i managed to get some time off from the bellman life of pleasing guests and headed up to Whistler/Blackcomb in the British Columbia of Canada. This was to be my birthday trip, a trip to visit my favorite girl -Andrea- along with many other great friends, and my first time out of the country we like to call the United States. A big trip for me, and all done in 4 days +.
we all had much fun. Arrived in Seattle in the afternoon and headed straight from the airport to Whistler. With a little bit of traffic and a boarder crossing we made it there that night to crack a celebrational beer. Woke up the next morning to eat a wonderful family style breakfast and head out onto the mountain. It snowed a bit that night and kept snowing most of the morning, which made for great snow, but horrible visibility. could barely see 5 ft. in front of you at times. we all pushed through the rough conditions until it cleared up for a few more hours of skiing/boarding in the beautiful funshine. and of course we had to get some post skiing aka apres beers in the village.
back to the condo for some relaxation via hot tub and homemade dinner. sidestory, the hot tub is where i lost my fleece, or rather where someone stole my fleece. i left it there, or think i did, overnight and when i returned in the am to retrieve it..... nothing! end sidestory. we ate like kings this trip. chili, cornbread, and a tortolini artichoke concoction that night. then a little bit of apples to apples before a few decided to crash and call it a night while others stayed up and carped the diem.
and then... Blackcomb Mt. the next day! a few of us decided to ski today and a few did not. those of us who did had to brave the cold, ~10 degrees F. Sunny all day and very fun. unfortunately we did have to head back down to seattle after skiing nearly another full day. my time in Canada was over, for now. on the drive back south, 7 out of our crew of 11 stopped in Bellingham, WA from some dinner at the Boundary Bay Brewery, yum.
and then there is my sick time spent in seattle. little did i know that a little cough i had all weekend would turn into a much worse cough, slight fever, runny nose, and fatigue. just in time for my flight back to aspen. Andrea took me to the airport to find out that my flight had been delayed and thus i was going to miss my connection in Denver. United put me on a flight the following morning. This allowed andrea and I to hang out for one more day. since my illness would not allow for much, we decided to take a stroll around her local neighborhoods and parks. perfect timing for the sunset. then some delicious soup and OJ to battle my painful throat, thanks for all your help andrea!
Another visitor --> my brother Tom!
JP's superman pose 
i go for distance
tom flips
2 of my wonderful friends, Dave and Jen, arrived in aspen for a 4 day visit. We created many memories in college... and as expected in Aspen. It was great being able to hang out like nothing has changed. I will miss you both until next time.
dave
myself
jen
aside from my wonderful hairstyle... if you have seen or see this fleece please (not to be mistaken for another b.c of the tiny Canadian Ski Team pin on the collar which has sentimental meaning!) remove it from the current wearer and explain to them that karma comes back around. I apparently left it by the hot tub when at our whistler condo over my birthday. returning to the hot tub the next morning found that the fleece had other plans then to be on my shoulders/neck/arms/torso. somebody has stolen my fleece! sad face. i was okay about it at the time b.c i was about to shred the slopes of Blackcomb Mt. with friends, but am now finding out that it was a very nice fitting, warm fleece. and cannot find a replacement. Please keep your eyes open, LOOK FOR THE PIN.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Since I could not snowboard on Christmas Day, i decided to go Christmas Eve [picture with my santa hat atop Highlands Bowl on Highlands Mt.]. my Christmas Day was spent volunteering for the Forest Service-its how i earn my housing for the winter. I along with a partner, happened to be Phil-our wildlife biologist, snowmobiled to the top of a mountain to check on a precipitation weather station the forest service maintains. Has to be checked every Tuesday as part of a nationwide study on precipitation... National Atmospheric Deposition Program. With the ~10 inches of new snow Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day, the snowmobiling was a bit difficult, but so much fun! After all the volunteering was finished, i headed home to relax for a bit before our big dinner party. Ham, potatoes, corn casserole, numerous dips as appetizers, rolls, salad, green beens, eggnog, wine, fudge, and pumpkin pie! all delicious. 10 friends were able to get together for the enjoyment. After dinner we all relaxed and let our food settle/digest as we watched Charlie Browns Christmas. My roomates and I believe our tree is a version of the Christmas branch... a slightly larger version. All in all a great holiday season thus far. Would be nice to be with family, but if not with family then in good company with great friends. May everyone have a wonderful holiday season and let the new year bring health & happiness.
