~*...first tracks and a beach party...*~

randnorm saturday event in black rock city 2005

southern style vodka party
2:00pm-6:00pm
the 8th annual vodka party hosted by your down home friends from the atl. our hospitality is here to cool you down and get you hot! don't make us take 45gallons of vodka home! hosted by: velvet soulmine @ bi-polar and 4:30

photo by caroline miller

randnorm mind grenade

the golden rule: the man with the gold makes the rules

more mind grenades here

normdate 4.8.6

whitewater is closed during the week, so it has been five days since the lifts were running. that also meant that whitewater has been accumulating snow for five days without anyone riding it. jonas and frederic pikced me up early so that we could get to the mountain before the lifts opened. i was so excited to ride first tracks, and so were my swedish friends.

the last time i tried to make first tracks was at whistler in january. by the time we got to the chair lift, the lineup for the gondola looked like this:


there was a big lineup at whitewater for the first chair, but a big lineup here looks more like this:



there was lots of snow on the mountain, but the sun had been cooking it, so the powder was really thick and sticky. it is spring. it didn't matter to me though, making first tracks was a high i will never forget. no one in front of you on the chair lift, no tracks made on the runs...heaven!

it was also the annual whitewater beach party, so there was a hill full of people dressed up and enjoying some incredible spring conditions.



i even saw two guys riding snowbikes.


i took a little break and spun some poi outside of the lodge. my friend meredith who works at whitewater suggested i try spinning poi while snowboarding. hmmm...never thought of that before, so it was worth a try. turns out it is possible.

click here to see me poiboarding ;)

there was a live 5 piece marimba band playing inside the lodge, in celebration of beach weekend. i had never heard a marimba before, and i was blown away.

they look lke a xylophone, only bigger...and the sound is deep and heavy. the rhythms were so good i couldn't help but shake my ass in the middle of the lodge. what an incredible place to be! awesome snowboarding, people dressed up, first tracks, and a marimba band to dance to. oh yah, and some nelson brewery faceplant ale to drink (thanks jonas and frederic).

those who know are here...those who don't are somewhere else, and that's just fine with the people who are here.


~*...normaste...*~

~*...back on the west arm...*~

randnorm friday event in black rock city 2005

light harp: separate entities
8:00am-8:00pm
tonight at dusk the light harps will be reconfigured as three unique and separate entities. explore each harps unique interactive soundscape by playing and moving within each string of light. hosted by: jen
click here to learn more about the light harp


randnorm mind grenade

as we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible but more mysterious. - albert scheitzer

more mind grenades here

normdate 4.7.6

i spent the last three daze enjoying the majik of the east shore. just chillin out at the home of the mou collective triggers so much creativity in me. i was glad that jonas and frederic were able to see and experience the east shore before they leave nelson.

i introduced jonas to the joi of spinning poi, and the east shore provided the most beautiful places to tune into the force and spin.


the woodlands on the shore have some pretty big trees. this particular tree grows on the 140acres of the yasodhara ashram.



peace on the east...shore


sacred cabbageometry at the mou collective.


i spent this afternoon at lakeside park in nelson tossin a disc, spining poi, and learning how to spin staff. mckayla is a skilled poi and staff spinner, so it was great to have her as a teacher.



julia was also with us, and she an excellent poi spinner too. yay being taught by goddesses. i ain't gonna complain.



henna brought a few red stripe beers with her, so we enjoyed some stubbies in the park. aaah, chill friday afternoons spinning poi, tossing a frisbee, spinning staff, hacky sacking, and drinkin red stripe. east shore, west arm...lake kutenaiis a whole lotta alright ;)

~*...normaste...*~

~*...hot springs and the temple of divine light...*~

randnorm tuesday event in black rock city 2005
digital dump!!!
tuesday - monday, 8:00am-9:30am
when your digital camera just has to take a dump...you can't take it to the port-a-potty. so bring it by and we will dump the pix to cd for you! bm04 saw 18gb served! late afternoon hours (if any) will be posted. hosted by: hot wheelz @ catharsis and 6:00

photo by jon ross

randnorm mind grenade

money can't buy happiness, unless you spend it on toys - normurai and dynovac

normdate 4.4.6

mckayla, owen, julia, and i showed up at jonas and frederic's place just after 1pm. our destination was the ainsworth hot springs about 45mins north east of nelson. i had never been, and i'd heard that despite the commercialism of it all, that it was worth the trek.

the clouds captured amongst the kutenai mountains created majikal dragons that loomed above the waters of kootenay lake.


when dragons fly away, the sun is free to scorch the earth with fire.

the hot springs were definitely worth the drive. nestled right on the west shore of kutenai lake, it had three beautiful pools and a 150ft horseshoe cave. it was an excellent way to relax and enjoy the company of friends.



the horseshoe cave was dark, mysterious, natural, and the source of the hot water that feeds the springs. it is also pretty fukkin hot in the caves. it got difficult to breath in there after a while..and the steam wasn't really that ideal for takin pikchaz.



the caves were ideal for singing and chanting. you could hear the echoes of your voice, your chants, bounce off the moist rock walls. their policy of no moaning or chanting in the cave isn't really policed that well ;)



click here to see a 360degree virtual tour of the ainsworth hot springs.

even at the hot springs, the dragons flew above us.


after an sesationally relaxing adventure at the hot springs, we drove to the free ferry across lake kootenay heading for the east shore.




have i mentioned how breathtaking the ferry to the east shore is? even on cloudy daze, the ferry ride is still beautiful.



its kinda hard to not have your head in the clouds when the clouds are right there in your face. crazy dragons they be.



once on the east shore, we made a stop at the yasodhara ashram. owen was telling us about his friend charles from victoria who was living at the yasodhara ashram. sure enough, the first person we saw outside of the main house was charles, and two beautiful goddesses. it was amazing seeing owen and charles reconnect. it was pure. it was real. it was powerful. it would prove to be a theme that radiates from this place.



the yasodhara ashram is a vibrant spiritual community where people of all ages work together to expand their awareness and to live the teachings of yoga. it rests on 120acres of woodland, where the mountains touch the waters of kootenay lake. i cannot think of anywhere more appropriate than the east shore of lake kootenay to create a sacred place like the yasodhara ashram: mountains, woodlands, on the shore of a lake.

charles took us on a tour of the ashram. words cannot describe how unbelievably breathtaking, beautiful, and gorgeous this place is. the force is beyond powerful here. this is the place where jedis train.




the many trees at the ashram have just begun to embrace the spring weather, and will soon bear fruit. the organic garden and fruit orchard will soon be in full bloom.



the beauty of the ashram revealed to me why the east shore has been so overwhelming and powerful each time i come...there is a jedi academy here! but it wasn't until we arrived at the temple that i truly understood how powerful this ashram really is.



the temple of divine light is the holy place where these beautiful beings gather each night for satsang, a sanskrit term that means "to be in the company of the wise."



as i entered the temple, i was overwhelmed by an intesnse feeling of peace, of light, of inner self. i could try to make attempts at describing what it felt like, but it is beyond words. i hadn't felt anything this intense since i stood at the temple of dreams at burning man.



the temple of divine light is a holy place. it draws power and light to it. the views from the many windows of the temple offer the most breathtaking images of nature, of trees, of mountains, of water, of light.



i've got to come up with a different term than breathtaking, eh? mindblowing? wikkid fresh? kick ass? no matter what word i choose to describe this place, it does not come close to being there.

inside the temple we chanted, hearing our voices echo off the walls of the huge dome over our head. i moved, i danced, i flowed, i was one with the force. i can only imagine what it must be like to satsang on a daily basis in the temple of divine light.

my friend anastazia had spent last summer here at the yasodhara ashram. charles enjoyed satsang with her while she was here. it also turns out that there is a beautiful picture of her on the back of the yasodhara information pamphlet. noice one stazie \m/^_^\m/



charles took us down to the beach, just past the prayer room. we marvelled at how gorgeous the east shore is and watched the sun set behind the mountains.


thank you charles for the guided tour of your home. it is beyond majik.

we were pretty hungry, so we headed over to the home of the mou collective which was less than a 5minute drive from the ashram. ali and wanaki were there, and wanaki's mother, riviere. we feasted on delicious food, including pasta and coconut curry *mmmmm*

i love hanging with the mou collective. they constantly shatter what i believe is possible, showing me new and different ways to embrace life.

we watched the animatrix on the projector screen, which was epic.

i was beat, as was everyone else. i didn't make it through the entire movie, and passed out half way through it. what an incredible day in the kootenays. from hot springs, to jedi academy, to the mou collective. the force flows powerfully on the east shore. we are all one. we are all different.

same same but different.

~*...normaste...*~

~*...pulpit rock...*~

randnorm monday event in black rock city 2005

animal exchange
monday-sunday
come to cuddle puddle camp and exchange one of your animals for one of ours (stuffed or human). take your "animal" out and share some cuddle time! hosted by: cuddle puddle @ bipolar and 4:30


photo by michael stewart

randnorm mind grenade

the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes. ~ marcel proust (1871-1922, french novelist)

more mind grenades here

normdate 4.3.6

after the lunch today, owen and i met up with steve, aly, and rob. our destination was the top of pulpit rock, elephant mountain. a quick drive across b.o.b. (big orange bridge) brought us to the north shore of nelson. our trek to pulpit rock began 330m above sea level.


i had never hiked up to pulpit rock, so i was pretty excited to see what the city of nelson looked like from the vantage point of elephant mountain on the north shore.



it was a pretty cloudy day for a hike, but at least it wasn't raining. i'm always comforted by the knowledge that if it is cloudy and raining in nelson, its snowing up at whitewater. schweet.

the trek up took about 45minutes, which is a walk in the park compared to some of the hikes i've made this season (up snow covered mountains). the view was breathtaking! looking down on the city of nelson from across the river, and a few hundred meters up, is something i'm going to have to describe for you because my camera battery died by the time we reached pulpit rock :(

its called pulpit rock because it sticks out of elephant mountain like a pulpit in a church, demanding the attention of all those who look up. i pulled out my poi and began to tune into the prana of being on top of a mountain i've spun poi in so many incredible and breathtaking places.

our celebration for reaching pulpit rock also included pilsner beer, a spliff, and some fudge. mmmm...

its also a lot colder up there, and it didn't take long for us to add more layers to keep warm. standing still isn't as good for keepin warm as hiking up or down a hill.

the hike down was definitely easier than hiking up. ain't that always the way? i had a great time connecting with aly on our hike down. its comforting and healing for me to reconnect with the family that i left in toronto, and having visitors from the big smoke have helped remind me of the strong community i left behind.

rob and i ended up tossing a frisbee around lakeside park after our hike. this boy knows how to toss a disc. he's got the flick down to an art. i'm looking forward to warmer weather and more frisbee tossin in the park. even more excited to meet more frisbee tossin enthusiasts who live here in the koots.

memories of playing with the ultrasonic redz in toronto always puts a smile on my face. i miss you guys.

ca-cawww!

have a safe journey to panorama steve and aly. i'm honored that we were able to spend time together on your visit to the kutenais. i hope you guys can make it back here for shambalah.

~*...normaste...*~

~*...snow much fun...*~

with burning man on the mind, i'm going to inject some randnorm playa goodness to my blog entries as well as a mind grenade (just in case the playa event doesn't succeed at blowing your mind).

randnorm sunday event in black rock city 2005

the wilson phillips pancake breakfast
9:30am - 12:00pm
i think the name says it all. hosted by: the bouncy bouncy club @ 4:30 and bipolar


photo by anthony peterson

randnorm mind grenade

wisdom through snowboarding. i often refer to snowboarding as yoga at 50km/h. you are forced to tune into every part of your being to maintain balance. muscles you didn't even think existed hurt after a day of riding. you need to be aware of every part of your body to compensate for the constant change in balance that the mountain throws at you. though it may look like a snowboarder is balanced and going straight down a hill, you are always on an edge. its that edge that holds you in place as you balance your way down the hill. a snowboarder is rarely equally balanced on a board, we are always on one edge or the other.

more mind grenades here

normdate 4.2.6

my friends steve and allison arrived yesterday from toronto. nelson is their first stop on their week long snow adventure through british columbia. i am always stoked to share the majik of the kutenais with my peeps from the big smoke. it is such a contrast living here in the mountains compared to the hustle and bustle of the city. you have to be here to understand it, and i love seeing the epiphanies of understanding that overwhelm people when they breath the air and feel the power of this place.

steve picked me up this morning around 9am, which was actually 10am thanks to daylight savings time *d'oh*



in the parking lot we ran into a whitewater celebrity. this dude rides with his pet bird tucked into his front jacket pocket. extreme bird!



steve and aly were blown away by how beautiful whitewater is, and how much snow there is in april! after a few warm up runs with the whole krew, steve's friend rob and i decided to introduce steve to some more challenging terrain...and powder.



the glory basin was blessed with a good amount of fresh snow, excellent for a beginner's first experience riding through powder. seeing steve wield his fear and ride through powder for the first time reminded me of my first experience with powder at the beginning of this season. we ride in onterrible for god's sake, there isn't snow like this there...ever! we're used to riding with our nose down and balancing on ice, not leaning back and floating through powder.



steve did a great job on his first run through powder, but like all of us new to these conditions, he had to learn the hard way that leaning forward and not having enough speed in powder means that you tumble. getting back up after you fall in powder is beyond exhausting.

tired and exhausted, we emerged from the trees at the bottom of the glory basin (steve's first time in trees) and stared down our next challenge: dynamite.



dynamite is steep, narrow, and covered in moguls. this was the most extreme run steve had ever faced in his life. this line through the glory basin and down dynamite is, imho, one of the toughest and most challenging ways down the summit side...and we conquered it together! nice work steve.

we met up with the rest of our krew in the lodge for a well earned beer. steve had just ridden powder for the first time, rode trees for the first time, made it down dynamite, and lived to tell the tale.



after nourishing our bodies with the tastiest of local ales, and the most delicious food available at any resort in the world (it really is that good), we headed back out for some end of day turns. steve was pretty exhausted, and wasn't into the idea of traversing across to the catch basin for some untracked powder goodness. somehow, with the promise of weed, we got steve to make the trek past the enchanted forest...

and relax with some lifted spirits at the top of the catch basin.


hooray for spring riding without a jacket on! kung fu outfits look so much kewler anyways ;)


steve's reward for making the traverse was a plethora of powder to ride through. actually, we all enjoyed the reward. the best snow is here at whitewater, if you're willing to walk to it.



and just like the glory basin, the open bowl of the catch basin funnelled us through some trees and then a very steep and narrow run, with smaller bumps ;)



congratulations steve on shattering what you thought you were capable of on a snowboard, and conquering the extreme terrain of the kutenai mountains.

satisfied and exhausted, we met up with aly and alexandra in the lodge for a few end of day pitchers of nelson faceplant beer. mmm...sooo good!



i was glad to run into my friend naava and her sister in the lodge. two jewmaican sisters reminding me that its not only possible for two different races to love one another, but that mixed breed children are very good looking too!



it was awesome riding with you steve and aly. i'm glad i was able to share with you the majik of the mountains that i call home. i know you're going to sleep well tonight.



~*...normaste...*~