Revvie

This weekend we finally got away from 50+ temperatures and saw the pearly whiteness of snow-covered ground, kind of.  We packed up the Jeep and headed Northeast for 8 hours to Revelstoke, British Columbia.  Fourteen of us rented out a cabin for four nights to ski three days at the resort that reportedly has the largest descent of any resort in North America.  Just as tall (actually taller) as Whistler but quieter and better snow, we found ourselves in for a real treat.

The digs:  The cabin that our friend found was a worked out well for the group.  One mile from the gondolas and 2 miles into town.  Situated in a quiet ski-side neighborhood.  The home boasted a large dining room, living room, kitchen area and a hot tub perfect for apres-skiing.  There were only three bedrooms but thankfully because Bryan drove and we cooked for the group we were able to get one of the bedrooms.

The people:  Three people I know, Annie, Ed and Bryan, and 10 people I did not know before this trip.  All employees of Boeing except for three of us, typical!  Only three girls in the group, typical.  Mostly good skiers with a few newbies, typical.  The group was actually a lot of fun once we got to know them.  I really enjoyed their sense of humor and fun.  I didn’t ski with any of them other than Bryan and Ed but I spent a good amount of time with them outside of skiing.  The group averages about 3 years younger than both Bryan and I so that did make us feel a bit old.

The mountain:  A very good snow base and definitely cold enough to make snow up here in Canada.  Unfortunately no fresh snow while we were there, just flurries in the air.  Only one gondola and two chair lifts, two green trails, but a fair amount of blue trails,  it was still more than enough for me to enjoy for three days.  Plus 3 day passes for Washington residents were only $150 which is a very great deal.  No wait in lines, never stopped on the chair lift, and a large lodge to take breaks.  The weather on the mountain stayed at about 30 degrees the entire time so it was actually quite pleasant, especially on the 3rd day when there was not a cloud in the sky.  The views from the top of the mountain were breathtaking.  Skiing from top to bottom resulted in sweaty clothes and heavy breathing.  Easy walk from the parking lot to the gondola base.  I started on mostly blues and skied mostly blacks on the 3rd day.

The town:  Bryan and I cooked two dinners for the group that worked out really well.  We did chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice and refried beans on the first night and pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw and baked beans on our last night.  And with all of the beer that was brought we had a great time hanging in those two nights.  Friday night was really the sole experience we had in town and was a lot of fun.  We had heard of a drop-in curling excursion at the Curling Club in town starting at 7pm.  Our group got there well before 7pm to grab two of the lanes.  Fortunately we did because there was quite the wait once we left the Club.  We were given about 15 minutes of instruction of the rules and practice shooting the “puck”.  Then we were given an hour and a half to play four innings.  After falling flat on my butt on my first practice throw I actually turned out to be quite good at the game.  It was a ton of fun and the entire group had a blast.  At 8:30 we gave up our lanes to head in for dinner.  We couldn’t get into the Village Idiot we had heard so much about so we walked to the Last Drop.  We were fortunate to get in and get tables, all ordered our food and came out pretty quickly.  My fish and chips were okay but the DJ who already had the dance party started was a headache and prevented very little conversation around the table.  After over an hour of heavy techno we called our night out in Revelstoke quits.

The drive was long but the trip was well worth it.  It might just be the only time skiing for me this year so I was happy to get out there and meet some more people while I was at it.  At least it was a breathtaking drive!  I might get a few more pictures later, of us skiing and the last night when we drove farther north in B.C. to take in more of the Canadian Rockies and Glacier National Park.

Chelsea