~*...the majik of the kutenais...*~

i'm sitting in my bed at my new home drinking janis juice aka southern comfort and basking in the afterglow of an incredibly majikal weekend.

after eating at the soup kitchen on friday, owen and i headed over to a rooftop near the lake to spin some poi. the sun was shining brightly, and it was great to be able to share some of my limited poi experience with owen. we are all beginners at some point in time.

only a few minutes into our poi session, julia walked by and yelled out to us. i was supposed to walk up to her place later that evening and head to the east shore with her for the mou collective multimedia show. julia was on her way to get a ride to the event, a very early ride. i had no idea where the east shore was, and had no other way of getting there, so i joined julia and headed to the safeway to catch our ride.

turns out that i had met the person driving us to the party online. her name was flora, and she is a burner who encouraged me to live in nelson over kelowna. it was good to finally put a name to a face.


the east shore is an hour outside of nelson, including a ride on the world's longest free ferry ride. technically, the ferry is part of highway 3a, which cuts across lake kootenay connecting creston to nelson. hey, free ferry. jawesome!


we arrived at the school hall of crawford bay around 3pm, which was actually a local time of 4pm. the east shore is in another time zone, so it is an hour before the time in nelson. its like you are going back in time by an hour. trippy.


when we arrived at the school hall, i met the mou collective (mou = me+you) and began helping them set up the space. within a few hours, we transformed a bland school hall into a majikal place of energy and creativity. beautiful coloured material was hung from the walls, paintings adorned the empty spaces, and shrines full of crystals and gems channelled power and prana into the hall.




i met scott and his partner alexandra, two of the members of the mou collective. these two beings are majikal creatures, and i was blown away by their presence. some might call them elves, or fairies, or enchanted majikal creatures. of course i see them as jedis tuning into the force that is cradled here in the kutenai mountains. as i helped scott set up one of the many shrines (with the largest piece of smoky quartz i have ever seen), he brought out some of his leather arm bands that he makes. i had seen one of his armbands in a pikcha of a nelson dj named lion-ess.

i was so stoked to finally meet the person who makes these armbands. when i originally saw lioness *drool* wearing the armband, i wanted so badly to meet the person who makes them. of course i'd run into him in the kutenais.



and i was finally able to try one on. oh my god, these pieces wield so much power and energy.



i was told there were fairies and elves living on the sunshine coast and in the kutenais, but of course i was like "sure, fairies and elves you say? great, why don't you drop some more acid and get back to me with my galaktik myan symbol, you fukkin hippie." but they really are here, creating art, nurturing the land, and channelling majik.



the show began at 9pm to a full house. dance, art, creativity, movement, and fashion were all synthesized together to form an incredibly beautiful and moving performance.



after the show there was a jam held with a full band followed by a few djs. most of the people had left after the fashion show performance, but those of us who remained were treated to chill beatz in a beautifully decorated environment...oh, and incredible people to dance with.



after the show, we all helped in cleaning up the space and taking down the decorations before heading back to the mou collective's home few minutes away. their home channels incredibly powerful energy. as i was unpacking the car i heard the sounds of water, only to find out that their home is on a creek and the sound i heard was the water flowing past their home. i couldn't wait until the next day to see how beautiful their home was in the sunlight.

i passed out with mikhaila in my arms, and was honoured to wake up beside her in the same position. a new and beautiful day awaited me in the home of the mou collective on the east shore.

have i said the words majik and energy and power and elves enough for you yet? ;)

~*...normaste...*~

~*...a new day, a new home, and fresh snow...*~

boy does it feel good to have my clothes unpacked and hanging up in a closet once again. living out of a suitcase for the past 2 months has been the longest i've ever gone without a place to call my own.

taking a shower last night and putting on my pimp fairmont bath robe felt so good. hooray my own room!

my roommate sunny had bought a 2liter bottle of a raspberry cooler which we drank together as a housewarming last night. i provided the bubble hash.


i ended up at the girlz' house where i taught julia, brandy, and carron how to make an origami box. then julia and i headed to the rez for reggae night. i love this night. excellent music, groovy people, and an overall irie vibe. reggae music is so good and naughty to dance to.

this morning i woke up early and was picked up by my friend greg and his wife demitra. they are visiting from ottawa and included nelson on their mountain shredding tour of bc. they've already shred red mountain and lake louise and only had one day to ride whitewater before heading off to fernie for five daze.

i met greg at harvest festival last year. i first knew him as depraved from tribe. funny how we first know people by their online nicks before we know them by their birth given names.

after a good warm up run with demi, greg and i headed off to some more demanding runs. the sun was out and shining, so no new snow...at least not this morning. we worked our way across to the cath basin and were treated to better and better snow the further we hiked.


dark clouds began to block the bright sun as we went inside for some lunch. those clouds meant business.


we ran into frederick and jonas in the lodge. they were ver happy about sweden winning the gold medal in olympic hockey. what a poor showing for the canadians :(


jonas and frederick took greg and i to some incredible snow they found in the back basin, about a 20minute hike from the silver king chair. man, hiking again without snowshoes was a challenge for me, even though it was more of a hiking traverse. but the snow we ended up riding was unbelievable. pure, untouched, and plentiful snow is there for you to shred if you're willing to make the hike.

and those clouds meant business. it was dumping snow all afternoon, puking it out by the time the day was over. tomorrow is going to be another epic day that i will unfortunately have to miss :(

the best snow in the world is here to ride if you're willing to make the trek to this little town in the kootenays. if you know about it, you know its worth it. if you don't, that just means less tourists tracking up the pow here.

it was great riding with you greg and dimitra. have a safe drive to fernie and i'll see you at shambalah.

its so good to have my own room to come back to...and a shower with my toiletries. yay house! c'mon computer! i hope it shows up soon. i miss her.

~*...normaste...*~

~*...my last night here...*~

i'm lying on the sofa in the solarium, the place that has been my home for the past three weeks. in 9 hours i will be moving into my new place in rosemont. i'll be living with a 50yr old buddhist/musician named sunny. i'm looking forward to having a closet and not living out of a suitcase.

the place wasn't my first choice, but my first choice didn't materialize :(

this is the longest i've lived without a place of my own. 9weeks its been. and what an incredible 9weeks! i've ridden 5 different mountains, climbed ice, explored picasso's art, smashed my friend's car into the side of a pick up truck, got my instructor's certification, ridden backcountry, found freelance work, and secured a place to live....oh, and built relationships with some of the most incredible people.


rainbowen just moved in with brett and ruben in rosemont. i'll be living just up the street from them. jawsome!

andrea, akkal, brandy, carron, and julia have been so kind to me by providing a place for me to stay for the past three weeks. walking uphill has been good for me. i'm going to miss you girls.

i'm tired. i'm going to bed.


i hope my computer shows up tomorrow. where the hell could it be? it was shipped out here last week! things move a bit slower here in nelson.

~*...normaste...*~

~*...shred with nature dread...*~

the snow that fell overnight was plentiful and by morning it covered the streets of nelson. i couldn't wait to head up to the hill and ride fresh powder.

i woke up at mikhaila's place and called jonas and frederick to see what time they were coming to pick me up, only to find out that frederick was already on his way to get me. needless to say, i missed my ride to the hill. that's alright though, i headed over to the hitching spot and was picked up in less than 2mins. gawd i love this town.

the dude who picked me up smoked me a bowl on the way to the hill, and picked up two more people who had ridden through the trees down to the road.

the hill was packed! but packed for whitewater is nothing compared to places like whistler. a packed whitewater is a 5 minute wait for the chair. yes, this place is wikkid that way. a packed lift at whistler is a 30 minute wait.

i ran into a dreadlock on the hill named nature. there aren't too many of us brothers on the hill, yet alone dreadlocked brothers who shred. nature and i spent the afternoon shredding his favourite tree lines together, each one just covered in beautiful powder. man its good to shred with another dread.

nature drove me home and i was in bed by 7pm. riding sure takes a lot out of you, and i'd ridden 4 out of the past 5 days. only have to ride three more times before i get my pass worth. schweet.

sorry, i rode without my camera today. no pix of the heavenly powder. next time ;)

~*...normaste...*~

~*...backcountry claims a life...*~

i was picked up bright and early yesterday by dana, the instructor for my level 1 casi course. we headed up to whitewater where dana was teaching a professional development program course. it was a recap of all the teaching techniques that i learned a few weeks ago when i did my casi level 1 course, plus an intro into the techniques and skills that the level 2 casi course would cover. there were 5 other people in the class with me, each one an instructor at whitewater. i learned some good skills to help with my carving, and it was a good intro into what i would be tested on for my level 2.

the course finished at noon and i chose to stay at the hill for the remainder of the day to get some runs in.

hey, ryan (dj azonic), look who i ran into on the hill?


i also ran into nile, one of the guys i did my level one course with. he was riding with his friend amos (who skiis). they are both 19yrs old and both of them are addicted to spinning 360's. these guys were dialing 3'z off of anything and everything. it was most impressive.





later that afternoon, we were all reminded that the mountain is always in control. a 33yr old man took a tumble in the backcountry, hit rocks and trees on his way down, and was pronounced dead on arrival after the helicoptor took him to the nearest hospital. its such an overwhelming feeling to ride in an area where someone's spirit had just been set free, a victim of the risks involved when riding back country. you could feel it in the people, in the air, it was an intense feeling of loss. in a town this small, there is only a single degree of separation if you did not know the victim personally. 33 year old carey bosker was a freerider...he leaves behind his wife anne and their 8 month daughter noah. :(

r.i.p. carey bosker

i got home and enjoyed a well earned shower. i emerged to see that the sky was dumping tonnes of fresh snow. owen and i walked through the freshly falling snow over to our friend brett and ruben's place for a birthday potluck. happy birthday ruben!

good thing i had on a hat that kept the snow off my head cause it was coming down hard. thanks for the hat grant.


ruben and brett are two brilliantly talented musicians. it was awesome to chill at their place and jam. a few guitars, a cello, some drums, a keyboard, and a room of creative individuals is a great recipe for a rockin jam.


i ended up chillin out at mikhaila's place after brett and ruben's party. not wanting to hike back uphill, i passed out at mikhaila's place dreaming of the beautiful powder i would ride at whitewater the next morning. if it was dumping this much in town, the snow at whitewater was going to be epic...and it was.



~*...normaste...*~

~*...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...*~