a feeling of floating

Whistler is a place that spoils you. After the soaring views and extended runs, a place like Steven's just doesn't seem to cut it anymore. Of course, there are downsides to everything, like long lift lines, -13 degree (Celsius) temperatures, the complications of discounted tickets, and the fact that sororities and fraternities from around the northwest happened to converge on all of the clubs this last weekend... Luckily, the Greeks were all too hung over to really over populate the mountain but looking at the long lines into every restaurant and club, I was actually glad we'd brought food to cook for ourselves.

Sadly, I'd caught a cold and started showing symptoms on Thursday. By Sunday, the exhaustion and aches and pains had caught up with me. My ears were also completely fried from the congestion. Not even Sudafed could help my ears pop after two days of rapid frequent elevation changes. The world has been a little bit on 'mute' ever since, although I'm feeling much better today.

Being sick makes me temperamental and anti-social too, which didn't help with dealing with the 11 other people on the trip with me. The smells of cooking food burned my throat rather than enticed my appetite and I wanted to spend the evenings quietly lying down or curled up in a hot tub rather than playing games or talking. I lashed out once or twice and was somewhat alienated from the rest of the group for much of the trip because I was so tired and quiet. I hate it when that happens on a weekend that's supposed to be fun, but I really value my sleep more than listening to people I don't really know argue and poke fun at each other for hours on end. So I'm antisocial when I'm sick. So sue me.

Otherwise, the trip was amazing. I'm now capable enough on my snowboard to do everything I want to do. Vinh and I even ended up on a black diamond run that will eventually be used for the Super G and downhill races at the 2010 Olympics. Considering I managed to carve on some of the steep slopes, I felt pretty content with my skills! Our last run of the weekend was also amazing. We'd gone over to Blackhom and caught pretty much the last lift up to the highest point open (the wind had closed 7th Heaven sadly). The start of the run went down a long, narrow corridor of gently sloped snow, with trees on both sides and the sun filtering in as it dipped below the mountain tops in the distance. The fact is, before this trip I wouldn't have even been able to make it down without catching edges or stopping constantly, probably forcing myself to have to unclip and scoot myself over the flat and uphill bits. My carving skills have developed to the point where I can not only manage this run but actually enjoy it immensely. It probably helped that the run was in the direction so that I, as a goofy-stanced rider, could be on my heel edge much of the way, but I was definitely carving and taking turns on my toe edge from time to time, something I never would have done before. I was simply floating down through the dappled sunlight... overly romantic, but amazing regardless! It feels great to finally be developing the skills to really enjoy this sport, especially in such a beautiful place.

However, while I'm halfway there on my snowboarding goal, I fell off the brushing my teeth wagon. Sunday night, after playing scategories for an hour, I barely made it into bed, much less stopping to brush my teeth. I was physically incapable of even getting up for a glass of water to take more sudafed, and my head felt boxed in my the pressure in my ears. So, 20 days in I fell short. Bah! Now to start over... I'm already at day 3! Luckily I'd scribbled something in my journal and taken lots of photos during the day so those goals didn't fall by the wayside... as long as I get around to posting the photos to flickr by the end of the week.