What an absolutely awesome weekend. So very much needed after a very stressful and busy work week in the midst of a very stressful and busy work, er, quarter. Weekend recap shall we:
Friday:Get into work as reasonably early as possible, actually work my butt off and then decide I can’t take it anymore and leave at 12:30. Load up cooler, gather bags, watch the downpouring rain begin and then jump into gear when little black jeep (LBJ) pulls into drive with Bryan and Amy. Load up LBJ to brim and head out of Seattle. Make it no where in the first 1.5 hours due to Obama in town, rain, and early Friday traffic. Wait at border for an hour, not happy. Get a little lost in Vancouver because of not working GPS. Check in at condo in Whistler at 9pm and immediately depart to find one of the only open restaurants in Whistler Village. Had one amazing Indian chicken jalfrazie dish and naan and finally settle into Whistler vacation mode. Meet the BBs (Boeing Boys) back at the condo for drinks before going to bed at 2am with an early wakeup time…ahh!
Saturday and Sunday (very similar):
Have fueling breakfast in the condo, gear up and walk 5 minutes to the gondolas. Ski runs that are miles long, wonderfully groomed, great snow condition, 40 degree temperatures at the base, very little wind, breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. Skiied mostly blues the whole time which makes me really proud that I am advanced past the green beginner runs. I can noticeably tell a difference in my level of skiing between now and our first trip out this year and that is so exciting. More than my experience and skill level being up is my confidence level is way up right now which makes you all around a better skiier.
Highlights of the actual skiing where skiing Peak to Creek which is the longest run on Whistler Mountain at around 6 miles and offers spectacular views and was actually a pretty difficult blue. I also enjoyed hiking up to the highest point on Blackcomb Mountain (you actually had to hike about 10 minutes past the tallest chair) to reach Blackcomb Glacier with Bryan. I have never skiied a glacier and it was quite challenging. Quite steep at the bottom but the powder was insane. I also thoroughly enjoyed riding the Peak to Peak gondola which is the largest unsupported span in the world at around 3 miles. The gondola goes from the top of Whistler Mountain to the top of Blackcomb Mountain and the views of the two mountains and the valley between them is insane. I want to go back in the summer! The resort was run so well, was so clean, chairs never broke down, it was just amazing. I decided my best ski fuel is hot chocolate and fries with a side of chili or beef stew. We stopped mainly at the outdoor snack shops on the mountain except for treating Bryan to hearty lunch in the Village on Sunday.
After skiing came another extreme of fun. Once back at our condo it was generally hot tub time in our private hot tub on our private terrace. We may have broke the hot tub by overflowing it with 8 people. Drinking, joking, teasing ensued. Saturday night Amy heated up her super delicious meat and mushroom spaghetti along with a Ceasar salad made by me and Sunday I plopped some goodies in the crockpot and voila!…BBQ pork sandwiches were ready as soon as hot tub time was declared over. Our dinners were delicous, budget friendly and super easy. Saturday night after dinner I got Louis (Michigan grad) and Bryan to join me for a drink at the pub downstairs to watch UM beat OSU at home and then we wrangled the entire group out for more drinks at the awesome Irish pub with a very, very enjoyable band playing great songs. Sunday night we stayed in to have a fire, drink peppermint schnapps in hot cocoa and watch lame Canadian broadcasting. Both nights we were still asleep by 10:30.
Monday:
Our last day and only three remain (Bryan, Amy and I). Fatigue and soreness started to set in but we still skiied until close. We departed Whistler for our drive home, stopping for some BBQ in Vancouver briefly and getting back to Seattle around 9:30pm. It was one awesome trip, Whistler is totally worth the price, and we will be going back next year!!!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 