Allan and I just got back from a FANTASTIC extended weekend up at Whistler Blackcomb for the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival.

We were invited by the amazing Whistler Blackcomb media team (thanks Michelle, Tabetha, Amber!) to check out some of the festivities and attend some events. This was our first year attending as “media”.

We rushed to Whistler Blackcomb after work on Thursday and checked into our hotel for the night — the Coast Hotel Blackcomb Suites (thanks Danny!).

The hotel had tons of amenities such as a gym, full breakfast room, outdoor pools and hot tub, not to mentioned located right on the side of a run for ski-in ski-out access.

We loved our room! Super comfy and had a full kitchen too.

Then, it was off to Araxi Restaurant for a dinner hosted by Cindy of the BC Ministry of Tourism and Breton from Tourism Whistler. Araxi has been one of our favourites restaurants for many years (long before Hell’s Kitchen and the crazy amounts of press it has been getting over the past year or so)… and still is.

As soon as we arrived I was peer pressured into “sabre-ing” the champagne… my first time ever! It was pretty scary but very cool. I got to use a real sabre to chop off the top of the champagne bottle. Videos to come.

Araxi is well-known for its seafood, sustainable food, and local and organic cuisine.

Chef James Walt makes some amazing dishes. He actually lives in Pemberton on a farm and partners with the producers out there to source seasonal foods. The gnocchi and souffle were to die for.

It was also my first time ever tasting venison… and I loved it. So tender. Allan also loved his lamb.

For dessert we had the pistachio ice cream covered in chocolate and an apricot cheesecake. Yum. Also to note — it was my first time ever really trying champagne, red wine, white wine and dessert wine. Steve Edwards (restaurant manager and sommelier) gave me tons of information and some really amazing recommendations. I may slowly be starting to be a convert.

Here’s Michelle, Steve (thanks for all the wine tips!), myself and Cindy.

The next morning (Friday) we woke up and had a hot breakfast at our hotel.

Then it was off to Scandinave Spas in Whistler.

I can’t say enough good things about this place. The eucalyptus steam room (mmmmm), the cold baths, the hot mineral baths and the waterfalls everywhere. We spent about 4 hours here before we were completely shriveled and jello-like, and then it was off to dinner.

We decided to try the Rimrock Cafe in Whistler (by Creekside) as it was recommended to me by one of my coworkers as her favourite restaurant in BC. The drinks we had were a great start — Allan had some wine and I had a kiwi lime Brazilian caipirinha . My drink was sooooooo good.

The appetizers were also pretty good… I had the scallop lobster capellini (very delicate… loved it), and Allan had the cariboo medallions (good, but not as good as the venison at Araxi).

For dinner we had the gnocchi, mushroom risotto with sablefish, and salmon stuffed with crab. I personally thought the gnocchi and the sablefish were pretty good but the mushroom risotto was terrible. Very acidic and not creamy at all — more like a rice pilaf. Would not order again. Allan liked his salmon but thought it was too rich and the crab overpowered the salmon. The dessert was the toffee pudding which was AMAZING. So basically — we would go there for drinks and dessert but probably not dinner again.

Overall… a pretty good couple days in Whistler so far! Next post coming soon with the last few days of the weekend. What did you get up to this past weekend?

What a fabulous weekend! On Saturday we headed up to NESTEA‘s Chill on the Hill event at Whistler Blackcomb. Many thanks to NESTEA for sending Allan and I up there! It really was a great event. Also got to meet NetChick, GusF, and Jen! Very cool peeps! Be warned: This is a heavy photo and video post!

Check out the video. It is really fun. Includes highlights such as:
- Snowboarding in the middle of July in 35 degree Celcius weather
- Me falling on my butt on a box in the snowpark
- NESTEA girls
- Footage of The Stills performing at the event (and music)
- Full coverage of the NESTEA setup complete with volleyball court, rail jams, and blueberry mojitos!
- Whistler Blackcomb
- LIGHTNING AND THUNDERSTORMS from the weekend!

Make sure you watch till the end

Before we got started, Allan and I headed to (the best) breakfast in Whistler at Elements. We’ve been coming here for several years now and it really is awesome.

Their famous stuffed french toast… takes 20 minutes to make. This is the banana and caramelized pecans stuffed french toast. They also have ham and brie stuffed french toast! Mmmm…

The classic breakfast, bacon and eggs there. The potato tartlet and double smoked bacon are always highlights.

The hotel room that NESTEA put us up in was awesome! Hilton Whistler in a suite room! Loved the fireplace, and the fridge stocked with NESTEA, plus the welcome package!

Volleyball and microfiber towel!

The amazing event that NESTEA set up. Check out the sand they trucked in from a local quarry for the volleyball courts.

The Chill on the Hill tent, with all the wonderful people who made it all happen! Notice the sexy Olympic snowboarders, and the Burton Custom X’s they were giving away for rail jam prizes.

The rail jam they set up for the event… they brought in ridiculous amounts of snow to set this up on Whistler. CRAZY!

Boarders lining up to hit the rails. Lots of great getups.

They were some awesome snowboarders out there.

Some neat tricks.

Also loved the blueberry mojitos made with NESTEA. We drank several of these thanks to the girls!

My Malolo dude says THUMBS UP to the event!

Free open bar from NESTEA was fabulous. They served up a VIP lunch in Steeps on Whistler, and the bartender there made some amazing drinks. I loved his gin fizz with fresh local Pemberton strawberries! Mmmm!

Protest the Hero performing for the crowd. They loved it.

Allan and I also took the Peak2Peak over to Blackcomb for the glacier, including the bus, and a chairlift to get up there.

It was rocky, but not too bad. Can’t complain about boarding in July

Got the fisheye out… what a great view.

Boarding without a helmet, not a great idea, but it was so freaking hot out.

Here I am looking incredibly classy swatting away a million horse flies and mosquitoes. It was BUGGY out there! I got a few nasty bites. If you’re wondering what the hell I am doing in my sequence in the video… well, now you know. I’m so coordinated.

The Stills lead singer.

The Stills performing at the end of the event… what a great set up. A concert on the top of the hill, with the gondolas going past, hot and sunny, with a gorgeous backdrop. Amazing.

After the event we quickly changed in the car and headed into the village to one of my favourite restaurants in the whole world, Araxi.

We’ve been coming here for a few years now, and each time the service is impeccable, the food is mouth-watering, and the drinks are luscious.

We tried a couple different appetizers. Here’s the Ahi Tuna. (I don’t eat sushi/raw food but Allan said it was great). I tried the saffron cauliflower and the fresh cherry tomatoes and they were great.

Here’s the Pemberton squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta with a red pepper sauce. SO. Good. And so creative! Chef James Walt is amazing.

The cheese souffle… delicate. Loved the almonds with the mushroom cream sauce.

This BC halibut was to die for. Flavourful herbs across the top, and a delicious sauce. I added a Qualicum scallop which was amazing. (If you’re looking to buy Qualicum scallops locally, you can get them at Granville Island.)

Allan got the Trio of Pork (from Paradise Valley) which had pulled pork ravioli (so good), pork tenderloin, and slow cooked pork belly with chanterelles.

We got some side dishes… the mushrooms were reaaally good, and the beans were fresh. Love how Chef Walt gets almost all his ingredients locally. He actually lives in Pemberton.

For dessert we had the lemon tart with goat cheese ice cream. Fresh local blueberries.

We also tried the ice cream sandwich which had a lovely chocolate hazelnut crust.

After dinner we headed back to Vancouver.. it was a photographers dream and nightmare, all at the same time. We had a golden sunset, TWO rainbows, and lightning. I swear just after I snapped this photo a lightning bolt struck right between the two rainbows. Would have been the most amazing photo. I was a bit heartbroken I didn’t luck out and capture it.

How can you not fall in love with the west coast? A golden sunset through streams of rain.

We managed to catch some lightning, but I didn’t get many good photos. Check out the end of the video above for some better shots of the lightning along the sea-to-sky highway.

Phew! That’s a lot of photos! Hope you enjoyed the post

I finally got a chance to edit together the video from the weekend before last. Allan, J and I headed up to Whistler Blackcomb for the end of the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival. We met up with the famous Shay from Shayboarder.com and her friends Kendra and Mike.

Sunny, slushy, and pretty mellow conditions. We hopped around on a few things but mostly ripped around on the groomers. A really fun day. Shay is absolutely AWESOME in person and every good thing anyone has ever said about her is 100% true. I somehow managed to delete the pictures off my camera, so Shay has been kind enough to let me repost her pics. I also never manage to get photos of myself filming etc, so it’s really neat to see. Thanks Shay!

Check out the video. Hope you like it. I especially like the part where J and Allan ride over the house. I of course am wearing my Canucks jersey, as part of my “playoff beard” tradition. A little departure from my normal boarding getup, but still fun.

I have to say I’m a bit disappointed with my progression this year. I’ve been boarding for 1.5 years now, and in the past year I’ve spent more time filming and photographing others than I have focusing on developing my skills. Next season I need to make sure I focus more on that. I’ve kinda regressed, actually. But I’ve really enjoyed making little movies so perhaps a balance/compromise is best

Shay and I

Filming Allan coming down the slope

Filming J

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In other news, the Canucks play the Blackhawks tonight at 5:00 pm. It’s sure to be a big game, and I think the Canucks are going to bounce back. I’d like to see a tough road win. Really, really excited.

That’s it for now folks. Accessible Twilight filming is on a lull this week, and this is one of the busiest weeks in terms of work for me ever. Plus next week I’ll be heading to Monreal for work, so I’ve got lots to do!

Phew!

Believe it or not, this isn’t a Twilight blog. That being said, I’m super stoked about all the Team Jacob fans that are out there who checked out the pics yesterday. I can’t believe how cool the Twilight community is online! I’m a big Twilight fan, and hopefully we’ll get the chance to snap some more behind-the-scenes pics of the set… but for now, back to our regular programming!

I had some time last night to edit up a video from my day on my new Malolo board on Saturday at Whistler Blackcomb and also the last good powder day we had at Cypress. There’s a little more footage of me riding this time, and also I had to feature the rad shirt I got from Zac at Hybrid Sessions… so make sure you watch till the end of the vid. It’s pretty funny. Check out the video below:

It’s nearing the end of the snowboard season, and almost time to switch it up to surfing. I’m going to get one more weekend in at the end of April with the famous Miss Shay from Shayboarder at the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler Blackcomb. Should be awesome.

Thanks Zac for the awesome shirt! Somehow you could predict the future that it would match my new board.

I’ve been working hard at work this week to make sure I get my time in and all my work done before the Easter long weekend. Gotta leave for the ferry early on Thursday, and it’s off to my favourite spot in the whole world… Tofino! Surfing for 4 glorious blissful days. Too bad the forecast is rain all weekend, but that’s not going to stop me from getting excited about finally getting back in the water and making some turns.

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!