i keep a diary

April 14, 2011

Whistler and PechaKucha

My third trip out to Whistler! I got to see Grant & Aki's new apartment and then we headed up to Whistler for PechaKucha and the Ski & Snowboard Festival!

See also:
Summer Visit to British Columbia - August 2010
First Trip to Whistler - March 2010

Thursday, April 14th

8pm: time to head to the airport!
e9th apt ˆ moon ˆ nyc
Playing around with my new camera on the drive.
driving ˆ taxi
"Never has any sailor passed our shores in his black craft until he has heard the honeyed voices pouring from our lips, and..."
driving ˆ nyc ˆ skyline ˆ taxi
"...once he hears to his heart's content, sails on, a wiser man."
best ˆ driving ˆ nyc ˆ skyline ˆ taxi
Airport veggie dumpling dinner!
airport ˆ food
Here we go.
airport ˆ walking
Five hours later...
airplane ˆ tv
...ready to bomb Baghdad?
airplane ˆ tv
Taxi ride to Grant & Aki's brand new apartment in Vancouver.
taxi
Grant and Aki's new apartment = amazing.
apartment
grant
Home owner! Congrats, you two!
apartment ˆ grant
We stayed up late drinking a few beers and catching up!
beer

Friday, April 15th

grant
Friday morning! Up and at em!
apartment ˆ grant
Morning coffee out on the balcony.
balcony
What a shitty view.
apartment ˆ scenic overlook
They are building a new building right next door, but leaving the original facade up. Here's a view from the inside.
construction
grant
Went around the corner for a delicious breakfast...
brunch ˆ food ˆ grant
...and then out into the city for some exploring.
vancouver ˆ walking
Laughing statues.
art ˆ statue ˆ vancouver
grant
Cherry Blossom cold lamp.
bloom ˆ tree ˆ grant
Just hanging out on the beach twirling my umbrella. You know how I do.
strangers ˆ umbrella ˆ vancouver ˆ wtf
My favorite houseboats.
best ˆ boat
grant
Around 4pm we headed back to Grant's hood...
bloom ˆ grant
...got ourselves some slices of pie...
cake ˆ food ˆ pie ˆ treats
...and then headed to the bus terminal...
bus ˆ vancouver
...to catch the bus up to Whistler!
bus ˆ driving
aki, grant
As soon as we got into Whistler Village, we headed over to the town center where Aki was manning...
aki ˆ grant
...the PechaKucha night ticket booth!
pechakucha ˆ sign
Our complimentary drink tickets were good for these pinapple mandarin orange vodka spritzers.
cans
We walked around the gallery and checked out the art - some of which was still being worked on.
art ˆ painting
tara
This Carla Dearman painting reminded me of Tara.
art ˆ doppleganger ˆ painting ˆ twins ˆ tara
grant
Dessert!
dessert ˆ food ˆ grant

Saturday, April 16th

Woke up nice and early on Saturday morning...
window
grant
...and headed into the village to check into the media tent at the Telus World Ski and Snowboard festival!
magazine ˆ grant
Grant had helped me get a photographer's pass for the event - so I got hooked up with a goody bag that included...
gift ˆ magazine
...sweet all-access badge and ski lift passes!
tickets
me
All suited up in my rental gear and ready to head up in the gondola.
gondola ˆ me
grant
After getting off the gondola, we hopped on another chair.
grant
Morning snow shower.
snow ˆ whistler
But clear skies up top!
whistler
Amazing.
snow ˆ whistler
Not many people at all.
snow ˆ whistler
grant
Snow claw!
snowboard ˆ grant
grant
Not a bad view when you take a breather.
snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
grant
Lodge lunch.
food ˆ whistler ˆ grant
grant
Grant standing in front of a 10'+ snow drift of recent snowfall.
snow ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
Later that evening, we headed over to Aki's aunt and uncle's house...
house ˆ whistler
...to cook dinner!
kitchen
grant
Chef Grant showing off his Japancakes!
cooking ˆ grant
Veggie version for me!
food ˆ japanese food ˆ pancakes
grant, leslie, me
Awesome dinner party! Thanks, Grant & Aki!
grant ˆ leslie ˆ me

Sunday, April 17th

Woke up bright and early on Sunday to another perfect day.
whistler ˆ window
grant
Oh, were you ladies interested in some alpine activities?
best ˆ jodeci ˆ whistler ˆ window ˆ grant
grant
Happy Snoopy back on the mountain.
happy ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
It's hard to get a sense of just how big this face is; but if you look closely, you can make out tiny specks that are people!
snow ˆ whistler
grant
At the top of the mountain, we kept our boards off so that we could hike up and find some less traveled snow.
snow ˆ whistler ˆ grant
Waiting to drop in.
snow ˆ whistler
It's fun to stand at the top and watch people turn into ants as they go down.
snow ˆ whistler
Walking across, then up and over.
snowboard ˆ walking ˆ whistler
grant
Awesome.
snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
grant
The mountain is so steep that when you're facing uphill you only have to bend your knees slightly to be kneeling on the mountain!
best ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
grant
So steep! Here's a picture of Grant getting ready to drop in from up above.
best ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
grant
Snowboarding down a steep incline with a foot of powder is like a barely-controlled fall through the clouds.
best ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
Still more mountain to go! The mountain is so big and white that it can be really disorientating at times!
snowboard ˆ whistler
Time to get back on...
sign ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler
...the beaten path.
whistler
aki, grant
Around 1pm, we met up with Aki and some friends that were out on the mountain and got lunch
snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ aki ˆ grant
me
Helmet hair!
messy hair ˆ me
grant
Kneeling into your boots is never not-funny. Hey, it's Timmy Tinylegs...
best ˆ wtf ˆ grant
me
...Marco Monkeybody!
best ˆ wtf ˆ me

Monday, April 18th

Monday was also incredible.
whistler
Monday morning means having the mountain to yourself.
whistler
No people!
whistler
Steep!
best ˆ whistler
grant
At the peak, we made plans to meet up with Matt a little later.
snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
grant
Grant did some hand walking...
handstand ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
...then this.
best ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler
GREAT WHITE BOUNDARY.
sign ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler
grant
Hoverboard!
best ˆ jump ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
Not a bad little Monday.
snowboard ˆ whistler
grant, me
Thanks for having me, bud!
snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant ˆ me
Lunch!
food
A little after 4pm, we took off our boards and nestled into a snowbank...
snowboard ˆ whistler
grant
...so that Grant could call into a radio show to chat about an opinion piece of his that had recently been published about Canadians and the Queen of England!. Hard at work on a Monday!
snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ work ˆ grant
me
Alpine ninja!
ninja ˆ snow ˆ me
grant, matt walker
After the interview, we met up with Matt and took the peak 2 peak over to the other mountain!
gondola ˆ grant ˆ matt walker
On a wire between two mountain.
gondola ˆ whistler
The view through the gondola's GLASS FLOOR.
gondola ˆ whistler
grant, leslie
On the other side, we met up with Leslie!
snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant ˆ leslie
The view doesn't get old.
snowboard ˆ whistler
grant
(I still dream about this.)
best ˆ snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant
grant
Later that night we went to PechaKucha night! Pechakucha (means "chit chat" in Japanese) and is a specific-format for giving presentations where you get to show 20 slides for 20 seconds each. The presentation lasts 6 minutes and 40 seconds, and your slides are on auto-timer so you have to be ready to speak for around 20 seconds exactly! It's sort of like a haiku format for presentations!
pechakucha ˆ grant
leslie
Leslie's gave a really funny presentation about the different kinds of wacky skiing that had been popular over the years.
pechakucha ˆ whistler ˆ leslie
me
Aki is one of the organizers of PechaKucha night and she asked me if I'd put together a presentation about something so I put one together...
best ˆ pechakucha ˆ whistler ˆ me
...about this site! (Eventually, I'll be putting the slides from my presentation up on the "About" section of this site. Give me another year or two...haha).
matt walker
Afterwards, we went out to amazing Japanese restaurant that had...
japanese food ˆ karaoke ˆ matt walker
...karaoke at the dinner table!
japanese food ˆ karaoke
me
SING WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!
karaoke ˆ me

Tuesday, April 19th

aki, grant
On Tuesday morning, Grant and I met up with Aki for a coffee...
breakfast ˆ aki ˆ grant
...and we split the mother of all cinnamon rolls...
cinnamon rolls ˆ food ˆ treats
grant
...before suiting up one last time!
hallway ˆ snowboard ˆ grant
It flurried the whole day!
chairlift ˆ whistler
grant, leslie
Last run of the day!
whistler ˆ grant ˆ leslie
grant, me
Thanks again so much for having me out!
snowboard ˆ whistler ˆ grant ˆ me
me
Can't BEAR to leave you!
bear ˆ wave ˆ whistler ˆ me
Bus ride back down to Vancouver.
bus ˆ vancouver
See ya!
vancouver
Airport lounging.
airport

Wednesday, April 20th

After the red-eye I arrived back in the East Village...
nyc ˆ walking
...all the trees on my block in bloom!
bloom ˆ trees

1 comment

  • grant stoddardoctober 18, 2013

    What an amazing trip that was!