The snow has arrived! Having spent two weeks willing it to come, the heavens opened at the end of last week - just a light covering in the village and around the house, but enough on the mountain for the powers that be to open the resort a week early! After some temporary issues with our lift passes, we got onto the mountain for the first time on Saturday and had an incredible day - blue skies and lovely powder. The bone-chilling temperatures (-18˚C yesterday) are going to take some getting used to, and signs saying 'Watch out for frostbite' are certainly a little worrying; tomorrow we are expecting 'highs' of -17˚C - certainly nothing to write home about...
We've also been having slight issues with our newly purchased ski boots; the bloke in the ski shop warned us that they would seem a bit tight at the start, but he didn't prepare us for the intense pain this tightness would cause. Indeed, during a quick thawing out session yesterday, Coote ripped off his boots to find they had drawn blood - the fact that he couldn't feel his feet meant he hadn't noticed the blood seeping through his socks. Hopefully after a few weeks they'll ease up, and in the meantime we'll grin and bear it - we've got a good group who are all a similar standard skiing-wise so we're making the most of the slopes; at the moment only ten percent of the lifts are open so when everything opens up on Thursday it will be a shock to the system!
As well as the incredible skiing, we've had our first taste of ice-hockey, which was unforgettable to say the least. Having gone down to the sports centre for a free ice-skating session, we ended up having rings run around us by a group of local kids for almost two hours - proficiency on skates would certainly have helped our cause. Despite our evident lack of talent, we had a hilarious game - Emily developed a unique technique of following her shots nose-first down the ice, and my competitive side definitely kicked in; I realised it was time to call it a day when I caught myself considering the best way of tripping up a particularly speedy 10 year old girl.
We're enjoying getting to know our housemates - a late night bonding session last week again descended into chaos. Playing twister, arm wrestling and indulging in a cinnamon eating competition all seemed like a good idea whilst blind drunk, but the photos tell a different story... Having initially been worried that our housemates could be a bit reserved (due to our landlord's insistence that he doesn't deal with 'party people'), we've quickly realised they are anything but - we're doing our best to keep up with them.
The three of us have also been briefed on everything we need to succeed as workers in Whistler - in order to qualify for a discounted lift pass, we had to sit through a two and a half hour talk designed to inspire us to better ourselves etc etc. Their 'inspirational' (cringeworthy) motto was 'Connect, Assist, Exceed', and we had the once in a lifetime experience of a motivational talk delivered by a man with Tourettes Syndrome, aptly nicknamed 'Twitchy' - he finished with a tear in his eye. While the organisers were seemingly hoping they would end the talk to a chorus of 'Hallelujah's', we were underwhelmed...
Leo and Coote's favourite memory of the week was a moment of particular misfortune on my part. I was strolling along in the middle of the day, talking to Coote who was across the street, only to walk straight into a lampost - at full pace. Miraculously, I escaped without a trademark black eye. The story probably loses something in the translation, but the uncontrolled laughter of Coote, Leo and assorted housemates is still ringing in my ears!
We all start work properly later this week, with the restaurants gearing up for American Thanksgiving at the weekend, so we're enjoying our last few days of blissful unemployment. We'll hopefully be skiing every day this week as we're mostly working evenings, and Coote is looking forward to a staff menu tasting at his restaurant tomorrow - rest assured there will be no leftovers with Sam 'The Dustbin' Coote around. We're also going to see Harry Potter tomorrow night, having heard rave reviews from various people across the pond, and uni friends will be glad to hear I've kept up my passion for cooking programmes - 'Come Dine With Me Canada' is a personal favourite. Love to one and all, Josh Leo and Sam
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