Journey to Canada 2004 (Pics)

I posted these pics when I got back in Feb over at PMag, some of you may have seen some already.

It seems like so long ago I was over there experiencing all this - and I am missing the anticipation that I had at this time last year planning such a great trip.

Our season has all but finished and I'm off to Japan in January next year to keep me from going insane during our Summer.

Enjoy the pics from December '03 and Jan '04.

All up I skied 7 resorts;

Whistler Blackcomb
Sunshine Village
Lake Louise
Mt Norquay
Kimberly
Fernie
Kicking Horse

Skied 38 days out of 41 (3 travel days). Here are some pics from my first week in Whistler.

Couloir Extreme - Blackcomb
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19438.jpg

Horseshoe Chutes off Harmony - Whistler
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19439.jpg

Chute on Blackcomb
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19440.jpg

Couloir Extreme - Blackcomb
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19441.jpg

Couloir Extreme, Blackcomb
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19447.jpg

Arthurs Choice, Blackcomb
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19446.jpg

Peak Chair, Powder day 15 minutes from opening
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19445.jpg

Blackcomb Glacier, Diamond and Ruby bowls off Spanky's up to the right
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19444.jpg

Last pics for WB

Clearing snow off Jersey, Blackcomb
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19453.jpg

Whistler, check out the peak in the upper right!
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19452.jpg

Weekly fire show, Whistler
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19454.jpg

Fresh Tracks Breakfast, Whistler, can just see mountains in the background, bombs are going off everywhere
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19451.jpg

Lake Louise Photo's

Lake Louise terrain park, 70 ft table tops included
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19455.jpg

Lake Louise Superpipe
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19456.jpg

Scenery
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19459.jpg

Vancouver to Calgary, Rocky Mountains
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19458.jpg

Sunshine Village pics,

Bottom of Goats eye, Eagle creek
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19462.jpg

Eagle creek
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19460.jpg

Banff, Main Street
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19461.jpg

Fernie Pics, by far the surprise packet of the whole trip;

Fernie, looking up above bear chair
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19496.jpg

Fernie, scenery
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19463.jpg

Fernie, off boomerang chair (we dropped off the KC Chutes after this run).
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19502.jpg

Fernie, top of Timberline
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19501.jpg

Fernie, Sibria Ridge, looking up
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19500.jpg

Fernie, Siberia Ridge looking down
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19503.jpg

Fernie, fresh pow, tree runs off snake ridge
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19499.jpg

Aerial championships, Australia's Alisa Camplin won the womens event!!
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19498.jpg

View of Island Lake Lodge terrain!
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19497.jpg

Fernie, freestyle championships;

Corked 720, and landed
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19468.jpg

Member of US Ski team.
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19495.jpg

Knot Chutes, off White Pass.
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19466.jpg

Knot Chutes again.
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19465.jpg

Pic of my V-pro's in the Knot Chutes
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19464.jpg

Base of Kicking Horse on one of the best days of my skiing life, voted the best powder on the planet and here it is snowing like crazy at the base. Up top it was EPIC!!

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19961.jpg

Cliff drops, saw one guy fall down the middle one backwards, bumping off the rocks.

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19962.jpg

From the top of Eagles nest, looking up to the top of Blue heaven - this bowl is amazing!

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19963.jpg

From Eagles nest, looking out onto the double blacks in Bowl over - the hike up the ridge is scarily awesome. The ski down made me concentrate more than any other run I have ever done. We were with two crazy snowboard instructors from Lake Louise.

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19964.jpg

Lake Louise pics, powder day, late January; It was -35 degrees celcius.Obviously, there were no lines and the powder was fresh and deep.

Looking up towards Paradise ridge, so many lines from the top, we went as far across to the right as possible, the cornice to drop in was pretty big too.

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19971.jpg

Our lines off East bowl

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19968.jpg

More fresh lines in Boomerang bowl, worth the 20 minute hike.

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19966.jpg

Even when you fall it is still fun (not me).

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19969.jpg

Lake Louise day lodge

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19972.jpg

Quality is down as these are still extracts from video taken with a digital camera.

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic20077.jpg

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic20076.jpg

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic20065.jpg

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic20066.jpg

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic20067.jpg

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic20068.jpg

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic20075.jpg

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic20070.jpg

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic20072.jpg

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic20073.jpg

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19464.jpg

aah...knots..
nice,mellow lines and good snow.

last winter did my first trip overseas to fernie and jeebus the
skiing was good.
have to go again.
have to.

[QUOTE=Ski Beaver]
Knot Chutes again.
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19465.jpg
QUOTE]


Ahhhhh...this pic made my day. Looked down those chutes many times last year. What a season!

[sniff] I think i'm going to miss a lot this season...

Well, that did it.

After a summer of lurking and looking at the stoke on this board, these are the pics that made me unbearabley anxious for skiing. They just flipped a switch inside of me. The time for mountain biking is over, or at least it might as well be.

thanks very much skibeaver.

Always cool to see tr's of the home turf, but looking at pics as familiar as these really make me want snow. I can handle the pics of places I don't ski. Thanks for posting them again.

thanks beav,

hmm Snake Ridge and freshies.........I am drooling on my keyboard right now. I really need to ski :D


http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic19499.jpg

Man those pics have me twitching at my desk trying to will it to snow. The pics of Knots Chutes, Snake Ridge, Kicking horse.... All great stuff from two of my favourite places to ski. I grew up skiing Fernie and can't get enough of those shots.

Sounds like you had a great trip.

They bought back a lot of fond memories for me too. Fernie was such an awesome place, looking forward to going back in the not too distant future.