After our last few days in Vancouver we were very excited to return our rental car to the Vancouver airport and wait for our friends the Allens to arrive! We felt so happy and excited to meet up with good friends from Halifax after a month away from home. After meeting up, we made quick dash to catch the shuttle for the trip to Whistler. The drive was beautiful and we noticed many improvements in the road since we lived in Vancouver – likely due to the Vancouver Olympics.
Upon arrival in Whistler and unpacking all of our gear we made our way to the village to stock up on necessities. We quickly found the great wine store that had a gift certificate waiting for us from Geir and Laura as a Christmas present – greatly appreciated and a wonderful gift!
We were hoping Whistler would be receiving an end of month dump of snow after a very dry January. The snow weather Gurrus were predicting a tonne of snow, but instead mother nature dealt us a ‘temperature inversion’ – a rare condition where the temperature at the peak is warmer than the base! Our first day on the mountain was the warmest on record in January at the peak of Whistler at 12 degrees! We soon realized that warm temperatures and sunny skies comes a close second to fresh POW. The lunchtime beers, ciders and goggle tans made for pretty epic days!!!
A highlight of our week was a mid-day hike up to the peak of Flute bowl. Matthew and Norrie planned a surprise alpine picnic lunch for Joanne and Kari (they both share the same birthday). The boys hiked faster up to the peak and surprised Joanne and Kari upon their arrival with a carved snow table and benches made from the snowboards. Matthew even brought a crisp white tablecloth all the way from Halifax to set the alpine mood. We enjoyed the incredible views, good food and wine with wonderful friends on top of the world. The ride down was difficult with our rubber legs but we had to keep up with those kids!!!
During the week, Norrie got a chance to reconnect with a friend that he met cycling in New Zealand over 20 years ago who now lives near Whistler. Kevin and his wife Kendra and their daughter Gabbie joined us for some great runs, and treated us to a delicious tortierre dinner and good wine.
Out of all the places we’ve snowboarded over the past month, Whistler was the best. What an amazing experience to ride together with the Allen family over this vast mountain!
Here’s some photos of our week in Whistler
Our next stop is Costa Rica where we’re looking forward to trading in our snowboards for surfboards. We will soon meet Kari’s mother Unni at the San Jose airport and start a 2 week adventure of the Nicoya Penninsula, Lake Arenal and Cloud Forest regions of the country.
All 4 now!
Nor and Kari,
I loved the Whistler photos. Though I am not big participant in winter sports, especially any that involve riding downhill on a board, the scenery was spectacular, and I laughed when I imagine you two guys quickly carving out a table and chairs in preparation for for the special lunch for the wives.
One question for the kids which applies to everywhere you are going. Do they know the history of the mountains in B.C. on which they were boarding? In the same vein, do they know the history of the mountains in Costa Rica where you are now and will they learn something about the history of the small mountains In the Galapagos and how they have a similar history to the mountains they will see in Hawaii. A good journal essay for both of them would be to look at a map for the names of all of the mountains you will see on your tour and learn something about the history of each. All the information is available from Google and it may make their trip Much richer,I.e., more than just a sightseeing tour. Ask them. Encourage them. I know that deep down there is a geologist or scientist in one or both of them. The torch just needs to be lit and one way of doing that is to encourage them to always be curious about the “what” and “why” of what they are standing on or see.
Any progress on their finding a definition of “endemism” or the meaning of a “prehensile tail” and why it is important where you are now? You have probably seen sloths in Costa Rica. Do the kids know the fantastic history of sloths and that one type, almost as big as an elephant once lived in Canada? Ask them to check it out. Everything they see on this tour should lead to a question.
How about Roget’s Thesarus? Do they know where to find it on the web and how to use it?
Ok, enough of being Grandpa Science. I know it can get a little intense, but you asked for it.
Dad