is an excellent skier and can go down any type of hill. At around 1:00 we arrived at the far end of the mountain and after doing some tight powdery tree runs we stopped for hot chocolates and cookies.
To get back to our hotel we had to go up and down several trails taking several chairlifts. We were on top of the last run, at 3:00 pm, a black trail with moguls, sunny with broken powder, challenging but certainly doable. The trail narrowed at one point but I should have had no trouble getting through. I then experienced the absolutely worst fall of my 65 year ski career. I was skiing at moderate speed in good control when the tip of my ski hit a hidden rock. I fell straight forward over my skies and continued tumbling head over heels gaining more and more speed. I spread my arms and legs out, trying desperately to dig in and stop. It was no use, I just kept sliding and sliding. I wondered in my head if I would get badly hurt and hoped that I would not hit a tree on the side of the trail. I eventually stopped in powder snow, one ski on and one ski off 100 meters down the hill. One ski had fallen off and had accompanied me in my fall. Ellen picked up my pole which I had left further up the hill. The ski stop on one ski was bent. Two buckles on one boot were open and bent out of shape. The edge on the tip of one ski is badly bent and may not be reparable. I was gasping for breath but thankful that I had not been badly hurt. I have a minor sprain on my ankle and am limping. I pulled myself together and we skied slowly down to the bottom of the hill on an easy blue. What an experience!
Yesterday was a non descript day so I did not do a post. It was cloudy for most of the day with a 2 hour sunny period around noon. The snow was hard packed and I could have used my Eastern skis. I skied on blue groomers as they were the only trails available.
In the evening after dinner, I was invited to a party at the conference organizer’s hotel suite. I met several of my old friends from previous conferences and made some new acquaintances. The atmosphere is always very congenial at these smaller conferences. Next year they are planning to have the conference in Park City Utah. It has been on my bucket list for many years but this will be the first time that a urology conference will take place there.
Surprise, surprise!! It snowed all night and all day today. This gave us a total accumulation of 8 inches of heavy powder. This snowfall changed the mountain completely. The groomers had powder snow which made them more interesting. I also discovered some expert terrain which was not available the past few days. I skied on double blue and black trails. I found some glorious tree-glade terrain that had full coverage. At one point I found myself alone on a rather steep and narrow tree run. It was glorious. I continued along and found my self on top of a hidden bowl, 200 meters long, reasonably steep with untracked powder. At 2:00 pm I was the first skier to go down the slope. A chance in a life time.
I used to have trouble with tree runs. I would stop at each tree. I watched Antoine fly through the trees without stopping. When I asked him how he did it without stopping, he replied, “ Dad, your skis are 5 feet long and there is 8 feet between each tree. Don’t look at the trees. Just trace.” With some practice I understood what he meant. I don’t look at the trees anymore. I just trace my path and fly through them. Wow!
My conference began today with a breakfast at 6:00 a.m. Needless to say I arrived a little late as I am rather allergic to setting my alarm at 5:30 a.m. to arrive on time to my semi medical-ski conference. The conference finished at 10:00 a.m. allowing me a full day to ski. However, with hard packed conditions until the sun softens things up, there is no point getting on the hill until 11:00 a.m. It was once again a bluebird day with sunny skies and temperatures of 10C. The temperature is supposed to drop over the next few days and we are expecting snow on Monday.
I received some nice comments on my blue, Arc’teryx ski jacket with one person noting that I blend in well with the sky. Wow.
Today was another blue bird day of skiing that you could only hope for at the end of March. I was not in a hurry to get on the slopes today as the snow is rather hard packed until the sun begins to soften it up at around 10:00 a.m. We had sunny skies all day with a temp of 10C and no wind.
I skied only on the groomers as the expert terrain was either closed or had too many rocks showing to make it worth while. Tree skiing was impossible as are the chutes. Nevertheless the sun and warm weather made for a good day of skiing. Half way down the hill is a huge igloo that you can walk through. A band was playing inside and people were dancing. There is a patio outside with sofas and chairs. Everyone was having drinks including white wine, beer and Veuve Cliquot champagne. Imagine that, in the middle of winter. I sat on a sofa, took off my ski jacket, wearing only a fleece and basked in the sun in an attempt to get a sun tan.
America is made up of 45% people of ethnic, non white origin. You would not know that by the crowd at the ski hills. Everyone is white and looks to be very successful. Skiing has become extremely expensive. In American dollars a day ticket costs $250. Hotels start at $600 a night. The ski prices are the same as in Canada except that you pay in American dollars. The ski industry must have been hit hard by the tariffs. Food prices in restaurants are unreasonable. There are beautiful areas with homes starting at $5 million and going up to $20 million. The rich and famous have discovered Big Ski just as the have discovered Jackson Hole.
On the other hand, everyone is very friendly. I have not over heard any political discussion. The chair lifts are for 4, 6 or 8 persons. The seats are heated. A bubble comes down if it is cold and windy. The guardrail pops up automatically when you arrive at the top. On the chair everyone wants to know ‘How are you doing today? Are you having a great day skiing today? Where are you from? Montreal, oh I have been there. What a great city. Do you ski at Mont Tremblant?’ It is really pleasant.
My conference starts tomorrow and I ate dinner last evening with a few friends that I know from previous conferences. We will be about 50 urologists and the staff looks to be excellent as usual. The conference is very family friendly reminding me of the times when I used to take the kids with me. I can remember renting a condo for 7 of us.
I left Montreal yesterday at 11:00 a.m. and arrived here at 3:30 a.m. Montreal time, a mere 16.5 hour travel time. That includes leaving the house to allow for 3 hours to go through American customs. No one is going to the States now and passing through customs took 40 minutes. The customs officials were much less surly than usual probably happy to have visitors to their country. I had 2 hours between flights and a 4 hour wait to catch a limo to take me from Bozen International Airport to Big Sky. The drive took 75 minutes and I was asleep on arrival here. I was so tired that I left my skis outside my door in the hallway, leaving me wondering where they were when I awoke in the morning. I slept 7 hours to recuperate and was on the slopes at 10:00, a little late for me.
Today was a ‘blue bird day,’ sunny with blue skis all day. I am happy that I brought my Salmon QSTs, 92 underfoot for those of you who are knowledgeable about skis. The snow was packed powder in the morning with absolutely no ice. By 12:00 it was spring skiing in February, unheard of in recent years. It was 10C so I had to take off a few layers and was skiing with my jacket open, no neck warmer and no long underwear. I sat on a terrace at noon in a tee shirt and sipped a $10 black coffee. The prices are outrageous here.
They have not had any snow here in 10 days. I skied mostly on blue, double blue, easy black trails and bowls. There is a lot of tree and glade skiing here but no one was skiing there as the snow was hard packed. They are really spoiled here. My Icon pass covers the whole area but you must take a gondola for an extra $25 to get to the top Loan Peak area. This is a black, double black and triple black area. There are also dozens of chutes but no takers as the snow conditions were not great and there are a lot of rocks showing. All in all, there was enough open trails to ski on.
I am in Trudeau Airport, travelling to Big Ski Montana for a medical-ski conference. The conference is from 6:30 am to 930 am and from 430 pm to 630 pm. This allows me 6 hours to ski. We are required to do 40 hours of retraining per year so this gives me 25 hours.
This is my 35-40th ski trip out west as I try to combine a medical-ski conference every year.
I will write every day and post 5-10 pictures everyday. You may follow me on my blog: gobriantravel.com.
As you may know, I spent 2 months in Israel last year and 1 month this year. I spent 6 weeks on an IDF base doing the type of work that my mother told me I would do if I didn’t get a good education. I spent 6 weeks on an MDA ambulance as a physician-para medic helping in the care of 150 patients. I detailed my 3 month experience in my blog and am in the process of finishing my book entitled: Swords or Iron, Israel at War, a Canadian Surgeons Perspective. The book will be available for purchase in 6 weeks. All proceeds of the sale of the book will go towards the purchase of an ambulance for MDA.
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