The Boys are Back in Town

So we have finally made our return, and I write this from the comfort of my bed at 99 Charlton Lane. It's good to be back, if a little strange, and Mum has done an impressive job of easing the pain of a lack of skiing with all the food we have been missing out on - a belated Christmas dinner to welcome us home on Wednesday was particularly appreciated. Our final ten days in Whistler were a whirlwind; we were skiing every day and the village was back to its bustling best thanks to the Telus Ski and Snowboard festival being held during our last week in town. This was a great way to wave goodbye to Whistler - with some of the best skiiers in the world strutting their stuff during the day, and lots of other events going on down in the village at night.

While the eagerly anticipated 'Opening Party' was something of a let-down (big queues to get in, inflated drinks prices and half-empty venue), the rest of the week more than made up for it. We particularly enjoyed the 'Slopestyle' event in the Blackcomb terrain park - pro skiiers doing ridiculous tricks over the biggest jumps and features on the mountain... very impressive. The 'Slush Cup' was also a memorable day on the mountain; mountain staff spent the previous day digging a giant hole (approx 15m long) in the snow outside one of the mountain restaurants, and then filled it with water, ready for daring skiiers and boarders to attempt to glide across it. We arrived early the next day and secured a prime viewing position, ready to witness the organisers undergo the first task of the day - breaking the ice which had formed over the pool overnight; we were aware we would be in for a cold landing if we got it wrong. Leo, Dave, Ross, Josh, Jonny, Pete and myself all donned our finest (compulsory) fancy dress (Leo dressed in swimming shorts and cap and myself in an undersized yellow fishing outfit we found in the house) and got stuck in.

Thankfully, most of us made it across the first time, and it wasn't until we started attempting tricks that we got wet - it was without a doubt the coldest water I've ever been in when it did happen. Fortunately, we had a day of perfect blue sky and relatively warm temperatures so drying off wasn't too painful - skiing down afterwards with water sloshing around my ski boots was an experience I hope not to repeat, however! We were particularly impressed by a pair of American guys who got across on tandem skis (one set of skis with 2 sets of bindings on each ski) - something we'd never seen before. Here is a link to me narrowly making it across the pool, for anybody that hasn't seen - http://www.epixome.tv/o/view?t=1733a4979c95138&at=18450f4e1508781 . And another one to Leo making it look rather easier - http://www.epixome.tv/o/view?t=1720e275d02b086&at=17f7c0b346b8fbe . The Slush Cup day ended on a good note - in the evening we watched the 'Big Air' competition (fairly self-explanatory) in the village, before heading to the 'End Party' of the festival - which was definitely a step up from the opener. Our extended group of Whistler chums were all in attendance, and we managed to party the night away till 4am - a rarity in Whistler, as the clubs generally shut at 2.

The final blog wouldn't be complete without a special mention going out to our friend Mark, who has helped ease the financial burden over the course of the season. Working at a mountain restaurant, Mark spent much of the 6 months we spent skiing putting full meals through the tills as a portion of chips or a bowl of soup - which was always well appreciated. As the end of the season drew in, Mark became more and more generous, and his final day saw unprecedented levels of freebies. Having finished our (free) lunch, we decided to have a few beers in the sun - Coote was a little surprised when he approached the counter with a tray with 10 beers on it, only for Mark to wave him through - he was certainly a fitting winner  of the 'Employee of the Season' in our group's end of season awards.

Our last 'EuroApres' Wednesday of the season was also seen off in fitting style - it's produced numerous memorable moments throughout the season, and lived up to expectations. While the afternoon hours passed with nothing more spectacular than a little light pennying instigated by Pete, things took a turn for the worse once more by about 10pm. Having left our afternoon venue for another club, Longhorns, Ross took it upon himself to cause some mischief - with KK his primary target. Unfortunately Ross' attempt to mix things up with a cheeky trip went a little wrong - KK, a touch inebriated and paying no attention, soon found herself eating concrete... Not having had the awareness to put her hands out, KK ended up with a chipped tooth, cut lip and a couple of cuts on her nose, much to her displeasure. Being the trooper that she is, she partied the night away regardless - it wasn't until she woke up the next morning the shock of looking like an abused wife hit her! Thankfully the Whistler dentist fixed her up for a small fee, and she is now back to her best. It was also a night to forget for Josh Dorey, youngest member of the group and winner of the 'Most Corrupted' Whistler resident - he spent some quality time alone on his balcony at the end of the night....

The night before our departure, we arranged a big group meal at the Keg with our friends, and had a table of 30 in the end - a great way to say goodbye to everybody. We didn't want things to be too sophisticated, so after a tuneful goodbye from Jam and an awards ceremony hosted by yours truly, we headed to 80's night at Tommies, another of our favourite hangouts. It was strange saying goodbye to a group of people that we've spent so much time with and had such a great 6 months with, but we know we will meet most again in the years to come - special mentions go to KK and Dave for shedding tears... nice work. Post-night out, we headed to the Olympic rings for a final photo-call, and then became involved in an unfortunate brawl in McDonald's - a classy way to remember Whistler. On the walk home, some time around 5.30, we came across Mark, shivering outside his house waiting for his taxi to the airport.... having not slept post-Tommies, a mightily impressive effort.

We also collected our total day count on the last day - I narrowly managed the century with 101 days of skiing, with Leo and Cootey marginally behind, on 93 and 89 respectively. My beloved father did recently ask if I actually expected this to impress anybody... I reassured him that it pleases me, if nobody else! We also had great success on the deposit front, receiving all $350 back from our landlord, which was a nice reward for 2 solid days spent cleaning the place before we left. Unfortunately, Coote had burned all his deposit money by the time we boarded the plane home - an impulse $150 spent on a Vancouver Canucks jersey (still going strong in the play-offs!) coupled with $200 spent on excess baggage crippling him financially. Our journey back was all smooth, and we have enjoyed getting reacquainted with Cheltenham's nightlife over the last weekend, and have the arrival of KK and Dave to look forward to at the end of the week. I hope you've all enjoyed, or at least tolerated, reading what we've been up to for the last 6 months - unfortunately my life at home is far too dull to continue documenting, so goodbye for now! Josh Leo and Sam.

P.S. for those interested, here is the full list of awards as dished out at the 'Inaugural Alpine Ski and Snowboards Awards Ceremony'

• Most improved skier – Rich
• Most improved boarder - Pete
• Most likely to die in a skiing accident – Jonny
• Ethnic Minorities Award – Jam
• Biggest EuroApres write off – Mark
• Most promiscuous – Adam
• Employee of the season (person who has given most freebies…) – Mark
• Person most likely to be up for the first gondola – Andy/Ross
• Best skier and boarder (i.e somebody that is good at both) – Thrippy
• Most likely to be in Whistler for life – Pete
• Most likely to get married – Andy and Laura
• Sickliest couple –  Adam and Kate
• Worst injury – Tom
• Biggest heavyweight – Jonny                       
• Biggest lightweight – Jam
• Best accent – Steve ‘The Avalanche’ Barnes. Honourable mention for Jake’s Bristol twang.
• Most corrupted – Josh Dorey
• Best cougar catcher – Leo                       
• Best child catcher – Kate
• Class clown – Mark
• Most work shy – Cass/Jake
• Best drunk – Kara and Emily
• Most likely to fall over at inappropriate moments – KK
• Best goggle tan – Karin
• Best dancer – Jam
• Worst dancer – Josh Gadsby/Dave/Atkinson
• Best male skier – Ross
• Best male boarder – Dave
• Best female skier – Karin
• Best female boarder – Jam
• Best catchphrase – Ayoooo – Josh Gadsby.
• Best fight – Mark, Pete and Adam’s scrap in our kitchen.
• Laziest – Coote/Rich/Jake
• Best work ethic – Vicki
• Most inter-group relations - Kara
• Worst with money – KK
• Most likely to pull on a night out – KK
• Most ridiculous laugh – Mike/Katie
• Most rancid pull – James Atkinson                                                           
• Biggest flapper – Leo Gadsby
• Domestic Goddess - Sofia

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas....

....Unless you write a blog about it. We've now been back in Whistler for a week, and I've recovered sufficiently enough to write a little about our experiences there. It's safe to say it is the most ridiculous place I've ever visited, and our three days there seem to merge into one long, alcohol clouded blur. Having flown to Vegas via Phoenix, our five strong group (myself, Coote, Katie, Emily and Cass) arrived in the early evening and headed straight out - first stop, Hooters; surprisingly enough, the girls' choice - closet lesbians?? Perhaps. We then returned to our hotel for a few drinks before heading to 'Pure', the nightclub at Caesar's Palace. Clubbing Vegas style is a far cry from what we've got used to in Whistler - it felt very strange not being surrounded by twenty-something ski bums, instead rubbing shoulders with middle aged men in suits, and even some black people! It's not often you come across them in Whistler..... The first night ended with an ill-advised casino crawl back to our hotel, taking in Caesar's Palace, the Bellagio, Paris, Planet Hollywood and ending in our hotel, the MGM Grand. Em almost struck gold on the way home when, having been correctly calling red or black for a couple of shady looking Mexican chaps (and winning them close to $4000 in the process), she was offered $600 as a little show of thanks. Unbelievably, Em had a turn of benevolence (slash stupidity), and refused to accept the money, despite the man trying to press it into her hand several times. To my horror, he eventually got the message and wandered into the night, taking with him Em's only chance to win big.

Our second day involved some lazing by the pool (despite slightly disappointing weather), followed by a lengthy search for an all you can eat buffet which had been recommended to us. The scale of Vegas never failed to amaze us - it seemed to take around 20 minutes to get through each hotel and getting lost was par for the course - we eventually settled on a different buffet, which still proved to be an excellent hangover cure. We spent the afternoon wandering up and down the strip, marvelling at the over the top grandeur of the hotels which line it - the Bellagio was particularly impressive. We also indulged in a plastic guitar filled with some kind of reasonably unpleasant cocktail - an impulse buy which seemed a good idea at the time; when in Rome.... Our second night finished at 'Lavo', the club in the Palazzo hotel, which was an awesome place - again the pull of the casino was too much to resist at the end of the night, and Em and I crawled up to our rooms at 7.15am, just as some neighbours were leaving for a day trip to the Grand Canyon.

Our final day was again spent wandering the strip, taking in the few hotels we hadn't yet been to; the Luxor particularly sticks in the memory - shaped like a pyramid with an enormous sphinx outside the front. The others then retired to the pool whilst I went to make my fortune on the poker table. Having dreamt of joining a high rollers table, I was quickly brought back to earth when told the minimum buy-in for some games was $10,000, and made a beeline for the $50 table. I managed to avoid disgracing myself, and the Nottingham boys will be happy to hear that, true to form, I pulled the odd bluff out of the bag; I refrained from any hissing though. In the evening, we met up with Adrin, who was our saving grace during our stay; Katie had met him at work a couple of days before leaving for Vegas - he owns and runs two tennis academies there and had enough contacts in the Vegas underworld to get us into clubs for free during our stay, a big bonus for Coote and I, who are sadly lacking in breasts - a must have for cheap entry into Vegas clubs. We danced the final night away at 'Tao', a particularly happening club in the Venetian hotel; we had a great time again, but were slightly concerned that, having left the club circa 4am, Em was nowhere to be seen. We headed straight for the casino, expecting to find her huddled around a craps table, but were surprised to see her in a quiet corner of the casino, deep in conversation on the phone. It turned out, she was on the phone to her bank in England, coherently explaining that she had been mugged in Vegas and would be needing an extension of her overdraft - a cunning ruse to furnish her with enough money to bring down one more casino... Or not.

Gambling-wise the trip was an undoubted failure - Cass was $100 or so up, but Coote, Katie, Em and I were all in the red - all to be expected in Vegas, and at least we lived to tell the tale. This did hang in the balance on the trip home, as I endured a day of hungover travelling which will live long in the memory, for all the wrong reasons. I shan't go into detail, as this blog is generally intended to embarrass people other than myself, but I can confidently say that 2 bus rides, 2 flights and a lengthy taxi journey back to Whistler were the worst way to overcome a painfully unpleasant hangover. We eventually arrived back in Whistler somewhat dishevelled and desperate to get to bed - Vegas was an awesome place, and we hope to be back there one day - perhaps for a certain Mathieu Smith's stag do.... I also had an unpleasant awakening the following day, with the news of a $125 phone bill for my 3 day stay in Vegas - just the news my wallet did not need. Donations welcome.

As ever, life in Whistler continued without us, with Leo's friend Felix arriving for a two week stay just before we left for Vegas. While we were away, Leo, Felix, Kara and KK went snowmobiling on a frozen lake, something they unsurprisingly raved about; KK got the extreme sports bug and nailed a bungee jump a few days later - such a thrill seeker. Felix also got his first taste of EuroApres and, needless to say, he came a cropper much like many before him - the night ended with plentiful vomit and an empty beer jug... Stay classy. Leo and Felix have hit the slopes hard every day, and Felix has done incredibly well having only spent 5 days on skis before coming out; we've taken him down some pretty brutal stuff and he's now nailing double blacks like a seasoned pro. The tree runs have taken some getting used to however; having arrived at the bottom of a particularly narrow one the other day, and with goggles resolutely steamed up, he observed, "the problem with the tree runs is, every time I do a turn, I shoot straight into a fucking tree!" We told him, practice makes perfect and were straight back up the top - he is becoming more and more of a powder hound with each day that passes, and we took him on the thirty minute hike to the top of Flute Bowl to mark his last day today.

Scarily, we are now just nine days away from coming home, and the time is flying by. Work-wise things are gradually dying down and we finish our assorted jobs by the end of this week - Emily is fortunate to still be in employment, however, having spent a shift the other week victimising a midget who happened to be visiting the Keg. Having spotted a small person, she asked him if he would be needing a children's menu... Unsurprisingly, the middle aged dwarf looked at her blankly, and Emily (the ever professional hostess), asked him again if he would be needing a children's menu; it wasn't until another member of the  party pointed to the little fellow and mouthed 'MIDGET', that Em got the message.... and hung her head in shame. We also had a particularly satisfying incident the other day when, whilst jumping the queue at a local nightclub (thanks to Katie's connections once more), our roundly disliked landlord pitched up and attempted to get in with us - Katie informed the bouncers that we didn't know him, and he was left alone in the cold outside, crying 'I'm with those guys'... Despite the fact that this makes the retrieval of our damage deposits an even remoter possibility, the mental image of his face will always be a fond memory.

Today is the opening day of the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival, so the final week is shaping up to be a good one. We're heading to the (extortionately overpriced) opening party tonight, and there are music and snow-related events every day in the village. Ice hockey fever is taking over Whistler at the moment, with the local(ish) team, the Vancouver Canucks, deep in the end of season play offs - they are currently 2-0 up in a best of 7 series to get to the semi final, and we are doing our best to get into the spirit of things. We also had the final house party of our stay at our house on Thursday night, and the house remains in a half decent condition, so we are crossing our fingers for our damage deposit - it would be a welcome cash injection just before getting home. All in all, we've had an awesome few weeks and are looking forward to a final big one before we get home! Lossa love, Josh Leo and Sam.

Spring has Sprung

The great melt has begun! The temperature is now consistently above freezing in the village, and great slabs of snow have been falling off our roof over the last few days; we've also had the novel experience of walking on dry roads once more. Spring skiing is certainly different to what we've been used to; while the snow is still decent at the top of the mountain, the lower runs are somewhat soupy by the end of each day, bringing back fond memories of skiing in the Alps. This weekend, in a bid to avoid tiresome weekend lift queues, we all took up some food and a few beers and built a jump in the middle of nowhere and spent the day going up and down, with some spectacular results; Jonny tried a backflip for the first time, and escaped with just a bloody lip - Ross cracked out a pair of mini skis and attempted various tricks, with limited success. All in all, it is nice to see the sun again, and we are getting increasingly competitive about our goggle tans...

Mumps update is as follows - having taken Kara's name in vain in the previous blog, the mumps have continued to spread, with Kara first on the list. Katie was next to fall, and while they haven't quite experienced the swelling levels of Jonny, they've both had to have time off work and also off the mountain, much to their displeasure. The rest of our house had a group trip to the doctors last week for a mumps booster jab in an attempt to avoid joining the growing list - unfortunately, the nurse informed us that it was likely we were already incubating, and if so the jab would make it worse! I wake up each morning and the first thing I do is stroke my chin to check for swelling - as of yet the rest of us are all clear, long may it last.

Our house has also had the first serious injury of the season (about time too!!) in the last few days - whilst flying down a tree run in typically reckless fashion, Emily had rather too close an encounter with a sizeable evergreen, and broke her wrist in two places. Having been seen by a frustratingly unsympathetic ski patrol bloke, Em skiied down and self diagnosed a sprained wrist, and resolved to see what it was like in the morning. As she continued to wince with pain every other minute, she eventually went to have it looked at, and the doctor gave her the bad news (for a sizeable fee, of course), and she is in a cast for the next few weeks. Every cloud has a silver lining, however, and in this case that silver lining is the assortment of lewd messages adorning the cast - classy. Our immediate reaction when she got home with her fresh cast was to provide some liquid relief, and she's still loving life despite not being able to ski - she's still able to work luckily, and remains firmly on board for our Vegas trip next week.

We've had a fresh raft of house guests over the past couple of weeks who, as ever, keep things interesting at 8566 Buckhorn Place. Katie's Asian friend from home, Chonger, deserves an honourable mention and goes down as one of our favourite visitors so far - he was here for three weeks and quickly adapted to the Whistler way of living, skiing hard in the day and doing his best to defy his Oriental roots when the drinking began in the evenings. Emily's friend Trev also provided some unquestionably memorable moments - alas, he too has now flown the nest.... We've also just welcomed Kara's friend Vicki, who stayed with us over New Year, back into the Buckhorn fold. A second trans-Atlantic holiday in three months may seem extravagant to some, but we have all been glad to see her, and when there are strapping young men like Leo on this side of the Atlantic, who can blame her.

I'm currently enjoying my first day off in a while, having worked the last ten in a row, and Coote is stuck into his usual weekend double shift routine. We have still been finding time to party, with a big few days for St. Patrick's Day and Chonger's last night in Whistler last week. During this time, we spent quite some time developing our artistic talents, thanks to Chonger and Emily's inability to remain conscious after a night out - as some of you may have seen, Chonger got particularly well covered - having used permanent marker, he did a good job to scrub it all off by the time he boarded his flight the next day. Emily was less successful on that front, eventually giving up and leaving for work with 'THUG LIFE' still firmly adorning her knuckles. Tonight, we are venturing out to see 'A Skillz' on Emily's recommendation - previous recommendations have received a mixed reception, so who knows what's in store tonight...

Kara's Mum is currently in town, so Kara's been enjoying living in luxury post-mumps. She did, however, choose a somewhat unusual way to welcome her mother to Whistler - a few catch-up drinks at Brandy's turned into a few more... which turned into getting cut off (refused service). Having been dropped back to her mum's hotel room by Jonny, she proceeded to wander into the night - never a good idea in a ski resort. Jonny, having almost arrived home, got a call from Kara's Mum asking where she was and, being a true gent, went off to search for her. Having stopped by a few of our usual haunts, Jonny arrived at the hotel at a loose end, but thankfully found Kara soon after.... passed out, on the sofa in reception. Welcome to Whistler, Mummy!

We also had a house 'Swap Day' in honour of Laura's birthday the other week - boarders skiied and skiiers boarded - just to spell it out. All in all, the day was a success, and most of us enjoyed the swap more than expected. While Leo backed out as he couldn't bear to be separated from his skis for more than five minutes, Coote and I struggled our way down all day, with some helpful tips from Jam meaning we gradually worked out how to turn, as well as stop. Unsurprisingly, we all spent a lot more time in the snow than usual, but it was good to see how the other side live; we then rewarded ourselves with another hefty EuroApres session - see Facebook photos of Laura in fine form. I even boarded again the next day, although I've decided that's enough for the time being - my body is only just recovering! The week ahead is shaping up to be another good one, with the last few powder days of the season forecast for the middle of the week - we also have Vegas to look forward to (leaving a week on Tuesday), and the arrival of Leo's friend Felix next weekend. Over and out, Josh, Leo and Sam.

Ayooooooo!

Leo and Coote have flown the nest! I've been alone in our bedroom for the last few days, as the other two have headed down to Vancouver for a few days, along with our housemates Emily and Katie, and Katie's friend Chris. They were hoping to hit the shops, watch an ice hockey game, and sample Vancouver's nightlife, before heading back for work tonight. Thanks to Katie's job at the Hilton in Whistler, they've been hooked up with cheap rooms at the Hilton down there, so are seeing the sights in style! I've had work for the last few days, and am saving all available cash for the planned Vegas trip, meaning I was unable to join them unfortunately. Latest news is that Leo and Emily were waiting at the bus stop, and it was looking like Coote was about to miss the bus home, so it remains to be seen whether they all return in one piece - fingers crossed.

The last few weeks have also seen mumps infiltrate our circle of friends in Whistler; our housemate Andy was the first to fall, and had to endure nine days off work and snowboarding, much to his disgust. His symptoms were somewhat less extreme than the next to be affected, our friend Jonny, whose swollen jowls led to overweight bullfrog/Fat Bastard from 'Austin Powers' comparisons. As his ever unsympathetic friends, our immediate reaction upon seeing his unfortunate state was to burst into helpless laughter.... which lasted for the best part of five minutes. His symptoms have now subsided and his face is returning to normality; the mental image of his over-sized head stays with me however, and never fails to bring a smile to my face. We're hoping that the worst is over and none of the rest of us will get mumpy; Kara has expressed concerns over the past few days, but we've so far put it down as a cry for attention....

Our working lives are still going well; Coote and Leo are enjoying working together at the Keg, and have an immediate point of call when they need shifts swapping. Leo has his sights set on a laid back working attitude for the rest of our time here; he's handed in his notice at the hotel where he has been working as a cleaner, and is going down to two shifts a week at the Keg for April, with the aim of showing his friend Felix a good time when he arrives for a two week holiday. I had my first (unwelcome) spot of action in my bouncing job the other day, arriving at my 8pm start time to find Jono, the bar manager, locked in an argument with a couple of irate customers, who had been wrongly accused of walking out without paying. Things eventually got a little out of hand, and Jono motioned me over to eject the troublemakers. I grasped the more worked up of the pair, which didn't go down well; he stood up, shouted 'YOU CAN FUCK OFF TOO', and shoved me, pretty hard, in the neck. Doing my best to live up to my bouncer title, I returned the shove, at which point he pulled back his fist and I braced myself, resigned to the fact that he was going to punch me in the face. Fortunately, one of his friends stepped in and grabbed him just before he landed the punch (a wise man, who knows how a hardened bouncer like myself would have reacted...!), and Jono and I managed to bundle them out - certainly a good way to get the blood racing at the start of a usually uneventful Monday night shift! In other employment news, I was crowned 'Employee of the Month' for February at the Spaghetti Factory - rest assured I am going places in the spaghetti industry.

We have also been swept away by Whistler's latest night-time phenomenon, 'EuroApres'. As the name suggests, this is an apres-ski event, held in one of the village clubs, and supposedly with a European twist. As far as we are aware, the only European aspect is that Jagermeister is in plentiful supply, but we haven't let this put us off. So each Wednesday, our gang troops down straight from the slopes, and proceeds to have a beer or two - it is certainly a surreal feeling being in a fully functional nightclub at 4pm; it also inevitably means that most are tucked up in bed by midnight. I came a cropper the other week when, having finished work at 6, I joined the others and 'caught up' rather too effectively. Fortunately, Jam was on hand to take advantage of my inebriation, video camera in hand... being a nocturnal kind of girl, she had fully edited and compiled the footage by the time I woke up the next day and was ready and waiting to drive home the pain of my hangover. Many of you will already have seen the video, and for those of you that haven't, I am glad.

The skiing has been good as ever, with plenty of fresh snow this week, and another metre or so expected by Wednesday. It is gradually getting a little warmer so some of the lower runs can be slushy by the end of warmer days, but there is enough snow that the mountain has extended its winter season until the end of May, which doesn't usually happen! News has just broken of some extreme bad luck for a fellow Whistler resident; the girl in question spent a rather chilly night stuck on a gondola up the mountain last week. She somehow managed to get onto a gondola which was only supposed to be running on its lower half, and was still on the upper half when the gondola was turned off for the night. Having set her scarf on fire (ha!) to try and catch attention, and without her mobile phone, she settled down for the night in what the report described as "a skirt and thin jacket" - definitely an unenviable place to find oneself. Having said that, every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case that lining is compensation to the tune of $25,000, as well as a lifetime ski pass. We've been discussing how much we'd have to be paid to spend a night on a gondola in a skirt, and the general consensus has been around the $5000 mark - Whistler Blackcomb really could have saved themselves some money...

Love to all, Josh, Leo and Sam.

Dungeon Deep Freeze

Three weeks have passed since our last update, and February has brought the dump of snow we had been craving - we had over 2 metres in the space of a week, which made for some pretty unbelievable skiing. We now know the resort well enough to head straight for the best spots when fresh snow falls, and have even got into the habit of waiting at the bottom of lifts higher up the mountain while ski patrol carry out their avalanche testing. Leo and I patiently waited for nearly an hour last week, with a crowd of fellow ski-bums steadily building - a mighty cheer went up when the lift finally opened, and we were rewarded with a couple of runs through waist deep, untouched powder. We were annoyed not to have taken our cameras up that day; we'd have liked a snap of our lone tracks. Temperatures have returned to suitably arctic levels - on Wednesday the Whistler mountain website proudly announced they were expecting 'highs' of -20˚C, and it got as cold as -27; unsurprisingly, the shop on the mountain which sells balaclavas was doing a roaring trade. Our landlord has also hit us with a heating ban due to our excessive consumption up to this point, making life in the dungeon pretty unpleasant at times - on several occasions I've woken up and started going on my laptop, only for my hands to go numb after a few minutes...

During the period of heavy snowfall, one of my skis has developed a frustrating habit of popping off without warning, which has inevitably left me in a couple of sticky situations. The other day, whilst traversing across a track above a cliff, I stopped suddenly and aforementioned ski popped off - I glanced behind me, praying to find the troublesome ski waiting for me on the track. Unfortunately, it had slid off, and lodged itself halfway down a steep slope, with cliffs and a 30 metre drop onto rocks waiting beneath. Somewhat nervous about the best way to proceed, I turned to ask Leo whether he thought I should try and retrieve it; helpfully, he pointed out that I "didn't have much choice"... So, I took the plunge and spent the best part of half an hour slowly kicking steps down the snow, whilst trying not to soil myself. Ice climbing in ski boots is not something I'll be doing again in a hurry; I felt like a severely disabled mountain goat. Leo watched on from above, half amused and half wondering what he'd do if I did end up sliding off the cliff. Fortunately, I lived to tell the tale  - I was a very relieved man when I climbed back onto the track, ski in hand.

We've had the Coote clan in town for the past week, and enjoyed showing them Whistler at its best. Coote broke the habit of a lifetime and managed to catch the 7.24 bus each morning to get on the slopes with them, and he even led Ian and Emily on a hike up the glacier on their final day. Ian was less keen on 'In the Spirit', a dense icy tree run! Having family in town held dual benefits - we had a nice meal at the Keg on their penultimate night, and also returned from the mountain one day to find our fridge fully stocked, and our freezer brimming with ice lollies - a sight which brought a tear of joy to my eye. We also have some house guests once more which always makes our lives more interesting; Laura and Andy's friend Joyce is staying for a week, and Katie's friend Chris has just arrived for a 3 week holiday - they've been briefed to make themselves scarce if our increasingly annoying landlord turns up!

Our working lives are still going well; Leo has got so much cash he doesn't know what to spend it on, and Coote has been working lots of hours - he worked 14 consecutive days before his parents arrived, and is currently toiling away at a double shift. I'm stuck into a 5 day a week working routine, which is a little too much like the real world for me, but keeps the bank balance ticking over. I had a particularly amusing/disturbing incident at the end of a late shift the other night; having finished at about 2am, I was sitting in the corner of the bus stop, surrounded by drunken revellers, attempting to mind my own business. I then made the mistake of turning to my left, to be confronted by a large penis, mid-urination. Fortunately, there was a sheet of perspex between us - had there not been, the chap would have been pissing more or less directly into my eyes. Not knowing quite how to react, I gawped for a second and then went back to minding my own business, safe in the knowledge that the bloke was too drunk to see me - he finished relieving himself and then wandered into the night.

As ever, we've been ensuring we have time in our busy schedules to drink to excess - we have our final rent payment to look forward to on Tuesday, so we've been continuing to frequent the Whistler house party circuit, and are going out tomorrow night to show Joyce and Chris the joys of Moe Joe's on a Sunday night. Leo and I indulged in a lengthy late night wrestling session post-house party the other day;  Leo took things too far and got his claws out, leaving me with a nice cut down my forehead, and sparking Harry Potter comparisons. We also enjoyed leading our friend Jonny's brother astray in the form of an evening playing 'Edward Ciderhands'. For those that aren't aware, this involves duct taping a bottle of cider to each hand, and consuming them at high speed. Needless to say, this results in chaos; Jonny's brother was in bed within a couple of hours, Leo spent some quality time with the kitchen sink, and I ended the night with no trousers on, much to my bemusement.

Unfortunately, the final rent payment shows that we're getting ever closer to the end of an incredible time out here; we've still got eight weeks to go but are expecting it to fly by. We're all doing our best to get to the hallowed mark of 100 days on the mountain by the time we leave, but it's going to be a close run thing. Our Vegas trip is still very much on the cards and just needs some final organisation, and we also have the Telus Ski and Snowboard festival to look forward to in April, where some of the world's best descend on Whistler to strut their stuff. Love to all, Josh, Leo and Sam.

Aussie Aussie Aussie...

Depressingly, we have now reached the half-way point in our trip and are hurtling towards our return home all too quickly. With that in mind, we have had a pretty hectic couple of weeks, with Australia Day on January 26th a particular highlight. Australia Day coincided neatly with KK's birthday, so the whole house, as well as assorted house-guests, were determined to celebrate in style. We began the day with a champagne breakfast, with KK and Katie pulling out all the stops on the baking front - a pretty sophisticated way to start the day, and a far cry from the way it finished. After various people had hit the slopes for a few hours, we reconvened mid-afternoon to embrace Aussie culture - in the form of alcohol.

Most of the Aussies had packed their boardshorts, rugby shirts and blow-up kangaroos ready for  the big day, and Whistler village was buzzing from late morning onwards. Unfortunately I was working in the evening, so had to take it comparatively easy; we bouncers need to have our wits about us. As I left for work, the rest of the house came home to carry on the celebrations with a house party chez nous - flagrantly disrespecting our landlords anti-party stance. My evening at work was surprisingly quiet - we had to throw out one extremely drunk chap (for headbutting his wife! Ha!), but otherwise my main duty was to stand at the back door, doing my best to look mean. Having finished work at 1.30, I was looking forward to getting home and re-joining the house party - only to receive a reasonably incomprehensible phone call from a heavily slurring Leo, which went a little something like this - "the police were here, but it's fine now. Can you bring me home a cheeseburger?". As it turned out, our house had got a little busier than expected, and the police had responded to a couple of noise complaints - fortunately Emily was on hand to turf out the remaining revelers. Needless to say, the Whistler shoe thief struck again; we are expecting a second hand shoe shop to begin trading any day soon...

We are also in the midst of the biggest animal welfare scandal to hit British Columbia in recent years. It's recently come out that one of the big outdoor adventure companies slaughtered 100 of their huskies following the Olympics last year due to a lack of business; having never been a dog-lover, I wasn't fully prepared for the strength of reaction this would provoke - however, it's certainly been poorly received, and some nutters have even been sending them death threats! Nothing like a good animal rights activist...

The last week has also seen the arrival of a rather different crowd in Whistler, due to the annual 'Winter Pride Festival'. The influx of benders has been both entertaining and good for our working lives, with most of the restaurants pretty busy at the moment. We were also amused when looking at the itinerary for Pride Week, which included a 'late night pool party' at the Sports Centre down the road (similar to Cheltenham Leisure Centre), costing a mere $50! Leo booked his ticket weeks in advance - better safe than sorry.

We've also been indulging in a bit of celebrity spotting, with Whistler proving a bit of a haven for A-listers. Stars spotted so far include Justin Timberlake, Will Ferrell, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Pegg. Poor old Simon was having a solitary dinner at the Keg on Tuesday night - lots of money but no mates! Unfortunately I haven't actually seen any of the above - my best spot being a man who looked a bit like Kevin Pietersen...

Over the last couple of days we've completed a 'deep clean' of our house, at the request of our landlord. What was a seemingly simple, if tedious, task became a little less appealing when we realised our toilet was resolutely blocked. Being the real man of the house, I took it to task with a bucket of water, and emerged triumphant, though with slightly less fragrant feet... It is quite nice having a clean house once more though, and we have resolved to keep our dungeon clean for the time being at least.

Skiing-wise, the disappointing snow conditions have largely continued, with it being a little too warm to have great snow. This has led us to embark on more ambitious hikes to access some decent snow - we've hiked for half an hour a couple of times over the last week to get to some fresh snow; rewarding, if pretty knackering. We've also managed to drag KK and Kara along with us on some of the shorter ones, which  came as a shock to us and them. We're also trying to develop our jumping ability, something which has so far been on the back burner; the aim is to have a 360 nailed by the end of the season, but progress is a little slow. After a day of practicing, I've mastered an ungainly 90˚ airborn turn, Leo has completed a 180 with minimal style and Coote has won the competition for biggest air... and most spectacular crash. Watch this space.

As ever, the house parties have continued in style, with a thermal themed party at some friends up the road on Wednesday night. Not wanting to be spoilsports, we donned our finest undergarments, only to find, upon arrival, that most of the party had been less adventurous. Fortunately, our house-guest Rob and friend Ross took the attention away from my thermal clad lanky legs by repeatedly exposing their genitalia - see Facebook photos. Granny, look away. Again, we are all well, and leaving shortly for what is sure to be the highlight of the week, dinner with Emily's mum at the Brewhouse. Love to all, Josh, Leo and Sam. X

Ice Ice Baby

A week of treacherous weather conditions have introduced us to the darker side of life in Whistler - a few warm days followed by some very cold ones resulted in much of Whistler village (and the ski slopes) being covered in an inch or so of ice, making getting around a touch troublesome. Leo inadvertently found himself able to slide from the top of our road practically to the doorstep after a late shift at work the other night, and most of the house have found themselves on their backs at some point. I staked my claim for most spectacular fall of the season the other night when, having emerged from a drinking session at a friend's house, I proceeded to slide the length of the driveway on my back, coming to a halt with my feet on the bonnet of our taxi. Tears of laughter from my ever-sympathetic housemates (as well as the taxi driver) followed, bringing back memories of the unfortunate lamppost incident from episode three.

As ever, we have continued to burn the candle at both ends; we've had various visitors for the past week or so, and have done our best to show them the delights of Whistler by day and night. We had a reasonably dramatic late night incident the other week when Coote took it upon himself to get off the bus, unannounced, approximately three miles from home - a bad idea when it's -15 outside. I was apparently unconcerned, but fortunately Emily took charge of the situation and ordered him a taxi, which managed to find him on the bus route home. While his alcohol-soaked brain deemed it a good idea at the time, he later admitted it was "a bad choice"...

Our working lives are still looking reasonably fruitful - Leo is stashing away the cash as ever, and looking to save enough by the end of the season to take him interrailing around Europe in the summer. Coote and Emily are soon to join Leo at the Keg, thanks to two of his fellow bussers heading back to Australia - four of our ten person house will be working at the same place! I, meanwhile, have taken my first steps into the world of bouncing - news which will come as a surprise to most of you. I initially thought it was some kind of weak joke when I was asked to be a doorman at the bar next door to the Spaghetti Factory, but no. Fortunately, the punters at the Crystal Lounge haven't started any trouble yet, so my main job is standing by the door and giving people a stamp when they want to go for a fag. I am fast establishing myself as Whistler's least threatening doorman (they only have XXL or larger shirts for doormen, so my shirt bears a certain similarity to a tent), and my next shift is Australia Day on Wednesday. I'm reliably informed that this is essentially an excuse for Aussies, and Whistler residents in general, to spend all day drinking, so expect me to be dragging people out by the scruffs of their necks come Wednesday night...... perhaps not.

Thanks to the ice, the snow has taken a turn for the worse over the last week, with a bone shattering crust over much of the mountain. Coote, who has gained a reputation for laziness during his time in Canada, has seized the opportunity to spend extra time in bed, and the two of us went up the mountain the other day, only to be down within an hour - we are gradually becoming snow snobs. We've also managed to get our hands on a snowboard, and Leo decided to give it a go the other day while the snow isn't up to much - Emily and KK are also giving it a go for a week while they have friends staying, resulting in plentiful whining about board-related aches and pains. Talking of aches and pains, we've had the first few serious injuries of the trip in our extended friendship group, with a broken foot, torn shoulder ligaments and a broken wrist unfortunately putting various friends out of action in the last few days. As of yet, we remain unscathed, but are counting the days - getting fixed is an expensive business out here as well - $1000 for an X-ray... and people complain about the NHS...

We've also started saving for an end of season blowout trip to Las Vegas with an assortment of friends from Whistler - I'm stashing away $10 at the end of every shift, which will be going straight on red when we get there. Judging by my past record in Nottingham casinos, I don't hold out much hope for returning with any money... Flights and accommodation are actually surprisingly affordable, and Leo is tossing up whether to join us - he will be underage once more unfortunately! Either way it should be a good way to end our time out here - the plan is for two or three nights there, and I hope to be waking up to a tiger in the bathroom at least once. All in all, everything is well and we're still loving life out here - a dumping of snow over the next few days is all that we need. Until next time...