Allee

I have to make up my mind by Friday if I'm going to buy a season pass here, but I'm leaning toward no. Quite honestly, I can't see this season being much different to the last - even with a high percentage of people being vaccinated, they're still going to enforce mask mandates, bubbles only on the lifts, no sitting around in the lodge, hill reservations, blah blah blah. Last year it was such a pain in the a** that I really don't think I can be bothered. I might be getting a bunch of use out of my snowshoes and my friends this year, or buying discount cards and using them midweek instead. I see the US border's going to be open next month, but again, the PITA factor of crossing the border to ride will likely keep me at home this season.

She's lucky that the transplant is even an option for her right now. Our ICU beds here are full, which means that even if a healthy donor dies, there's no transplant surgeries happening. That's just one of a slew of elective surgeries hat have had to be cancelled, including cancer surgeries and heart bypasses, right down to it taking days to get a broken bone fixed. And sorry, but the unvaccinated "did that". I've gotten to the point (as I'm sure most health care professionals have) where non-vaccinated people can go to hell, but I have untold sympathy for all the people who have to suffer and die because of their selfishness and idiocy. Our provincial leader might be a dickhead, but he did get one thing right. The unvaccinated are the ones complaining the loudest about mask mandates and lockdowns and their freedoms, but if they got the shot, then there would be no mask mandates and lockdowns - for them, or anyone. I can't any more. Sock it to the libs and exercise your choice all you want, but don't cry to the media when you have to be hospitalized and they leave you to die in the hallway. Because nobody cares any more.

Sigh, and here's me, still annoyed that I got double vaxxed and I'm still not a 5G hotspot ...

The Alberta bribe thing is a frigging joke. They should be fining people who haven't had their shots $100 - funny how the vaccine appointments in Ontario spiked hard once they announced the vaccine passport/ you're not coming inside thing. They need to do that here, but I think the AB government has put the whole thing in the "too hard" basket. Another week or so, and we should see the effects of the kids starting back at school. The ICU beds are at 90% now. Scottish Surfer - that's wild about your lung! Heal up fast! Neil - oh no, hope D-G is feeling better soon!

I'm super keen to make it there again this season, it's been way too long! Might make it over WTF, we'll see how the work schedules and weightlifting competition requirements go. Hoping to see you all sometime this season though.

^^^ This. You can have a ton of fun if you have a car, but if you don't, you're pretty much stuck on a hill in the middle of nowhere - with limited food options and basically no nightlife. Nearly all the BC hills are a decent drive from the nearest towns. Lowrider's option of Banff makes a lot more sense in that case, given that you're in town with a bunch of things to do, and shuttle access to three hills. Plus if you talk nicely to the locals someone will take you to Nakiska, and if you rent a car for one day you're only an hours drive from Kicking Horse, and not much further to Panorama. Buy a RCR discount card to save on the day passes, and that would make a great week to 10 day trip. If you really want to stay out somewhere then Sun Peaks would be my pick. It's got enough terrain to keep you amused, it's a wonderful carving hill, and it has a small village at the base with enough food that you won't be eating the same thing every day. I'm assuming that you're not loaded and Whistler is way out of the price range, lol. Because that's the ultimate western destination, if you want terrain and can swing the cost. (Although I just looked at Whistler, and if you could use an Epic Pass back home, that might be an option ...)

Red Mountain would be the closest thing I can think of to Snowmass, in terms of size. Revelstoke. Another vote for Sun Peaks. Do you want to travel around, or stay in one place?

Now watch it puke in feet in September, because Canadian weather.

I'm sure that it's going to evolve into just another thing that gets added to the flu shot every year, much like the original SARS vaccine (remember how that was going to kill us all a decade ago?).

Glad to hear you're doing OK, Scottish Surfer. That sounds more than a little scary, and even scarier that you don't know where you got it. Apparently the Delta variant is ridiculously contagious though, as if the original strain wasn't bad enough. Well, Alberta has officially become the first place in the world where you don't have to isolate if you test positive. I'm waiting for the next lockdown two weeks after the kids go back to school in September, and the temperatures start to cool off. Given my reaction to the second vaccine - a headache like someone had jammed an ice pick between my eyes, nausea, and two weeks of fatigue and breathing difficulties - I don't really want to catch the real deal.

Finish the fit out of the Transit Connect for camping. Looking good so far - I had someone build out the main part last summer because I knew I didn't have the time and skills to do it myself. Got the first trip in last year, and I learned a lot. Like I needed better privacy options and somewhere better for the cat's food and water bowls, if I didn't want a wet bed ... I just hope that this summer will be better than last for camping, You can't get a campsite booking anywhere around here for love or money right now. Hopefully travel will start to open up again soon and the ravening hordes will find other things to do.

Ah, Iceland. Yes, it's eye wateringly expensive, but it's so stunning it's worth every cent. I spent two weeks sleeping in the back of a car there in 2015, and I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Alberta's gone full redneck, and insists on having the Stampede this year because of course, we can't possibly have no Stampede. LOL. Something I will avoid like the literal plague, not that I don't most years anyway. We reopened for stage 1 today, which means outdoor gyms and sports, patio dining, and personal services like hairdressers can open up again. Rumor has it that by mid June we'll be at stage 2 and pretty much fully reopen by mid July. First dose vaccination rates are closing in on 70% and they're talking starting second shots ASAP. Progress, I guess.

OMG, me too. That is one bad a$$ looking bike.

Alberta not doing any better than the rest of Canada, we had the distinction of the highest infection rate in North America last week. So gyms, personal services, restaurants all shut down, but you can totally go to the mall and hang out, or BBQ in the backyard with four of your buddies. Sigh. I got the Moderna vax on Thursday. Couldn't lift my arm over my head the next day, but that went away pretty quick, although five days later and I've felt pretty blah for yesterday and today. Hoping it's the vax doing things behind the scenes. Glad I didn't get the Astra Zeneca shot. A friend of mine's wife got it, and got a pretty nice taste of the real thing - she was dog sick for 24 hours. The AZ and J&J ones seem to kick people around pretty good.

When I did tuning training at the university here, the tech told us that after a while you'll see the board stop taking wax well - you'll scrape it and see some patches are shiny, some are dull. He says that's the point at which he'd grind the base, to open it back up and restore any structure. That's the advice I've followed and I find that usually takes three seasons. (That said, a good hot wax or a decent rub down with some citrus cleaner would probably also take care of the wax issue, so IDK. But I figure a light grind once every three years doesn't hurt).

Five days. I just wasn't feeling the covid restrictions, the lift lines, snotty icy masks and the general BS, and once we got an early spring and the motorcycles came out I was happy to pack it in. Next year.

Yeah, this is fun. I'm supposed to be up in Whistler for motorcycle training in three weeks, and BC's back in lockdown. This whole open/shut thing is just ridiculous. Not having the resort open for Easter is going to hit Vail Resorts hard in the wallet.

Saw this on CNN today, and it's too adorable. Half of what I say during a run is NSFW, so this is super cute. "Like. The. Boys" OMG, dying. https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2021/03/20/skiing-toddler-dad-mics-up-british-columbia-orig-kj.cnn/video/playlists/atv-trending-videos/

I'm packing up all my gear this weekend. It's been unseasonably warm here too. With weekends at the hills all sold out on reservation and the great weather, I'm going to shift into motorcycle season early. I'll see you all next season. Looking forward to it.

That I like wider boards and softer boots. I haven't reached for my race shapes in two seasons.

That Elan Ballistic on there would be a nice board for a lighter newbie. A couple of the women on here have run that board and really liked it.

Honestly, this is a great idea. At 130lb you're going to be very lucky to find an alpine board that doesn't feel as stiff as a plank. You're going to have your hands full as it is. Carving boards are expensive and can be ornery, and nothing is going to be less fun than getting hauled down the hill because you can't weight a board enough to make it turn. (I speak from experience. It's all right for these 200lb dudes with trees for legs, it's a bit different for lightweight women). If you can find some boots that fit, which is the hardest part, then I'd second the Race Titanium bindings, and despite the comments above you could use the Carve RS's too. I have 30lbs on you, and I love my Carve RS bindings for all mountain riding. Mount those suckers to a longer, cambered freeride board, and have at it. That way you'll get a taste of things, without selling your first born to find out you don't like it. If you want to spend the $$$ on a new softboot board, there are a ton of carving-leaning options out there right now. There's no rule that says you can't ride them with plates and hard boots. And they'll be a lot easier to find than their hardboot equivalents. Where do you ride? You could post up on the ride boards, and see if someone had a suitable board they could let you trial for the day too. And welcome aboard! I hope you can find something that woks for you

This snap has been brutal. Next week is going to feel like Hawaii after this.

They said yesterday "several" cars had gone off the road and they were having trouble getting the employees up the hill. Good times indeed! And how is it warm there? We got that same front yesterday and it's frostbite cold here.