On the 9th March, about 2 weeks ago Nick and I embarked on an adventure to Revelstoke, BC. The drive took about 4 hours and took place along one of the most dangerous roads in the world... apparently. We were highly prepared for any eventualities - flask of tea (very important), lots of food, blankets, winter clothes, skis, extra fuel and a lighter (incase we had to set the car on fire to stay alive if we broke down and there was no one to save us!). However, when driving through Rogers Pass in a snow storm and seeing other cars spin off the road, we realised we didn't have a number to ring for someone to come save us if the car broke down! You'll be pleased to hear that we made it there safely with no problems. The weather at Rogers Pass, which is in the Glacial National Park was totally different to the rest of the drive. As soon as we entered this National Park it started snowing and the conditions became a lot worse, and then when we left it brightened up and the snow had turned to rain.
Nick booked for us to stay in 7 Acres Bed and Breakfast, and it was really nice. The owners were really friendly and made a good breakfast; the only thing they lacked was a taste in interior design. Every room had a theme, mainly involving flowers, trees and shrubs, and they were everywhere! The snow in Revelstoke was immense: so far this season they've had 6 meters! It nearly came up to the top of the windows, so all you could see out to was a wall of snow. This is what Nick and I thought the snow in Canada would be like. It was also a lot warmer and therefore wetter, so snowballs could be made :-) Each night we went out for dinner. The first night we went to Bad Pauls, which is named after a man named Paul (surprisingly) who had a pet bear that he used to ride around on with a saddle and bridle! The second night we went out for pizza and it was huge and very tasty.
We stayed in the B&B for two nights and skied for 2 days. The hill had had 17cm of fresh powder for our first day, and most of this was on top of groomed slopes. I've never skied on so much snow in my life. It was really really hard going, and at one point I thought my legs might drop off from the pain. Over the course of the two days, I think I fell over more times than I have all season. Luckily there was so much snow it didn't hurt at all. Even when I fell flat on my face and used my head to stop myself. Of course, Nick didn't fall over, but I'm still waiting for it to happen... On the second day we ventured to the North Bowl, where you have to remove your skis and carry them to get to the top. Once there, there is a small traverse and then you just drop into the bowl. This run takes about 45 minutes from top to bottom! When skiing down, the snow was up to my knees. We only managed to do this twice, and on the second time Nick became more adventurous and traversed further around the bowl to where it was much higher. In this picture he looks tiny...
The drive back was pretty easy as the temperature had gone up and all the roads were clear. Back in Banff it looked like Spring had finally arrived, along with the slush and the ice. Nick and Laura survived their first Canadian Winter :-)
Last week and this week Nick has been doing his Level 2 CSIA course, and has his assessment tomorrow. It sounds hard, but I'm sure he'll do well. We're planning to go to The Keg Restaurant to celebrate him taking the course. I've also just seen that Elton John is playing in Calgary in May...
