When we lived on Hamo, Zane, Robyn, Adam and I would catch up for BBQs or dinners out (when we lived in luxury and were still able to save, ah the memories) and envision how things would be when we lived in Fernie. One thing that was always certain was that we would spend many an evening enjoying a nice beverage or two. As we all share a fondness for Margaritas and Zane and I were working in bars at the time, we honed our Margarita-making skills to ensure that, come Winter, we would be sipping legit, proper, awesome Margaritas.

The other day we were discussing how we imagined Fernie living and it came up that none of us has had a Margarita! We all had the afternoon off so we hot-footed it to the nearest grocery store and stocked up on all the necessities.

All the ingredients for awesomeness!


Like the improvised cocktail shaker? We are nothing if not resourceful!


Margarita time!




On the day before Australia day, Zane and I went over to our friends place for a BBQ, some beers and to listen to the Triple J hottest 100. It was a great night and we lasted until song number 36, piking as I had to work early the next morning. The celebrations continued the next day on the 26th, with Aussie tunes pumping out at Lost Boy's and lots of fellow Aussies coming up for beers. That night we were a little bit jaded but still managed to head to the Fernie pub for homemade meat pies, with funds raised going to help the flood relief in poor sodden Queensland.

Robyn gets into the Australia Day Spirit!


Josh sports a particularly fetching mullet. This is due to a drunken night and an over-enthusiastic hair clipper.


Snowboard shooter!


Snowboard shooter in action!



Zane and I decided to partake in the entertainment of the night, which was the snowboard shot. If you watch the video above (if it works... First time video-poster), you will see us in our moment of glory, shooting cinnamon whiskey. All was going well, except we didn't factor in the low-hanging light fixture and Zane's vertical height. The result is, for me, a whack in the mouth with a shotglass, sticky liqueur down my neck and a wet patch down my top. Classic.

After some amazing mid-week snow on Wednesday and Thursday, the weather turned sour and we encountered a rainy weekend. It was pretty depressing seeing all the nice fresh snow being washed away and all the soft runs turning into sheet ice. Around midday on Saturday snow patrol opened up Currie Bowl for the die-hards that were up on the slopes despite the miserable conditions. Despite the extensive bombing they had done, and do every morning, an avalanche came down through the 123’s chute, set off by a group of skiers. Luckily no one was badly injured and the response was quick in locating and assessing the skiers. Over the same weekend three people were killed in avalanches in Alberta, which is strong evidence that snow safety really is important and we owe a lot to the snow patrol team, who are up on the mountain each morning sometimes letting off as many as 200 bombs to ensure the terrain is safe and skiable. I’m sure after the weekend, everyone that has ever whinged and complained about closed terrain feels bad. Understandably, the whole side of the mountain was closed off for days, giving snow patrol plenty of time to bomb out the bowl and reassure themselves and everyone else of the safety and giving me an extra day off.

Since that weekend there hasn’t been much good skiing to be done up on the hill, given the icy slopes and debris leftover from the avalanche. Zane and I went up on Tuesday to hit the slopes but we only lasted two runs, it was so icy and a little bit scary.

After a long time, the sun finally popped out. It had felt like so long since we’d encountered a sunny day. It makes for busy days at work, as sun goes hand in hand with beer, surely why Australians drink so much. Up on the balcony at Lost Boy’s, our beer sales went through the roof, meaning our tips also increased, which makes everyone happy. On Friday night I did a catbox, which is when one of the staff members stays back late with the supervisor to load up a big storage box with stock, and go up on a cat and unload it into the store. Normally this is a bit of a pain, as it means lots of carrying and stomping around in ski boots but the good benefit is that when everything is unloaded, you get to ski down, generally at 7:30 or 8 o clock at night. It is an eerie sensation, what with skiing in pitch black, with only a little miner’s light to light the way, and if it is snowing, like it was on Friday night, the snowflakes whizz past your goggles, making it look like you’re going at lightspeed through space. It was an especially awesome ride down, as it had been spewing down snow all afternoon, so we were making first tracks through a nice 15cms of fresh powder. I was shit scared and couldn’t see where on Earth I was or where I was going, but after the first few turns I just didn’t even care. Every now and then I would think “I’m sure there’s a chairlift pole around here somewhere.... oh there it is!” but luckily there weren’t any collisions.

It’s Australia Day today in Australia so we’re going around to a friends’ house shortly to have some beers, a BBQ and listen to the triple J hottest 100. It’s actually a nice sunny day and pretty warm so if I close my eyes and face the sun I can sort of pretend I’m back home. Tomorrow night is meant to be a huge night in town so we will have to try and back it up if we have a big one tonight. I’m working tomorrow and the next day but everyone at work is Australian so I suppose we will all be hungover together.

Hope everyone back home is having a sausage and a beer and enjoying being Australian.
Thinking of you all and missing you lots, Love T and Z.

On Saturday night we went to the hockey. Not an unusual activity for us, but this time was a little different. Instead of a Ghostriders game, we went to watch the Fernie woman’s team, The Hustlers, take on the Snow Patrol team, aptly called the Detonators. It was a novelty for us to watch the snow patrol guys falling over like mere mortals because they are the hottest skiers up on the slopes. We all had a bit of a giggle when they ate ice. They ended up winning by a small margin in front of a raucous crowd of around 20 people. One of the quieter nights in the arena.

Over the weekend I had a few days off, and thus, opportunities to go skiing. Given that we’d had a good 50cms of fresh snow over the past couple of days, not even a cold could stop me from hitting it up. On the Friday I went up with Adam and some friends from work and we were getting fresh tracks all day, finding knee-deep pockets between the trees. Sunday brought much the same, but with an increase in my confidence levels, given my dare-devil skiing buddy. Rach talked me into going down steep slopes and off blood-rushing precipices (of around 30cms) and I did it all with a few stacks and squeals along the way.

On Monday the visibility improved a lot, allowing snow patrol to open a few of the bowls that had been closed over the weekend, quietly gathering powder. Zane and I were up early and into the fresh stuff, making first tracks and woo-hooing the whole way down. Screams and yells of joy are a common and required exclamation when going through powder. It is such a great atmosphere when you are going up on the chairlift or about to go down a run and you can hear people whooping and yelling with powder-driven glee.

When I was young, my Dad used to call me his little powder hound. The name came about because we would all be going down a run and I would be nowhere to be found. All of a sudden I’d pop out from the trees, declaring victory over moguls, or having sniffed out some fresh powder. That inclination is still with me today, it is only a shame that my Dad can’t be here to share the powder with me!

With much love, T and Z.


The Timber Chair! My chairlift to work each day


If you look reeeaaaaal close, you can see Lost Boy's at the top!


The view from the White Pass Chair, express chairlift to POWDER!


Buckle up Zaney, time for powder!


Yay powder time! First tracks!









Fun on the slopes!


The smile of a happy powder hound

WHAT A DAY!

Adam and I had a great day up on the hill today. Unfortunately (for them) Zane had to work and Robyn was a bit sore after some face-plants yesterday. I have been inspired to turn to poetry to express the day, so here is my snow haiku

10 inches of fresh powder
First tracks all morning
Knee-deep snow as soft as clouds
Epic jumps off rocks and stumps
Darting between trees
Sore legs... time for the hot tub!

It was indeed a fun day. We were a bit disheartened when we woke up and saw that it was raining (raining! In WINTER!) but as we drove nearer and nearer to the hill the rain turned into slain, sleet, sneet, snowt and then finally snow. And it had been snowing right up the top all night so there was fresh pow hooray!

It snowed for most of the day up the top, with rain down the bottom, so we got pretty saturated and soppy. But it was still fun. With more snow due tonight, tomorrow should be just as great but Zane and I are both working! The snow should continue for a few days though, so hopefully our day off together on Monday will be powder-filled and lots of fun!

Fingers crossed for more snow, lots of love, T and Z

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS

For our big, first Canadian Christmas, we all decided that we’d splash out and get lots of delicious foods and beverages and celebrate with a big dinner at home. Our plans for ribs and turkey and salads and roast veggies and delicious desserts were sadly quashed. When we got our act together on Christmas Eve and went to get the groceries, Fernie was a closed-down ghost town. We had, of course, left it to the last moment and we arrived at the Save-On Foods just as the last customer was leaving and the lights were being turned off. It was the same story at Overwaiteas supermarket as well. Feeling dejected, we were about to the leave the parking lot when we noticed lights and movement at the liquor store. Well, if we couldn’t eat, at least we’d be able to drink!

We stocked up on Corona’s and stopped in at the stop’n’shop on the way home to pick up some nutritious corn chips and salsa and our Christmas Feast was complete!

On Christmas day, Zane and I went to work and Robyn and Adam hit the slopes for some boarding. When the day was done, we all headed home and opened our presents! It was fun, with everyone being delegated Santas to hand out gifts one at a time so we’d all get to watch each one opened. We started our assault on the Corona’s and pondered what to do for dinner.

Luckily, a Christmas miracle was just around the corner. Adam’s friends from work invited us around for dinner. They are an Aussie couple and they were very appreciative of our festive contribution of 2 cartons of beer and a baking dish. We had steak and potato bake and it was deeeelicious. It was really nice to hang out and reminisce on old times back in Aus.

We had also contributed some egg-nog, which we had managed to pick up somewhere along the way. Now, my least favourite things in life are raw eggs and milk. Those two things combined is like a nightmare for me. Needless to say, I was reluctant to give it a go. Even the huge amount of Appleton Estate rum that was added couldn’t quash my fears. However, being Christmas, and having already consumed quite an amount of Corona’s, I accepted the glass. I managed one sip before the gag reflex threatened to overtake me. I couldn’t do any more after that. I don’t think anyone really enjoyed the egg-nog experience, but they all managed to drink a lot more than me.

We were at a complete loss of what to do on New Years. It seemed that us and our friends were reluctant to make a decision. We eventually decided at around 10pm that night to check out the pub at the hostel but alas, our dilly-dallying had resulted in a over-filled pub and a denial at the door. Robyn and Adam headed off to a friends’ party but as Zane had been working the past 14 days and I had indulged a little too much the night before, we headed home and were asleep five minutes into the New Year. Party animals!

Much Christmas love and best wishes to everyone for 2011,
Z and T.

Christmas Eve Bevvies!


Not a bad view for Christmas Day!


Day's work finished, time for some festive cheer!


Aussie Christmas Dinner!


Girls night! The reason for the quiet New Years!