Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Whistler round-up: Month 1

I arrived in Whistler, British Columbia on the 19th of December. Since then, there have been a lot of little ups and downs to being here.

First and foremost, the scenery is amazing. 8 months of living in the heart of the Alberta rockies prior to this didn't make Whistler any less spectacular. They still take my breath away every time I'm up there.


The snow was decent during the first few days I was there. My first days off to explore were Christmas day and Boxing day, and luckily I was able to connect with some coworkers I had recently met who knew the mountain. They showed me around to the must-ski alpine areas around Blackcomb one day, and Whistler the next


Easily the most beautiful part of the Whistler village during Christmastime was these lit-up trees. This was before the big dry stretch and subsequent melt-down, so the trees are actually covered in a festive coating of snow.


Unfortunately, it has not been a good snow year at Whistler Blackcomb. According to people of have been here a while, it is the worst year in about 10 years. Fantastic! High freezing-levels, days (!!) of rain, and very little snow have made for a disappointing season so far, overall.

January was broken up by a visit from my mum, dad and brother. They were here for three full days and got decent conditions all things considered. One bluebird, warm slushy day, one foggy, 0-viz cruddy day and one powder day! That's right, a powder day. The evening of aforementioned foggy day, it snowed 15cms overnight followed by clear skies the next day, making for a high visibility freshies day, where we were able to explore all of the alpine terrain with a thick layer of fresh snow to cover the crust of a previous rainstorm. The following pictures from the family visit are all courtesy of my mum:
Blue skies with my brother atop Whistler
Dad hiking up from Showcase T-Bar to drop into the Glacier
Scouting lines.
Day 2 was dreary, on and off hill

Some powder-starved riders lining up for Symphony on day 3, which began with a fresh 15cm
My mum, often the photographer but rarely featured

Work in ski-school was hectic during the holidays, steady for most of January, and now, in the tourist-lull combined with ANOTHER 3 days of rain that brought the snow down to the grass and mud in some places, is completely dead. Everyone in this town better be doing their best snow-dances before bed every night...

-Emm.




Monday, October 13, 2014

Countdown to Whistler




When I was twelve or thirteen, the older brother of a friend of mine moved to Whistler Blackcomb for the ski season. I remember deciding that his endeavour was pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Well, in approximately two months, I am going to be doing the same thing. Minus the station wagon and the long drive, since unfortunately I do not own a car. But still. The realization of this plan is so, so exciting to me. Coming from living in a big city near mediocre ski areas, I think I would be happy doing any sort of work as long as it brought me close to the mountain. However, I managed to score a position as a ski instructor, meaning that I'll be on the hill pretty much all day every day... I will essentially be living the dream.

That's all for now, the next step is just anxiously waiting for my exam schedule to be finalized for this last semester of university so I can book a flight out for mid-December!
-emm

Friday, October 10, 2014

Artist Inspiration: Thomas Saliot

One of my latest uses for Pinterest is finding inspiration from other artists out there. I recently stumbled upon the work of Thomas Saliot and I am completely enamoured by his style. I'm really digging the contrast and definition of the facial features, especially through the eyes.





-Emm



Cottage weekend




This weekend was spent at my family's cottage in the Laurentian region of Quebec. We refurbished this screened porch a little this summer-- I'm especially loving the blue wicker chairs and how they pop against the whites and browns of the rest of the room.

I don't get to spend as much time here as I would like, but my favourite place never fails as a way to relax and de-stress

-emm.