What do you get when you cross a killer trip with some of your closest friends and your own private mountain range in the Canadian Rockies? Phenomenal! A bunch of us from down south headed up to Ymir, BC, for a most amazing snowboarding adventure. (Idea was courtesy of my buddy, Martin. And flight accommodations courtesy of my good friends, Jon and Missy. Thanks, guys!)
This trip was unbelievable...a once in a lifetime sort of trip. We flew up from LA to Spokane, Washington, where we drove north into Canada just south of Nelson, BC, to a small town called Ymir. From the moment we drove into town, we knew this was going to be one very special trip. We stayed at an old converted brothel, complete with a bar downstairs and instruments hanging for entertainment.
The crew. Our leader, Marty, in the foreground, and our
trusty cat in the background.
Our plan was simple. With no cell service in town, it was easy to adjust to leave the stresses of work behind and enjoy the simple pleasures of this great town and the phenomenalness (yeah new word) of our days on the mountain. Each morning we would wake up, walk up the street to Ross' pad where we were cooked a fresh breakfast. Trevor, our guide for the day, would meet as well and give us the low down for the day. We would head back to our brothel, pack up and drive about 10 minutes east to meet up with the snowcat. This snowcat was no feline. It was a huge, powerful, cat, that would take us up the mountain all day long. Each time it would drop us off up top, we would jam down the mountain with fresh tracks and open slopes on every run. By the time we were at the bottom and spent a few minutes reminiscing on some totally gnarly lines and kickers, the cat would arrive ready to take us back up to do it all over again.
Can you imagine spending 3-4 days doing this? It was truly epic and worthy of its own book of pictures and stories. And just to cap off a truly incredible trip, our flight back on Horizon Air turned out to be a microbrew tasting flight! What incredible timing! What an incredible trip! And yes, we are collectively staying in contact with Trevor in case we decide to cruise up to the Kootenays for yet another incredible trip.
Post-run realization of a powder coated valley of our own
and sweet carving turns and lines yet to hit.
View from our cat and the first sign of sun and
a few days of bluebird.
After each day on the hill and freshies to the heart's content,
our snowmobile rides back to Ymir were memorable, cold, and beautiful.
Ymir, BC, post ridin' jacuzzi hit, California style.
Andy and I switched gear for a run (i.e., a few hours). I attempted skiing for the first time ever. The stories of my double-black diamond ski runs will have to wait as Jon got the evidence of my traumatic first, and only, run down.
The town of Ymir, BC, from up high.
The crew yet again. Yeah, all those tracks are ours. As the sun came out, the snowballs started flying and the realization of our trip was complete.
I would say don't ask, but this story has to be told. After 4 days of glory on the hill, we were on our way back through Spokane when we came across these marathon-running statues. How could anyone pass up an action photo like this? Marty, nursing a post-ski injury, was haulin arse in that wheel chair!
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