Whistler

A Real Spring Day

2011-04-23T16:01:19Z

Yesterday was the first sign of spring here. No blinding snow storms, sunny skies and got to enjoy having an afternoon beer on Dusty's patio! The shot below was taken early in the morning from the Tantalus range lookout on the Sea to Sky Highway...

.. and I put that fabulous stitching software from UBC (HugIn) through it's paces to capture the awesome magnificence of Whistler mountain.

A Cold and Blustery Day!

2011-03-04T19:40:00Z

A bunch of us were crazy enough to go skiing on Wednesday. Winds were 100kph+. All coastal ferries canceled, but hard core skiers we were, until the mountain was closed at 12:00 ... Other than the concern about an unclaimed snowboard speared in the snow under the Creekside gondola... skiing was fantastic! Video clip was our last run before the mountain was shut down.

Another Banner Day!

2011-02-25T15:27:49Z

The skiing conditions and weather have been as dramatic as the updated journal header. The view is a 180 degree panorama from the west side of Bagel Bowl from Black Tusk towards Pemberton. It's actually seven photographs stitched together and seamlessly blended with software developed at the University of British Columbia.

An Epic Day!!

2011-01-24T15:22:28Z

Yesterday was one of those special days with blue skies, mild temperatures, great snow and fantastic company.

This "story" tickled my fancy too...

La Niña Season

2010-11-26T18:39:04Z

Anticipation....

We're off to a great start. I was "working" my day job Monday and watched the lake go from wind whipped white caps to a scene from Dr. Zhivago. It got to -29C up the mountain that night with howling winds and didn't get above -24C Tuesday. Here's the view from the Weather Window.

What a difference a couple days make. Thursday afternoon! ... and 21cm of powder today.

Partial Recall

2010-03-08T19:31:19Z

It was a very exciting 17 days. The collage of photos below captures most of my Olympic experience. The Paralympic torch arrives at Whistler today!

Weasel Workers

2010-03-04T16:10:54Z

The "Vuarnet Beach" weasel worker adventures with 3:00am starts on the hill have taken their toll on the old body. Articles in both the Vancouver Sun and the NY Times sum it all up!

Olympics at Whistler Begin

2010-02-14T19:42:57Z

1,200 volunteers are getting the race course ready. Unfortunately, at the moment, Mother Nature is causing "issues". Our crew ( "Team 9" - crew chief Dr. Rick Hunter at far left in back row) pictured below is one of the crews responsible for getting one section on the Women's course race ready.

Our section is named Vuarnet Beach pictured below ...

... which in the scheme of things, is the tiny shaded area of the map.

-

2010-02-11T03:32:26Z

It's almost here!! These shots are from the Women's Alpine race course.

The first forerunner...

.. and us hard at work getting the course ready....

Paralympic Preview

2009-12-17T16:47:57Z

I was a team member assisting sit skiers loading and off loading the Creekside Gondola during the IPC World Cup race last spring. The athletes had some concern about the "skateboard" we were using for transport assistance. The task was to get athletes up the mountain easily with the utmost respect and dignity. We got quite proficient at the job as the week went on, and feedback from the athletes, coaches and the IPC representatives was most rewarding.

Please remove the word "disabled" from these amazing athletes. Olympic and Paralympic are skiing on the same race course.