The mountain is open

Having been in Whistler for a little over three weeks now, we thought we would reflect on a few highs and lows of life thus far...

Highlights:
~ Hitting the newly opened ski runs - shredding the 'pow'
~ Our first pay cheque - we are very happy to be able to buy more than just pasta at the grocery store, and we can finally start to sample some of the local brews! Living in Whistler on the ZAR is tough! Less junk food from now..
~ The interesting conversations that we have had with people from all over the world
~ Learning where you can eat cheap and get a discount
~ Our first Canadian church experience – “Church on the Mountain”
~ Trying every coffee shop in the village - Starbucks is certainly overrated and the cosy local coffee houses provide the best prices, festivity and sweet goodies.
~ Being able to walk the streets on your own without a care in the world!
~ Realizing that working here, is not really ‘work’
~ Sharing this amazing experience with each other…

Lowlights:
~ Having to live with the heater on permanently – it turns your skin to biltong (speaking of which… mmm)
~ Trying to explain the political environment in SA
~ Getting stuck in a blizzard at the top of the mountain
~ Having to walk up a REALLY steep, slushy, slippery hill to get to work (now that the slopes are open, we can take the gondola up yay)

All in all, life is pretty sweet right now and things are simple but there are of course a few things that we miss from home..
~ Our familia and friends
~ Being able to speak to someone and they understand you the first time!
~ Woolies rusks, and biltong
~ The warmth of the African Sun!

But there is still much fun to be had in the coming months and much to look forward to..
~ Fresh powder riding at least 3 times a week
~ Starting to plan our post season travels
~ Fresh powder..
~ The Kegels arriving in 10 days!
~ Fresh powder......

Our first few days on the mountain

A 'blue-bird' day

Heading into the blizzard

Coolrunnings

Today I got to go down the track in a Bobsled! With a professional pilot at the helm, we got up to 125 km/hour, and completed 2/3 of the full Olympic track. It felt much like a roller coaster! I had freaky flashbacks of Coolrunnings .. !! You get knocked around quite a lot in the sled, so it's key to concentrate on keeping your back straight (although gravity defies this with up to 5 G's on the final corner) and your neck stiff.

Our back yard

This area is really beautiful with many trails and lakes. Lost Lake is close to our house, and an awesome place to go if you want to get out. People are very active here, and everyone is obsessed about being 'green'. These trails will soon be turned in Cross Country Skiing tracks. Here are some pics of our back yard...

Meg's Skeleton Experience

It's not everyday in the office that you get the opportunity to go head first down an Olympic Ice Track on a Skeleton sled! I got up to 96km per hour!!!

One of my jobs is going to be working at the Whistler Sliding Centre, which forms part of the Olympic Park and is where the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton disciplines were held. It's quite surreal working in such a top class facility...

The track in pristine condition. It's maintained by hand, and is one of the fastest tracks in the world (well there are only 16 of them..)

Meg coming into the out run. No style haha! I hit the walls a few times at the end!

Feeling a bit dazed

The track crew with a sled

So for a general update...

Andy got the finance job with the company that runs the slopes, which is great. He was not too keen that the job is 8-5pm, and doesn't pay amazingly, but it comes with amazing benefits. We both get free ski passes, which is about $3600 saving, and other awesome discounts in the town and the list goes on. He starts training on Monday.

I had an interview yesterday with a lady from the Fairmont hotel, which is one of the best hotels in the resort. She wants me to work in one of the retail stores in town. It's very upmarket, and the clothes are similar to Country Road (yes, I am obsessed I know!). So that will be challenging, but a good change from dealing with athletes. So I am going to take it! It's better than a lot of jobs out there... Like dish washing!

It's expensive to live here though, so need to get earning properly ASAP, but it's coming :)
The slopes should open next week, so we are excited to ski and snowboard. We are currently on the hunt for cheap gear, so will just see how it goes.

Whistler Village

The Olympic Square

The main village square

A good view of one of the two major mountains in the area

This is where we will be staying for 6 months! It backs out onto a golf course, and we are hoping to be able to ski into our back yard, just sayin :)

Arriving in Whistler

On the bus from Vancouver to Whistler

The first glimpse of the snow!

The main river in the village

Vancouver

We spent a night in Vancouver before heading up to Whistler.

These pics are taken on "sea wall" or promenade. It is so beautiful. We will definitely be going back to Vancouver to explore a bit more..

A view of Granville Street in Vancouver

The journey

So guys, we have finally worked out how to post pictures to the blog, so here are a few snaps thus far..

Saying goodbye to my cute nephews at King Shaka!

On route to London..

Enjoying a coffee at Heathrow after a sleepless night in the aeroplane.

Welcome to Whistler

Traveling to Canada is not for ants! What a journey! After 2 long flights and long hours in departure lounges we finally arrived in Vancouver.

The first night of our adventure was an interesting one spent in our hostel in down town Vancouver. Thankfully, the remaining beds in our shared, dorm style room remained unoccupied and we were able to get an early night and some much needed sleep! The late sunrise and chill in the air left no doubts that we were in a place where the winter is real!

We took a walk along the 'sea wall' promenade headed for the Greyhound bus station to book our tickets to Whistler. What an amazing place! Vancouver is spectacular! We will upload some photo's as soon as we can! If you ever take the bus from Vancouver to Whistler, be sure to sit on the left of the bus, the view is incredible!

There has been recent snow fall in Whistler and the view of the snow covered mountains got the excitement levels up! We caught the local bus to our apartment at Lost Lake Lodge, a mere 5 min ride to the town, certainly ideally situated!

A short walk to the job fair this morning affirmed the perfect location of our lodge! Only a 15 minute stroll to the base of the mountain!

Meg starts work on Monday, and I am awaiting for an answer from Blackcomb (the company that runs the slopes etc). The job hunt has begun, along with 100's of other travelers from around the world. Whistler is a melting pot of cultures and different accents. I am sure we are going to meet some interesting people.

Here are one or two pictures of the pretty town.
We need to get a SD card reader, and then will post the rest of the pics.

Bye for now