Lots of Snow!!

G'day all,

Well we have had a fun filled 7 weeks since our last blog. This has included a amazing week long snowboarding trip to the Canadian Rockies, an Australia Day party for our Canadian friends, a work trip to Ontario for Erin, a new job for Marty, Skiing lesson for Erin and watching a lot of Hockey.

First time experiencing -10deg

In the first few weeks of January we laid low after the excitement of Christmas and the New Year. On Monday 14th Jan we headed to Banff, Alberta for our first taste of the Canadian Rockies, lots of snow and snowboarding. We arrived in Banff on the Monday afternoon and after a tour of downtown Banff went back to the hotel for a early night.


Downtown Banff

Tuesday morning dawned with a sunny day in Banff and we headed to Sunshine Village ski area for our full day Snowboarding lesson with our instructor, Ryan. We had an immense amount of fun in our lesson, although Erin tired a lot quicker than Marty, and we came out of it feeling like although we didn't know everything at least we had gotten the basics and could work from there. We were extremely lucky, because even though we had signed up for a group lesson we were the only people that day so essentially got a private lesson. After this day on the slopes we headed back to Banff town and after a visit to the hot tub went out to the pub for dinner and drinks.

Sunshine Village

Erin with Snowboard

Marty with Snowboard

Marty with our instructor Ryan

After this first lesson we had bought a 4 out of 5 day tri-ski area pass which meant we could go to any of the three ski areas, Sunshine, Mt Norquay or Lake Louise, for 4 of the next 5 days. On the Wednesday we woke up very stiff and sore (at least Erin did) but, after picking up our snowboard rental, we headed back out to Sunshine to practice what we had learnt the day before. Erin only managed a half day because she couldn't move, but Marty spent the full day on the slopes practicing turns and zigzag moves. Wednesday ended with another visit to the hot tub and then to a different pub in town.

On Thursday we decided we were too stiff and sore to go the slopes again, so we took our day off from the slopes and instead went to climb Tunnel Mountain. In order to do this we rented some crampons (metal studs to attach to the shoes) and headed off. Tunnel Mountain is very close to downtown Banff and it took us about 2 hours return and we got some amazing views of the snowy valley behind Banff. In the afternoon we headed to Banff Hot Springs, a naturally occurring spring, to soak the muscles and relax.

On Tunnel Mountain with Banff in the background

On Friday we were back to the slopes and decided to hit Mt Norquay.  Mt Norquay has night skiing on Friday evenings, so we took a break in the afternoon and hit the tube park.  Tubing essentially entails the user sitting in a inflated tractor tire tube while they get pushed down an icy chute, picking up speed to about 40-50km/h until the chute slopes upwards at the other end. Fun! After they groomed the runs Marty went back out for some night snowboarding. Erin was too tired and sore after the day snowboarding so went to the pub to wait.

Slopes of Mt Norquay

Mt Norquay Lodge

Mt Norquay Tube Park

Saturday we decided to head to the third ski area, Lake Louise. Which was the most enjoyable for Erin, as it had a gondola to the top of a really long green run (easiest run), which cut out the chairlifts altogether, which she was struggling with. Marty also really enjoyed Lake Louise as there were many different styles of green runs on which he could practice different things. Unfortunately late in the day Erin had a fall which jarred her hand and wrist and meant that she could not get up in order to snowboard. Saturday night was the first game of the hockey season (after the lockout ended) and we went to a pub in town to watch the Canucks. Unfortunately they lost (badly) but it was good to finally see some hockey.

Lake Louise Ski Area

View of Lake Louise

Lake Louise Ski Lodge

Sunday took Marty back out to Lake Louise, but due to Erin's hand/wrist injury, she joined later and did not snowboard that day. Marty again had a lot of fun trying out more runs and trying to get all the turns to flow properly. Sunday night again saw us at a pub to watch the hockey, the obsession had begun. Monday morning we headed to the Sulphur Mountain gondola and went up to see some fantastic views of the Rockies. It was immensely cold but we got some really good photos. After this we got the bus back to Calgary and then the flight to Vancouver.


View of Banff and the Rockies from Sulphur Mountain

The week after we returned from Banff was Australia Day, 26th January. We decided that because we couldn't be in Australia we would bring Australia Day to our friends in Canada and we had a party at our apartment. Complete with Mini Kangaroo Burgers, Lamingtons, ANZAC biscuits, Shrimp on the Barbie, Coopers beer, Australian wine, Australian music and a Didgeridoo, we informed our friends about Australian culture and history. A good night was had by all.

Getting our Aussie on

The next day Erin headed off for a two week work trip to Ontario, specifically Thunder Bay and Waterloo with a weekend in Toronto. The trip to Thunder Bay was fairly uneventful but I had a Cool Runnings moment when I arrived as it was so cold. Thunder Bay is in Northern Ontario, on Lake Superior, and it gets very cold with a lot of snow. My week in Thunder Bay was good, when I wasn't at the lab, the person I was working with took me for a driving tour of the area and then out for dinner, as well as a few other dinners with other people from the lab throughout the week. Getting from Thunder Bay was a little more eventful, with a 5 hour delay at Thunder Bay airport, before finally getting a flight at 12.45am to Toronto.

Sleeping Giant from across a frozen Lake Superior in Thunder Bay

My weekend in Toronto involved many touristy things, with a walk through downtown and then around the older district, involving a visit to St. Laurence Market. After this I headed towards the CN tower which is the main tourist attraction of Toronto, to get good views of the city and surrounding areas. I then headed to the Steam Whistle Brewery across the road to do a brewery tour, which was very good and in the process of the tour I ate dry hops, which is super bitter. After this tour I headed back towards the hotel to find a pub where I could watch the Toronto Maple Leafs play in the hockey. The next day I decided to grab the ferry and head over to Toronto Islands. The Toronto Islands is a collection of lots of islands that is a 15 minutes ferry ride from the city and is basically a nature reserved/theme park. In the winter there is not much going on but in the summer there is beaches and rides. On the winter day I went I had a look around and watched the ice break around the Island. I also watched some locals (there is some people who live on the islands) play hockey on a frozen over inlet. Later on the Sunday I got the bus to Waterloo in preparation for my second week of work.

Downtown Toronto from Toronto Islands

Steam Whistle Brewery

Waterloo was also very cold and again there was a lot of snow, but it was a different sort of climate to Thunder Bay. It was not as dry as Thunder Bay and the snow seemed to be lighter and a lot more of it somehow. The hotel I was in at Waterloo was very fancy, with a hot tub in the room as well as a fire place. My week in Waterloo was fairly uneventful, working during the days and just relaxing at the hotel of a night. On Friday, however, when I was meant to get a flight back to Vancouver, a snow storm hit the east coast of Canada and USA and all flights were cancelled. After some quick rearranging by work, I was on flight leaving from Toronto on the Saturday, so after an extra night stay in Waterloo I headed to Toronto to get my flight. This flight was then delayed as well, although not due to the weather this time, but the plane had broken down. I finally arrived back to Vancouver late on the Saturday night exhausted but having had a really good time and experience through my work trip.

Snowstorm in Waterloo, ON

While Erin was away Marty started a new job at Salomon in West Vancouver, part time while also still at the bike store. Salomon sell mountain gear, clothes and equipment for trail running and snow sports, right up Marty's alley.  He has also been snowboarding once a week on the local mountains.

After the Hockey lockout finally finished we have been watching a lot of hockey as it is on every couple of days.

On Monday just gone we decided to hit the slopes again on Grouse Mountain in order for Erin to try out skiing. I had a lot of fun skiing and it was heaps easier for me than snowboarding, also I didn't spend as much time falling the snow. Marty spent the time snowboarding.

We hope all is well back home,

Cheers, Erin and Marty