Whistler weekend 2007

Once again, the whole crew survived a weekend in Whistler! It was a very interesting trip, particularly during the lead-up, as we didn't really know who all was going until we physically showed up at the condo. That always makes life just a tad bit more exciting!

Our journey wasn't terribly dramatic--we just got a late start. Indie Rocker and Speedy were sort of ready by the time I got home from work, but we needed to run errands and forgot the sleeping bag for Speedy. Long story short, we finally got on the road about an hour and a half after we wanted to, so oh well. After that, we made up some time on the freeway and stopped for gas so that we could get our two-for-one passes that would make skiing considerably cheaper. It was a good deal, for sure! If I'd known about it before, I would have been collecting them in Portland! Anyway, the border crossing was less painful than usual and we made it through Vancouver without any three point turns or screaming, so that rocked. There was terrible delays on the way thanks to weather and massive amounts of construction, but we finally made it. Since we were the last couple to arrive, we got the hide-a-bed, but such is life. Speedy ended up getting an actual bed since some of the fence-sitters opted out. It was great--as soon as we pulled through the garage doors, Spokes and Pianoman arrived right behind us. Apparently, dinner in Vancouver with Pianoman's uncle had taken quite a long time!

We weren't even the last ones--that honor was reserved for Snuggles, whose plane was delayed and managed to limp into the condo around 2:30am. Poor guy!

Well, the weather didn't cooperate at all, so we tromped through the rain to get to the lifts on Friday morning and head up the Whistler side. Unfortunately for Spokes, she discovered that she had forgotten her ski pants and had to go buy a new pair before she could go skiing. Despite the lovely weather, we all piled our shoes in the bags, dutifully got our tickets and boarded the gondola to head up to the top. It was sufficiently soggy, but we still managed to have a good time doing a variety of runs and attempting to make lame jokes about getting trench butt and watching the rain/snow pour off our helmets and hats. Lunch was a welcome break from the rain and we took turns grabbing food and trying to nail down tables. Indie Rocker grabbed some Kokanees for us, which made the weather a little more bearable.

After finally deciding that we were sufficiently soaked, it was time to hit the GLC for some apres. We rocked a bunch of pitchers and regained our senses of humor. The nachos, while not quite Merlin's, were pretty darn good and they were big, which was nice. By then, the party had started and we headed back to the house for hottubbing, beer drinking and general mayhem. That Guy called just in time to come over and jump in the hot tub with us.

Eventually, the beer made us realize we were hungry and then headed off to the Brew Pub for pizza and more beer. We even got to watch the Oregon game, which was excellent. Speedy and I were very excited since we won. After that, That Guy and his buddy headed off to the clubs, some of the crew headed off to the Dubh Linh Gate and Indie Rocker, Speedy, and I piled into State's car and got our drunk butts driven home.

The next day promised equally lovely weather, so we headed over to Blackcomb and repeated the drill. Soggy run after soggy run, but it was still pretty much fun. Spokes ended up at the wrong lodge for lunch, since there was a minor communication breakdown thanks to Pianoman. Either way, we grabbed lunch, bonded with a great English couple and then headed back out. Unfortunately, we headed over to the wrong chair and spent the next hour trying to get down through a total whiteout. It sucked! We survived and got in a few more runs, but there was a lot of downloading involved.

Saturday night was less drunken, mostly because we were getting a little tired. We had some beers at home and then hit the Bavarian restaurant for fondue and German food. The fondue was awesome, but Marshall's boyfriend Duke found out the hard way that ordering ahi tuna at a German restaurant doesn't always work out well. Either way, we ate our fill and headed straight for the Dubh Linh gate for beers. It was a mellow night and we went home in shifts. Spokes and Pianoman stayed out until 1:30am, but they were the last. Everyone else had been long asleep!

Sunday was finally a great day. It was cold, the snow dried out, and despite our discussions and near bail out, it ended up being the best skiing of the trip. We headed to Whistler and did laps on the Peak Chair until we decided to head over to Harmony. There was one run with some sketchy snow, but either way, the sun came out and we had a great time.

The drive home went well, aside from a long-ass border crossing. Speedy caught a ride back to Seattle with State, since she had driven up alone. We stopped at this great Mexican place in Belltown for dinner and then powered home and collapsed. It was a great trip, as usual.

Quote of the Day: "Step one/cut a hole in the box/Step two/put your junk in the hole/Step three/get her to open the box." Dick in a Box, Justin Timberlake on SNL.