We hit up Mount Baker on Sunday for Opening Day. A big storm had finally given our coast the snow we needed to get back on the hills.

I tell you — Baker on Opening Day is a good, good thing. Especially when it snows 20 inches just before you arrive.

I put together a quick video of our day. It’s not great in terms of editing since I threw it together in about 45 minutes so I apologize for the quality. It’s not at all indicative of the HD snowboarding movie I’m working on, but it was fun to do. I apologize for the shaky cam and focusing. I’m still getting used to using the camera. I’m hoping after a few more sessions I’ll have the hang of it. ENJOY! Click the image above to watch it on Vimeo, or you can right-click save as here to download the original movie. (You will probably want VLC Player to watch it.)

We woke up at 6 AM and were off by 6:30. It was still snowing when we left the apartment building. It was nice not to have to deal with many slow Vancouver drivers in the snow at that time, too. A bit of a wait at the USA border (and no Nexus lines at the Sumas crossing, BOO!)… and we were on our way.

We got to Baker just shortly after the first chairs went up. Everyone in the line of cars we were in turned off at the lower parking lot, so we continued up to the upper parking lot… we had our doubts if it was open, but sure enough it was! There was no waits for the chairs, and only 1 in 4 chairs actually had anyone on them.

It was pretty much untracked when we got up there. The area under the chairlift (see picture above) had a few lines, but everywhere else we hiked it was completely untouched. Awesome!

Our first turns of the day, we hiked for about 15 minutes to a spot on the Pan Dome face. This was where we decided to drop in.

First turns in powder were a little shaky for me, but Allan tore it up pretty good. What a feeling to not ride over anyone’s tracks!

Of course, I decided to turn on the GoPro camera on that run and lost it in the powder. I was so upset. I spent about an hour climbing up the face where I had ridden, digging and searching for the camera. Allan met me at the top and we spent another couple hours looking for it. No luck. Yup. You heard me. I freaking lost my new camera! I don’t know what I’m going to do now.

Well, we still had a great time. We stopped for lunch in a half empty cafeteria and then got a few more runs in that day. Legs were burning and tired, but it was exhilarating to be out again!

Can’t wait to go back to Baker. We’ll see where we hit up next! Tomorrow, I go to Trevor Linden’s Retirement Game… *sniff*.

Last night was epic. Two Christmas work parties in one night, one Santa hat, too many Patron tequila shots, and lots of fun and laughs. Man, I love working for video game companies!

I decided not to bring my huge camera along for the ride, so my point and shoot had to do for the night. It started out at the Vancouver Aquarium, for my work party. I was really impressed how neat the Aquarium is at night! They put out all these beautiful trees and white strings of light, and they really dim it down nice and dark… I made sure to bring my Santa Hat along, as it always makes it way to every Christmas party

Our table got to sit in front of the Whytecliffe Park saltwater tank, which I thought was really neat… that’s where I did my practical dives for my PADI scuba diving license.

Our CEO and other executives made some great speeches and a toast!

Suzanna and I…. we all got 2 drink tickets each… but I managed to accumulate some more tickets from some coworkers and ended up with a grand total of 12 extra tickets.

It all went to good use… we ended up buying lots and lots of Patron tequila shots, my favourite kind too. I was totally stoked that our drink tickets were good for all kinds of premium liquor! What a breath of fresh air for a work party!

I sat with my team at work for dinner. It was great getting to see everyone out of the workplace and with their significant others. Our CEO joined us for the picture. I can’t say enough good things about him! He really inspires us, and me.

Our CEO ended up buying us some more tequila. To the point where the bar ran out.

URGENT! TEQUILA NEEDED! No problem, more Patron was rushed over to the bar and our CEO bought the whole bottle.

More fun and drinks.

We then got a ride to Yaletown with the VP of HR and her husband (Director of Animation/Cinematics), who also happens to work at the same company as Allan… (also, my previous company). Such a sweet couple, and so in love with each other. Really a great couple to look up to who both work in the video game industry. It was great to see some of my old coworkers again! Here’s Noah and I outside of Coast Restaurant.

Inside of Coast Restaurant in Yaletown… CMart was already rowdy when we arrived.

The boys were dressed up to the nines!

My foosball partner, Christine (aka H-Sauce) and I got a little close.

The night ended up winding down after a bit and we headed home. We ran into some friends outside, Matt and Alison! Turned out to be a fantastic night.

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Tomorrow we head to Mount Baker, Washington for a little SNOW and some boarding. Should be a great day and an early start. I think we’re leaving around 6 am, so it’s off to bed for me early!

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?