Today was going to be my last day on the mountain.  I got a text from Ed to say that he was on 7th Heaven, Blackcomb.  So I headed up there and we met for lunch.  After lunch we headed on to 7th Heaven.  Ed wanted to borrow my GPS logger to see how fast he can go down the piste.  The conditions were not great but he did manage 98km/h.  As for me, I wasn't too far behind.  It was however the first time in two seasons that I have ever ridden the actual piste on 7th Heaven!  But of a shocker that, as normally I only ride it when there is powder and then you avoid the piste!

We headed on back up again and did the same run.  This time, I knew where to go and rode it a lot better.  We headed on up for a third time, however by now Ed was feeling the cold and had decided to call it a day.  So we took the run back to the top of the Jersey Cream chair and whilst Ed headed off, I headed for the Peak2Peak, as I had a call from Chris to say that he was heading up Whistler mountain, and he wanted to ride it before they close it after Sunday 26th!

Myself and Chris headed up the Peak chair and at the top stopped to take a couple pictures of the Black Tusk mountain.  We then headed on down the Saddle.  At the top of the Saddle it was extremely icy and there was very little grip.  After that however it livened and loosened up, but got quite choppy.  It was then a case of pointing the board straight down the mountain.  We charged straight past the bottom of the Peak chair and headed for Big Red.  On the way we hit every single jib and jump that we could find, and trust me there are absolutely loads on the way down to Big Red.

After getting back to the Roundhouse we stopped for a quick beer.  After all, it was my last day on the mountain!  We then headed on down Orange Peel and down to Fort Knox.  We were going to see if there were people there that we knew, but Chris met a couple girls that he knew just leaving and they said there was no beer left.  So we rode down with them back to the village.  We took Crabapple down and out, and again there were loads of jib's and jumps to be had on the way.  Near the bottom however the snow had melted away and there was a huge patch of dirt that I had to ride over.  I was so glad that I lent back a bit as when I hit the dirt it was really sticky and it really pushed me forward.  No damage done though and I was able to ride on through it.  The rest of the run was just pure slush.

Well, it has been an interesting season, and so very much different than my last season here.  Mostly the mountain and my riding was very different.  I also met a lot of really good people.  It was just a very poor year for snow and as such a lot of the extreme slopes just didn't appeal to me.  This year was all about speed and getting my self confidence back after damaging my shoulder.

I'm already looking forward to my next time on the snow!

One of my last days on the mountain.  Boo!  But all good things have to come to an end!

I headed up with Village gondola onto the Whistler mountain, and straight up the Peak chair.  I decided to head on over to see what the Symphony amphitheater would be like.  Today I wasn't disappointed, as it was fast and smooth.   I got up some good speed and enjoyed it.  As the Symphony chair has been closed for the season for a while now, I had to take Burnt Stew out and back to the Harmony chair.  Whilst heading up the chair I could see that the Harmony Piste looked really good so I decided to hit that next.  It too was fast and smooth, until you got near the bottom of the run, where there were loads of big and hard cookies.  This made it really difficult and caused huge vibrations when trying to ride at speed.

I headed back up the Harmony chair and it was then that I decided to do the Symphony again and then the Harmony again, then repeat.  I did this run a total of three times before heading down past Emerald and onto Olympic and headed for the mid station.  This too was fast and fun.  It's surprising what late season can bring.

I had decided on the way up that I was going to head on over to Blackcomb, as they were having the Snowboard Half-pipe competition, and wanted to see if it was any good.  Boy was it good.  It was an open competition with loads of things going off all at the same time.  Much more interesting than the Ski Half-pipe, where it was minutes between one rider and another.

It was at the Half-pipe I caught up with Sam, who was taking pictures of the competition.  After the competition we decided to put in a few runs.  I offered to take a few photos of Sam, so we headed into the blue park.  I got a few good photos of him.  So we did it again, and some more good photos were the result.  It was late so we headed on down to the village and watched the band that was on (at the Tellus Ski and Snowboard Festival).

Myself, Edd, Alex and Sally all headed out and took the Village Gondola up Whistler.  The very low temperature for this time of year meant that the piste was really icy.  We headed up the Peak and took the saddle.  The piste condition was so icy and bumpy that it made the riding challenging.  So much so that when we got to Big Red we all went in for lunch.

After lunch we took a line down through the old Whistler park (been taken down for a few weeks now) and onto Olympic.  I have to say that I really enjoyed the Olympic piste.  Whist not challenging in terms of steepness, it was riding really well and fast.  Speed is your friend!  We then took a hard left and headed down Crabapple and into the village.  It was here that we left Sally, as she had to go to work.  Edd and Alex had also decided that the conditions were not fun for them, so I headed back up the Village Gondola on my own.

I headed on back to the Peak chair and took the saddle down again.  This time however the snow had softened up just a little, even though there was loads of ice just there.  I rode back down to Big Red, and decided to try over in Harmony.  I took the easy route over to the Harmony chair and rode the piste.  This is my favorite run on the mountain, and today did not disappoint too much.  The lower part of the run was full of cookies and made it really difficult to keep any continual lines or speed.  I did the run a couple times before the lift closed.  I rode all the way to the Village gondola mid station, via Olympic.  Again Olympic didn't disappoint today.  There were a load of people across the slope and I had to put the brakes on, which was disappointing as I was getting a good head of steam on.

Heading back up the gondola I took my favourite run out back to the village.  That is Orange Peel, Tokum, and then Crabapple.  On the way down Crabapple I forgot that the snow had melted and there were patches of earth, so for about 5m I was riding (pretty fast) over the dirt.  Thankfully it was grassy.

Whilst the early part of the day didn't bode very well, I enjoyed everything from lunch onwards.

Really late start today.  So much so that when I got to the top of Blackcomb, I just headed into the Rendevous restaurant for lunch.  So after lunch I headed down springboard so as to get some speed under my legs.  After that I headed on into the Terrain Garden.  It was running quite well and I was hitting my front side and back side 180's.  So I kept running around the Terrain Garden for a few runs.  The lift line at Solarcoaster was always busy and was starting to annoy me with people cutting the line and not going up in groups of 4.  So I decided to head on over to Whistler reasonably early, that way if it was bad I could get back on over to Blackcomb.

After getting over onto Whistler mountain, I headed up the Peak chair, with the intention of heading down the Saddle.  However, I wasn't paying attention and ended up going on over into the Symphony Ampitheater.  That was a mistake, a big mistake.  The snow was so sticky that I had to unstrap a couple times just to get on over the humps.  Not fun at all.  I then headed up the Harmony chair and took a run down the Harmony piste.  Again this wasn't that much fun.  I headed back up again and took the Saddle down this time.  This was a bit more like it, but only because it was steeper and therefore the board didn't stick so much.  I passed the Peak chair and rode on down to Big Red.  I headed back up Big red and took the peak chair again, and onto the saddle once more.  Back around, this time at the top of Big Red I decided to take the run out to the village.  It wasn't possible to get on over onto Orange Peel as the snow was just too sticky.  I did however take Crabapple down and out to the village.  The snow here is running very bare and there are only a few lines with snow on to take through.  So you have to be a bit careful when charging down the hill.

Ah!  That's better.  I headed up with snowboard in hand, and instantly felt so much better in myself.  As I headed up Whistler however it was clear that the conditions were terrible (really slushy and sticky), there were only 3 lifts open (Village Gondola, Emerald and Big Red), but there were hardly any people on the mountain.

As there were only a few lifts open this meant that there were little options for riding.  However I had a good time, especially as on every run there was virtually no one else on the piste.  I rode around on Whistler until it was near lunch time.  I was sick and tired of the food at the Round House, so decided to head on over the Peak2Peak, grab lunch ad the Rendevous and then ride Blackcomb.

I started off riding "Springboard" and a few other runs.  I headed up the Glacier Express and took the T-bar up and over into 7th Heaven.  The visibility was awful so I decided to head on back towards Jersey cream and into the Terrain Garden.  I wasn't really in the mood for park riding, but I had a good ride through.  I put in a couple front side 180's and some back-side 180's.  Made me feel good.  So I rode around the Terrain garden for quite a few times before the end of the day.

I headed down to the village, but took it easy.  It was extremely slushy so quite dangerous for catching some big edges.  A girl in front of me caught a nose edge and flipped quite a few times and landed quite badly.  I made sure she was OK, before heading off, making sure that I wasn't going to take a nose edge and flip it out.

Day two of the dark side...skiing!  I headed up the Whistler Village gondola and straight back to the family zone.  Initially the skiing was not that great.  My right knee was giving me real trouble and I was struggling with the left turn.  However as the day progressed things really improved.  I rode around the mountain a lot more today and generally tried to increase the steepness of the terrain and ramp up the difficulty.

I mainly stayed around the Emerald and Garbonzo chair for the morning.  I did however head on over into the Symphony amphitheater.  I mainly stuck to the Burnt Stew trail and really got some speed up on the way down.

After lunch however I headed up the Peak chair and tried out the saddle.  The top was really icy and fully of moguls.  As my technique was not great this did mean that I struggled.  Not far down from the top I managed to do a face plant and hurt my busted shoulder a little.  I struggled a little to get one of the ski's back on, but after that it all went really well.  As the day wore on towards a close the average speed and linking of turns had increased in speed and were really smothe.

The run back down to the village was not great fun, because it was just so slushy.

All in all a good experiment to see how the 'other half' of the mountain ride.  I'm not a convert, as I prefer the snowboarding experience better.  It should help with any back country however.

I had contemplated it for a while, and decided to try the Dark Side.  That is I thought that I would try Skiing for the first time ever.  I thought that I would see what the other side were 'moaning' about.  So I headed into the Village and headed to Summit to hire some ski's. After a short time I was all kitted out and headed up the Whistler Village gondola.

Clicking in for the first time, it felt as though I was standing on top of a couple blocks.  It felt like I was on stilts!  The weather was awful in the morning and the first run was so tiring, because I was trying so hard.  By the time I got to Pig alley I had relaxed a little and it started to get a little easier.  I did start out with the old snow-plow, and making sure that I could stop, but as I passed the Chick Pea restaurant for the first time I had moved on to parallel turns.  These just seamed easier to do, along with the hockey stop.  I headed up the Emerald chair for my first experience of getting onto and off a chair with Ski's.  It was very much easier getting on and off with ski's rather than with a snowboard.  You just have to made sure you get up and keep the poles out of the way.

The second run down was very much faster and easier.  I likened the experience of parallel turns to using the stair climber at the gym.  I did still however find my balance to be a little off still.  After the third or fourth run down it was getting much better.  I took a few different routes down the mountain and even took Orange Peel down to Big red, and also ended up in a small mogul field.  I could tell that my technique was not good enough to ride mogul's as I didn't have a very good time getting through these.

By now I had taken a couple tumbles (splits to face, and wayward ski to falling over to my side, etc.) and the weather had closed in to be a white out, so I headed on in for a quick lunch.

After lunch things went even better with the skiing.  My timing was very much better and the speed was getting better and more controlled.  I still didn't feel that I was getting my weight forward enough but the turns were much easier and flowed.  I managed to get a good few runs down to Emerald chair and a couple down to Garbonzo.  All too soon however it was lift closing time, so I headed on down from the roundhouse down pig alley, and past Emerald, onto Olympic and then Crabapple.  The snow conditions were really wet and sticky down here and I was struggling with my left turn as my left knee was giving me some pain and trouble.  I pushed through it and skied all the way down to the bottom of the village.

Slow start to the day.  Headed up Whistler and over into Symphony.  The riding in here today was actually really good and fast. I did a few runs in here before going over to Harmony to see if that was good too.  I was left disapointed.  The Harmony piste was not groomed and was not in good condition.  I gave it a couple runs but it wasn't very enjoyable.  I headed for a little lunch.

Afted lunch I headed on up the Peak chair and onto the Saddle.  The Saddle was running good too, if a little lumpy.  I charged on straight down to Big Red and waited for Chris, Mark, John and DJ , at the Roundhouse.  The plan was again this Tuesday to have a BBQ at the fourt.  We headed on down to find that there was again a lot of people this week.

After a couple hours in the sun there were only a few of us left.  Myself, Chris, John, Mark and DR.  At about 19:00 we had drunk all the beer and eat all the food and decided to head on down.  There were a number of freshly groomed lines down the hill.  On the way down toward Big Red we came up to a pister who was drifting into the right.  DR and Chris got through on the right before the gap closed, and I had to emergency break andpass on the left.  Thankfully the others followed me.  We charged as fast as the conditions would allow down Crabapple and into the village.

It's tough to be motivated at the moment.  The cough from the flu is still here and the conditions are not great.  Saying that there were 10cm last night.  By the time I got up Whistler all the fresh lines were already done.  There were still some good stashes to be had however.

I headed on over to Harmony first and put in a couple runs to the side of the piste.  Things were a bit choppy but still good.  I stayed on Harmony until I headed for lunch.

After lunch I headed up the Peak Chair and into Symphony.  I was hoping that there would be good conditions in the trees.  I wasn't totally disappointed, but it wasn't great.  I rode a few rimes down, and even tried the Rhapsody bowl.  Under here you could really feel the hard pack and it wasn't a good line.  I then headed on back to Harmony and took a run or two down the piste, but it was really quite choppy and difficult to get the speed up.

Getting towards the lift close I headed all the way down past Emerald, onto Olympic and onto the Garbonzo chair.  I timed it right as the clouds started to move in on the alpine.  I made a couple runs down Dave Murray and onto Tokum back to Garbonzo.  I had had enough for the day and rode down to Creekside.  It was really slushy and full of moguls, but loads of opportunities to get some hits and kicks out there.

Didn't start to early again today as am still feeling unwell from the flu.  Headed on up Whistler with the view to just ride around the mountain, which I ended up doing all day.

The low cloud made riding in the lower part of the mountain a no-no, so I headed straight on over to Symphony via the Peak chair.  I wasn't really enjoying myself over here so headed to my favorite Harmony piste.  From here I rode Harmony Piste about a dozen times.  The piste was quite rough, and as I didn't have much strength I kept the speed down a little, but still managed 83Km/h.  Not too bad, and should be able to get into the 90's when I'm feeling better!  I stopped for lunch even though I wasn't too hungry, but headed back to Harmony after.  I eventually rode all the way down to Garbonzo for a last run down Orange Peel and Tokum, before riding down to the bottom of Creekside.  The run in was extremely slushy at the bottom, but still entertaining.

I took my time today and rode like it too.  I had been ill with the flu since last week and was just not feeling 100%.  I headed on up Whistler and just rode around trying to feel the 'mo jo'.  I tried a lot of the usual haunts and found that the Harmony Piste was by far the best piste of the day.  So I rode this a few times, before hitting the last Harmony lift.  I then headed on over to the Round House and waited for Chris to arrive after work.

Myself and Chris then headed off for a quick run down Orange Peel and Tokum.  On the way we dropped off his bags, before we headed on around again and re-collected them.  The plan was to the Fort Knocks as there was a huge number of people there drinking and having a BBQ.  Chris had brought a golf club and some golf balls.  These were hit by various people off the slope and into the trees.  At about 17:00 one of the piste patrol came along and told us to leave.  A small group of us simply headed down and around a little and out of sight.  Here we stayed for about another hour.

When it was time to go some of us dropped the cornice and rode on down, with the sun setting in the background.

Headed out with Edd, Jenny and Adam.  We parted early so that myself and Edd could ride a few lines before we met up again.  The plan was that we would take Adam and Jenny up the flute along with some of their friends.  After a few runs we all met up again and headed on over to the flute.  We took our time hiking up the flute, and eventually there were 10 of us in the group.

Rather than going down the shoulder, we headed on around the Flute North and dropped in where ever we liked.  One of the girls (Sarah) managed to drop her board and was very luck that it only shot down the slope a little before launching off and plunge into the snow.  Edd dropped a big cornice.  I dropped a much smaller one however.  Once we got into the North Flute the snow was fantastic.

When we all got to the bottom various people had to leave and go to work, such as Edd.  Adam and Jenny also wanted to go and ride to their own pace.  I headed off with the rest of the 'pack' for a couple runs before we headed for lunch.

I got a call from Chris to say that he was on his way up, so I met up with him and we did some runs around.  We headed on up Harmony and headed onto the "Head Wall".  From here the view was fantastic.  There was a drop off to the right back towards Harmony so whilst Chris was looking at it, I just rode up and stright off.  It wasn't too big but I managed to land inbetween a couple small trees. *phew*.

We decided that given the clear weather that we would hike the Flute again.  By the time we got on over there it was the last Symphony chair.  At the bottom of the hike we met a Ski Patrol guy, who said that we would have to hurry and would have to hike out.  We hit the hike reasonably fast and caught up with two skiers who were much further up the hike than us.  On the way along the ridge we could see that a couple people had dropped the big cornice on the main flute.  That was it, decision made.

By the time we were ready the Ski Patroll had caught up with us and was trying to make sure that we had full backcountry gear on.  I did, but Chris didn't at the time.  I dropped a little 12-15ft drop and Chris went for the big 22+ft drop.  We both landed and rode out into really nice lush powder.  Instead of heading out to the bottom of Symphony we headed straight accross the flut bowl and tried to meet up with the "Burnt Stew Trail".  It involved about another 20 minutes hike but was worth it.

We eventually just rode on out, tired but feeling good.

A very late start to the day, after last nights leaving drinks for Shiv.  I wasn't really feeling it either.    I decided to hit Blackcomb as I hadn't ridden there for a while.  I headed straight up to the glacier and rode that down.  The visibility was awful and I couldn't see a thing, so even though the snow was good it wasn't brilliant.  I wanted to go for lunch, but I got a call from Chris just before I went to get some so I decided to skip lunch.

Chris had dropped the back of his phone at the bottom of the Excelerator chair, so we headed up Jersey cream to head on over.  On the way however we went through the Blue park.  We both tried a couple of the jumps, but because the snow was quite sticky and slow running, despite straight lining we just hit the knuckles.  We also had a look at the pipe and decided to give it a go.  Not a bad ride and the pipe was in great condition.  I need to work on my pipe riding more!  We then made our way down under the chair and retrieved the back of his phone.

We enjoyed the pipe so decided to head on back up and ride the blue park and the pipe again.  I did a couple more of the jumps but no luck in getting enough speed.  No-one else were having any luck either.  The second run through the pipe was better, but I managed to 'tweak' my ankle again when I hit the transition on over toward the toe side wall.  We headed back up again, but took the boarder cross.  It was running fast, but icy.  There were a few sections where it got the heart racing.

We decided to head on over to Whistler and headed into the Round House for a coffee and a cookie.  On the way over we discussed doing the "Singing Trail" again.  So we headed on over to Harmony and dropped down Robertsons and into the Burnt Stew trail.  Before getting back onto the run in to Harmony, we dropped into the trees.  The snow in here was definitely the best snow on the mountain.  The trees here were also very well spaced and provided you made sure you didn't get into one of the feed valleys there was some good tree rides to be had.

All too soon however we hit the trail.  This time however, there was less trail to ride as we dropped in later on the trail, and we knew what the trail was like.  So we rode it quite fast.  We also managed to avoid all of the nasty bits, but still had to walk a couple times.  After we passed under the gondola, there is the big hole that Ed fell in the last time.  I warned and warned Chris and even shouted as he got close.  However he managed to not stop in time and slide right into the bottom of the creek.  I couldn't help but laugh

The rest of the ride down was really nice, fast and entertaining.  We got to the bottom of the village at about 16:10 and hoped that we could get the gondola back up, but were denied as it was already closed :-(  Oh well, for what started out as a really slow and poor riding day, it definitely picked up.

Headed out on my own today, up Whistler.  It was quite busy on the Big Red chair so I headed on down to Garbonzo.  The visibility was not too good today however.  I headed up Garbonzo up Emerald and over into Harmony.  I was looking for some speed on the slopes again, but the visibility wasn't good.  I wasn't riding too good either as I just wasn't feeling it much.  So I then headed on over into Symphony, where I met up with Ed and Adam.  We decided to hike the flute as Adam had not done it yet.

Myself and Ed decided that we would take Adam over and down the Flute Shoulder.  The visibility was awful so we didn't get to show Adam the sights.  The top of the shoulder was not in that good a condition and was a bit rough and crusty.  Adam took a bit of a tumble right at the top but didn't let him phase him.  We traversed over into the bowl and found the snow to be in excellent condition as we headed down.  Typically the skies cleared a bit as we got to the bottom.  We then took Adam through the trees at the bottom of the flute and back to the symphony chair.

We then rode out to Harmony and did a line down before going back up and headed over towards the top of the t-bars.  We then took the "Headwall" over and back to the top of Big Red and over to the Round House for some lunch.  At this point both Ed and Adam left as they were feeling really tired, but I wanted to carry on.

I headed on up Peak and back over to Symphony.  I only had time to make a couple runs down Rhapsody bowl and then back out to Harmony.  I put in a couple runs down the Harmony Piste and then all the way down to Garbonzo.

The day so far was only 'average', but as soon as I really started to run down Orange Peel and Tokum and back to Garbonzo I really started to enjoy myself.  The conditions of the piste had changed quite considerably and with the falling snow, the piste was riding really well.  It was bumpy and rough but really still soft and you could hold a good edge.  I did this run time after time (5 times) until after 16:15.  There were loads of hits and jumps all over the place and I was really getting some good air and the occasional grab.  By now the day was well late and all the lifts had closed so I took the long fast run down to the village.

Slow start to the day but it really did pick up.

Myself and Ed headed out really early.  Initially we headed on down Orange Peel and Tokum.  The slopes were nicely groomed and untouched all around.  So it was a speed day.  I didn't start off too confident and took a while before I got up to speed.  We took Garbonzo up and took Raven into Phtarmegan.  It was running really well so we did it again.  The run was then being roped off for a race, but we sneaked under and did the run again.

We headed on over into Emerald in order to take the G.S. run over into Harmony.  We headed straight over into Symphony and down to the Symphony chair.  Our plan was to hike the Flute and ride the ridge, just inside the boundary.  The 30 minute hike was the usual, but me and Ed chatted all the way up.  We also got a call from Rich, as Ed had arranged to give Aleis(?) a ski lesson.   We rode down the ridge and hiked a little up the next ridge.  Once we rode over the last peak and onto the ridge the snow really improved.  It was silky soft, and 'bouncy' and had very few tracks in it other than some old lines.  We had a really good ride in there and ducked in and out of the trees a little.  It didn't last too long and we found our selves once again at the Symphony chair.

We took the chair back up and headed on to the harmony chair.  We met Rich and Aleis at the top of the lift and all headed down the Harmony Piste.  I do like that run.  We headed on back up and this time myself and Rich headed for the Horse Shoe #8.  Not sure what happened but we ended up at the top of the biggest cornice (instead of the smaller one) and took and easy way in.  We met up with Ed and Aleis on the Harmony Piste again.  We headed on up the harmony chair again and took Pikas Traverse to head to the Round House for lunch.

When at lunch we met up with Jemma and her friend Ella(?), whom Ed had been lined up to give a lesson also.  So after lunch Ed headed off with Jemma and Ella, and myself, Rich and Aleis headed up the Peak chair and back around into the Symphony amphitheater.  The visibility was quite poor at this stage and it did not make for a good start to the "Burnt Stew Trail".  We rode the Symphony chair and the lines down a few times as Aleis enjoyed it and the piste conditions were really good.  Myself and Rich were taking a lot of jibbs on the sides of the piste and some 180's.

The Symphony lift was closing all too soon so we headed back to the Harmony chair and took a couple runs down.  It was here that I managed the highest speed of the season so far (that I know of) of 93km/h.  We headed back up again and then took the Saddle down.  We charged all the way down the slopes and onto the ski-in.  The ski-in was not in that good a condition as it was quite sticky.  Aleis found it really difficult as it was pushing past her ability.  We eventually got down and out.

Headed out on my own today.  I headed on down the run next to the Emerald chair.  The ride was OK, but the powder was a bit bumpy and rough.  I then headed over onto Harmony and took a couple runs down the Harmony Piste.  The visibility was really bad and it was quite tough to even see where you were going.  I then headed on over to "Robertsons" to see if that was any better.  Even though there was 4cm of fresh powder on the slopes, the crud underneath made the riding really poor.  I got down but gave up on the idea of hitting that again.

After doing "Robertsons" I took a long run all the way down to the Garbonzo chair.  It was good to just have such a long run under my belt.  It was also so good to not have to wait in line for the lifts.  The lifts were empty today after the huge lines on Saturday.

I took a quick run down Orange Peel and back onto Big Red.  After a long lunch (it was tough in the high winds!), I headed on up Peak Chair and over into Symphony.  I could not see a thing until I made it into the trees near the bottom.  In conditions like these you have to rely on your core skills, and you can easily see when people are struggling with these core skills!

After blindly making my way down off the top of Symphony I headed on into the Rhapsody bowl.  Whilst the run was rough under foot there were still some good lines to be had.  I proceeded to hit this run time after time, taking a different line each time.  I was really enjoying it.  Even the liftie commented that there must be something out there that was really keeping my interest.

When I eventually left the Symphony amphitheater I headed on up Harmony for a run down all the way back to Garbonzo.  I really do prefer long runs, without interruption.  I intended to head on up for the last Peak chair, but I was feeling a bit tired.  Instead I took a ride down "Cross Roads" and into the Ski-in.  The ski-in was quite sticky at the top but as you got further down it got icy and fast.  There are a few patches that are getting a little worn down and lacking snow, so I don't think that there is much season left for the ski-in.

The lift lines were HUGE today.  It took a very long time just to get up the mountain, not happy, and not enthused about riding today.

I decided to head on over to Symphony and hike the flute.  My first line was off the shoulder and dropping over onto the north flute.  It was quite steep and narrow where I dropped in.  My line wasn't that good but enjoyable all the same as the powder was deep and lush.  When I got to the bottom of Symphony and found that the lift lines were again huge, I decided to hit the flute again.  This time I headed off the shoulder and into the bowl.  It looked quite icy at places from the lift but turned out to be really nice.  I laid down a sweet line and found loads of nice powder.  The hike was very much helped with my having my back-pack on.  It is SO much easier when you do not have to carry the board in your arms.

After the double hike I headed on up Harmony for a blast of speed down the Harmony piste.  I headed on back up and took the cat-track back towards the Roundhouse but carried on down past and all the way out to the bottom of Creekside.  All the way I passed three lifts, all of which had HUGE lift lines so I decided to call it a day.  I can't stand wasting my time in huge lines!  Oh well, better luck the next day.

What a rubbish day...

It was bucketing with rain all last night down in the valley.  That coupled together with quite warm temperatures up the mountain and strong winds closing all the alpine lifts, made for a warm, sticky, wet and frustrating day.

I decided to take out the big Palmer board (162cm) and I headed on up Whistler to find that the lines on big red were horrendous.  Instead I did the usual in this case and headed to Garbonzo.  This too had long lines, but I bared with it.  I headed on down Upper Dave Murry, to find that there was no real fresh powder lines and that the snow was quite heavy.  I already was not liking it.  I headed into the line for Big Red.  Long wait.

I was finding the Palmer quite strange to ride after the K2 Zero, which is so light and poppy in comparison.  I also felt that the bindings were too narrow, but the stance was the same as I have used previously on the Palmer.  Strange.  Will have to try it out tomorrow with an even wider stance.

As there were a lot of punters on the hill and all confined to the lower lifts I headed on off into Franz's Meadow and stayed high to get the lower part of the VD Chutes.  Been I while since I was last in here and it was entertaining.  I was riding the trees only to find myself in a deep tree well.  Took me 5 minutes to get out.  I later found a fallen log that was mostly covered in snow.  Without really meaning to, I ended up riding it in a full board slide and managed to pop off the end and ride out.  Pretty sweet.  At the bottom of the Chutes there is a river valley and I stacked it in the bottom.  Another hike out.

I had already had enough and decided that I was going to take the ski-in.  The snow was heavy and the piste was crowded so I decided that it was best that I go down before re-injuring my ankle.  I rode past the long lift lines at Big Red and took the "Cross Roads" line.  I tried to take the ski-in cat-track but the snow was so sticky that I was going nowhere, so managed to re-join main run back to the Creekside gondola.

Headed out on my own today and up Whistler mountain.  When I got up I found that the alpine chairs had not yet been opened due to high winds and loads of snow.  I bypassed Big Red and headed straight for Garbonzo.  Taking Upper Dave Murry I headed on down taking as much powder lines as I could.  It was already choppy but nice and fluffy.  As the lift lines were large I decided to take the run all the way down to the village.  This was a mistake as the line at the village gondola was big too.

After a very long 22 minutes on the Village gondola I was back on Whistler mountain.  By the time I got to the top the alpine lifts were open, so I headed straight on over to the peak chair.  Flipping a coin I decided that I was to head to the Symphony Amphitheater.  The winds were so strong and the visibility was so bad that it was quite difficult riding the car track to Symphony as there were a lot of snow drifts that could catch you out.

Symphony was however in excellent condition, and I rode a few different lines down there taking a few runs over into the trees over by flute.  Most lines were brilliant until I decided to head more into the flute valley.  Huge mistake.  I got to a point where it was flat and full of powder.  20 minutes later I managed to hike to a point where I could strap the board on again.  It wasn't a long hike, it was just that the snow was waist deep.  At the end of the hike I got a call from Rich to say that he Alex and Amy were at the Symphony chair where I met them a minute later.

At the top of the Symphony chair, the visibility was near zero.  It was here that we lost Amy as she said she could not keep up.  The lads then decided to his the Symphony cornice.  We knew roughly where it was as there were markers, but seeing the lip was impossible.  I eventually pushed forward and found that there was no lip where I was and it was a simple rid out.  Heading back towards the chair there were a number of mogule runs that I enjoyed as they were full of powder and I was hitting them with a good amount of aggression.  Nice riding if I do say so my self!

We decided to hit the cornice again, but this time higher up the line.  The sun just barley gave us enough light to see the edge with just as we got there.  Rich went first and decked it.  My line turned out be be a little easier and it was a simple drop and ride out.  We were going to go and hit some of the steeps over towards the Flute valley, but Alex dropped out so it was only myself and Rich that took these lines.  I managed to stack it on a jump, as it was a lot bigger than expected and I had straight legs on the landing.  Now wonder I stacked it then!  Rich then later stacked it trying to do a tail press!  Not a great idea in the powder.

It was getting late in the afternoon and we wanted to hit Harmony so we rode "Burnt Stew Trail" to the lift.  I persuaded Rich that we should do one of the Harmony Ridge horse shoes, #5.  The entrance was scraped and there were a number of exposed rocks.  Once you got past these the powder was excellent however.  We then rode hard left and took the jump between the trees.  I took a line slightly off to the right and stuck the landing.  Rich however took a more straight line and whilst he stuck the landing then proceeded to cartwheel rag doll for a while.  Thankfully he was OK.  I didn't see this, I saw him land and carried on.

The plan was then to go grab a quick chocolate and cookie in the round house but we decided instead to take the Saddle down and get the Peak Chair, for a run at the Ski-in.

We took the Bagel Bowl which was lush, and then on into "Ladies Love".  Unlike the last time we stayed in the valley and had a much better time of it.  Rich however was feeling the exhaustion and kept falling over...a lot.  The further down the valley you go, the fallen trees get really tricky.  This coupled together with some watter holes make for a very interesting run.  The ski in was good and fast and called for a lot of 'S' weaving.

All in all a good day.

This is what I remember Whistler being like.  Snow, snow, snow and more snow.  Yet another super early day out onto the slopes.  First lift over in Blackcomb.  I headed straight on op to try and get an early Glacier chair.  However it was not open until nearly 10:00, so instead I settled for a few runs up the Jersey Cream chair and down the Jersey ridge.  The snow is now so deep that it is balls deep, and light and fluffy with it too!

After a couple runs I met up with Jess and we headed on up Jersey Cream chair as the line for the Glacier chair was immense.  The runs were just so powder filled that it was difficult to keep a grin off my face .  We then hit the Glacier Express, which was a stroke of luck.  As we got there they opened the Horstman T-bar so we headed on over to 7th Heaven.  The 7th Heaven chair wasn't even open yet.

We traversed on over to Cloud-9 and found some completely un-tracked powder that was balls deep and fluffy.  It was such a brilliant ride that when we got to the bottom and the chair lift, and found that there was no-one waiting for the chair we just had to do it again.  We just hit so much powder and I managed to get quite a few jumps and kickers out there.  As we got to the bottom of the lift this time it was obvious that more people had noticed that 7th Heaven was open.  This time when we got to the top we decided to ride down through the trees.  I have to say it again, so much powder.  We had decided to head on down to Solarcoaster via Sunset Boulevard, and grab a coffee at the Rondezvous.

On the way up Solarcoaster we got a call from Rich to say that he was on the way up the Whistler gondola, so we decided to head on over the Peak2Peak and grab a coffee over at the round house instead.

After a short coffee we three headed up the peak and into the Bagel Bowl.  This too was back to why I remember it being like.  At the bottom of the Bagel Bowl we headed straight into the valley run called "Ladies Love".  We went a very long way down this tight valley with the trees and water holes.  We eventually got out the valley and onto the top of a steep cliff and tree run.  This is where it got a little tricky and was not as enjoyable as the earlier part of the run.  We eventually popped out on one of the cat tracks up by Kadenwood, which we took and eventually joined the Peak to Creak run.

Down in Creek side we got the gondola up and then took big red and then the Peak chair on over into Symphony.  The wind had picked up by now and the visibility was not good.  The symphony was still good riding however, especially when we made it into the trees.  We headed on back up however it was late in the day and Symphony was closing.  We also dropped the cornice on the left of the Symphony run and on over towards Burnt Stew Trail.  On the way there was a lot of hits to be had.  One particularly stood out as I hit it and took off much more than expected and landed quite a big jump.

As we rode the Burnt Stew Train cat-track we looked up into Robertsons and myself and Rich decided that that is where we were going next.  We headed along the Harmony ridge and pulled left on over to the top of Robertsons.  The run down was chock-a-block with powder, the trees were well spaced, the pitch was nice and steep, and I just hurtled down actually whooping like an American because it was so good.  At the bottom we decided to do it again, even though this was the last lift for Harmony.  This time down Robertsons it was good but not as good as it was the last time.

We had to take Sidewinder on over to Emerald chair where we decided to take another coffee at the Round House as it was after 15:30.  We then took a simple run down Orange Peel, past big red and onto the Ski in.  The ski in was difficult at the top as the snow made it really tough to keep your speed to make it past the flat sections.  However the tight steep sections were good and fast and you really had to bang in the turns extremely quick and tight.

Yet another brilliant day on the slopes.  Long may they continue!

Yet another super early day up the mountain.  Myself and Seth headed on over to Blackcomb.  Thankfully we did, as apparently the line at Creekside was about an hour long!

We headed on straight up Excalibur, Excelerator and onto Solar Coaster as the alpine lifts where not open yet.  However when we got to the top of Solarcoaster the Glacier Chair was on standby.  We decided to risk it and head to the Glacier chair and wait for it to open.  We had to wait about 20 minutes.

We decided to head up Spanky's Ladder.  At the top I asked Seth where he wanted to go, and we headed along the ridge and over to the Ruby bowl.  I DID say to him that this was probably one of the hardest entrances, but we went anyway.  I headed on in first and found that the right side was completely barren and totally rocky.  As such I was in a bit of trouble.  I shouted up to Seth to go left, which he did.  Meanwhile I had to slowly and carefully shuffle on over to the left and away from the danger.

Once we were in the ruby bowl, it was SO worth it.  The sun was out, the powder was deep, light and un-touched, and we made some brilliant lines.  I also pointed out the easier way to get into the lower ruby bowl, so we will save that for the next time.  The run back to Excelerator was brilliant, as it was slick and fast and the first roller was much bigger than normal and you got some good air off it (if you wanted to not).

We got a call from Seth's girlfriend, Pearl, to say that she was over at Seventh Heaven.  We decided to head on there.  We had planned to take the Glacier chair and then the T-bar and meet her at the top, however the line was massive so we took Jersey Cream and the cat-track on to the bottom of the 7-th Heaven lift.  We caught up with Pearl at the top and proceeded to ride down 7th Heaven and through the gladed trees.  There was a big wind lip near the top of the run and I hit it a bit too far to the left and there was too much powder and I nearly stacked it.  I was disappointed as I wanted to get some air and possibly even try a 180. 

We headed on back up and basically did the same run again.  This time on the run in to the wind lip I was totally out of control and just couldn't get it under control before stacking it on the way UP the wind lip.  How embarrassing . By now, Seth had a call from Sam to say that we would meet up in the Glacier Creek restaurant.  We headed back up Seventh Heaven and dropped on over the other side and took the piste run down.

After a quick lunch all four of us (Myself, Seth, Pearl and Sam) headed back up Glacier Chair and headed to the left through the poor visibility.  We decided that we were all to follow Sam.  He made a lot of good runs, jumps, hits, tree runs and drops along the way.  A very good run indeed.  Heading up Jersey Cream we headed on the Jersey Cream run and into the trees again.  We were following Sam again.  This time however he limboed under this tree branch.  There was no way I was able to do it, as I am just not that flexible.  I also had my backpack on which contained my shovel and probe, and I was wearing my avalanche transceiver.

We made another run up the Glacier chair and ended up under the Crystal chair.  It was here that Sam and Seth said that they could get up the Glacier chair and to the Crystal hut, before myself and Pearl could get down to the Crystal chair and up.  The Crystal chair is just SO slow.  4 minutes after we arrived at the Crystal hut they arrived.  So, the Crystal chair is so slow, that you can get to the top of the Glacier Chair and rid down in the time the Crystal chair takes to get up!

We got the Jersey Cream and headed down the face of the ridge and back into the trees.  I managed to catch a tree branch and flip.  Thankfully no damage.  It was really late now so we headed back up Jersey Cream with the intention of having a quick beer at the roundhouse.  It was just too late, so we decided to ride through the terrain garden.  Learning from the other day when I completely over shot the landings, I took it much easier on the ride in.  Rather than heading over to Solarcoaster or taking Sunset Boulevard we decided to take the trees just after the bottom of the terrain garden.  These trees were just too close together and there were a lot of fallen trees, so it wasn't that good a ride.  Sam and Pearl had some real trouble and eventually had to hike onto the side of a piste.  Again, thankfully no damage done.  We then simply rode down to the village for an extremely well deserved apres beer!  Job donw.

Late start today due to lack of sleep (noisy in the house until after 03:00).  Decided to actually ride around Blackcomb for a change and get some miles in on the mountain.  I headed on straight to the glacier and through the rid out.  Was choppier than yesterday, and with the lack of visibility it made for a tough ride, until the ride out which was in great condition.

I headed on back up toward the glacier.  This time however I cam down the main slope, as it had been a very long time side I did this run.  Again there was little or no visibility, so I didn't ride it as good as I wanted to.  I too the cat-track on over towards Crystal as I already knew that the slope back to the Glacier chair was littered with fallen rocks from an exposed and deteriorating slope.  I just took which ever slope took my fancy and ended up at the crystal chair.  Taking the chair I again just followed my nose and went where the slopes took me.  I passed the Crystal chair and carried on down past the top of Excalibur and down to the "Wizard Express".  Again it has been a long time since I was here.

I met Jess and Cordelia and one of their friends at the bottom of Solarcoaster and took the chair up with them before leaving them to make my way down "Springboard".  I enjoyed that run so took Solarcoaster again and started to do it again when I spotted Adam.  I joined Adam, Emma and her boyfriend (can't remember his name) for a ride in the boarder-cross.  I left them just after as I wanted to continue my ride around.

I headed on back up the SolarCoaster and this time took the run just below the Terrain Garden, as this was where the last time I was here (2005/6 season) there was some extra jumps and rails.  Unfortunately the parkies have not bothered to put any thing in here.  I joined the bottom the Terrain Garden and took in a couple jumps and rails before heading back to wards Solarcoaster.  I had intended to ride on down to the village but forgot and took Solarcoaster up.

I was feeling peckish, but rather than stopping for lunch I decided to take the Peak2Peak and go ride some of Whistler.  I had a quick visit to the little boys room and headed down Orange Peel and Tokum to Garbonzo.  This was, and is, my current favorite ride.  After Garbonzo i wanted to get on over to Harmony/Symphony before the lifts closed.  So I simply headed to Emerald and took the "GS" run to Harmony.  The wind was really blowing at the top and was getting cold, so I headed on over to "Burnt Stew".  I couldn't see a thing so I relied on my wits and riding skills to get down in one piece.

Having been over in the Symphony amphitheater I decided to take Harmony and do the main Harmony run.  This is a good speed place but with todays lack of visibility and rough piste it wasn't as much fun as it normally is.  The Harmony lift had now closed but I managed to get a lift up.  I took the Saddle with the intention of heading up the Peak chair, but was too cold so simply headed on down and out to Creekside.  I knew that I should have put on that extra layer

Today started off with me giving Amy and Sally a lesson.  Both of them had only ridden snowboards for about 3-7 hours in total, so this was going to be a beginner lesson.  They both improved and demonstrated that they have good balance, but need to improve their stance (more weight on the front leg).  They both also were also able to link their turns and improve their pivot and steering.  I left them to head on over to Blackcomb, with the intention that next time we would work on their pressure control as they were quite static.

I headed on over to the Blackcomb glacier as there was supposed to be a group of the house mates and friends having lunch up there at 13:00.  I was there early however so took a run into the glacier myself.  The conditions in the glacier were choppy but surprisingly soft.  It was just before 13:00 by the time I was on the T-bars again, so I SMS the guys only to find out that the plans had changed and it was 13:30 at the Glacial Express.  So I headed once again down the glacier and the lovely long run out (4.8km run out).

I still arrived early at the Glacial express and had to wait around for them.  Eventually Sam, Rich, Edd, Seth and Pearl all showed up and we headed up to the glacier.  I too the lead and hiked up to the top of the glacial ridge, where we all stopped for a little light lunch and to take in the views.  I persuaded everyone to hike on further up to the summit of the ridge and ride the "Ladies First" run.  The hike was reasonably easy if a little treacherous.  We stopped again at the top of the ridge to again take in the scenery and take some photos (I'll need to get a copy of them from Sam).

We then made our way over and into the glacier side of the ridge.  This is where it got really scary and nasty for the hike traverse.  There were a couple times when myself and Rich were hanging on by our finger tips on tiny little ledges, whist there was certain injury on the rocks awaiting below!  The others took a slightly easier way into "Ladies First", but not without incident.  Pearl slipped and was sliding down the slope head first.  Thankfully she was last in the group and Seth managed to grab her.  Thankfully she had the common sense to hold onto her board.  If she hadn't it would have been well gone.

Once we started to ride "Ladies First" the powder in there was the best on the mountain to be had.  Deep, clean, soft and very, very steep...only just too short.  We all headed on down through the glacier and to the run out.  A nice ride I do have to say.  Everyone was really stoked and in some cases a little relieved to get down in one piece.

We headed on back up Excelerator and then on over to Solarcoaster.  We decided to go ride the boardercross.  First however we hit a couple of the big jumps in the blue park.  The first jump, you have to take at a straight-line.  Normally I would easily make the transition but just at the base of the jump the snow was quite sticky and it slowed me down, so I had to ollie more off the lip and pull my knees up so as to not knuckle the landing.  In the boardercross, this time as I had ridden it before I was able to take it with a bit more speed and aggression.  I still rode well within myself so know that I can up the level even further.  Back up solarcoaster we decided to hit the terrain garden.  The first jump was good, however I hit the second jump with so much speed that I completely cleared the landing be a very long way and landed heavily on the flat before bouncing out and wiping out.  It didn't bruise my ego, but certainly bruised my backside!  I too the rest of the jumps a little more cautiously, but even so I still managed to overshoot most of them.  I think they really added some extra lip to them all.  I was hoping that the dragon box was still at the bottom of the park but it wasn't.  I was disappointed and had to make do with an up-box and a pop off the end.  Oh well.

Charged down "Sunset Boulevard" back over to solarcoaster.  On the way I hit my favorite front-side 180 spot with some real pop.  It was time to head on down to the village for some well earned drinks.  So we all charged it on down ("turning is for wimps"..."speed is your friend") into the village.  A good day all around.

Got up and checked the live mountain weather reports.  It was reported at being -24 degrees with 24kmh wind.  I wanted to do some park riding today so I put on my armour suit and also another layer, so that made 5 layers!  All 5 layers were needed too!

I headed on out with Jenny and Adam and we walked to Creekside and got to gondola and big red up and then took the Peak2Peak over to Blackcomb.  I left Jenny and Adam there and headed off to the Terrain garden.  There were a lot more features there that the last time I was there.  All of the jumps were really nice and they rode really well.  I only took straight air over them all.  At the bottom of the garden it looked like there was a "rainbow-box", so I hit it.  Turns out that it wasn't a rainbow at all, but a whoop-de-do box.  Gave me a bit of a shock to see that come up as I rode over the top of the first rainbow section, and I bailed it!  Thankfully just a little bail.

On the ride back to solarcoaster, the cold was so biting that I had to stop and put a mask over to protect my face from frost bite.  At the end of the Sunset Boulevard there is a nice little side hit that I was getting my usual front-side 180's in.  All day I hit this well and was getting more style and amplitude as the day progressed.  Pity I cant say the same about my back-side 180's.  All day I tried them and they just were not happening.

I headed on straight back to the Terrain Garden and rode it a few times more.  It thankfully warmed up as the sun rose over the trees.  I also took a ride through the boarder cross, which was bigger than I thought it was going to be.  I eventually had to head in for some lunch as it was cold and I needed something to eat.  I met Adam and Jenny in the Redezvous restaurant and headed out with them back over the Peak2Peak and over to the Whistler mountain.

All three of us headed into the Nintendo Park and took the green line through the park.  Jenny hasn't ridden jumps much before so it was mostly for her benefit.  I hit the first jump at the top of the park, which is quite a bit jump.  Nice straight air over the big jump.  The next jump I came in switch and pulled a half-cap.  From there on I was trying some grabs, so as to practice getting my knees up rather than my chest down.  On the way to the Emerald chair and back around again for a repeat performance, I gave Jenny a couple tips to try and help her riding.

After a few runs through the park, Adam and Jenny decided to head off and I went to get the last Harmony chair.  I managed to get two rides down Harmony before the chair closed and got up to a nice 80km/h.  I KNOW that I can got much faster, and just need to stop wimping out on the rises and trust that there are no idiots hidden down just past the rise.

I then hit Orange Peel and Tokum for a couple runs before riding out to the Creekside base for the end of a very cold but ultimately rewarding day.

The GPS receiver was unfortunately full, so I got no GPS action today.  Really quite disappointing, as because of the conditions the slopes were extremely fast.

I headed on up Whistler, as this mountain has some of the better long and fast runs, and that coupled with the good light makes for fast riding.  I basically only just rode around the mountain looking for some fast action.  The weather however was really cold and windy.  It was really sore with the wind chill.

A really slow start to the day.  When I eventually got up the slopes I decided to just ride around for a while.  It was running quite fast and reasonably smothe, so I just hit it all up.  I initially headed on up the Peak and over into Symphony.  It was no where as near as good as yesterday, but still reasonable.  Not too long into riding I got a call from Jess.  She was still on Blackcomb but was coming on over to Whistler where I was riding.  I headed back up Symphony and over into Harmony.  I rode that a couple times before then heading down sidewinder and up Emerald chair. 

I waited just outside the Peak2Peak gondola waiting for Jess.  I eventually got a text from her to say that she was in Pikas.  After a quick coffee we headed on up the Peak chair.  I took Jess on over into the Bagel Bowl, where it was good, if hard packed and lumpy.  For Jess it was a new experience and she really enjoyed it.  We headed on back up Big Red and back up the peak Chair, but this time on over into Symphony.  i showed here were to go for a good wind-lip drop jump, so that she could give it a go when there is another good snow dump.

We rode the Symphony amphitheater a couple times, using the various hind blow lips as hit's and jumps. Eventually the lift closed and we headed on to harmony for a few runs.  We met Edd and his girlfriend at the chair and took the chair up with them.  We dropped off quite early as Jess wanted to ride some moguls.  They were quite steep but still had a lot of good grip in them.  We then dropped into McConkeys for some bigger moguls.  These were more challenging for jess but the trooper rode them well.

The harmony lift closed and we headed on over the Saddle and down past Big Red and into Garbonzo.  We did my favorite run or Orange Peel and Tokum back to Garbonzo, hitting a few jumps as I charged along.  It was getting late for Jess as she had work to go to later, so we decided to call this the last run.  We again hit Orange Peel and Tokum, past Garbonzo and charged it straight down into the village for a quick beer in the Dublin Inn.

I was supposed to meet Chris at the Village Gondola at 09:30.  However he didn't make it so I headed up myself.  I headed straight up the peak chair and decided to do the face.  Because of the wind the upper parts of the mountains were completely scoured, and the wind also scoured your face.  The face was not that good as there was a lot of under lumps and bumps.  I headed out toward Big Red and on to Garbonzo, taking the Orange Peel.  I got a call from Chris to say that he was on his way.  He was about half an hour away so I did Orange Peel again and Patarmagan then back to Garbonzo.  I then headed on over to Big Red and got another call from Chirs to say that he was at the mid station and I had just got on Big Red.  We met up at the light board.

Myself and Chris headed on up the Peak chair and down into the Bagel bowl.  The wind was really scouring and actually hurt.  The drop into the bagel bowl wasn't that good either.  We traversed all the way over to the other side where the sun was hitting.  We dropped a couple rock drops and headed on out via Highway 89.  The rid out to big red was really fast and furious, as the run was quite hard packed and smooth.

Chris only had time to get another one run in, so we headed on down our favorite of Orange Peel and past Garbonzo and down onto the village.  I like following Chris on this run as he knows where all the hit's are and I can then hit them too.  On every roller and side hit I pop on over them all, each with speed.

I said goodbye to Chris and got on the Village Gondola for the second time today.  From here on in I had a really good time.  I headed up the Peak and into the Symphony amphitheater. Because of the wind there was virtually no-one there.  There were so many drifts of snow that on the way in the bowl there was so many places to hit and pop air.  It was really really good.  Over the last week or two I have kind of lost some of that 'good' feeling that the snowboarding brings, and the going home feeling was there.  Today has got that feeling back.  I hit symphony a few times.  Even when I got stuck on the Harmony chair for over 25 minutes, and in the howling wind, I still took the ride down Symphony.

When the lift closed I headed on over to Harmony for a couple rides.  Again because the piste was wind blown it was quite smothe and there wasn't anyone there. When Harmony closed I headed on down to Emerald and back to the old stomping grounds of Garbonzo.  By now Upper Dave Murray was open (there are a lot of races on and it always appears to be closed lately...well, for the last 2 weeks anyway) and I rode here instead of Orange Peel.  It was really good riding today, if a little bumpy when you hit the tracks of the racers.  I hit Garbonzo all the way until that lift too closed.  I then just took the "Crossroads" run out and back to Creekside.

Today turned out to be a really good day!  I am definitely a 'bad weather' rider (High winds, zero visibility, heavy snow...but not rain!).

Started off the day just getting around the mountain, after yesterdays 'cabin fever' day.  I was really lucky and timed it just right to get nearly the first chair up the Peak when it opened and charged straight around to Symphony.  The snow was deep but very heavy and sun-baked.  However, keeping to the right there was so much un-tracked stuff that it was blinking great and fast too.  I made first lines down into the bowl and all the way down to the ride out.  I was then rewarded with more luck as I was once again near the front when the Harmony chair opened, and didn't have to wait more than a minute or two.  Straight up harmony and back to Symphony.  Again there was so much un-tracked stuff that it was just too good.  By the time I made it around for a third time, everyone else had cottoned on and it got pretty tracked.  Passed this dude for about the third time and he said that the symphony chair was due to open in 10 minutes, so I dropped the cat track out and headed through the trees to the Symphony lift.  Unfortunately it was about 30 minutes before the lift opened.

As soon as I got to the top of Symphony I headed straight on over for the Flute hike.  So many other people were doing the same too.  At the start of the hike I was 10th, but by the top I was 2nd.  The guy who beat me up was using skins on his skis, and he headed on over to the Flute North.  I instead headed for the Flute Shoulder.  First lines down were amazing and so open.  I carved well into the bowl before heading straight down slashing as I went.  At the bottom I was really stoked, and there decided to hike it again.

On the chair back up Symphony I could see that the Flute Shoulder was already completely tracked out!  Gutted!  I persevered however and made the second hike.  I had a like at the Flute North but it too was already tracked out.  So I dropped in a little further down and carved over to the right before making my way down through the trees.  A good ride but nowhere as good as my first ride.

After hiking flute twice I needed a rest and some lunch, so I headed up Harmony and around the cat-track back to the round house.  Just as I was entering I got a call from Rich and he arrived when I was nearly finished.  After lunch we headed on the Peak chair and around into Symphony.  We went to hit the wind-lip drop.  The landings were a bit sketchy, so I opted for a smaller drop of only about 12ft, but Rich puckered up and went for the bigger 20ft.  Not happy with his first drop, as he bailed it, he went up again for another.  Hitting the same bomb hole he made on his first jump, he again bailed it!  After that we rode Symphony again before heading over to Harmony, as the Symphony amphitheater was done.

We did our usual runs of hitting Orange Peel and Patarmigan and the Garbonzo lift and runs.  All too soon however the day was nearly done and we decided to take the ski out.  On the way down, before we got to the first set of 'bumps' I bailed it and nearly slid out into the thick trees.  Didn't do my nerves much good, and then nearly bailed it again on the final stretch.  Glad the ski out was the end of the day

Today really sucked.  The lift lines were horrendously long and seamed to take forever.  That coupled with the poor conditions of the snow and visibility made for an un-interesting day.  When I eventually made it up big red, I headed on over to Garbonzo and simply did a couple runs down again.  I then hit the Whistler gondola so as to avoid big red, and took lunch.

After lunch I headed on over to Ratfink and down to the Harmony chair.  Again, horrendous lift lines.  I headed on over into the Saddle and then onto the Peak chair.  I decided to take Kaiser and the tree runs down and avoid the Peak to Creak.  the top part of the run was really difficult as the snow was really variable and it was difficult to get any turns in with any confidence.  Further in however the snow conditions got better and it was much more entertaining making turns in the trees.  Eventually it all came to an end and I hit the ski-out.

Lets hope that tomorrow will be better.

Not an early start today, and I had even skipped breakfast!  I headed up Whistler and straight up the Peak lift.  I headed on around and gave Bagel Bowl a look.  It was chopped and awful.  Headed around Highway 89 and back to big red, disappointed.

I needed a little cheer up so I headed down Orange peel and on down to Garbonzo.  Speeding down cheered me up a little.  At the top of Garbonzo I headed under the lift and took Seppo's through the trees.  They were really nice and secluded with loads of powder in there, if a little tight (read, dangerous).

I decided to head on over to Harmony but ended up in Symphony.  Over here the sun was in full bloom and the piste was in great form, if a little bumpy.  I stayed here for a few runs and eventually got a call from Chris.  I headed straight over to Harmony and charged down at a good lick of pace.  At the bottom of Harmony I called Chris and we met at the top at the entrance to Burnt Stew trail.

Immediately we headed left onto Alligator ridge.  We had a look at a couple of the drops, but there was simply not enough snow and too many rocks.  So we simply looked for as many hits of deep powder as we could.  Back up harmony we came down the Saddle.  Well, we traversed hard left and looked for hits and powder.  We managed to catch the last Peak chair.  We headed off towards the Symphony but before we rounded the bend too much we dropped off into the back-country.  This was a new place to ride for me.  The camera came out and we took some scenery shots.  This would be an excellent place to ride if the sun hadn't got to the snow.

There was a little hike out to get us back onto Kaiser track, where we met piste patrol on clear up.  We had to take Highway 89 and nearly 20 minutes after the lift was supposed to close we were allowed on for another run.  We decided to hit the round house and let the grommits get down the mountain, and await ski patrol kicking us out.

On the way down he hit the 'circle', which is a hidden spot where you can relax and wait out before heading down.  We headed straight down into the trees here, and it was really gnarly and tight.  I must admit that I side slipped a lot of the way as it was really steep and tight with trees.  Once we were at Big Red we decided to hit the BMX track.  It was great and the final run into the village was fast and fun.

Today was a late start as I wasn't feeling to hot after last night's pool competition.  I headed on over to Blackcomb and took the Whistler gondola.  I cruzed around today, down Upper Dave Murry and the Garbonzo lift.  I only did a couple runs before Rich gave me a call to say that he was coming up Big Read and heading over to Blackcomb to meet Jess.  It was Jess's birthday today.

Over on Blackcomb we met up with Jess, Nick, Cordelia and a couple of their other friends.  We headed on up towards the glacier, but because of the weather the top T-bar was closed.  Instead we headed on over into Seventh Heaven.  There was just so much powder it was amazing, and a good hangover cure.  We did the run down through the trees near the chair lift again and again.  We didn't go very fast as there were lots of problems with things like lost skis, too small a board, general falling over etc.

At the last lift there was only myself, Jess, Rich and Cordelia left when we headed back over towards the glacier for the last run down.  We got the last Jersey cream chair over and took the Peak2Peak over to Whistler and into the Round house for a quick drink.  Piste patrol kicked us out very quickly and we had to ride out.  Myself and Rich just charged down.  Turning is for wimps, I think the philosophy was.  Job done and straight into the GLC for birthday drinks.

I headed on over to Blackcomb today for a bit of a different ride and to get some big powder riding in.  There was a fair bit of cloud today at more than a couple levels, so when I got up the top of Excalibur and saw that Crystal was clear I headed for that.

I headed on over to the right and found that the piste was well groomed and un-touched.  So I hit the thing a couple times.  It was a really nice flow.  I then decided to head on up to the glacier.  As I got to the top and looked down the "Blow Hole" and I really fancied giving it a go. So I did.  It was really cool but too much powder in the bottom of the hole so that you couldn't go all the way down.  I popped out the side, which was like a half-pipe and as there was virtually no visibility I have no idea how high I went, but it felt like a very long time before landing.  The run back to Excalibur was really nice too, no longer any ice patches (I'm sure they are still there, just not today) and it was fun keeping up the speed.

I decided that this was a really good run so headed back to the glacier.  This time I headed off to the far side of the glacier and made more fresh tracks.  It was so deep that it was really difficult to keep my board from torpedoing and having to keep all the weight on the back foot.  It was quite tiring.

Heading up Jersey Cream, I headed on over to Seventh Heaven.  It was really windy up the top, so I kept to the main trails.  Other than that it was really un-eventfull.

First gondola, last lift day.  As there was loads of fresh snow (25cm) today, I started early and it was defo a 'no friends' day.

Hopping onto one of the first gondolas at Whistler, I headed straight up and into Franz's Meadow.  The powder was knee deep, if a little heavy.  There was simply so much snow to be had, only trouble is that everyone else was after the snow.  Dave Murray was excellent and I made a few runs over to the Garbonzo lift, including some tree runs in "Unsanctioned" and "Bat 21".

I then headed on up the Peak chair and on around to Symphony.  The snow in Symphony was a little dryer and lighter than elsewhere and was real fun.  Only trouble was that the snow was so deep it was really hard to get to areas which hadn't already had someone else run it.  I floated around Symphony for a while, before heading back up Harmony and in to the Round House for a well deserved lunch.

After lunch I headed down some tree runs to Emerald and then headed back up the Peak chair and back over into Symphony.  I expected the place to be much more tracked out, but the disappointing thing was that the snow had started to get heavier.  A few more runs over there, and it was all to quickly the last Symphony lift.  So I headed up Harmony and rode the ridge over to the top of the T-Bars and down the side to the Peak Chair.  Again this was the last lift, so I decided to take the Peak to Creak run and the ski out.

I headed into the Bagel bowl, but it was already tracked out, but was still quite good.  After getting onto the Peak to Creak it got really mouguled and the snow had turned into summer sticky snow.  The ski out was also really sticky, but entertaining.

Long day, but good!

 

Wasn't in a very good mood today.  So plugged in the tunes, cranked up the volume and just rode!

Headed up Whistler and arrived at Big Red.  However the lines were horrendous so headed straight over to Garbonzo.  I managed to put in a few laps down Upper Dave Murry and on down back to Garbonzo. On about my third or fourth round I remembered what Rich said last night, in that despite the Harmony chair being closed, it is only a short hike after getting the Peak Chair in order to get over into Harmony.  So I headed on up Big Red, and found that the T-bars had just been opened.

Jumped on the T-bars and headed straight on over into Harmony piste.  There was no-one there!  I had the whole thing practically to myself.  I boomed it down the slope and charged down sidewinder towards Emerald.  Emerald chair was full loaded with people, so headed toward Garbonzo.  The Olympic run down to Garbonzo was icy and lumpy and not in a very good state.  Headed up Garbonzo, down Dave Murry and back to Big Red.

The loop seamed like a good one to me so I did it a few times.  Each time there was no-one on the Harmony slope and it made for some great riding.  Only on the last ride down was there even anyone on the slope.  One guy, going really slowly.  So passed him quickly.

After a few laps it was getting late, and I managed to catch one of the last Big Red chairs, and got down to Garbonzo as quick as I could for the last chair there too.  Once again I headed down Upper Dave Murry and on to Cross Roads for a rid down to Creek Side, and down to Rowlands to watch the Canucks game.

Another slow start to the day, but it soon picked up.  I initially just cruised up and down towards Garbonzo, that was until Rich gave me a call.  I hurtled it down to the Whistler village and met Rich at the Whistler Gondola. On the way up once of the Mountain Safety guys let us know why the Harmony chair had been closed.  Apparently one of the chairs fell off!  It hasn't been a good year for the Whistler mountain, what with all the mechanical failures and the HUGE number of deaths that have occurred.

Once we got up to the to we decided to head on up the Peak chair and over into Symphony.  The runs were actually really quite nice and ran well.  After a couple runs in the Symphony we decided it was done and headed back on over towards Emerald.  Finding the lift line to be huge we carried on down to Garbonzo.  From then on we did the Upper Dave Murry run and swung around back to Garbonzo.

We eventually had had enough and decided to head out via the ski out.  It was really icy and fast, but still a lot of fun.

The day started off slowly.  I didn't want to push the ankle too much.  I headed up Whistler and generally just rode around the mountain.

I was starting to actually get a little bored, then Chris gave me a call and we met up at the Round House.  Chris had his camera with him, so we decided to take advantage of the sun and take some 'action' photos of us slashing the snow.  Ended up being quite a fun afternoon.

We then stopped at the Chick Pea for a last drink and allow all the 'plebs' to get off the mountain before we headed down.  The run out was pretty good and we rounded off the day with watching the Canucks in the Cinnamon Bear.

My first day back on the snow after doing in my ankle.  I started off later in the morning than usual as didn't want to over stress my ankle.  Went up Whistler and decided to take it quite easy.  Good job too, as I was initially struggling.  Things did improve however and the ankle started to feel better and the speed crept up.  I rode around mostly to runs that took me down to the Garbonzo lift.

I eventually decided to head on over to Harmony.  On the way down I tweaked my ankle again so rested on the slope for a while.  I decided to carry on for a while and see how it felt.  From then on however I was struggling on my toe side edge and couldn't keep the edge.  I then decided to head to the Round House for a hot chocolate and a biscuit.  After that I then headed on around for a few more runs.  Heading up the Peak chair the weather was closing in and the visibility was getting worse.  I then decided to head on down before things got worse and before my ankle gave out.

Not a great day, but just glad to get out and be on the snow.

Got a call last night from Chris and he and Rich were looking to go sledding today.  I jumped at the chance to do something different.  I met the guys shortly after 15:00 and we checked in to Outdoor Adventures.  We were driven to Cougar Mountain where we were kitted out.  We had our own group and an English guide and then set off.  The sleds that you get are really big and heavy and took me a while to get used to it and to feel comfortable.

We set off and I was first behind the guide.  We arrived at a small open area where we were allowed to rid our sleds on our own.  This is where I got a good feel for the sled.  Gunning the throttle and going as fast as was available and also getting some air over some humps.  All too soon we were off again.

We eventually got to this lake where we had to ride over it as fast as possible.  Excellent.  Another great chance to gun the throttle.  After that we were at a big open frozen lake.  Here we were told to simply always go around ant clockwise and to avoid the marked areas.

And they were off.  The next half hour was spent just gunning the throttle, hanging on for dear life whilst keeping my speed up going around the bend and generally trying to go as fast as possible.  It was a great time.  We then stopped for some hot chocolate and some soup.  A welcome break from all the efforts needed to keep the sled going.

After the break we started to head off.  The sun was starting to set and it was getting quite dark.  The lights on the sleds were good and looked really cool when we were all going around the tracks and bouncing around.

All too soon the day was over and we were back at the start.  A well worth it time.  I will definatley be doing that again, and hopefully again!

Start Time: 13/02/2009 14:08:25
End Time: 13/02/2009 18:25:40
Duration: 04:17:15
Total Distance (approx): 53.4km

Got up this morning to find that there was 11cm of fresh powder out there.  Myself and Edd headed on out to Whistler mountain.  We decided to hike up Pikas trail and over into the Harmony Bowl.  We hiked up to the avalanche marker and made fresh tracks into the gorgeous powder.  It was really great powder in there.  We headed on down towards the Harmony chair, but it wasn't open so headed straight to the Emerald chair and back to the hike.  We hit the fresh powder again, once again making fresh tracks.  Brilliant.

At the top of Emerald this time we decided to hit Ratfink and some tree runs.  We good but already tracked out. Around again, we headed further round and dropped into the trees above right of harmony.  Good, but still needs a lot more powder.  We decided to wait in the Harmony lift line and wait for it to open.  We lucked in and only had to wait for 2 minutes.

On the way up Harmony we decided to hit the Horseshoe 6.  As we got around to it there was two skiers scoping out the drop in.  Myself and Edd were really cheeky and did not wait.  We dropped straight in.  I hit a hard lump almost straight in and tweaked my bad ankle.  The run out however was great.  We headed over towards the Gun Barrels.  It was quite moguly here, and I tweaked my ankle even more here as I hit a big mogul before seeing it.

At the top of harmony we decided to head over into Symphony bowl.  I kept to the left and hit a rock head on and flipped.  Tweaking my ankle yet again.  Now my ankle was in real trouble.  As such we only made a couple runs down symphony before heading down the saddle and into the ski out.  Edd had work to go to and I just couldn't board any more.

Lets hope that my ankle is a bit better for tomorrow, as it is quite swollen at the moment.

Start Time: 09/02/2009 08:14:37
End Time: 09/02/2009 12:25:31
Duration: 04:10:54
Total Distance (approx): 53.8km

After some excellent advice from Will (the landlord and Level 3 instructor and park instructor) I headed straight to the Blackcomb Terrain garden and practiced my lines again and again, and built my knowledge of the jumps.  I went around the park four times just getting my lines right and pulling some straight airs with grabs, in order to get to know the park.  On the run out back to the Solar coaster chair there is a hit at the side which allowed me to pull a Half Cab (front-side 180) which I was really starting to dial down.

After these four runs Rich met me up and we hit the terrain garden together for a couple runs.  This time however I was starting to pull switch 180's on the first kicker, but still pulled the straight airs on the second.  All the time hitting the rails, boxes and benches on the way down, and continuing to hit the Half Cab before the chair.

After this we decided to hit the "Blue Park".  Oh my god!  Even the medium jumps are HUGE, especially the landing and run outs which are extremely steep.  You also had to hit each of the jumps almost straight lined!  I did however manage to hit the landing on each of the jumps but one.  Even that one I hit the transition but wasn't lines up correctly, but still managed to ride it out (eventually).  We then rode into the super pipe.  The first ride in the pipe wasn't so good, but not too bad.  I tried to remember the advice my regular riding buddy from the UK gave me (MDO), and tried to keep my front leg a bit straighter.

We headed around the blue park again.  I had a much better run this time.  Also this time I had quite a good pipe ride.  I was much higher up the transition and felt much better in the transitions.

After a spot of lunch we hit the Terrain garden again for a re-warm-up.  This time we decided to throw more spins in this time.  Rich landed his first 360 and I managed to land a really nice and floaty switch 180.  So we then repeated the run out, and again I was managing to spin on the hit and land my Half Cab.

We again went into the Blue Park.  This time Rich tried to pull a 360 on the first big jump.  He didn't quite manage it but it was a really, really good try! For myself, I hit everyone of the jumps on the way down, hitting the transition really well (on one I was leaning a bit too forward and nose pressed the landing for about 3m, before getting it down!) and just scorched through the park.

On the way up again we got a call from Chris, who had headed up Whistler Gondola.  So myself and Rich jumped into the Peak2Peak and headed over.  There was only time to charge down to Garbonzo, hitting loads of hits and jumps over rollers, before we had to ride down.  Myself and Rich decided to ride the "Ski Out" to Bayshores where the house is.  I have to say that it was very interesting sketchy and extremely narrow in places.  I will have to be much more aggressive in riding it next time, now that I know the exact route.

What an awesome days in the park!  More to follow tomorrow...

Start Time: 06/02/2009 10:08:00
End Time: 06/02/2009 16:29:25
Duration: 06:21:25
Total Distance (approx): 90.9km

Today was a day for going fast.  Well, before the slopes got too chopped up!  I just simply charged around the mountain building my self confidence over the slopes at the higher average speeds.  Harmony was especially fast today.

I headed for lunch at about 11:30 and when I finished and left the roundhouse Rich gave me a call to say that he was on his way up.  I headed on up the Peak chair and over into the Bagel Bowl.  The bowl was extremely disappointing as it was fully crusty and hard packed.  I headed on past Big Red and onto Garbonzo, then down and over to Emerald.  Despite putting in three different lifts, I was still waiting at the 'light board' for Rich.

We simply then headed on around the mountain looking for some fun areas to ride, and ended up in Symphony for a couple runs.  It was just too choppy, so we headed on over to Harmony and hit the main run down a couple times as it was fast and fun.

We rode around for a while longer and planned to head down to Creekside to buy some sushi for dinner.  However, we were mucking around too much and riding switch and throwing in some 180's that we missed the last turn that would have allowed up to get to Creekside.  We tried hitting a couple tree runs to try and get over but it wasn't happening.  We did however see people getting the Garbonzo chair and chanced it, as it was after 15:40.  We were in luck, and this time headed straight down Dave Murry all of the way to the bottom...without stopping.  Good day.

Start Time: 05/02/2009 09:24:09
End Time: 05/02/2009 16:00:17
Duration: 06:36:08
Total Distance (approx): 99.3km

Another amazing day on the slopes.  Early start again and headed out to the slopes with Edd.  We headed up the Creekside Gondola and straight over to Garbonzo via the BMX track.  Much nicer today on the BMX track.  We hit a couple runs, waiting for the Harmony and Symphony runs to open up.  When Harmony opened up we headed down the Harmony ridge for a little and then hikes up a small ridge and dropped the steeps into Hidden Chute.  It's quite a steep slope and had already been tracked so it was a little difficult to get a rhythm going.  At the bottom, both myself and Edd hit some really hard avalanche debris.  I banged my left ankle, and Edd flipped!

We headed straight on up Symphony chair and decided to hike the Flute.  We had a look at the whole ridge and ended up heading down the Flute Shoulder.  Turns out to have been an excellent idea.  The turns we made were so powder filled and our tracks were the only tracks in there.  The lines were so blinking sweet, powder filled and fast.  Once we got back to the Symphony chair and after a very quick discussion, we were again hiking the Flute Bowl.  Again we hit the Flute Shoulder.  No-one had hit it in the mean time, so it was still only our tracks, and because there is a lot of terrain to hit we laid down yet more fresh tracks.

By now it was quite late and Edd had to head off to go to work, so that left me at the bottom of Symphony.  I headed on up and rode down and over to Harmony chair and around to the Round House as I really needed a drink and some lunch.

After lunch I headed on over to Blackcomb over the Peak2Peak.  My intention was to hit some runs and I then ended up in the Terrain Garden.  Today I was getting some good straight airs, but with a lot of grabs.  Managed that quite a few times before the last lift.  Headed on straight down the mountain and closed out the day.

Start Time: 03/02/2009 08:21:40
End Time: 03/02/2009 15:52:04
Duration: 07:30:24
Total Distance (approx): 97.9km

The day started early and proved to be a good idea.  I woke up to find that the forecast was wrong at saying 1-2cm, but instead was 14cm.  Great!  I headed on out with Edd and we headed on straight up Whistler and over to Franzs.  We tore up the powder and it was the best snow of the season for me so far!  At the bottom of the Franz chair, we dropped immediate left into the trees and had more deep powder, but in the trees.  It was quite a job in there as all of the turns and bumps meant you had to be really aggressive in order to get those turns in and not hit the trees or huge bumps.

After that I took Edd to the BMX track that Chris showed me the other day.  We were the first to hit the track and as such it was a bit difficult to keep your speed.  However we both loved it, and intend to go hit it again in the future.  I did intend to hit it as a late run in the day but that didn't happen.

We headed on up Garbonzo and then headed down upper Dave Murray.  It was quite good but a bit tracked already.  We then headed on over to the other BMX track that has a BIG drop at the end.  It was better than it was the other day and much easier to ride.  Near the bottom of it however, as I went into one of the burns, I clipped a rock and flipped.  No damage to me or the board, thankfully.

We headed back up Big Red and then headed over to the top of Emerald and hiked up the cat track until we met the avalanche signs (as Harmony wasn't open yet).  We then dropped some really sick powder lines down and past Harmony.  We rode past Emerald as the lines were huge.  So, back up Garbonzo.  We again headed on down Dave Murry but the lines were really tracked, but still some good powder to be had.

Once again we headed back up Big Red and then did the little hike up past Emerald again for more lines.  This time the avalanche signs were higher up the cat-track so it opened up some more terrain.  It didn't fail us, as we put down some really good lines in there again.  This time, we noticed that people were waiting at the Harmony chair and decided to give it a try.

We arrived at about 11:20, and unfortunately the lift just did not look to be opening up for Edd, so he had to head down as he had work to go to.  After the usual snowball fight, the chair eventually opened at 12:10...it was just SO worth it!  I immediately headed down Harmony Ridge and straight into the McCools Couloir and simply dropped straight into it, no messing...I must admit that the time I spent in the air I was a little surprised at just how long it was.  No idea of just how big the drop was, but bigger than my normal.  I put in a few turns, and I triggered a small slab avalanche.  Thankfully as I was one of the first on Harmony and there was no-one below me, there wasn't and problem.  So I maxed it down to Harmony again.

At the top of Harmony it turned out that the Symphony chair was open and so I headed down Burnt Stew trail (couldn't see a darned thing as it was quite wet and the snow was sticking and meting on the goggles...no matter how much you wiped, you were limited for visibility).  There were so many un-tracked ways to get down.  So I did it again, and again and again.

On the fourth time, I hit the line for the lift, but it had stopped/broken down.  For ages (and again the usual snowball fight) everyone waited, and waited.  However it just wasn't going to go.  So everyone who was there (about 300 people) had to take the hike out.  Not good.  I was knackered already, but to have to hike out really took it out of me.

Eventually got onto the Harmony chair and blindly made my way down the saddle, and straight down the mountain.  On getting close to the top of the Creekside gondola I contemplated taking the gondola down.  I just couldn't face myself if I did that so took the run down.  It was really knackering as the snow further down was really sticky and heavy.  Was glad to get down save and sound.

Start Time: 02/02/2009 09:04:37
End Time: 02/02/2009 15:33:16
Duration: 06:28:39
Total Distance (approx): 41.0km

Got of to a slower start than normal.  Myself and Rich headed out and we met his family who are here for a few days.  Myself, Rich, Nick and Chris (Rich's brothers) headed straight on up Peak chair.  We then headed down Whistler Bowl and onto the face.  There were patches of really nice powder, but there were also some really hard lumps of snow in there.  That coupled with poor visibility made it quite a difficult ride down.

We then headed on back up Peak Chair to do the other side, and headed down Peak to Creek.  IT was only now that I remembered to switch on the GPS. Taking the Khyber trail and then joining onto Highway 86, we dropped of at the base of the bagel bowl and into the little valley run that I liked the last time I was here.  It was really cool, but Rich's brothers struggled a little with the tight conditions and trees.  We popped out on to the Peak to Creek for real before heading down too far.  This was really painful as it was full of moguls and was quite icy.

At the bottom we headed back up the Creekside Gondola and when we were on Big Red the other Chris (pool at the Cinnamon Bear Bar) phoned and we all met up at the bottom of the Harmony Chair.  We headed down Burnt Stew trail and kept to the right as Chris knew this really nice wind lip drop that we just had to do.  There were a lot of different lines off the lip and we all had a few goes.  I personally didn't go too large, but do need to work my way up.

After that we decided to hike the Flute bowl as the conditions were actually quite good out of where it had all been previously tracked out.  To do this we headed on first down to the Symphony chair.  At the top Chis took a photo of Rich and his brothers and he headed on down to the bottom of the flute hike.  30 minutes later we were at the top and looking to drop into the Flute North.  Nice little drop in with loads of powder to be had.  There were areas of previous snow debris and if you ran them then the snow wasn't too good.

We got to the bottom of the Symphony chair to discover that the chair had closed already.  We either had to wait for Piste Patrol and be taken down with them in a group or hike out up to the Harmony Chair.  We chose the hike out as there was to be about an half hour wait for Piste patrol.  Was a shame we had to hike, as it took a little off of the experience.

We made the last Emerald chair and headed to the Round house for a quick drink.

For the last run out Chris took us down to some of the BMX tracks.  Really interesting but scary for the first time you do them.  We then boomed it down to the village and for a quick beer in Cinnamon Bear Bar.  Job done.

Start Time: 31/10/2009 11:09:22
End Time: 31/01/2009 16:28:40
Duration: 05:19:18
Total Distance (approx): 40.1km

Headed up and out on my own today with the intention of getting some runs in on Whistler mountain before heading over to Blackcomb for some park riding.  However, with all the best intentions it doesn't always happen that way.  I was just to physically tired today to do too much, and with the heavy going conditions and extremely limited visibility it was tough going that took a lot of energy.

I had wanted to head on over to Symphony to enjoy some tree runs, but it wasn't the best.  I just couldn't find any decent lines through the trees and decided to give up on that one.  Headed on over the saddle and down to big red and up for an early and long lunch.

I then flipped a coin and as it was heads I headed on over the Peak2Peak to at least give Blackcomb a go.  I headed for the Crystal chair.  Man I forgot that that chair is so slow!  I took the ridge runner route and wanted to try and find some tree runs here.  Again I was disapointed as it was all done and moguled.  So when I got down again I headed up the Glacier Explress and up on over the back.  Again the conditions were not so good, but better than the last time I was over there.  The run out was good though, enjoyed that.

Headed on up to the Terrain garden for a couple goes, however most of the jumps had not been made and all that there was there to hit were the rails.  So, still did it a couple times.  Got the urge to go shopping so decided to head back over the Peak2Peak and ride down there to the base of Creekside.

Not a good day for the conditions and not a good day for the motivation and energy levels.  There is always tomorrow

Start Time: 29/10/2009 10:04:01
End Time: 26/01/2009 15:14:52
Duration: 05:10:51
Total Distance (approx): 74.8km

Got up whistler this morning to some cold conditions, but not as cold as yesterday.  The weather however was the problem for the day.  There was loads of low cloud and terrible visibility around.  I started off just simply getting around the resort, trying to not get injured in the poor conditions.  I made a decision to head on over to Symphony and ride some tree runs.  However the conditions were so cold and wet with the falling snow that my goggles and helmet were freezing.  This made it near impossible to see anything, which then coupled with a white out made it so that I could only carefully and slowly make my way down "Burn Stew" trail and over to Symphony.  At the top there was another rider who also had the same tough conditions and he decided to follow me down.  Once I got to the trees they were really good riding to be had in there.

The guy who followed me also got on the chair with me and we got chatting.  His name was Neil and he was from Redding.  He told me that I looked like I knew what I was doing and where I was going so in these conditions he decided to follow me.  We spent the rest of the day riding together as in such poor conditions it is good policy to have someone watching your back and you watching their back.  We did symphony again, however this time we went too far right from the top and ended up in some difficult terrain that wasn't greatley enjoyable, but still better able to see what I'm doing!

We ended up the day heading up Harmony, down the Saddle, into Fitz's, down to big red, over towards Garbonzo and straight down into the village where we had a beer to end the day!

Start Time: 27/10/2009 09:50:36
End Time: 26/01/2009 15:08:20
Duration: 05:17:44
Total Distance (approx): 72.7km

Late start to day.  There was too much apres last night.  Also took ages for Rich to get his finger out and get going.  Was a day of meeting a lot of different people, and also a day for just chilling. 

Didn't really do much today other than be quite lazy on the slope, and just ride.

Start Time: 23/10/2009 11:15:08
End Time: 23/01/2009 16:03:44
Duration: 04:48:36
Total Distance (approx): 54.3km

Headed on up the slopes just a little later today than normal, but was still up the slopes by 09:40.  I headed on out with Rich, another of the house mates and we hit the slopes.  Later we met up with Jess (English lass from Newcastle) and one of her friends Tyler (Canadian from Ottowa).  We just simply headed around the mountain hitting some jibbs and hitting some speed.  Nice cool and chilled day!

Start Time: 22/10/2009 10:22:28
End Time: 22/01/2009 16:09:51
Duration: 05:47:23
Total Distance (approx): 70.5km

Early start once again.  Headed on up Whistler once more.  There was a bit of cloud cover today.  Hopefully that is a good sign and that the snow is a coming!

Today the snow was really good in the morning as everything was nicely groomed.  Thus the riding this morning was all about getting around as fast as possible, and just enjoying myself.  I again covered a lot of the mountain before heading in for an early lunch at 11:30.

After lunch I headed on out and decided to put in a lot more switch riding.  It's coming along but it's still not great.

See below for interactive GPS map:

Start Time: 20/10/2009 08:21:25
End Time: 20/01/2009 14:22:20
Duration: 06:00:55
Total Distance (approx): 85.3km

Early, early start again today.  Was close to getting the first gondola up Whistler mountain.  The weather is so warm at the moment, but the conditions of the groomed piste in the mornings is fantastic.  I decided that today was going to be a 'blow the cobwebs' out day, and also try and get back some of my confidence.  I think I achieved both today to some degree.

My mission today was to go everywhere and just enjoy myself.  I think I covered a lot of terrain today, and I'll find out when I get the GPS out.  I rode everything from Harmony, the Saddle, Big Red, Emerald, Garbonzo, and every run in-between.

I had lunch early as the piste was getting a bit busy and also as the temperature increased so did the choppy of the slopes. After a quick lunch I thought that I'd do more of the same.  Eventually got one of the last t-bars, harmony chairs, then one of the last Emerald chairs, and then flipped a coin to see which mountain base I would ride on down to.  Ended up at the bottom of Creekside after a long, but good, days riding.  Well happy with today.

See below for interactive GPS map:

On Whistler again today, and up the mountain really quite early on my own.  As it was a weekend I expected it to be quite busy and it was, especially as it is a US long weekend holiday.  Got the GPS out again (to upload later).  I started out with some switch riding to get back into the groove.  Headed on down towards the Garbonzo lift, which is a nice easy green/blue set of runs.  I need to work a lot more on my switch as it simply is not good enough.

After a few runs I noticed that the Harmony chair was running.  So after a run or two I headed on up the T-bars and on over to harmony.  Whilst in the lift line I met Edd and Will, so I rode with them from the top onwards.  It was Will's last day before having to head home.  So we wanted to explore and cruz around the mountain.  We went all over the mountain, and hit a few good trails.

Edd and Will left around about 2pm, which left me to run around on my own for a few runs.  Nothing too special about that.  See GPS map below:

With the weather being so warm up top with all the sunshine, it's an early start again today.  Headed on out with Edd and Will and we headed on up Whistler mountain.  Today was going to be a day in the park.  We laid down a few lines down towards Emerald befoer starting to hit the park.  The first medium kicker has a nide drop off and it felt quite comfortable straight away.  Furthr down there was a spine, which is not my favourite but I gave it a go anyway.  Not brilliant (not enough confidence) but still hitting it.  After that there are a nother couple of medium jumps.  The first one, after 3 tries and hitting the knuckle each time, I finally worked out my speed and for the rest of the day was landing good and sweek straight airs.  After that there is a jump that at the moment is too big for me as I havent got the confidence up there yet.  Instead I rode the up rail next to it.  Quite a nice rail.  After that there are only a couple more jumps/rails, all of which I either avoided or used them as little kickers.

All in all quite a good park day.  I also took out the GPS logger today. See below:

On my first full day in Whistler, I had already decided that I wasn't going to go snowboarding.  Instead I wanted to get everything organised and have a good look around town.  So I switched the GPS on and took a wander.  Got my lift pass in Creekside, then popped to the HUB and got a 10 day bus pass (they did not have any month passes!) before heading over to Whistler village.

As I wandered around it was quite clear that very little if anything has changed!  See the GPS track here:

Myself, Chris and Koko had decided to go to Sanosaka today.  However, it also turned out that Wayne, Sandra and Mitch with Adrian also wanted to go, so we all got a lift and rode together for most of the day.  The powder and crowding over in Sanosaka was unbelievable.  It was also a cheap day for men on a Wednesday.  You have to take quite a few lifts and runs over and over to get through all of the three different mountain resorts.  The powder was really nice, deep and fresh.  We could have run all kinds of powder lines all day.

Mitch took us up and into a tree run that was just off a closed piste run (apparently this run has been closed for about 20 years, because of an accident all those years ago!).  The tree runs were so full of powder and you could choose your lines through, as long as you have loads of confidence.  Must admit that my confidence wasn't as high as it has been through the trees but is was all good.

The last run of the day was the best.  It was a really long ride down to the bottom and practically straight.  We all just pointed our boards down the slope and just went for it.  Really fast, if a little bumpy.  I'd recommend for people who come to Hakuba to go to Sanosaka often, as it was empty and had loads of powder runs to take.

This morning myslef, Koko and Chris had decided to hir out some Snowscoot "bikes".  It was amazing how cheap they were to hire.  Only 1000 Yen for two hours!  However, trust me, after two hours you are physically drained, so that is more than enough.

We all three headed up top with Stephen (who was skiing) and gave our first go down the slope.  I will say that I took to it virtually straight away, and was very quickly going down the slopes at speed.  Chris and Koko took a while longer but were really getting into it near the end of the two hours.  We did a few easy runs then hit a really steep part of a red run, and it was quickly obvious that none of us had ever ridden these things before!  By the end of the two hours I was looking for hit's, jumps and any kind of varied terrain and was really enjoying it.  The only thing I would say about the bikes is that it really gives you an upper body work out.

After lunch we got back on our boards and did some runs.  The weather was a really bad Wiches V**ina (= Cold, Wet and Nasty).  So we didn't do too many runs.  The powder was really deep and fluffy however, but quite wet.  I also wanted to take Koko and Chris down the off-piste run that I did yesterday.  However, when we got to the top of the run, I went first and immediately hit a drift up to my abdomen.  On trying to hike out, it was obvious that the conditions were quite dangerous so we decided to not hit the back country and instead head on down and catch the bus.

All in all a very entertaining day.

Today started off a bit lazy and I just couldn't get going.  I headed straight to the top of Goryu and decided to see if the kicker we built was still in place.  The snow and wind had completely obliterated any signs of the kicker and also the igloo.

I headed on down through the 'alpinaglade' and discovered that the wind had caused a top level of icy conditions.  However there were still areas where the powder was nice and light.  I headed straight on down the slope and down the double black mogul run.  Wasn't that exciting and I just couldn't get motivated.

I headed all the way back to the top again, and this time I was some people I recognised go off into the back country, an area where I had wanted to go.  The only reason why I haven't hit this back-country is that I have no idea where it leads out.  So I headed down as normal, down the piste and when I arrived at the gondola I say some of the people who did the back country.  Hmmm.  This encouraged me to go up and give it a go as I knew that there had to be an easy ride out.

I hit the top of the back country and it was so worth the ride.  There was just so much light powder, the trees were nicely spaced, the terrain was challenging with loads of drops, hits, jumps and amazing carve lines to take me down the slope.  The bottom run out was actually quite scary.  There were loads of trees that you had to duck under, avoid, and all on a very narrow track with a big drop off to the side.

I met Stephen at the top a couple times as he had decided to dig out his Igloo as I did the run again and again and again.  Good riding, just a pity that there was no-one else to enjoy it with me.

Headed out for a ride on Saturday as the snow had been falling all night, and I also had a forced day off in the week.  I decided to head on out over to Happo One as I hadn't been there for a while.

The weather was atrocious with full blizzard and white out conditions.  I got all the way to the top and couldn't see a thing.  I knew where I wanted to head and gingerly made my way over to "Sky Line".  At the top of Sky Line I headed to the very right and found what I was looking for.  On the very far right there are some brilliant tree runs.  With the threes there it also provides better visibility as there is a contrast between the snow and trees.  My confidence in my riding made for the tree runs to be much faster and a lot more scary .  I basically hit the same run again and again taking different lines through the trees.  I did actually clip a few trees on the way and cause a few snow slides (but in a very safe and controlled area!).

The weather and my now well worn jacket conspired to me calling it quite an early end to the day.  After 13:30 I was soaked through.  I headed on down the mountain and stayed in the Happo One Ski School to dry off a little.  By the time I dried off I was just simply too tired so called it a day.

Visibility: Complete white out.
Snow: 20-40cm
Piste Condition: Loads of powder with icy conditions underneath
Wind: High to gale force
Temperature: -4 to -14
Crowding: Moderate.
Lift Lines: Moderate.

Today was a back country kicker building day!  The night before we bought a few large Chu-Hi (Highly alcoholic fruit drink - like a Alco-Pop) and also made dinner.  So the back-pack was loaded and myself and Chris and Koko headed on to Iimori.  We rode on over to the gondola and then to the lift at the top.  At this point Chris and Koko found Stephen, so he teamed up with us.

We headed on up around the top of the mountain to where we had previously had chosen to build the kicker.  I started up the hill and started to build the kicker, with Chris joining me very quickly.  Koko headed off for a couple runs, as she was still recovering from yesterdays crash.  It took myself and Chris about two hours to build the kicker before we were ready to hit it.  It had a short but very steep run in, with a huge run out.  We then broke for lunch to let the sun hit the kicker and melt/solidify.

When we got down to the base spot, we found that Stephen had dug out a huge wind breaker/igloo (without a roof).  Through the day it got deeper and we had an area where Chris and Koko could prepare their dinner, and also dug in 'egg chairs'.  Real good job!

After lunch we then decided to hit it.  Chris went first and it threw him up in the air.  He did say there was too much of a lip, but I thought I'd go anyway.  As such, I made the biggest splash of the day.  The think just threw me and I splashed way down the slope on my back.  The landing was however so soft it didn't hurt.  Through the day we hit it again and again.  Chris had a few spills that cartwheeled him a couple times, and for what ever reason didn't manage to land any, including his 180 attempt.  For what ever reason the kicker just simply wasn't a kicker to spin off (YET...what about tomorrow  ).  I only managed to land the thing three times, each time simple but big and long straight airs, all other attempts resulted in a splash out.

After we had drunk all the Chu-Hi, Koko decided to head on down and Chris decided to go on a Chu-Hi run.  There was a problem here in that Chris had left his jacket, and his lift pass was in it.  It was about an hour before myself and Stephen had worked out that they weren't coming back.  In the mean time we decided to try rolling down the hill whilst videoing it.

The day was getting late and thre was a nice wind lip near where we had built the kicker.  I decided it was time that I hit the wind lip.  The first attempt I got up some speed and went for it.  The landing was a lot harder than I thought but then went real soft.  As such I stacked my first hit.  The second hit, this time again I hit it with speed and I thought that I was going to stick the landing, but on the rid out it got real soft and the nose went in and I flipped.

We were too tired by now and we decided to head on down.  I gathered up Chris's jacket and gloves that he left, all the empty cans, and me and Stephen headed down.  I stopped in at "The Pod" on the way down to wait for Stephen and had a cheeky vodka red-bull.  Myself and Stephen then headed on over to Iimori for the bus.

What a good day.  We hit the Onsen to chill.  I've really caught the sun today and the tip of my nose is burned...OOops.  Sun block on that all day tomorrow me thinks!  Still it can't detract from all the good kicker riding.

With the weather staying warm once again, todays riding wasn't that great.

In the morning the conditions were at their best, but very quickly turned into slushy conditions with all the blue-bird and sunshine.  We headed to the top of the Iimori lift and hit the trees straight away (myself, Koko and Chris).  We all had a lot more confidence in riding the trees today.  We were just crashing through and brushing the branches away.  Confidence was much better.

We then wanted to head on up to the top as we wanted to ride on over to 47.  Unfortunately it was closed at the top so we had to settle with riding from the top of the Goryu gondola.  Heading down we grabbed every drop and powder that we could find.  The conditions at this time were still great, so we headed down the 38 degrees mogul slope.  Everything was filled with powder so it made for an interesting run.  Hit the deep powder, hit a mogule, get out of control and repeat   Near the top however, Chris and Koko got a good video of Chris and flying powder through the trees.  At the bottom, there was the good dip and real nice powder to crash on through.

We then hit the Iimori park a few times.  Again, for what ever reason the confidence was up and I was hitting the jumps, rails and pipe-rails much faster and better.  This however went a bit wrong for one of us.  Koko hit the up-along-down box and unfortunately took a big tumble and landed hard on her knees.  This forced a coffee stop, while we checked out the damage.  Thankfully with some hot and cold treatment it wasn't too bad.

After that and some positive encouragement given to Koko we headed on up over to the gondola to the top.  This time the runs over to 47 was open, so we headed on over to the new 'breaking the rules' tree run.  Koko was taking it easy and was doing some videos and mostly followed the cat-track.  The run through the trees was great for me and Chris.  As the sun had been beating down on the slopes the conditions of the slopes had really deteriorated.  So when we hit the top of the 47 gondola we decided to call it a day and run all the way to the bottom.  Again, Koko was videoing so we decided to take the cat-track.  Man it was so slow!

Hike in the morning.  Myself, Chris, Koko and AJ went straight on over to Goryu and straight to the top of the mountain.  We had decided to hike to the top of the Goryu mountain, which we proceeded to do.  It was a very, very hot day today to do a hike and it was a tougher hike than the last time.  The view from the top however on a blue-bird day made up for that fact.  I headed off first, followed by AJ, Koko and Chris followed up the rear.  The ride down this time was more fun, as I pushed it a little more than the last time.  Everyone had a good ride however, and AJ said that his heart was really beating through the exilaration (he hadn't done anything like this before!).

We headed straight on down to the Escal plaza by going the straight route down the mountain.  It was nearly lunch time and we had only technically managed one run .

After lunch we put some runs through the Iimori park.  I was getting more confident on the first jump and was getting to the point of not scrubbing any speed off.  My rail, pipe-rail, and other jumps were all riding well and I was even tempted to try the 'drum tap' jump, but chickened out and jumpy popped the air instead.

After that we headed on over to Hakuba 47.  Whilst on the hike I had noticed that there was an extra out of bounds, through the trees run that we could take that leads onto the green cat trail.  So we headed on over into it and experienced some absolutely great 'silk like' powder through the trees.  There were now some big drops back down onto the cat trail, so they were a bit knarly to undertake but still great.

We then took some runs around Hakuba 47 and also through the park.  The park has been completely re-shaped from the last time I went through and the jumps had gone from a good decent size up to massive.  Had my first big crash on the first jump.  Came in switch and had planned to do a front side 180.  Just didn't spin enough and landed a 90 and ended up going face first down the transition "scorpion" style.  Still, no damage done.

We then headed on back up to the top of the mountain so Chris and Koko could pick up their backpack.  We were all feeling pretty beat so we headed right to the top and walked around the cat-walk to our favorite powder field.  We all just straight lined it all the way to the bottom without stopping once.  Really exhilarating, especially given the speed we were getting. Speed is your friend!

Then end of a tiring but great day. 

Today got of to a real slow start.  Let's just say that yesterdays "couple of beers" turned into some 10 hours of drinking!  *ugh*  I did however get up and dragged AJ on over to Iwatake on the 09:30 bus.  First time for either of us over at Iwatake.  What I can say is that whilst the runs are not very long, they are very wide and open, and there is a load of jibbing to be had all over the place.  Also because of the Japanese mentality of following the rules rigidly, there was loads of powder to be had for us less rully   It's also a perfect resort for those beginner and novice riders with its wide open terrain.

The day started off with is simply cruzing down the slopes looking for hits and powder stashes.  Ideal hangover riding.  We then proceeded to take runs all over the place and I believe that we managed to ride the complete mountain.

We also hit the park in Iwatake.  I do however have to say that given the level of the average rider over there at the time the park was way to big in it's hits.  The very first jump has a very long table on it, and no matter what I did, and riding straight lined from the top, I couldn't get past the knuckle.  The spine however was in great conditions and I made some good hit's from it, along with the bench and rails.  Unfortunately AJ did manage to fall off the rail and bang his head, nothing serious though thank goodness.  We went around again, but it had effected his confidence a little so we decided to hit some more runs.

We simply made our way around the mountain looking for interesting features to hit and powder to ride.  There was just so much to be had!  We even took a ride in switch all the way down one of the upper slopes and practiced our 180's.

Eventually however, the hangover and tiredness caught up and we caught the 16:20 bus out of there.  I might have to go back to Iwatake later, especially when there is another big powder dump, as there is just so much that has not been touched (but we would be breaking the rules!").

After yesterdays great powder, we all thought today would be a really good day.  Unfortunately we were massively disappointed, and I forgot to GPS track todays riding!  The winds, even at the bottom runs was really strong and whipped up the powder.  As such, there were no lifts or gondolas up the mountain, so we had to settle for the lifts at Iimori and Goryu.

As we thought it would be a good day, we all headed out for the first bus and I took out the big Palmer to take advantage of the powder.  Myself, Koko, Chris, Dan and AJ.  Even though the wind was high the conditions of the slopes were in surprisingly good condition.  We rode everything we could, but had to make it work unlike yesterday.  The runs were super fast and to the sides just in the trees the powder was in good condition.

We all rode as hard as we could and also sessioned the Iimori park for a while.  The Palmer is not great in the park, but we were all hitting the jumps, rails, boxes, and everything else.  I decided to try out the big rail, the up-along-down box and also some spins on the rail-pipe.  The big rail and the up-along-down box are really intimidating, but once you have hit it a couple times you gain the confidence and start to try and hit it faster.  My attempts at spins on the rail-pipe weren't up to much but I didn't stack any.

After lunch we only hit the park and some runs a few times before we decided that the terrible weather conditions had taken their toll and decided to call it an early day.

Let's hope tomorrow the snow continues to fall and that the wind drops away.  Now off to the Onsen for a hot spring bathe and and relax!

Powder, powder, powder!

There was a huge dump over night.  Some 20-30cm, and as I was up and early I had the best of it.  Myself, Chris, Koko, Dan and Louka all got the bus over to Iimori.  We arrived so early that the lift wasn't even open!  We shortly got up on the lift however, and the powder was just so deep and sweet.  We made lines through the trees, piste and just everywhere.

The Goryu gondola wasn't running to begin with, but that was no problem as we made the most of the Iimori side, until we saw the gondola start to move.  As such we headed on over and caught the line quick enough so that we were only a few gondolas from being first.

Up top however, it was obvious that there was a load of gusty wind and the top lifts weren't really running.  Again, this did not really matter as we just hit everything we could.  There was a really good double drop pillow hit near the top of the gondola that I managed to hit with good confidence and speed. Magic!  We did as much of the top as we could, riding is some bottom-less powder.  Even the mogul runs down to the base were great and you could really hit the bottom bowl with a lot of speed and just crash through the snow (with loads of weight on the back foot to counter the deep, deep snow).

After lunch the winds were really getting up and the guys had all decided to call it a day, as the good stuff had been tracked out.  I decided to give the gondola another go on my own, and was glad to see that the run over to Hakuba 47 was open, so I took it.  A mistake!

Hakuba 47 at the top gets the wind really bad.  On the way down the double black diamond the wind was so strong, and whipping up the snow so bad that I was getting battered and couldn't even see the board on my feet!  I had to stop there for a bit, as I really could not see a thing, and in the moguls and near the trees it's not a good thing.  I also stopped because a woman had lost here ski in the deep snow and was there on here own.  I stayed until she found her ski and then carried on.

I spend the rest of the day just going up and around all of Hakuba 47 and also the park.  I am really starting to like the park in 47.  The snow in parts was so deep, but wind swepped that you could be in waist deep powder on second and then on scoured ice the next.  After a few hours of taking a battering with the wind, I decided to call it a day...but what a day

Today started off a little slow and did not get much better.  Myself, Alex, Chris and Koko headed on over to Hakuba 47.  We headed on up and took a couple runs on-board before heading into the Hakuba 47 park.  I went through the pipe and didn't do too bad and got some really good and high push off the walls.  It was then straight into the jumps and rails.  I pulled a switch 180, small but still felt good.  I then switched over to the box and just did a 50-50.  Over to the bigger jump, and because of the conditions I hit it very much harder than I expected and because I couldn't see the landing it turned out to be a very much bigger jump than I expected.  I then hit the last couple jumps and again I hit it much larger than expected.

We then headed back up the lift to hit the pipe again.  It turns out that Chris hasn't actually ridden a pipe before, so myself and Alex had to persuade him to give it a go.  Alex had borrowed a new board and he had massive toe over-hang.  So for him the pipe just wasn't going to happen.

We then headed up to the top, as we were supposed to meet everyone over at the "Pod" at 11:00.  As there was some nice powder around today with all the snowfall, we hit a few powder drops and a huge load of jibbing spots.  We did however decided to head straight down and through the mogul field.  Even with the new load of fresh powder it was a hell of a lot of hard work.

When we arrived at the Pod there was a very large number of Snowbeds residents in there.  We had a drink and found that one of the guy's had cut his leg badly (clash with his friends earlier up the slope), and after we took a couple photos he headed off to get it seen to. Ended up he needed six stitches.

After the Pod pit-stop we headed on over to the Iimori park.  The wet snow was giving trouble in getting enough speed for the jumps and they were not good.  The rails and boxes were good however.  By now however we were really starting to feel the effects of the effort made (so I was quite sweaty) and the very wet snow conditions.   So we simply got up the lift and rode on over to the Goryu plaza and got the 13:30 bus back.

The plan this morning was to get the 08:00 bus over to Goryu.  The second part of the plan was to do some hiking at the top of Goryu.  However, by the time the others got their fingers out we ended up getting the 09:30 bus to Iimori.

Myself, Chris, Koko and Alex headed on up the chair lift at Iimori and took the cat track on over to the gondola.  After the gondola we got the lift to the top of Goryu.  This is where the hike started.  We rounded the mountain and were disappointed to see that the other lift was now in operation, and that the powder field that we had nearly to our selves on Friday had been completely tracked out.  This wasn't the objective first thing however.  Instead we carried on round and then started the hike on to the top of the resort.

Koko decided not to join us in the hike so it was left to us boys.  After a good 45-60 minute hike, and a number of times of putting the pressure on Chris to go higher...("I didn't want to die!" - Chris) we ended up quite near the top.  On the way however we met this 72 year old man who was snow shoeing and was on his way down from the top.  Hope for an old b'stard like me

Near the top, I took the opportunity to let the guys know that I have experienced a few avalanches.  As such, it was insisted that I went first  I popped on over the snow shoe track and into some sweet, sweet powder!!!  I kept pretty much to the ridge as the avalanche risk really was quite high today, and the guys followed my lines quite close (still making their won and getting some sick powder).

Koko at the bottom got some video of us coming along the ridge and then coming down through the trees.  Should be uploaded shortly!  High five!

After such a hike we decided to ride to the bottom and grab a drink.  The piste was really quite packed and as the sun was out in force today the conditions were not ideal.  After grabbing a drink, we decided to hit the park a little.  Was a bit more confident in the park today, despite the ankle still being a problem, even after having a couple days off.

We then took the lift up to take the race track run.  It was really quite icy but you could pick up some good speed.  We then headed on over to the gondola again and up to the top again.  It was here that we then had lunch at Alps360.

We did a few more runs, and made some really good powder drops and jumps.

This morning started off with 11 of us from Snowbeds heading off to Hakuba 47/Goryu together.  We all set off up the mountain together where Chris was going to show us some new lines.  The group quickly whittled down to 8 as the lest experienced riders decided to go off on their own.  We headed up the lift at Imori and took the run down the cat track and over to the gondola.  Taking the gondola to the top, a short ride down to the next lift, this is when Chris's experience on the mountain told.  He showed us some really nice and easily accessible drops down onto some really nice powder.  The group was gradually dwindling down to 5.

We then headed on over to the Imori park.  Unfortunately on the very first jump I managed to really tweak my already dodgey ankle.

We rode around experiencing a number of different powder stashes around the whole place.  It was then that Chris showed us the real 'stash'.  Taking the lift to the very top of Goryu, you then had to take a little hike on over to where one of the lifts was not in operation.  This is where there was a really nice powder fields that was completely un-touched.  It was what can only be described as 'bottom less powder'.  On the way down everyone got bogged down in the snow and had to dig their selves out.  Thankfully for me I managed to keep my speed and got through the powder with little effort.

We then headed on down the slope to meet up with Mark and Henna at the "Pod" bar.  We didn't meet up with them unfortunately, and it was then that we lock Chris and Koko.  So the group was down to three.  Myself, Alex and Jamie stayed at the Pod and had a vodka redbull and an Australian pie.  We also met Geremie, another Snowbeds patron.

After lunch, we three then decided to head on up and hit the power stash again.  This time however, the visibility was better and I could see that there was a good jump spot.  I rode down first and hit it real big style.  Jamie who was behind said that I really hit it, the snow exploded and I got a really big jump (good to have a witness!).  As it was so good.

Doing the powder stash the second time, I pointed out the jump to the Alex, who missed it the last time.  This time however Jamie had his camera ready and caught me on the jump.  Wasn't as big as the first time bit was still good.  Alex for some reason didn't see the jump, Ollied early and bailed the jump.  Got it on camera too The powder was too good to miss, so we decided to go for it a third time.  This time I took the video camera and filmed Jamie and Alex.

By now on the way down, my ankle was really giving me trouble.  Really could not manage to hold a toe edge turn.  So, thankfully on this last run we decided to call it a day.

For the up coming weekend, it's a long weekend holiday in Japan.  Apparently every bed in the resort(s) are fully booked.  So it's going to be a very busy weekend on the slopes, so it's time to start drinking...

Once again today I started off really early.  I woke up however with a really sore back, and it took me quite a while to work it loose and become more responsive.  I headed on over to Hakuba 47 with a few from Snowbeds.  Mark, Hanni, Ivan and Calum.  Myself, Hanni and Ivan headed on straight up the lifts at Iimori and took advantage of the lovely soft groomed runs for a few runs.

We then wanted to head on up to the top of the mountain, however the winds were high so the lifts were closed, so we could only go as high as the gondola would take us.  So we took the Route 1 run a few times.  There was an area between some cat tracks where there was some great powder and in there there was this one pillow of snow.  I hit this and took a huge air, and managed to no stack the landing in the deep powder.  Was disappointed that somehow on the next two runs I managed to not find it again?  On the way back down to the gondola there are a couple of small jumps.  We were hitting these jumps and I was managing to get some really good air.

The confidence in my riding over the last couple of days has really come back and I am feeling really good about it given my injury last year.

After Mark and Hanni left at lunch time, I headed on up to the top of the mountain.  It was a complete white out and could not see much further past the front of my board.  This didn't stop me however, as I'm a sicko and actually like these conditions.  I completely sessioned the top lift and a run that takes in powder riding, a natural jump, small tree run, and a long wide piste run (but very choppy).  I hit it about 15 times, and each time I hit the jump I was really getting some long distance.

It was getting really cold at the top, and I was getting tired so I took the run all the way to the gondola again.  Was really in a good jibbing mood too and was trying to hit everything I could find.  On the way down I met up again with Ivan and Calum and rode the green run with them a couple times.  Calum then headed off for the bus and me and Ivan did some switch riding runs for a while.  I gave Ivan some riding tips, switch riding tips (he keeps lowering his head and looking at his feet!), and then how to do some simple ollies.  Did that for a couple runs, and since time was getting on a bit we headed on up top.

It was still extremely poor visibility at the top, but I showed Ivan my little favorite run and we did it a couple times.  We then headed down at full pelt (as fast as we could, what with no visibility, tired legs and choppy conditions, and grommits all over the place).

Another long (near 9 hours), but really good day!

After yesterdays marathon days riding, I was a little surprised that I made it up early this morning to get the 08:00 bus on over to Hakuba 47.  I actually got a lift with one of the guests from Snowbeds over just before the bus arrived, so that was good.  We then decided to head on up and ride together.  We both headed on up to the top of Hakuba 47, which was a really good idea.

After the last few days snow and cloudy conditions this morning was relatively clear and bright.  As such the piste had been well groomed and was very light and soft.  So when we took the first lines down they were absolutely fantastic.  It took virtually no effort to ride all the way from the very top of Hakuba 47/Goryu all the way down "route 1" to the bottom and very high speed.  So we did that again!  Absolutely fantastic!

We also decided to give the park a bit of a go and also the pipe.  The pipe is your typical affair.  One side is sun hit the other ice frozen.  However the pipe was in really good condition.  I must admit that my pipe riding was up to it's usual 'wimpy' standards.  However, my park riding was getting more confident.  Managed to get in some really big airs and also some prober holding on grabs, not just snatches.

As you can see from the GPS tracking, we rode the park a few times and did a few runs from top to bottom.

For lunch we headed on down to the gondola station of Hakuba 47, where I had a vegetable Udon.  Me...vegetables!  Trust me however, it was fantastic.

For the rest of the afternoon I was left to my own devices.  I actually on put in a couple long rides down to the bottom, before reaching Goryu base and frankly I was really tired, especially after yesterday.  So, I called it an early-ish end to the day and headed on over back to Snowbeds.

  Early start, late finish and only 20 minutes lunch break.  A total of about 9 hours riding!  As such, I am really tired and will keep this one short(ish).

Was up early today and headed on over to Hakuba 47 today.  Was out the door before 08:00 in the morning.  Went out with Mark and Hanna, a couple who are also staying at Snowbeds.  We spent most of the morning riding around looking for powder and also hitting the park.  The park isn't huge, but was good for me to get warmed up in.  We started off with a small jump, swung over to the left and hit the medium jump, swing over to the right and hit the box, then on to the second medium jump.  Was all going quite well today, just need to attack them with more speed.  Managed a few 'quick' grabs, and a rather poor switch 180.  But what the hell, it was a 180 and the first in about two years!

While Mark and Hanna headed off for lunch I decided to skip lunch and go for it.  I headed on up and had a run then decided to do the "Adventure Run" which is a double black diamond.  Big mistake as it was one massive mogul field, and a very long run to boot!  Will not be doing that again until it either gets groomed or a big dump of snow happens.

I then decided to have a drink, and bought from a vending machine a hot canned Latte! Blinking excelent!  I them met Thomas, another Snowbeds guest and skier.  We then proceeded to rip up Hakuba 47 and Goryu.  I didn't know until I arrived in the morning that Hakuba 47 and Goryu are fully joined together as one resort!  The conditions made it really hard riding in the afternoon.  The clouds rolled in and you really couldn't see very far in front of you.

We ended up riding right to the end of the day.  Man, am I tired...

I did however find that when I got home that I had accidentally switched off the GP tracker at some point in the day.  Will have to get some tape and stop if from being switched off!  Hence why the GPS tracking for today is limited.

Again took my time this morning in getting out.  I met up with a group of the guys who have just arrived at Snowbeds and ended up riding today with a guy called Christian.  We headed on straight to the top of the mountain and proceeded to ride all the way down to the bottom.  We then proceeded to just ride around the place, and I gave Christian some guidance on his riding.  I basically covered nearly the same ground as I did yesterday, but today I started to put in some jibbing.  I haven't quite plucked up the courage to try out the 180's quite yet, but hope to give them a go soon.

After lunch, myself and Chrisian headed back up "Skyline" and took a run down.  It was becoming clear that Christian was struggling, and was extremely tired and that his legs were in that burning trouble.  So thankfully when we were on the way up, the weather closed in and gave us a good excuse to head on over and take a last run down.  However by now Christian was really struggling and only managing 20-30m before having to stop.  We have all been there, and will probably all go there again!

I stayed with him, to make sure that in this tired state that he didn't hurt him self.  To push myself I decided to put some switch riding in, and proceeded to ride the rest of the way down in switch.  It didn't really start out that good, but the switch riding soon started to pick up.  Still a long way to go.

Woke up this morning with a might headache.  Probably through dehydration.  I had drunk about 4 liters of water yesterday but probably still not enough, given the altitude and all the exersise.  Unfortunately it stayed with me all day.

Got up this morning and discovered that there was loads of fresh snow on the ground.  So obviously made an effort to try and get out there earlier.  Didn't quite succeed, and again got the 09:30 bus.

The new snow fall was really nice light powder.  The bad news was that it had fallen onto yesterdays choppy runs, and as such it was very, very quickly quite hard going.  It was also snowing all through the day, and currently at 21:00 here is still snowing, if some what rather pitifully now.  Let's hope it's snowing better up the mountain.

Like on any powder day, you can't stop for anyone and you have to try and find those lines quickly.  As there is very little off piste allowed here in Happo One, nearly all the fresh tracks were taken really quite early.  However as the snow was falling all day, things soon filled back up again, only to be ridden again.

I spent most of my day looking for areas where there wasn't the multitude of the weekend warriors.  And also on the look out for more terrain.  I also made a considerable effort to make sure that my technique was good today.  Earlier in the day it' didn't start off great, but those snow legs soon came into their own.  I was soon riding the chop better than I have ever done.  My angulation and inclanation was nearly always spot on.  This made for some really successful riding, as I charged through the chop and powder with less effort and more style than previous.

I must admit that I spent most of the day riding to be what I have found to be the best run in Happo.  I took a couple runs over one side above the ridge and in the trees, but it was hugely tracked out and really quite icy in places.  The other side was quite moguled.  It is something I do have to say about happo, is that there are a lot of moguls around the place.

I ended up going down this really nice cat track and ended up at the far right (looking at the piste map) of the resort where I had lunch.  With my iPod video, I find that whilst eating lunch, I can also watch part of a movie.  Todays movie was the start of Pirates of the Carribean. 

After lunch I just headed back up to my favorite run (need to remember the name of the thing and update this blog entry!).  Did that for a while, headed to the top of the resort, did a few runs there and was heading down the left most run when I decided that my legs had had enough for the day.  So I continued down to wait for the bus.  Unfortunately I had missed the bus by a couple minutes and had to wait a while for the next one.  Thankfully there are heated cabins that you can wait in.

My first day of riding in Japan didn't get off to a quick start.  I was rushing around trying to get ready, and just wasn't quite switched on to snowboarding mode and didn't quite get everything together as quickly as a should have.  As such I missed the 08:45 bus and the next one was at 09:30.  No worries, as I do have a lot of time here in the area to go for it.

The bus ride was a short hop over to the resort, where I got some advice from Phil, one of the guest as Snowbeds, on where to ride on Happo One.  I bought a three day pass, and you get this little device with an LCD screen on it, that is your electronic pass.  Cool.

I headed straight on up to the highest point I could get to on the mountain.  The first thing that struck me is how old the ski lift system is here, and how slow it all is.  The second thing that got me is that very few of the chair lifts actually have safety bars, and the ones that do the Japanese don't appear to like to have it down!  It's no wonder that when it's windy they stop the lifts.  Let's hope they get some better and newer lifts in soon.

This is the first real time I've snowboarded since my accident last year in Davos (see earlier blog entries).  So I must admit that I was quite apprehensive.  It told in my riding, as I just wasn't very confident, stable, or fluid.  However this can also be attributed to this also being my first days riding, so the snow legs were not there.  This did however change through the day, and my riding got more and more confident.  Still not back to what it was but definitely getting there.

The conditions on the slopes were quite good, and there were only a few spots of ice that I found near the top of the mountain, but nothing too much.  I do however have to say that you can ride all of the piste rides in Happo One in about half a day if you put your mind to it.  I am sure that more riding will open up when more snow comes, and my confidence levels increase.

I woke up early this morning as I didn't sleep that well.  So, got up and checked out todays travel itinerary.  Get to Tokyo station, buy tickets to the Shinkansen (Tokyo - Nagano Bullet train), get on the train arrive Nagano, get bus tickets, get on Bus, arrive Hakuba (Happo station stop) and get taxi to Snowbeds.  Hmm.  Sounds complicated but it wasn't really.

I checked out of the hotel at about 09:30 and walked to the Tokyo station.  It isn't that easy with a big board bag and another holdall bag, but it wasn't too bad as I am used to it.  As I had checked out the way to the station and what entry to the station to take it was quite easy.  It's best to enter from the South East entrance, as this is exactly where platform 22 is, for trains to Nagano.  The ticket office is there too.  It cost about 7,500 Yen to buy the ticket and have a reserved seat.  Once on the platform there are signs to tell you where each carriage is going to stop, and outlined on the platform where you are to stand to board at a specific entrance.

The train arrived and the passengers got off.  A little bemusing to myself was that no passengers attempted to get on.  Instead a cleaner for each and every carriage got on and proceeded to clean and dust every single part of the carriage.  Try getting service like that in the UK?  We were eventually allowed to get on.  Thankfully at my end of the carriage there was somewhere to safely stack my board bag and put my holdall, which was nicely out of the way.  I then went and took my seat.  Man, these bullet trains are wide and spacious.  The seats are in rows of two and three, each seat having ample elbow and massive leg room.  So much so, that my feet were barely able to touch the seat in front.  Only trouble was that my seat was an aisle seat and I didn't have much opportunity to look out of the window.  Booo!  I do think however, that on the left I got to see Mt Fuji, but couldn't be sure.

A measly 1½ hours later, and about 170Km, I arrived at Nagano.  This is where the first bit of confusion occurred.  There are two exits from the station, each of which are signed as having bus stops.  The exit you want is the east exit.  The other exit goes down some stairs into an open area, and this is not the way.  Once you are on street level, there is a souvenir shop and this is where you buy the ticket for the bus.  Once you have the ticket make your way all the way to the end of the bus stop lane, stop number 6, and this is where the Hakuba bus can be found.  It wasn't long before my bus arrived and I climbed on board.

If you have ever taken a bus to a ski resort before, you'll know that there isn't really that much to look at.  Lots of mountain passes, little villages and usually a river or two.  Unfortunately this was mostly the same, interspersed with massive concreting of the mountain sides to stop the hillside coming down onto the road.  After a couple stops I arrived at the Happo buss terminal.  I took my bags to the information center and got them to call me a taxi which duly arrived.  I loaded my bags and was shortly outside Snowbeds.

When I entered Snowbeds I must admit that I was a little shocked at just how many people were there.  Apparently the place can handle up to about 30 at a time!  Mind you, I'm not exactly sure what I actually thought the place was going to be like!

I've had a very brief show around the place and paid my 28 days accommodation fees.  I've also had a chance to meet some of the people whom are residing here at the moment.  Every one of them seam like good people, and are from all over the place.  New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Wales, America, to name but five.  A real cosmo crowd.  The place is nice too.  Lot's of space and it's very tidy.  Probably one of the benefits of the owners residing here too

All I need to do now, is work out where the bus arrives tomorrow and what bus to take.  Then get a lift pass organised.  Shouldn't take me long to get settled though.

I got up again early today, and had breakfast and generally caught up on a few things.  I wanted to also avoid the peek travel period as today I wanted to get around a bit more, and not walk about so much! (My poor feet couldn't take much more).

I walked out the hotel and headed straight for the Shimbashi station.  I purchased a pack of 11 tickets for 300yen journeys.  With these I was covered for reaching every area of the Tokyo metro limits.  I don't know why they say that getting your way around the Tokyo metro is so difficult, it's quite easy really.  The only trouble is the stations them selves.  I find them confusing and difficult to navigate through sometimes.

I hopped on the 'Ginza Line' and headed out to the Shibuya neighborhood.  The Shibuya neighborhood is famous as being 'groud zero' for the youth culture, and also for the Shimbuya crossing.  This crossing is often featured on TV with the flood of humanity that the green light unleashes every few minutes, beneath glowing neon signs that tower overhead.

I initially had a look at the Hachikos statue, the story of which reminds me of 'Gray Friars Bobby', then headed on up into Udagawacho and the stores.  Something I didn't realise is that most shops in Tokyo don't open until 10:00-11:30!  So I had a wander around for a bit and ended up in a Starbucks as the wind was chilly today.  Ok, so Starbucks isn't very Tokyo, but I have to admit that I like the late's!  After than I headed on out for another wander and ended up in Tower Records, and this store is the largest in Tokyo!  I eventually bought just on CD!  It was "Tokyo Luxury lounge 3" with is a dance/lounge/electronica fusion style album.  I also got a free promotional Daishi Dance CD, entitled It gets me downs" by Yoko Ota.  Sweet, will rip them to my iPOD later tonight.

I then decided to hop onto the metro again and this time get to the other end of the Ginza line, and head for Asakusa.  I however hopped off at Ueno instead which is in the Shitamachi neighborhood.  I wanted to go see the Ueno-koen (Ueno Park) and the numerous museums, templates and shrines.  I had a good wander around the park and took quite a few good photos.  There was a small market being held in the middle of the park and there was some really interesting pottery, and Japanese art for sale.  I entered the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, but it wasn't really for me.  It was a show on Japanese calligraphy.  Whist the writing is so much more elegant and artistic than any western language, I just couldn't really get into it with not knowing the language.  I appreciated it for it's art instead. but there is only so much writing you can look at.

It was getting on into lunch time, and so I headed out the south of the park and into Ueno Okachimachi Chuo dori, which was a bit of a down market collection of shops and stalls.    It was a little seedy but nothing to worry about, and I even had a chance to have a quick look into a "Love Hotel" where you can have a room for an hour or two, or the night *wink* *wink*.  As it was a bit seedy I did struggle to find somewhere where I wanted to eat, but eventually settled for this restaurant which was up on the 1st floor.  It not something I think as westerners we are used to so much, in that in Tokyo (and I'm sure the rest of Japan) there is always something on the second, third, fourth, etcetera floor of the building.  So, just because you can't see into the window doesn't mean that there is nothing there, or that it can't be any good!  Take my advice, look up and have a look at those doorways.  I again had the noodle soup with grilled pork dumplings.  Oh my, if I was to live here I'd probably get really fat, and have to become a sumo wrestler.  I do love Japanese food (except Sushi and Sushimi, as I don't like fish!).

I hopped on to the Gina line again and headed on to Asakusa, which is the low city of old Edo.  It's center piece is the Senso-ji temple.  There is a lot going on around this area, with loads of small stalls, shops, temples, shrines, rickshaw's and more.  Look out for the giant lanterns, and also throw a few coins into the temple grates and pass on a prayer.  I had a good mooch around the various stalls and was on the lookout for something to send home to the folks, but they didn't quite have what I was looking for (don't want to give it away, they might actually read my blog...*might*).

It was getting much colder now, and I was getting tired.  So I decided to head on back to the hotel.  I didn't want to do what happened last night.  I had planned to go to Roppongi last night for a couple beers, but fell asleep and woke up at 22:00!  So, got back today just before 16:00, and started to write the blog and upload some more of my photos.  You can see the photo's here.  Eventually I will get them added to my GPS tracking and have them push-pinned to the exact location on the map that they were taken at.

Despite getting up rather early today, I still didn't get out of the hotel until about 09:00.  It took me a while to get ready, and to write yesterdays blog entry.  It was quite a long one

My first goal today was to scope out the route from my hotel to the Tokyo main station, from where I will get the train to Nagano on Friday.  So I headed straight along side the train line, then headed straight up into Marunouchi district and headed into Tokyo station from the west.  After spending a little time figuring out the map, and wandering on over, I can tell that it's from platform 23 I need to depart and it is easier if I enter from the south east entrance.

That done, I headed on up the east side onto the 'Eitai-dori' and over into the Imperial Palace East Garden.  I have to say that it really is a nice place to wander around, and it would be much more appealing in the spring or summer.  I'd recommend it.  I've got some great photos and will be adding these soon.

I exited up by Takebashi, and headed for my second goal of the day.  Gadgets!

I passed through the 'Bookshop Neighborhood' and found some of the stores fascinating. I then discovered that there was a 'Sporting Good Neighborhood' and had a quick look in at a Solomon shop.  But really wanted to push on to the Electronics Neighborhood.

The stores here are amazing.  So many of them, and every single one of them is huge and packed.  What a place.  Makes everywhere else I've been look absolutely pathetic (thinking Totenham Court Road in London).

It was getting later into the afternoon, and I decided to have lunch.  Yum!  My favorite, Japanese noodle soup!  It is a little strange wandering along and seeing plastic models of all the meals that you can get!  I wonder how some 'slop' in the UK would look in a plastic model

After lunch, I wandered around the electric stores a little more.  But I was getting tired now, after all I had walked everywhere.  So I decided to head back, but via the sporting goods neighborhood to see what I could see.  Some of the stores I went in to were packed floor to ceiling with snowboarding/skiing equipment and gear.  It's no wonder the Japanese are mad for the sport when they can get all this in one small area.  Again, it knocks the socks of every other place I have ever been to!

I headed back down towards the Imperial gardens and headed down the Uchidor-dori and back towards Shimbashi where the hotel is.  I visited a couple convenience stores to buy some drinks and snacks for tomorrow.  Then back to the hotel.

Getting on the Hotel Internet

Man, the Internet connection here might be free but it's a right pain in the arse to get on!  You have to submit to a full anti-virus scan, which is done via a Web page and a few Active-X controls.  The firs trouble is that it's all in Japanese, so I didn't have a clue what to click on.  I then noticed that in the URL it does state that the "Language=jp", so I changed it to "en", and that did the trick.  However, it has to do a deep scan, and analyses all of the files on your HD.  Since I have a hell of a lot on my machine this took about an hour!  Yes, an hour!  So that was a right pain in the butt. Eventually I managed to get on though.

Plans for later

When I got back to the hotel it was only about 17:00.  The plan is to get the blogs and GPS tracking entries updated, and then head out for some beers.  My plan is to get some well earned rest and then about 21:00 head on over to Roppongi for some drinks and possibly a quick look at a club!  Looking forward to blogging about that.

  To view the GPS track interactively, go to http://wai.internetwideworld.com/GPSWebService/

Birmingham to London Heathrow

Birmingham to Euston

I decided to get the earlier train of 06:40, rather than the 07:15. Partly because I prefer to be early rather than rushing and also because I know what traveling through London is like, having lived there.

So I set three different alarm clocks to go at 05:45. When they went off I got up straight away and started to get ready, and was out the door by 06:15

The night before I trussed up my board bag and holdall into one, so that all I had to do was roll the snowboard bag. Quite a good arrangement. Despite this, the weight eventually tells, when you have to pull it all the way to the train station.

As is becoming usual when traveling on Virgin trains, the seat booking system was not working, and even the carriage lettering wasn't working. So my attempt to book a seat near where there was a bicycle storage facility was thwarted. There simply wasn't enough time to fin the correct carriage and get on the train! So I simply separated the two bags, put the holdall in the regular bag rack, and stacked my board bag in the train door areas.

Other than feeling the compulsion to check on my snowboard bag every 10 minutes the trip to Euston was very uneventful.

I did notice that coming into London there was a lot of fog around. I was a little concerned that this could cause some flight delays.

Euston to Heathrow

Once I unloaded at Euston I headed straight to the underground. I arrived at the station escalator to find a guard roping it off, which would have left me having to hump the bags, in rush hour, down the stairs. Thankfully I got his attention and he let me use the escalator. Probably much to the annoyance of others

I needed to take either the Northern or Victoria line to connect with the Piccadilly line. I plumped for the Victoria line and to change at Green Park. This didn't prove too successful. The platform was absolutely packed. I eventually made my way to the end of the platform where I hoped for a better chance to get onto the train. After about 5 trains, each of which were packed to bursting, I eventually managed to squeeze on with a little help from a kind Australian woman.

After that it was pretty smooth sailing once again.

I got out at Green Park and dragged the bags to the Piccadilly Line. Not a pleasant 'drag' as there was a lot of people.

Once again I headed to the end of the platform to try and get on the last carriage. Once again I let a couple trains go as they were packed. I then managed to get on, to an Rayners Park train, which wasn't the branch I wanted, but I thought that I could change somewhere further along the line and therefore find it easier to get on. This I did at Barrons Court. Only had to wait a few seconds before a Heathrow train, and practically empty at that.

Sat on the train and read a few news papers that were left behind.

Heathrow to Check-In

Once you arrive at Heathrow, there is quite a trek from the tube station to the terminal. Thankfully at that point I could pick up a trolley and put the bags on it.

I scooted my way to the terminal in my usual quick passed fashion and was there in no time.

For my Virgin-Atlantic flight it was in zone A, and to my pleasant surprise it was very quiet.

Check-In

They have this "Three Part Check-In" system, that to me didn't make a single bit of difference. Firstly you have to weigh your own bags. Then you have to scan your passport/booking in a machine and confirm all your details. It them prints you a ticket of kinds.

You then have to go to the normal check-in desks. Having done the other two steps, they then again had to weight the bags and produce new tickets. So to me, it begs the question of why bother? Seams like beurocrasy to me. The check-in took as long as usual and in my view there was no difference.

As is typical, I had to take my snowboard bag on over to the 'over sized' trolley, and with that I was on my way.

Boarding

Security

I quickly progressed through security, as once again there were very little in the way of queues. Probably a benefit of traveling during the week and not the weekend, and of going to a more exotic location.

For a change I didn't have to take my computer out of the bag, which made it easy as I have a plethora of gadgets. After all I am a gadget geek!

There was a second security scanning section in that it was dedicated to scanning your shoes! Many recent travelers will have experienced this, but this is the first time that for me it's been done at a different machine.

I was then on in to the lounge. I had a quick scope around to see what was there and grabbed a quick sandwich for breakfast and a drink. Ahhh! Needed that!

Did the usual mooch around the electrical shops but nothing took my fancy.

Gate Call

I say the boarding gate notification change and made my way to boarding gate 5. I sat down near the entrance door and took advantage of a free newspaper. I only had to wait a few minutes before they started boarding. I could tell that the flight wasn't busy and the boarding call basically allowed everyone to go at the same time.

I settled into seat 59K.

Flight to Narita (Tokyo) Airport

The flight was ready before time, as the flight wasn't fully booked. Looking outside it also looked like the fog had mostly lifted.

As appears to be a common theme, and long may it continue, the flight was very uneventful. Some small minor turbulence points but nothing to bat an eyelid at.

I usually can not sleep when flying. This trip I did actually manage about an hour to an hour and a half, which was great, if completely uncomfortable.

The entertainment systems on board were excellent and the best I have experienced. The screen was large and the system allowed me as an individual to choose what I wanted to watch and fully control the experience. There were about 30 films available, and I could start, stop, fast forward and rewind at will! Now, this is the way that these systems should be like.

I watched three movies, but can't remember what they were at this time.

We arrived early, and I could tell that there were a lot of low clouds and rain. The runway was very wet but it didn't appear to have made any difference to the landing.

Arrival in Narita

As is usual, after disembarking I made my way to passport control, and after a very short line I was in and through. You have to submit to providing a copy of your finger prints of your index fingers and also for them to take a picture. No problem.

I picked up my luggage very quickly, mainly because there were not very many people on the flight, and partly because of the typical efficiency of the Japanese.

Through customs and I headed to the 'Airport Limousine' desk, where I booked my bus to the hotel.

I sat down for a coffee while waiting for the bus, and thought I'd check the GPS tracking. DISASTER! It had only recorded some 27 points! I was sure I checked the settings and that it was recording, but apparently not. So, I reset and set it up for the bus to the hotel. The battery wasn't in good shape either, I just hoped that it had enough to get to the hotel.

Bus to the Hotel Dai Ichi Anex

The weather was drizzly when we set off and I was starting to feel the jet-lag, but this didn't detract me from watching the scenery go past.

I was actually quite disappointed, as there wasn't much of interest to see until we got into the city, and even that was limited. So I only took a few photos on the way.

The bus goes to the Hotel Dai Ichi, where I was dropped off. The Dai Ich Anex is literally only a few meters away and the concierge helped me with my bags. The Japanese people really are so pleasant and helpful. After a short check in I was up to my room. I wasn't sure if I should tip or not, so left it.

Jet-lag and the hotel room

When I got into my room, a few things struck me. Firstly the room was quite small, but to be honest was a good size. There was a large TV and a really good view. There was also a massage chair and foot massage stool, which I proceeded to try out as soon as possible. Man, I'd be tempted to buy one of these! Was so good!

The room had virtually everything automated. The lights, drapes and lace window cover were all controlled from the bed side panel.

I decided that I was going to chill out for a bit and watch a movie on my iPod. Which I did, and was really feeling tired. So went to bed.

I woke up at about 9PM, and whilst I was hungry, I decided that I was still tired and simply went back to sleep, to get ready for the next full day in Tokyo.