This past weekend was fantastic! I am finally starting to feel like myself again. We went snowboarding at Cypress, saw Alice in Wonderland, did a ton of house cleaning, and booked up all our Greenpoint campsites for the entire year early this morning at 7 AM for surfing in Tofino this summer. I think I pretty much kicked my cold too, FINALLY.

Cypress was amazing. It was turn after turn in deep powder.

It was a little foggy, so we rode trees all day. Felt so good to get back in the snow again.

In other news, the costume design by Colleen Atwood in Alice and Wonderland is absolutely incredible.

I quickly decided that I am going to be sewing a dress from the movie for Halloween this year. The question is… which one?

The dresses are rich, lavish with tons of layering and detail. This “Alice Red Court” dress is stunning.

As much as I love the Red Court dress, I think the one I absolutely have to sew is either this “Blue Scrap” dress…

… or this off the shoulder piece. I can’t decide! They are both beautiful. Can’t wait till they release proper stills for the movie.

Believe it or not, I’m actually no stranger to sewing my own dresses and clothes. It’s true, they aren’t to the level of Colleen Atwood’s designs, but they were still fun projects to work on and wear!

I sewed this layered casual shirt and bow for a New Year’s house party one year.

Here’s a silk draped dress that I made in 10th grade in high school.

Yes, there were some fashion faux-pas that I unfortunately made in university for formals. Haha. But hey, I still sewed it!

But probably the most challenging project I’ve ever done was my graduation dress for the end of high school. We had no money to buy a proper grad dress, so I scrimped and saved and put together the dress of my dreams!

It took several months to sew all the tulle layers underneath the dress and drape all the satin.

It turned out though! And it held together for the event as well, which I was crossing my fingers for.

I still have it, and I am so glad that I did.

So, I’m really looking forward to getting back into sewing and putting together an “Alice” dress for Halloween… the only question is… which one?

It’s all over the news, in many parts of the world, but especially in British Columbia. People are dying in avalanches.

Karl Woll at Outdoor Vancouver has done a fantastic job of summing up all the mishaps from over the ski and snowboard holiday season. I also ran across this article by Ian Haysom at the Times Colonist which is also the quoted title of my post today. It also looks like there is talk about potentially fining or not allowing people to access the backcountry by the government.

I can’t help but feel like my rights and freedoms are on the verge of being threatened. Not just as a citizen of Canada, but as an adventurer… an explorer… a girl who remains in this city she loves because it is an outdoor playground.

I’m glad I took my AST-1 Avalanche Training course recently. This early season has had particularly unstable snowpack conditions leading to a bout of avalanches and casualties both in-bounds and in the backcountry.  This has resulted in a backlash of anger and concern from folks who want backcountry access to be closed, people to be fined for jumping ropes at ski resorts, and for people to pay for their own search and rescue costs.

Here’s where I stand:

I believe that if something happens to me in the backcountry, I can pay for my own search and rescue costs. I am fine with this. There is a great risk to each person involved in rescuing me, and I also don’t want other people having to shoulder costs for my mistakes. Contrary to popular opinion (and grossly mis-reported “facts” in the news), the North Shore Search and Rescue does NOT charge for their services. They are volunteers. They specifically say why they do not charge on their website. Still, I would have no problem paying for my mistakes if that is the way it ends up swinging.

I believe that if I have the appropriate backcountry gear (transceiver, probe, shovel etc) and some training that I should not be fined or banned for going out-of-bounds on ski resort. I also believe that I should lose all rights to be able to sue or mar the name of that resort in the case of an accident.

I believe that if others go out-of-bounds on ski resorts without proper equipment that being fined is an appropriate penalty. I do not believe a lifetime ban is appropriate.

I believe that people should not be stopped from using backcountry access on public land (not private).

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Where do you draw the line?

Should we ban Halloween because of needles in a handful of candy amongst millions? Should we ban surfers and fisherman from using the waters because of the many search and rescue missions that need to happen each year because of them? Should we stop people from hiking because of rockslides? Should we close sidewalks to prevent people from being hit by cars?

This issue stands very close to my heart. I believe in the freedom to access the mountains, the ocean, the world around me… I believe that is a fundamental right.

I believe in being prepared, being educated, and respecting nature before venturing out on an adventure.

I believe in taking risks.

I would much rather die out living my life, exploring the world than in my bed at home.

What do you think?

Today, Whistler opened. I’m a little peeved at them for opening a day earlier, but that’s okay. I still love you, Whistler. I’ll still be there for you tomorrow for the opening of Blackcomb and some more chairs and terrains. Sure, it’s only a 55cm base and I’m going to scrape up my already scraped up snowboard. But at last, the long wait is over.

There’s something deeply satisfying about digging out my snowboard jacket, pants, gloves, helmet, goggles, and underlayers from the closet… wiggling my toes around in my stiff snowboard boots… and unzipping my board in its bag to make sure it is as fabulous as I remember.. and then laying it all out on the floor by the door so I don’t forget it tomorrow morning. Make sure my camera batteries are charged. Check. Make sure the lenses are clean. Check. Make sure I’ve got my 2-for-1 Whistler Blackcomb tickets from the Warren Miller movie printed, check!

I thought a good way to start off this season would be to recap where I’ve been, in terms of snowboarding/skiing resorts. It’s not as big as some people’s lists, but I’ve really enjoyed every mountain I’ve gone to… each one is so different.

MOUNTAINS I’VE BEEN TO OVER THE PAST 2 YEARS

1. Whistler Blackcomb

2. Cypress Mountain, Vancouver

3. Seymour Mountain, Vancouver

4. Mount Washington, Vancouver Island

5. Apex Mountain, Penticton

6. Big White, Kelowna

7. Manning Park, near Hope

8. Mount Baker, Washington

9. Mission Ridge, Washington

10. Squaw Valley, Tahoe

11. Mammoth, California (Yup, that’s an avalanche)

12. Snowbird, Utah

13. Steamboat, Colorado

(Yes believe it or not, I used to be a skier just one and a half years ago!)

In the next two years I hope to visit…

- Alaska
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming
- Alberta
- More interior BC for catboarding
- Somewhere on the other hemisphere (New Zealand, Argentina etc)

One can only dream!

Where have you been, and where do you dream of going?

So, on days like today where there is just too much to write about, I’m just going to do a roundup/summary of all the interesting ones.

SNOW IN WHISTLER!

That’s right, it is ALREADY snowing at Whistler. In September. Sweet! I am told they’ve already got 6 cm of snow. The countdown on the Whistler Blackcomb site says 64 days until the lifts start running again and serving up fresh pow to the public. And on December 12th, the Peak to Peak Gondola will open up… it’s going to be incredible. Too bad it’s going to cost some $$$. If you are interested in checking in on the progress there, you can check out the Peak2Peak Construction Blog.

I can’t wait. Let’s hope that Cypress and the other local mountains are getting some snow too. Speaking of Cypress… Early Bird ticket sales end in 7 days on Sept 30, so get your credit card out ASAP if you are planning on buying a form of a season’s pass this year at any of the local mountains.

VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is “officially” starting on September 25th this year, running till October 10th. Be sure to check it out. I found the online film guide super useful for checking out which films are playing this year. Going to the VIFF films are a great way to meet people and expand your horizon in terms of cinema.  Are you going to any films? If so, which ones?

MY VANCOUVER CANUCKS PRE-SEASON RAMBLINGS

So much to talk about in terms of the Canucks.. can you believe it’s only the pre-season so far?

The New Horn: Yes, the Canucks got a new sound system this year… and part of that was a new “goal horn”. If you guys remember the horn from previous years, it was actually pretty quiet. This year they replaced it. The good news — it’s much louder. The bad news — it sounds like a BC Ferries horn. LOL! What do you think of the new horn?

The New NHL Rules: There are a couple new NHL rules… let’s get them out of the way now. Rule 76.2: The first face-off at the beginning of a power play will take place in the defending zone of the team that committed the foul. Awesome, I think it’s great and should make power plays more exciting. Rule 81.1: “Any contact between opposing players while pursuing the puck on an icing must be for the sole purpose of playing the puck and not for eliminating the opponent from playing the puck. Unnecessary or dangerous contact could result in penalties being assessed to the offending player.” Meh. I suppose this just seems to push further in the direction of no-touch icing (which I’m not sure I like). It’s great for ending those brutal injuries in icing battles, but I really don’t want to see any less hussle to the puck than there already is. Rule 85.5: If a puck is shot off the goal frame, post, or crossbar, any subsequent face-off will remain in the end zone where the puck went out of play. Nothing big here. What I want to know is… when are they going to change that AWFUL delay of game penalty when a player accidentally shoots it out of the rink?

The First Two Pre-Season Games: So far so good! 2-0. It’s only the preseason, but there’s lots of be excited about. Personally, I’m trying to find a new favourite since my Linden is gone, but I think it’ll take a few games for that. How about Hodgson, Hansen, and Grabner? I’m pretty impressed so far! Also, Kesler had a great game last night. I was happy to see he was using his wheels. I also really liked how Hordichuk went to the net. Demitra… so far unimpressive, but hey… it’s only been two games.

Anything else going on in the West Coast I should know about?