Jan 3 - it's all a fog

It was one of those Whistler skiing days -- cloud enveloping the mountain. The difference is that at Whistler we know where we're going; at Revelstoke, not so much.

We left a little before 9:00 and then part-way into town Sandy remembered that she had not put in her contacts ... so we returned and then left again. C'est la vie. Abby got all excited thinking that her day alone was over, but that was not meant to be. She was excited at the end of the day too -- but must have been let out by Graham (that's his name) or Wendy, because she did her usual greeting dance but didn't have to pee.

The mountain was empty of people, no lift lines anywhere. There are only three lifts so it's not as if they were crowded somewhere else. We walked from the parking lot to the base chalet, having already gotten dressed at the car. We bought our multi-day tickets and loaded up. The gondola from the bottom is an eight-person model where you take your skis inside. It goes part way up the mountain, a short section and then takes a jog as it allows exit and boarding at what's known as the mid-mountain lodge. It's not really mid-mountain ... more like quarter or eighth mountain. It's an important section of the hill though, from an advertising standpoint, because it's that section that makes the vertical drop higher than Whistler. It's also the section that, at this point, is fairly un-skiable with sticks poking through and dirt spots. Sandy skied through that section at the end of the day and called me on the walkie-talkie to tell me to download.

The mid-mountain lodge has full food facilities and, importantly, espresso and cappuccino. It's not very large and will need expansion as the place grows in size and popularity. The master plan has 25 chairlifts ... at this point there are three. If you had money to invest in real estate, this would probably be a good investment. We didn't stop at this point -- the gondola doors opened and then closed, we continued up the mountain. Over the course of the day we found that there are two other warming huts, one at the top of the Stoke chair and one at the top of the gondola. The one at the top of the gondola has limited food facilities, not even as much as the Horstman hut at Whistler, but enough to get some water and eat our lunch.

After going up the gondola we skied down to the Stoke chair and continued our trip up. We then tried the Last Spike run which turned out to be more of a cat track, not worth skiing, and ended up going to the mid mountain lodge because we missed the bottom of the Stoke chair. Most of the trip down was in fog -- medium and then heavy at the bottom. It was at this point that we went in and had our cappuccino. Ok ... time to go up again and look for better terrain. Up the gondola and then down to the Ripper chair we found some good skiing and snow. It is still early season from a snow standpoint with dirt showing through in places, but that can be avoided as long as you are careful at the crests of hills. We skied the Ripper chair for a while, trying out the blue runs, finding some good skiing. Next we went looking for a place to eat -- skied down to the Stoke and up; down to the top of the gondola and into that hut.

It's early in our skiing experience at Revelstoke, but so far the overall impression is of a big mountain with very steep terrain, most of that steep terrain is gladed -- really forested because they have not thinned out the glades much yet -- very limited blue skiing and that blue skiing is not consistently interesting. We have gotten used to Whistler, where the runs have matured, and are comparing with a very young facility. There is much at Whistler that we do not ski ... not because we cannot but because those runs are not interesting to us.

Anyway, we did find good stuff off the Ripper chair; late in the day we skied a partly gladed open slope beside the Stoke chair that had excellent snow cover; after Sandy headed down I skied a run called Snow Rodeo. It had been groomed and was very good. The open slope (Separate Reality Glades & Vertigo), as well as Snow Rodeo are both black -- our typical skiing -- and I suspect that we'll find more of this as we continue exploring. A little less fog today and sun later in the week will certainly help this quest !

Sandy is still having trouble with one boot which is why she is trying to avoid steep and deep as much as possible. Steep isn't a problem but steep and deep are. When she gets into that terrain and leans back it presses her toes forward. After we quit for the day we went into town to a ski shop where they do a lot of boot work and she got the toe of the problem foot "blown out" providing a few mm's of room for her troubled toe. She can feel the difference but it remains to be seen if it helps much. If her toe is still sore from yesterday, and it probably will be, the sensitivity will still be there. It's something that has bothered her since she got these boots -- this is her third season in them. My new boots are working well. If anything I need to tighten them up just a smidgeon.

It doesn't look like there's much more snow expected over the course of the week. It was just over freezing at the mid mountain lodge yesterday and -6C at the top. I expect much the same today but later on in the week it's supposed to get a little colder.

While we were waiting for the boot adjustment to take place, we went to the grocery store and stocked up for supper. We did find fish and it turned out to be fresh and tasty. This is when we ran into limitations of our cottage though -- they had to be pan fried because I had nothing suitable to do Sole on the barbie; there is no good cookware and Sandy found that the previous occupant had not cleaned it properly and obviously Wendy had not noticed ... we're assuming that's the scenario. Next time in we'll pickup a roll of foil if we're doing fish again. Steaks and chops might be more the norm for us here. They are easier to prepare on the barbie ... and there are adequate pots for preparing veggies.

That's about it. There are a few shops in town but it's not really geared up for tourists yet. We'll try a couple of the restaurants, the most promising look like "grill pubs" which could be good. There is a good restaurant at the base of the mountain in the Nelson Lodge, but that's too far -- I don't want a 20 minute drive to & from. Perhaps we should check with Graham and Wendy for their recommendation.

It's still early, 6:26. I find that if I hold my laptop over my head I get adequate reception from the wireless hub in the main house ... or if I go upstairs, but Sandy is sleeping so that's no good. Actually I'm not sure if she's sleeping or not -- the fireplace door makes such a squeaking sound that she might have been awakened.

Would we do this again ? That's an interesting question. Ignoring the drive out, but that's obviously a factor in the thinking process, it feels like a sight-seeing vacation. Even if Revelstoke had been equivalent to Whistler, it would have felt like we should be moving on after a few days, not spending a week here. We could have planned it to be here for 2-3 days then move to another resort like Panorama for 2-3 days ... it's too late now. Part of the issue is just the amount of luggage that we have. it's a pain to unpack and pack the ski stuff. Not knowing what to expect in terms of temperature and conditions, we have more than necessary ... but that's always the case.

We bought 5 of 6 multi-day passes yesterday. We could take a day off mid-week and explore the area some more or perhaps we won't ski Friday. Revelstoke also lets you add days at the reduced rate of a multi-day pass, so if we want that extra day or extra half-day, hey, we can do that too. It may depend on Sandy's boot & foot -- if it bothers her too much then she'll want to cut down on the amount of skiing and even though I'm quite capable of skiing alone, that's not what we're here for.

We've been spoiled by Whistler. We were talking yesterday that if we had to rate mountains, Whistler would be first, then Vail. Next come a variety of spots -- Snowmass (Aspen), Alta-Snowbird (Utah) -- we've had a good time at Lake Louise & Sunshine -- and then of course there is Jay Peak where we skied for so many years, Whiteface, Stowe, Smugglers Notch, Mt. Tremblant -- all valid destinations on their own but third tier in my mind. We have never skied Europe ... I hear that the lines are long and not organized; that would be incredibly frustrating.

Onward ... as usual, we'll have fun.