Allee

I read a very moving account of the New Orleans disaster today, written by an author/professor who watched "his city" and his home sink from Toronto. His description of life in the city, the good and bad, up and down, was eye opening, to say the least. It got me thinking - why do people live where they do? What makes them visit a city and never leave? Is there somewhere you've always wanted to go, or to live? What is the good and bad of the place that you live, and why do you love it or loathe it? For me - I left New Zealand (this puzzles Canadians) to be somewhere more accessible for travel. I decided on Calgary because it was close to Banff, where I had spent a magical week in the mountains at Xmas 99, it was close to a dozen top ski hills, and there seemed to be good employment prospects. Now that I'm here, I'm in love with the mountains, the clean (for a city of a million people) air, the green spaces, the reasonable traffic, the chinook winds in the winter, and the get-it-while-you-can, frantic fun vibe in the summer. What's your story??

I sometimes have the same problem, when I'm on edge and hit a bump or something a bit harder and faster than the rest of the slope. Then the edge bites really hard and I find myself rocketing across the slope with the board just locked in, and have to either skid out the tail with the back foot, or really throw myself around to get out of it. My take on what causes it is, I get spooked by the bump, and throw my weight back and onto the snow edge. The extra pressure digs in the tail. Much less of a problem since I was taught to drive through my knees to change the edge - throwing my knee across the board and centering my weight better helps a lot.

I read Watership Down when I was about 10. You should have asked them why they never saw the movie ... Seriously, how to tell when you're getting old? I sometimes share my work office with a 24 year old Chinese girl, who has never seen a vinyl record.

Wow, Phil. Is it true what they say about guys with big feet? (or was that big hands?? I can't remember)

I'm 150lb/68 kg and I have the 156. It's a great board even if I have thrashed it to death learning on it. I'm an intermediate rider and spend a lot of time on wide open stuff, blues and groomed blacks. On that, it gets a little bit squirelly when you push it along, not as stable at speed as it could be (hardly surprising as it's only a baby). Anything bumpy tends to really upset it, too. But on perfect groom it's awesome, and holds an edge brilliantly. There is a 162 on it's way to me which might be an improvement (and a little less beaten around). I'd love to try the 167. If you're a strong rider then you shouldn't have any trouble, for all that they're supposed to be really stiff and nasty I've always found mine to be very forgiving and surprisingly easy to just tool around on. Hope this helps.

Is that why? I thought it was just so that you had to freeze your a$$ off in the -30 weather for the cheap self serve gas. You learn something every day.

... and a pretty nice hiking trail in the summer. :p

See? http://www.skibanff.com/conditions/webcams.html

Hopefully they have one on the demo fleet this year. I've actually gone out a couple of times to where they're supposed to be demoing, only to find that they change the schedule at the last minute. I HATE that. Maybe this season ...

Bob, if you want dog hair ... I have two border collies about to blow their summer coats. I'll send you a garbage bag full. Cheers! :p

I love summer. I also love winter. I HATE the inbetween when it's too cold to camp but the hills aren't open yet, or when the snow sucks in May but it's too snowbound to hike. But if not for this three months of the year, my house would fall down. I also hate that I have not yet won the lottery, so I could snowboard 50 days a winter instead of 50 days in 10 years.

Well, it looks as if I'm not going to make SES next Feb, as it clashes horribly with the significant other's 40th birthday and he wants to go kayaking and beach camping in Belize. (Life is full of tough choices ...) Soooo... in order to improve my crappy riding, I'm considering going to the Snowperformance camp at Sun Peaks in December. Has anyone been to one of these, and can give me some feedback? I've never been to Sun Peaks either, so comments on the hill would be appreciated as well...

Have to agree with a lot of the stuff that Boarderboy and Jason say. When the ex and I bought our system we spent weeks dragging around shops (hi-fi shops, not Best Buy and Costco) until we finally found a great system we liked. And yes, $$$ isn't the be-all and end-all. I personally couldn't tell the difference between $2500 speakers and $8000 speakers, and most people can't. It's all in how it sounds to you, and you'll know after you hear a few systems what you like and what you don't. And don't be afraid to make these guys work, switching amps and things ... that's what they're there for. I inherited the system, KEF speakers, Denon receiver, and now it has a Philips DVD player and multi CD on it (replacing the single CD and video). It's over 10 years old, and every time I turn it on and crank it, I'm blown away by how good it sounds. Choose wisely, and be happy. If you have to, spend the extra (we planned $4500 and went to nearly $7000 - ouch, but sooo worth it). I'm not saying that you have to spend that sort of money, but if you're going to do it, at least spend a bit of time, before you spend the dosh!

In support of the internet thing, I met my current guy (2 years and still going) on an internet site. My roommate and I got drunk one night and posted my profile for the hell of it - she was always bugging me to meet someone, and thought it might be fun. I forgot all about it until L emailed me, so I emailed him back (to be polite) and it kinda went from there ... I have met the nicest guys at the gym. Smile, say hello, bat your eyelashes and ask for a spot, works pretty well. When the talent runs out, change gyms. Apart from that, just be your fabulous self, don't take any ****, and recognise that he might not be perfect, but he can be trained! Michelle, :) Relationship breakups suck.

At least if the conditions are bad at Panorama, you're within an easy drive of Fernie and Kimberley. Options well worth checking out even if Panorama is good.

Forget kitesurfing ... this sounds like way more fun. The added adrenaline rush of "two tons of hairy behemoth" totally makes it! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4644933.stm

Facial reconstruction sounds like a major. The upside being, you can put in your order for whichever supermodel you'd like to look like! Wishing Holly a speedy recovery and hope to see her back in the air and on the slopes soon.

I'm off for a whistlestop tour through the park next weekend (20th to 23rd), only going to Yellowstone though. Staying one night in West Yellowstone, one at Fishing Bridge (my Ford Focus wagon is officially a very small RV) and one at Gardner MT. The booking agent told me that the road from Fishing Bridge to Tower is closed until August for rebuilding so if you're going to Tower you'll have to go from Norris. We won't get there as we won't have enough time to detour, but my guidebook recommends the Lamar Valley area up there for wildlife, and the Tower area in general for avoiding the crowds. Have the Frommers guidebook, seems to be really good, the National Parks website is great too. I'll try and remember to drop you an email after we get back...

I don't think there's any doubt that the guy is a superhuman athlete, love him or hate him. Anyone whose heart can beat at 200 all day is just a freak. It's just a shame that the doping thing taints all the sports it touches. If anyone does anything out of the ordinary they're accused straight up of being a juice head. I assume that everyone on that Tour is, and all that happens if Lance is taking it, is that it just levels the playing field. I assume the same with nearly all Olympic and pro sports. But look at how that doping scandals have tainted Bonds and McGwire - amazing athletes too, but innocent or guilty, history will never look at them the same way again. When I was bodybuilding, drug testing was just a joke. I remember each January they'd tell you what they were looking for, and all the juice heads would just switch to something else. Pro sport is no different ... if they're testing for X, take Y, and that's the name of the game - ask Balco. Personally, I think they should all save their money and effort, and say ... if you want to take it, knock yourself out. Get yourself a good chemist and go for it. It's a free world. Just don't try to fool people with the whole "we are drug free" thing ... everyone knows it's crap.

For a moment, I thought that was the remains of the Arbor you won.

Thank God for cut and paste! I used to think that such things were just overpriced and overrated, but as I travel more and more and hike a lot in the summer, I've come to really appreciate clothing that is built for the job. There's nothing like travelling with a few pieces of gear that pack to nothing, dry quickly in a hotel room, and wick away the sweat when you're melting in a jungle or a European summer. Cotton just don't cut it ... I'm too much of a wimp to board on really cold days so haven't spent too much on board gear yet, but that will be next, starting with some SmartWool socks next season ... If you look there are some really cost effective alternatives to the expensive stores too. Winterco makes some great gear with good fabrics, and some of their end of season deals are sensational. MEC is always good value. And I have actually found some really great stuff at Sport Chek - they have like a warehouse outlet really close to home where they bung all last season's stuff, and they have some top deals. My personal favourite is Kathmandu in Auckland - they have a 50% off sale in the first week of December every year, and I send my parents shopping for me!

It's 4.15pm in Calgary, I finish work in 15 mins and tomorrow, I am off to Sunshine where they have total coverage - 107 runs on 3 mountains, and sun sun sun. I'll make some turns on Goat's Eye for you.

Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels was brilliant, although my Canadian other half had some trouble deciphering the Queens' English.... Jeremiah, I have Princess Bride at home to watch this weekend. What is it about guys and this movie? They all love it! And I'm with you on the South Park movie too (Kyle's mum's a b***h ...) D-Sub, I'm impressed that you've seen Once Were Warriors. Have you seen Whale Rider? I don't see a lot of movies, but we rented "Eurotrip" from a nearly empty video store a while ago, and it was the funniest thing I've seen in years. Especailly with the ending scenes in the Vatican ... (The Pope is dead!) And one of my all time faves, and how Peter Jackson got his start ... "Bad Taste". The demise of the sheep is some of the best cinema ever.

I thought I recognised that helmet.

Who thinks this stuff up? New and inventive ways to KILL YOURSELF ....some people have WAY too much time on their hands.