~*...the best snow is here at whitewater...*~

i woke up this morning to find it snowing beautifully outside.

if there was that much snow on the picnic table and trees, i knew that there would be tonnes more up at whitewater...and i was right.

it was just dumping snow at the hill. so much of it had fallen overnight that everywhere you went there was at least past your boot high powder. not to mention that 2cm of snow accumulated on your body just sitting on the chairlift.


i have never seen so much snow before in my life, and it was just coming down! everyone on the hill was stoked to be riding in such incredible snow. i can't count the number of times people said "this is the best snow i've ever seen".



its almost as if everyone who is here enjoying the powder are in on a big secret: the best snow in the world falls here at whitewater, a small resort with two dinky 30yr old double chairlifts, no lineups, and the best people to shred with.



riding the sprawler bowl put me in powder that was above my waist! nucking futz! the snow here on a good powder day is mindblowing, and that is exactly what today was.

i tried taking pix while riding, while being in motion. yah, its good when you don't have to worry about your camera gettin snow on it. the pix didn't really turn out that good though, or at least not as good as i wanted them to.


i did like the expression caught on my face here as i rode down the hill with a camera in my hand and snapped a shot. yup, that expression of awe pretty much sums up my day. pure powder heaven.



thanks jonas and frederick for another amazing day out.



if you love powder, you must make it to whitewater. you will be glad you did.
~*...normaste...*~

~*...powder surprise...*~

i headed up to whitewater with jonas and frederick today. it was a sunny day out so i expected hard packed groomed runs. instead, we were treated to 15cm of fresh powder...everywhere!

there was no real need to go out of bounds because there was snow everywhere. i was pleasantly surprised. clear sunny days out here are a treat, yet alone clear sunny days with powder.

we did a bit of trekking, but nothing more than a 10 minute hike. aah, what a beautiful day to ride.



there were lots of places to get fresh tracks. its amazing to see how picky people are when it comes to fresh tracks...they actually get upset when something is tracked up. hell, i'm just stoked to be riding powder. who cares if someone else has also ridden the same powder?



we spent a good portion of the day hitting the catch basin and all of the fresh snow that lead up to it. aah, the high of making fresh tracks is incredible.



what an incredible day at whitewater. this place is majik!

i went down into town later to buy a sub from subway to take with me snowboarding tomorrow, only to find that subway closed early tonight. grrrr. so i took my $5 and bought a beer at the rez avoir. it was regaae night, so the crowd was wikkid and the beats were 500% koots! the koots roots all stars were playing, and the vibe was irie.

i met a girl who asked me if i was the radiant light who tied the red hemp to the tree in front of the holy smoke cafe earlier in the week. whoah, didn't think anyone was watching us decorate the tree, yet alone see it as spreading light.

i made an origami crane and hung it with hemp from the tree.


and don't forget children, jesus christ is saviour of the world.


i'm riding again tomorrow. i hope the conditions are even better.

~*...normaste...*~

~*...i want to live here...*~

normdate 2.20.06
5:19pm

i'm sitting on the front porch of 315 observatory street waiting for july, the woman who is going to show me the place. i just met one of her roommates, jp, who let me in and me the tour already. i can see myself living here. this is where i want to live. the room is big, the living room is spacious, and it is just down the street from the hitching spot for whitewater, and there is already internet. oh, and the price is right.

i just looked at another place which was more expensice and super ghetto.

ew.

i hope this place works out for me. its funny that brandy, who lives in the home i'm staying at with andrea, was going to reccommend this place to me as she knew one of the guys who lived here. she said "norm, you are going to live there."

i want to live here. it is perfekt for me. feeding this energy. making it a reality.

my ipod battery is fukkin hosed. i only got 20 minutes of play time from a full charge before it died.

i do, however, have a laptop with wireless internet beside my bed/sofa at andrea's place. it is so good to be connected. i can't wait for my pc to make it out here. i hope graham can get it shipped here for free. that'd be sweet.

did i mention i really want this place?

my toes are cold.

i'm going to take a pikcha of this place. here is what the front porch looks like.


jp is from finland. thank you in finnish is kiitos. my thank you repetoire is up to 53 languages.

gp skiis and snowboards and from the looks of things he has a var too. oh man, this perfekt. i belong here.

hmm...who is this walking up. yup, its july here to show me the place. hi!

....alright, july skiis too. wikkid. i was introduced to their landlord who lives downstairs. now its up to july to discuss things over with her roommates and make a decision. shanti, the other woman who lives here, might have a friend who has priority for the room. i hope that falls through.

and the room belonged to johnny, brandy's friend.

~*...normaste...*~