normdate 25.2.7
i got to rip the lake yesterday, and was blessed with pure blue bird all day. whoah, i sound like a snowboarder ;) i rode lake louise yesterday...the sun was shining and the sky was blue. *sigh*
a krew of english shreddin' blokes
cool runnings
the rockies never cease to take my breath away.
strappin my board to my back for the first time this season (i luvz my pack), i made a quick 5 minute hike to taste whatever untouched i could find.
constantly searching for fresh tracks, i'm reminded how spolied i was last season to be riding whitewater...there were always fresh tracks to be had if you're willing to walk to it.
riding solo gives you a lot o time to yourself, just you and the mountain. i decided to make my way toward whitehorn mtn peak, the highest peak at lake louise (8,762ft/2672m above sea level)
to get to the peak you have to take a poma lift.
riding one of these lifts is pretty challenging on a snowboard, and this lift got pretty steep at the end.
the view from the peak was worth the sketchy ride up.
the louise claim is that powder bowls of mt.whitehorn are the ultimate steeps...
i have to admit, i was pretty scared standing at the top of these ultimate steeps. they were fukkin steep!
the longer you look down at a jump or run, the heavier your balls get until they become so heavy that the weight of them pulls you down the mountain.
its scary when you make a turn and watch as the snow you loosened tumbles down the mountain in a tiny avalanche of movement. standing at the bottom looking back up at the chute you just came down is a great feeling of accomplishment sprinkled with a healthy portion of HOLY FUCK!
do something every day that scares you. check!
sunny daze are perfekt for extreme ski competitions down ridiculously steep faces.
when every competitor jumps off a cliff, you're guaranteed to have some crowd pleasin' aktion...especially when dudes shatter their skis in three places landing their cliff jump!
EXTREME!!!
its not hard to see why lake louise is a world class resort. this place is breathtaking, and challenging! it is definitely my fav alberta rocky mountain resort.
after an amazing morning of pushing my limits, i decided to have a beer at the kokanee kabin patio at the base of lake louise. it was there that i ran into the kokanee freeride group.
kokanee beer is brewed in creston, b.c., even though kokanee glacier is actually in nelson. the beer is actually pretty good. i'm drinking one right now as i type this blog entry. mmm..
kokanee is currently giving away 10,000 ski passes in cases of kokanee beer. i ran into 4 busloads worth of happy and hammered winners at the lake. trays of free beer made their way around the patio.
when you roll with the kokanee sasquatch, ever run is a beer run.
beer and boarding? ummm...fuck yeah?!
a few beers later, i was nowhere near as inebriated as these guys were. they'd been drinkin since the bus picked them up in calgary at 7am. i was feelin a bit loose, and decided to take a few runs with the sasquatch and his kokanee freeriders.
no black diamonds for us, only green runs for the drunk. i wouldn't say riding drunk is the safest way to enjoy the mountain, but it sure is full of laughs.
great conidtions, clear blue skies, and a drunken posse of snow addiktz to shred with. it was a good day, and it was about to get even better.
as i unbuckled at the base of the mountain, i noticed a ridiculously gorgeou blonde dredi helping take down some music instruments on a stage that was set up. i saw a couple hoola hoops on the stage as well and thought to myself "i know a radiant blonde hoola hooping goddess from nelson..." so i yelled out "nicole!" and she yelled back "norm?"
turns out that my friends from nelson, the wassabi collective, had just finished playing a set at the bottom of the hill. even though i missed the performance, i was happy to see friends from the kutenais. i helped them pack up their gear and then enjoyed some amazing company over dinner.
raj, jimmie, gisto, scotty, mel, and nicole, it was awesome running into you guys. you never know who you might run into in the rockies.
back in calgary, i quickly got myself dolled up for a mad hatter's party happenning at taco and lara's place. the mad hatters are the calgary burners we camped beside last year on the playa. i've been fortunate enough to keep these people in my life every since, and they are a fun bunch of peeps to clebrate with.
being a mad hatter's party, the wearing of hats was a must.
when pigs fly and the world is bunnified
but wearing a hat wasn't the only requirement to attend this party. there was a list of rules that needed to be followed.
no walking upstairs you might ask? hopping, skipping, an jumping were conisdered acceptable alternatives...and this rule was actually enforced! hi tarzie!
taco and lara's place was full of colourful, creative, hat wearing burners dancing to some funky beatz.
good looking people + cuddle puddles = hands happen
there is a lot of love in this town. a lot of creativity, imagination, and light too...and the rockies are less than two hours away. fuck yeah!
shreddin' lake louise with a sasquatch, ejoyin dinner with the wassabi collective, and partying with mad hatters. i'd say it was a good day.
there are more pix of lake louise and the mad hatter's party in my pikcha archive here. i've updated the version of the image viewing application, so it should be a bit more user friendly. plus its got a slideshow feature (finally). enjoi!
lively up yours'elf!
~*...normaste...*~
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