Today’s a photo post. Tomorrow — I shall post the video.

I have been eagerly wanting to ride my new Malolo around, so Saturday we went up to Whistler Blackcomb in an attempt to find some powder. We knew it was going to be hard — there was lots of new snow from the week, but all of it had been poached, and it was 2 days since the last snowfall.

We headed up to Whistler Blackcomb and had a really great, sunny day. We did a few groomer runs to start out… I really liked the feel of my Malolo on the groomers. I would say surprisingly it’s almost better on the groomers than my Feelgood. Must be the taper.

It wasn’t too busy where we were… we took the Glacier Express up… lots of little pockets here and there and really not many people to be seen. And warm enough to get a sunburn! Yeah!

We soon got bored of the groomers and I was itching to get my board on some powder, but there was none to be seen, so we spotted a spot we wanted to hike to and board down. This spot looked like it was still full of the good stuff.

So we started rode up the Jersey Cream chair and rode through some gladed runs (nice stashes to be found in there), and took 7th Heaven up. We hiked about 15 minutes before we saw this little hut. It was a great view throughout the entire hike.

30 minutes later and we still had our work cut out for us. We hiked all the way to the top of that peak and more.

Here I am, 60 minutes later and definitely getting tired. We stopped lots to take photos and videos but I was definitely huffing and puffing.

A look back from where we came. Yup.. all the way from that distant chairlift. We really didn’t do anything special compared to Tawcan and his friends but it was far for me!

Finally we got to the spot where we could drop in. The ride was short for the amount of hiking, only about 10-15 seconds… but it was glorious. My Malolo just glided over the snow… I barely had to lean back… so easy to make those powder turns. Ahhhhhh.

So I wanted to make sure my board was right for me, and I’m glad we went out of our way to try that little experiment. I’m completely in love with my Malolo for just about every mountain experience. My Burton Malolo review was successful. I was riding clouds all day… it’s perfect for me.

Video to come soon!

We’re getting close to playoff time, with a 10-game stretch at the end here…

The Vancouver Canucks, coming off a long winning streak at home, and  breaking a losing streak on the road last night… are well-positioned for these last few games before the playoffs. And I would argue, also in a good position to do well in the playoffs.

In this last half of the year, we’re finally getting some spark and jump from players that can make it happen, like the ever-darling Burrows, Kesler, and even the Sedins. And Luongo is stepping up his game… and we know how awesome he is in the playoffs.

And that’s the kind of spirit I want to see us keep on the Canucks. The kind of players who are willing to play for less to play on our team. The kind of players who are willing to play on the ice even if they are bleeding. I want to see us bring this grit and passion into the playoffs that has somehow been so elusive on a Canucks team in this city for the past few years.

Currently we’re sitting 2nd in the Northwest Division, and 5th in our conference. I’d like to see overtake Calgary at the end here. That would just rock.

So I say Bring It, Canucks! Let’s see what you can do here. I’m looking forward to wearing my Canucks jersey every single day… even if it gets stinky… in my annual tradition of wearing my jersey every day for good luck during the playoffs. Even to work.

Who’s excited for the playoffs?

GO CANUCKS GO!

You’ll have to watch the video to find out what I mean.

So I finally had a chance to do some video editing this weekend. I’ve put together the footage from the Mount Washington snowboarding trip to Courtenay on Vancouver Island in February, as well as the huge Big White bus trip to Kelowna.

Check out the video above! Video features… tree runs, powder runs, rails, jumps, and lots of silliness of course. Oh, and leg wrestling. Make sure you watch to the very end of the video Video is totally safe for work.

Here are also a few pictures from the two trips…

Big White was great… here’s a view from the chairlift.

We had a huge group together (54 people)… it was definitely crazy.

Yup, it was Big White-out for a few moments that weekend.

The Telus Park at Big White was awesome… boarder cross, rails, jumps and tons of everything.

My friend Adrian (above) and Chris made it up from San Francisco. They are two of my good friends from university and it was wonderful to see them again.

The private hot tubs in our cabins were awesome! And frequently used.

The view from Mount Washington on the Island is probably one of the most beautiful views you will ever see snowboarding. Wow!

Amy and Tom show off their goggles in the bar.

Teddy Bear stands are necessary, even in the snow.

The tequila was incredible… and yes, many drinking games were played…

… including the now infamous “BOXHEAD” game…

A huge vat of pasta was cooked for dinner, plus a huge breakfast in the morning. Group meals!

We had a great group.

Yes. It’s finally done.

It took a little while to edit this all together because of all the different cameras, the length of song, the amount of footage, and how busy I’ve been lately. It isn’t the best edit I could have done, but I think how fun the snowboarding trips this past holiday were comes across, and that’s what matters.

The HD snowboarding movie is cut to the song “Kids” by MGMT. This song was blatantly ripped off from Travis Rice’s That’s It, That’s All.

There’s two parts to the clip… the first is Christmas Day at Hemlock Mountain, and the second takes place over New Years Eve (and Day of course) at Apex Mountain in Penticton, BC. We had great conditions and lots of pow despite the sparse coverage for both trips.

Highlights include Christmas breakfast, lots of powder boarding, some jumps, some noobie boarding by yours truly, some great boarding by Allan, J, and Trev… the New Years Eve countdown, and lots of funny dancing. Oh, and keep your eye out for “The Zoidberg.”

Check out the video on Vimeo. You can also download the full video there to your harddrive if you don’t like streaming video. Let me know what you think!