Back to Winter!

10 days of waking up to fresh powder every morning!  Yahoo!

10cm one morning...15 cm another....25...then...35cm one mornin!

Hurry with that shovel so we can get the car out and go skiing!

Visiting Victoria

A week away from Whistler....

Clear blue sky and sunshine made for a scenic ferry journey through the Gulf Islands from Tswassen to Swartz Bay.

Gulf Islands

Unusually cold weather resulted in some interesting ice formations in Victoria, which is generally not this cold.

Oak Bay Village fountain

I stayed with Mary in Oak Bay, and enjoyed walking along the shore, breathing in fresh, sea air.

Willows Beach

Oak Bay Marina

oak trees in winter

Despite low temperatures I also joined Mike for a day-hike in the Sooke Hills.

wet mossy areas were frozen

view from Sugarloaf summit

emerald forest

with Mike on Mike Hill

arbutus, my favourite

I enjoyed many delicious dinners, walks, social times, and even some city shopping as well as creative water colour painting sessions with Mary.

Thanks to everyone!  It was great to spend the week in Victoria!

Welcome 2014!

January conditions in our ski resort have been rather warm and dry, except for a few stormy days mid-month which brought us about 70cm of fresh snow. 

late afternoon on the slopes

Most days have been warm and sunny, which would be delightful weather for April or May but not what we expect in the winter months. Fortunately W/B has amazing snow-making and grooming teams and skiing is very good from peak to valley.

Lack of snow not only limited our alpine skiing options, it also meant the cross-country trails did not open until we finally had snow in mid-January. 

Mariners like to say:  red sky at night, sailors delight 

We also say:  red sky in the morning, sailors take warning

early morning sky
  Does the red sky this morning suggest a snow storm is coming? We hope so!

Happy Holidays December 2013

In December we drove across BC to Nelson, where Charlotte and Devon hosted us for a family Christmas at their lake-side cabin. 

Since there wasn't much fresh snow in Whistler it was great to find winter in the Kootenays.  As well, it was an excellent opportunity to celebrate together, and to meet some of their local friends. 

Devon & Charlotte in Nelson

We all went skiing all three days we were there, first at the local ski hill "Whitewater", which was a treat especially because fresh snow was falling. Charlotte led the way down slopes both steep and deep, and among trees. 

Al & Devon navigating among the trees

Our second ski day back at Whitewater involved "slack country" skiing, essentially taking the lift up, then hiking further uphill on skis with skins so we could ski back down an untouched powder slope beyond the resort.  (It must be reported that the mother found the slog up much easier than skiing back down in the steep and deep!)

Irene hiking up the back-country trail

Another treat:  Our lunch at the Whitewater ski area was a delicious reminder of why the cookbook "Whitewater Cooks" has been a great success!

Our third ski day involved cross-country skiing along an expansive network of beautifully groomed valley trails belonging to the local Nordic ski club.  

Dec 25 at the Nordic trails

We returned home in time for our usual series of festive gatherings, ours highlighted this year with birthday celebrations for dear friends.  It was a wonderful way to end another great year!

Winter is coming.....

Blackcomb early season

Winter has not yet arrived in the valley but the ski runs are starting to look good, at least from our home deck. 

Frost formations on the glass around our deck.

We have enjoyed a few frosty mornings, but only once shoveled the driveway in the month of November.

We opted to stay home on opening day but went skiing a few days later....

Look who we found our first day up....

Canadian Thanksgiving

What a wonderful time of year for some exploration around BC. 

We drove across BC to spend Thanksgiving week-end with Charlotte and Devon at their new home in Nelson.  We were their first house guests and were treated to a wonderful few days of hiking, exploring and feasting. 

Charlotte and Devon found a new lakeside home

We paddled from their house

 

and enjoyed multiple feasts

We also checked out the local ski resort, where we plan to ski during our next visit.

Whitewater

The highlight of our visit was a hike into the Valhallas.  We started out on a narrow trail through the forest and continued up through snow to our destination, Gimli Peak 

Devon and Charlotte cross a creak

we saw several mountain grouse on the trail

we gained elevation and reached winter conditions

Gimli Peak

on top of the world

We added a couple of side trips to our Thanksgiving visit in Nelson.   On our way east we stopped to visit Vancouver friends and admire their amazing new house in Naramata. We wined and dined and hiked in the hills above their home.

Al, Chris, Anne-Marie & Irene above Okanagan Lake

 You may recognize their architect by the signature sloping roof. 

Did you guess the architect?  The answer can be found here:
 http://www.blueskyarchitecture.com/OKANAGAN.html

On our way back home we stopped again in the Okanagan, this time to visit friends who live near Vernon.   They took us on a wonderful tour of local wineries.

Bill, Irene, Al and Jan at Mission Hill Winery

Our hosts also took us to an amazing spa called Sparkling Hill, created by the folks at Swarovski.  You really have to see it to believe it. 

Check it out here: http://www.sparklinghill.com/


Closer to home we stopped to walk in the coast mountains. 

Joffre Lakes Park

When we arrived home and looked out our front window we were treated to a view of the full moon rising over Wedge Mountain.

We live in such a beautiful part of the world.

back to Europe ....

Next adventure:  a week in Bulgaria

Click on the link below for more info about the main reason for this trip: 
http://www.fencingveterans2013.com/?lang=EN


Please visit the Darwin Sound blog for up-dates

Whitney gathering in Whistler

We left the boat early this season so we could be home in time to enjoy a most amazing gathering of friends and family for a big event:

Charlotte married Devon Carr here in Whistler on September 14.

The weather was perfect:  warm and sunny

Click on Darwin Sound link for more...