Reality comes around

All week I was excited to go down to Fernie (BC), to stay with some friends and check out the hill. Then I just kept getting a bit sicker every day... til, bam! I have a bad cold.
I did drive south on Friday and met Jeff down there. He had driven 1100 km from North Dakota that day and was dead tired. However, it was a beautiful and warm day on Saturday and my friend who we were staying with showed me around the hill, while Jeff went off riding in the trees. I really challenged myself to great effect and had a wonderful time. We all desperately tried to stay up to a decent hour, but were all in bed by 9:30 pm, happy and exhausted. On Sunday my sinuses kicked my ass and Jeff was really tired so we called it quits and drove home Sunday afternoon after a nice long and leisurely breakfast. Yesterday was a long weekend holiday Monday here in Alberta, and I spent it on the couch with a roll of toilet paper blowing my nose. Classic. So, not much went as planned this weekend and it was certainly not the epic snowboarding extravaganza I had hoped for, but... There is always next weekend. (Actually, next weekend's plan is cross country sking - it's much cheaper!)

Do cowboys make good snowshoers?

This weekend I did the Avalanche Safety Training Level 1 course. I used snowshoes instead of skis so I wouldn't look like such a novice in a group of strangers. But holy - I am sore in the strangest places today! You have to walk so wide with snowshoes on, I felt like a cowboy all day. And my hands are super sore; it appears that in steep terrain I have a death-grip on my ski poles. However, all the soreness aside, I am very pleased that I can now identify suspicious terrain and know how to find someone using/wearing an avalanche transceiver (beacon). I bought my camera along but it was snowing pretty hard all day and was effectively white-out conditions for most of the day. In a few cases the instructor just had to describe to us what type of terrain we would be seeing if we could see more than 100 feet ahead. It was strange knowing that there was a large rock face and bowl very nearby but not be able to see it at all...
Avalanche beacons are pretty cool but expensive. I'll be renting one if I do any back country travel this season, but if anyone needs birthday or Christmas ideas for next year, keep it in mind :)
Next weekend I'm planning on heading to Fernie. It's the provincial Family Day next Monday, so the ski hill will be packed, but I'll brave it. And my friend who we will be staying with is eager to kick my butt on the hill. The learning curve just never stops...

Singles Weekend

Last weekend Jeff was away and I took the opportunity to go snowboarding with some girlfriends on Saturday and head to a Superbowl get-together on Sunday (HD with American commercials; good times had by all). Saturday was great weather (well, it is winter! the lifts are cold in the mornings every time...) and I rode a black diamond run twice before lunch - can you imagine?! Today my plan was to play some more and take the day off for another Ladies Day special, but I now have other plans. Jeff is still away (he actually came back to town for a full 36 hours earlier this week) and so I have another single girl weekend to fill. I have decided to take my Level 1 avalanche safety training. I'm really not planning on doing anything particularly hard core; I'm taking the course so I can read the danger and steer well clear of it! I asked my boss if work would fund my weekend as part of my safety training, but no dice :) They don't generally drill gas wells in active avalanche zones...
Other news: I finished Colony of Unrequited Dreams. The last third of the book really drags on and then bam! everything is wrapped up nicely in the last few dozen pages and life goes on... The first half is great, and I realise since it is based on a real person the ending can't be super over-dramatic, but the balance was pretty off. Book club meets tomorrow night so I'll soon hear what the other ladies thought of it. I am now reading a dirty little Michael Crichton book - I feel like I need a brown paper cover for it. I'm ruining my bus reputation!