First thoughts.

December 6th, 2013

3:00 am Toronto time.

12:00 am Edmonton time.

Ok wow. It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post. Been super busy filming and just living in the moment. It’s been go, go, go. Well last I wrote I’m pretty sure I was in Whistler, BC. Living the Shredders dream… well, that’s a lie. At least that’s what I found out when I went there. It’s just not the vibe I’m looking for in a ski town. The people are so touristy, which of course is a given. It only makes sense with the marketing team that Whistler has. They really do a good job at showing the awesome side of whistler that rarely happens ha ha. Whistler is a bunch of people who call themselves locals, who can be stuck up and elitist. People who don’t really have their priorities straight. It’s a town where people just want to party all the time. They have a hard time making ends meet because of it. It’s pretty unfortunate. I did meet some sweet people. Lots of young people on a gap year for the most part. It explains the party. People there for a good time but not a long time. There are the few rare ones who are sticking around and fighting for what they love the most. The laid back lifestyle, the shred, the mountain outdoorsy life. You really can’t go wrong with two mountains that have roughly 400cm of snow a year that have terrain for practically everyone. But that’s just it. EVERYONE and their dog is on the mountain. Locals avoid the mountain on the weekends just because of that. It’s the most ridiculously busy mountain I have ever experienced. I’m sure there is so many awesome things about whistler but I really came at the wrong time of year for it. Whistler, BC is not the place for me. I was snowboarding there and it was all ice. I swear it was worse than Lake Louise on a bad day. Yea it really was that bad. I was riding black diamond runs last season and I went to whistler this season and I thought there was something wrong with me. It was frustrating and almost to the point where I have feelings that I don’t even know if my 48 day shredventure was really what I wanted. When something like that creates so much unhappiness then why be there or even do it. Just stop. And I really was on the verge of just changing things all around. I didn’t want to be known as a quitter though. I’m here to show you that I stick to my guns and follow through with what I say I will do. I’m here to show you, that you can do anything that you want. That you are not confined by the imaginary walls that you build. That when you finally wake up; amazing things will happen. So because of all the frustration and unhappiness that whistler was creating I woke up and said “you know what, let’s hit the road. Chase powder and see how things end up. 4 Days, 4 resorts rfWhat is there to lose? Nothing. Worse that could happen has already happened in whistler.” So I shipped off the next morning with my buddy that came to visit me and experience whistler blackcomb. Sadly I wish I could have shown him a better side of whistler blackcomb. But I hadn’t even seen the good side instead. I didn’t want to end up getting hurt in my warm up of the season. Just not worth it. So my bud and I headed off to Sun Peaks in Kamloops. And oh boy was I ever a kid in a candy shop when I got there. There was NO ICE. Imagine that. After 8 days of riding at Whistler Blackcomb I was just head over heels. It wasn’t really a powder day; but if you went off to the sides of the runs a bit more or played in the trees a bit you would seriously find powder. It was glorious. After day 1 of 4 days, 4 resorts. I went to Silver Star, Vernon. Another Glorious pow day! I laughed and bailed so many times landing on my head and doing reverse summersaults. I couldn’t have asked for more. Day 3 I went to Big white, Kelowna. That too was a powder day as well. Just too lucky with all the snow. I couldn’t have made a better decision. Yes the mountains are smaller but they are also not as busy. The local vibes were pure too. Everyone was super nice and open. It was awesome. Might just be the powder high though. It does that to people. Day 4 was my last day snowboarding in Canada. So I had to make it count. I went to my favorite and my failsafe escape. REVELSTOKE. That place has never failed me. It gave me my first powder experience and even my first solo travel experience. And now to add to that my first professional lesson for snowboarding. Had a wicked private session for the price of a group lesson. How did I score such a deal? Well no one else of my skill level signed up for the lesson. It was just a slow Tuesday afternoon after all. Now why did I decide to get a lesson? I’m not a beginner. Who needs lessons anyway. Well, my first run of the morning. I went all the way to the stop. Got off the stoke chair and looked at a couple black runs and thought. No way. Definitely not ready for a black at Revy. I haven’t done a black diamond run yet this season. How could I be ready for a Revy Black. So I opted for the longest run Revelstoke has. It a very flat green. What am I thinking, right? And when I got to the bottom after having time with my thoughts and body awareness that’s when I realized if I don’t take a stand for what I want then I’ll always settle. Be one of those people happy with greens and blues all their life. Whoa. Ok I’m on my flight to Germany right now and there is so serious turbulence. I haven’t experienced it this bad yet. And we are pretty close to I think Greenland. Just below it. Yikes. Anyways. I decided on the lesson because this shredventure is about exploring and progressing. So this gem of a teacher I have. This wicked middle aged Japanese lady named Yui. (You-e) I could go on and on about here. She was the sweetest person ever. Really awesome teacher and really knew how to explain things well too. Really made me feel very confident in my riding and man. Before that lesson I had just done the one green run. Get off the stoke chair and she wants to go down snow rodeo the black run. I’m thinking to myself. Gosh this lady has balls. But I trusted her. With her certification and experience teaching I know its not under her best practice to take someone somewhere she knows they won’t be able to handle. So I figured, if she thinks I can do it; then so can I. I learned so much with her and I caught on so quick. I was capable of doing things I never thought I would be able to do. Revelstoke never fails. It was the most productive day of snowboarding I had so far this season. That was 10 days out of 13 days on the road so far. Now here I am. On a turbulent plane heading to Frankfurt flying at 643 Km -per hour at 35000 feet in the air with an outside temperature of -63F. Pretty incredible if you ask me. I have about 2 hours until I arrive in Frankfurt and…sadly I think I’m going too have some serious jet-lag. It will suck but I will push through and film as much of my slimy airplane self in Frankfurt while exploring because it’s all apart of the adventure. But I do need to think of the main priority. Shredding. I need rest so I don’t hurt myself or so I don’t burn out so quick. Hopefully I can find time for a nap. I still can’t believe I will be walking off this Canadian plane and into the German world. I waited 6 months for this trip. Solo female snowboarding adventure in 5 countries. Stay tunes. Over and out. Guten nacht mein Freundinen.