if it wasn't for Nancy's visit, i might not have made it up there this winter. it was my first time boarding in BC, so it was quite the treat to say the least. i was planning to drive, but i got worried since my tires were pretty worn out and i didn't want them to turn our car around halfway there... so we took the greyhound after church on sunday, and it was a 2.5 hr drive up the mountain. the roads turned out to be clear, besides the construction, but i was so glad i didn't drive, because i was exhausted after boarding, and i had to leave right after to get back in time for work @5pm.
anyway, we booked our hotel online on friday, and the cheapest one turned out to be the Westin,a 5-star hotel, for $205/night inclusive. it was amaaazing. it was right next to the lifts, and they have ski valet, since they don't allow any skis/boards in the rooms.
here's some pics of the room:
oh, and they had a whole PAGE of things you could request for your room... like contact solution (travel size opti-free!) and shaving cream. we made 3 separate requests within 12 hours.. hahahahah. we're so chinese.
after we settled in, we went to catch the Fire & Ice show by the lifts. it was so awesome, and the energy and crowd was great. i felt like i was in a completely different country, it was exhilarating. we watched the snowboarders and skiiers warm-up and basically they jumped through a huge ring of fire while doing backflips etc. pretty nuts.
after the show ended, we did some grocery shopping and went back to the hotel and went to check out their fitness center, the avello spa & health club, which was super nice.. the work-out machines were facing the windows facing the mountains, and they had an outdoor pool (STILL open for winter!) which led to a smaller pool indoors. there was also a hot tub outside, so we stayed there for a bit before it closed at 10pm. pretty stinking awesome. they also had a eucalyptus steam room, but we discovered it too late :(
it was a very relaxing night at the hotel, we made gong jai meen for dinner, and blueberry pie for dessert. because there's no night boarding @Whistler, we had to go early the next morning.
we woke up @7am and after getting our gear and packing up, and i FINALLY had the vanilla bean latte i'd been craving forever (since there's only 3 Second Cups in Vancouver), we were on our way up the gondola before 9am. the gondola ride was around 15 minutes. it was rainy at the bottom, so it was snowy as we went up the lifts. we were pretty soaked by the end but it was worth it. we went down 3 or 4 runs, which took us about 20-30 minutes each. there wasn't enough time to go on all the runs, but my last run was the most brutal, because it was windy and narrow, with the mountain on one side, and a kind of cliff on the other. that one probably took us around an hour to get down.
too bad i had to leave right after lunch to rush to work that night, but it was the most glorious snowboarding experience i've ever had! boarding on a huge mountain, with a view of mountains, it was beautiful even though it was rainy/snowy.
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