"So, Peter, how would you best describe the first phase of your sabbatical?" "Too short, he replied".

6 weeks, 5300 kms, 2 provinces, 5 states and 16 ski resorts later, we are heading home to catch up with family and friends, do some laundry and burn some ski socks. We have met a bunch of nice folks, stayed in some really neat places, seen some sights that were staggeringly beautiful and skiied alot of terrain. We are thinking the next company venture should be skibums.com. What a ride, even if it was too short.

Next stop, Europe.

Hey man, it turns out that it rained at Big White on Saturday and it's staying cold so skiin' wasn't the thing to be doin' this morning ya know. We went for a hike in the woods ya know, and it was cool (and mossy).

We did eventually pilfer some runs once the sun had softened things up a bit so we could justify a jug of the local in the pub.

Peas and glove man.

We decided that no new snow left not much to add to our experience at K horse so headed for Big White for the last stop. We went through Avalanche Avenue (the road through Rogers Pass) which is the most scenic of all the mountain vistas that we have seen but we are very aware now that hillsides, boulders or snow can come across the road at any time - see pic 1 for an avalanche that had been recently cleared away.

We went through Revelstoke - the site of the next big resort development - a 6,000ft vertical with attached cat and heli skiing. Having gone up the gondola at KHorse with the new President of the development co. who was moving from Stowe to Revelstoke - no shock going to happen there! - we thought we'd check out the site. Lunch in town and visited the sales centre and the existing hill (that closed the day before).

Then the religious experience was fully achieved in Sicamous, where stopping for an ice cream cone led us to the promised land (See Pic 2 above). We are still looking for the three wise men.

After recovering, we got to Big White and scored a huge hotel room in the village beside the lift with a fireplace, kitchen, eating area and a view over half of BC, all for $165/night! Good European style dinner at the Swiss Bear. Life keeps being good.

So our planning worked again and we hit K Horse the day after 22cm of new at the top - and $40 ski tickets from some punks on a bus trip who decided that drinking Saturday night was better than boarding pow on Sunday. Being Sunday we were not the only ones ripping it up (the first lift lines of our trip outside the hard cores at Red lining up half an hour before the lifts opened on those powder days) but P got first lines in three places (see pic 1) before it got tracked. Face shots at the end of March is pretty cool! Barb was ripping up the pow in the trees (see pic 2). The middle of the mountain was another story (that spring frozen stuff) but the bottom was wonderful corn snow. Lunch at the highest restaurant in the country was a treat. Last run found deep stuff right under the gondola before the blind grind through the frozen zone in a cloud burst. Dinner at Eleven22 that used to be Sisters and Beans where the boys ate in our first trip to KHorse. Both it and Kicking Horse Grill the night before were superb eating - not what the town looks like it would provide.

We're baaaaack! No, we didn't get lost - just no decent internet connections for a while. Here's a quick update since our last entry - we've been dog-sledding and skiing at Big Mountain, Montana, stayed at but didn't ski Fernie, B.C. (first rainy day), stayed at Fairmont Hot Springs and skied Panorama with some fresh snow in the back bowl (and frozen stuff on the groomers) and then on to Lake Louise, Alberta. There we were spoiled silly with a room at Chateau Lake Louise overlooking the glacier and lake thanks to Aaron who arranged for our accommodation. The company that Peter used to work for sure has some great connections. Skied Lake Louise for two great days - fresh snow and sun - what more can you want. Today was our first lazy day and we slept in, had a decadent bakery breakfast and went for a nice walk along the lake before heading back into BC, staying in Golden. Passed the landslides that had closed the highway for several days last week - looks suspiciously related to road construction that just happens to be taking place at the same location. Staying at a funky little lodge (yes Gaston, there is such a thing in Golden) and looking forward to skiing Kicking Horse tomorrow. All is great so, as Red would say, peas and glove.

Arrived in Jackson to a great motel - Wyoming Inn - appears to be a nice motel on the main drag but has great finishings, big breakfasts, nice staff and our room was in a good location. First night dinner across the street in sports bar that actually got the Leafs game and they won. Next day Barb's cold/flu got worse so Peter got an interesting experience skiing fozen Jackson Hole. Dinner at Bubba's BBQ - great ribs and brisket. Spent second day driving through Teton National Forest - saw elk herd, moose, merganzers, trumpeter swans, fox, wolf and deer once back in town. Dinner at Worts Hotel, excellent. (Bison burger for lunch, elk chop for dinner - eat what you see!)

Drive to Missoula Montana next day on way to Big Mountain. Across the pass that they started the skiing in Jackson at, and down into the Snake River valley again. Up the highway through the high plains and mountain passes. Saw a Bald Eagle! To Missoula a college town on the river with an interesting downtown - streets wide enough to turn a full team and wagon. Watched kayaking on the river, and skateboarder pulled by dogs on river walk. Dinner at Brew Pub.

Breakfast in our Doubletree Hotel on Saturday overlooking the river. Drive up through Bison Reserve (no bison but our first antelope, plus some deer and hawks - very warm day). Along the Flathead Lake (, biggest one west of Mississippi, foggy because of temperature inversion, lots of grass burning too) with amazing views across to mountains. Up to Big Mountain on St. Patty's day, pilfered a couple of runs in the mush before a few pints in the hotel bar on the hill, wandered the "village" (10 minutes) and dinner at the same place with awesome views over the lake and mountains.

Another amazing road trip, this time from Utah to Jackson Wyoming. Started out through an amazing sandstone gorge that the American transcontinental railway went through their last spike is called the golden spike and was just north of Salt Lake). Came out into Wyoming and met these bison. Then past an 80 turbine windfarm (by ScottishPower) and onto "carcass canyon", a northbound highway littered with dead mule deer in various states of being food for magpies (who knew they were carnivores?). Once again the views were unbelievable -across the high plain (7000ft) for miles to mountains. Passed a huge coal mine, dropped down to the mountains! Passed an avalanche that must have closed the highway recently, and then into Jackson which is as warm as everywhere else. Barb has a swollen throat, but feeling lucky to have a very luxurious hotel room - for $125 including breakfast and afternoon munchies! We are lucky folks. (Even saw the Leafs win with our dinner - first hockey game in 4 weeks!)

Being as we are in Utah, it was time to catch up on the Mormon thing so we took the light rail ($3 return, take that Toronto) downtown to SLC, checked out an organ concert in the 21,000 seat Mormon convention centre (as the seismic upgrade for the Tabernacle is 3 months late and counting), did some family history searching in their huge centre (found zip for Barb, got the Halsalls back to late 1700's (nobody moved from the same village until our grandfather, and weaving is our trade). Very nice people all through their centre, which is enormous. Left SLC and skied Park City Resort on Sunday. No Mormons there. Frozen until it thawed in the 15deg sunshine. Took Barb a bit cross--country on the last run - probably first tracks ever for this cliff. Too much cross the hill stuff at this place. Skied Canyons today. Huge place with lots of terrain variety and good vibe - if a bit more tourist and less skier than ideal. Even a bit of soft stuff left in some north facing tree slopes. Thermometer in the sun at the bottom was over 90deg. Downtown for some tourist stuff and dinner. Free buses are neat. Given up on going to Colorado since skiing is so marginal. Heading to Jackson because it's one of the ski Meccas that we just gotta ski.

She's everywhere! Here she is at Snowbird, where we had another very sunny ski day, even had the National Free Skiing (i.e. how big a cliff can you jump) competition to watch. Snowed yesterday and got some turns in at Alta. Did manage some big chutes and back bowls, still looking for my lungs today. Left them somewhere on Alta. Both fighting the Spike Van Dusen bug, so not too much aggressive skiing, but that suits the snow and the weather. Snowbird gondola ride made us think of Tokyo subway or sardines.

As we travelled I found it interesting to reflect on land use through the various regions.

In BC, there was the vineyards and orchards of the Okanogan. Further east, there was no evidence of the primary product except on the lift and in some restaurants, but I understand that BC bud is the second largest export. In the south, a few people are trying to grow crops, but it looks like a tough go. Logging is evident throughout.

Into Washington, there was some irrigated farmland along the Columbia River, birds that were either turkeys or grouse in people's front yards and a Yak farm. Most of the farms look to be small landholdings with subsistance farms. Spokane was a ridiculous sprawl of suburbs. There is logging in the mountains.

North Idaho looked to be small farm holdings, between the WalMarts. (The region we went through was the largest producer of silver in the world, and mining remains busy.) In the middle of the east part of the state there were horse farms and even wild horses. Southern Idaho along the Snake River plain was heavily irrigated crop farming, including potatoes. There was a surprising amount of green hay being trucked around on the highways. There were also some disgusting looking factory farms - don't be buying that US beef. Farther south towards Utah got into real ranch country - sheep and cattle.. The highway even had intersections that were only for ranches.

The valley we went down in west Montana was mostly range for cattle, and crappy urban settlements.

Northern Utah was ranching like southern Idaho. Around Salt Lake City there are peach orchards in some of the valleys that are protected from the elements. The rest is crappy suburban development and some small farming.

We skied Powder Mountain today, which is a huge place with no people on it. This is just one of the absolutely incredible views in all directions. Incredible carve boarding terrain, and since we are both a bit under the weather, it was a great day of cruising the groomers in the bright sun. Hasn't snowed for a while here and the temps are above freezing at the hill, so the conditions are not ideal. They have some great glades and cliffs which would be a blast in the pow, and they do cat rides to a ridge for $8/ride. Tracks look great, but alas this is not the weather for it. Forecasts are holding out hope for snow.

So we have made it to Utah, and this is what they serve for the Mormon crowd. Did you know that 70% of the population here are Mormon, but the church denounced polygamy 100 years ago? An amazing drive through Snake river valley, volcanic magma, sagebrush, big mountain backdrops and into the Ogden Valley, home of Powder Mtn (like a taller Whitewater) and Snowbasin (2002 Olympic downhill site, owned by the Sun Valley guy). Hasn't snowed since the weekend and well above freezing in the day, so we'll see what the skiing is like tomorrow. Nice B&B and fun dinner of ribs and brisket. (Is anybody reading this stuff????)

After a nine hour drive through Idaho, Montana and Idaho again and one time zone, we are at Sun Valley Idaho - fantastic views, 3000' vertical, great hill orientation but sadly not much natural snow. More snowmaking than we have ever seen (those are snow guns on the hill) and very much for the geriatric set. This seems to be where the money is and a real see and be seen place. We came, we saw, we skied and we leave. On the road again tomorrow heading for Powder Mountain, Utah hoping it lives up to its name. Having a crazy fun time.

It's Saturday and time to leave Red behind. Moved from Ram's Head to Prestige Inn in town the whole week. Couldn't leave with something close to a meter of new stuff since last weekend and a bright sunny day yesterday. Skied with Aaron and Jasna from the Calgary office of the company we used to work for. Time to let the legs rest and Peter's cold calm down. Hopefully not getting into Barb's system. It's now on to somewhere in Idaho.