And so comes the end of our time here in Canada. Ellen and I both finished work on the 18th of December and started packing for our big move. The week of the 18th-25th we spent packing and also did a ski day in Whistler and also a small local mountain called Sasquatch. Both days were awesome fun. We also went and got our last Chimi Chunga – which is a Burrito, but deep fried and covered in delicious sauce. Very emotional day getting our last Chimi!
For Christmas this year we spent the day with our housemates, Kellie and Aaron. Due to COVID there is restrictions in Canada to only spend Christmas, or any dinner/lunch/coffee with your household. We had a good day, eating bulk food and making cocktails!
On Boxing Day, we left Vancouver and took a bus up to whistler where we are staying from the 16th-3rd of January 2021. Not a bad way to end our time here in Canada – and you wouldn’t believe it, Whistler is getting a silly amount of snow this year! Wooooooooooooo
We skied on the 27th with Alex and Harriet, our two friends who have moved to Whistler. It was a bluebird day and the snow was so so deep. We need some fatter skies to stop us from sinking! We then went to Alex & Harriets for dinner and relaxation after a hard day of skiing!
On the 28th we had a rest day and took a big long walk from Creekside into the main Whistler village. There is so much snow around – we took a walk around the lost lake trail and had an Aussie pie for lunch! Can’t wait for more of these soon 🙂
On the 29th we skied again – but we went to the Blackcomb side of the resort this day. The resort is so so big we usually only ski the Whistler side. It was a ripper day again and we went and found the ice cave that we saw last year. Again – such unbelievable deep snow! We are getting better at skiing we think – doing black runs no problem now 🙂 Our favourite part of the day was sitting up on the ridge of the glacier bowl eating some lunch and figuring out the best line to take into the bowl. Photo below of the spot – see the little specs down the bottom which are people. So big!
For the night we went into the village and caught up with another Oaklands local, Tyral Dal and his partner Hannah, who has made it all the way to Canada without getting on a plane! The village was looking stunning!
On the 30th, we wanted to go cross country skiing, but unfortunately the rental places weren’t hiring them out yet as they think there isn’t enough snow?? Not sure what planet they are on as the whole town has got around 1.3m of the stuff in the last week! So Ellen booked herself in for a very luxury spa and massage while I stayed home and read Harry Potter, watching the snow fall hard outside. What a day! For the morning we went walking around Creekside with Alex and Harriet in the snow.
Last nights dump of snow
On the 31st, we went skiing again, this time with Alex, Harriet and another friend Rob. After all the snow on the 30th, the conditions were absolutely perfect. Great snow with good visibility – we went down some daring steep tree runs with success and only a few tumbles. It could be a good thing we are heading back to Australia, we are always looking for a new challenge every day, and I am starting to wonder where does it stop? We will be challenging ourselves to hit big cliff jumps soon if we aren’t careful!
We spent most of the day in Symphony bowl, and on one of the runs we pulled up out of the wind, took a seat and had a beer. Now this is living Barry!
For New Years eve we went into the village with the same gang and ate and drank a lot of cocktails, before heading back to Harriet & Alex’s place for a few more drinks to see us out of the year 2020.
We had our last ski day on the 2nd of January 2021, and boy did we get some interesting conditions! The resort didn’t open the top quarter of the mountain due to a huge storm and crazy winds, we could see why. The chairlift to the middle of the mountain was getting thrashed around. It wasn’t too pleasant sitting on it for sure! But the amount of snow coming down was so fun – while we were skiing on the mountain got around 58cm of snow in 6 hours. Every run we did was like fresh tracks as the snow was filling in where others skied previously. And because of the winds, a lot of the not so keen skiers (or softies) left, so there was not much of a wait time at each lift.
The snow was so deep that when I went off into a little tree run at one stage it was waist deep and my entire ski popped off because I wasn’t going fast enough to crash through it! It took me what felt like 20 minutes to try dig my ski out of the snow and then hike back out of the trees. So tiring but oh so fun!
Ellen decided to snowboard for the day – I was a bit unsure of this decision but wow she proved me wrong. I think all the snow gave her a bit of a safety net if she fell, she was bombing down hills turning and carving looking like a pro! Very impressive stuff. No photos of it all but there is a few videos in the google link below.
On the 3rd of January we decided not to ski, we were completely cooked from the day before, and the snow kept coming all night. So it would have been another huge heavy day on the legs. Instead we packed up our gear and hung out for the day waiting for our friend to finish his day of skiing and to give us a lift back to Vancouver.
The drive back from Whistler to Vancouver was a bit sad – I was thinking about the next time we would be in this beautiful place as we putted down the highway between the mountains to Squamish, and then along the coastal highway along the Howe Sound to Vancouver. I might have to come back in 2022 and crash Mum’s girls trip – I reckon Mum and Aunty Mary might be up for some multi-day hikes through some bear territory??
Nothing much to report for the last two days in Vancouver, we just packed and got our mind ready for the big trip home! End of an era, Australia here we come.
More photos here
Justin & Ellen's travels 