kickthehorse.com- We’re kicking it hard!

Yes i had a tops Australia day. Ate Tim Tam’s, won some Vegemite, drank some beer (but mainly rye/whiskey drinks) I worked out that i drank for approximately 16 hours. It was fun, and it didn’t end up messy either!

The day started the night before! I listened to the Hottest 100 from Triple J. So surprised that Augie March won. The next day i made my way up at 12, when i got up to the hill partake in the celebrations, they didn’t happen. I was quite disappointed, they were going to do lots, but mostly everything didn’t work out. However the Highlander did have it’s shit together. They had Aussie Burgers (with egg, pineapple and beetroot or “pickled beet”) I didn’t have one, but instead had lots of drinks, before heading down to town. The taps was the place to be for the early part of the night. I met up with Christine and her friend Ange. They were funny, Christine was drinking Caesars. For those that don’t know Christine is my Supervisor.

After a while we were joined by another bus load of Aussie’s that had come from the Highlander (it is on the hill) they were around for about an hour, then disappeared over to Packers. Christine and Ange were riding the next day, so left around 12. I meandered over to Packers, where i proceeded to drink more, play some shit pool. I kept on missing the ball! Not even getting near what i wanted to hit. It provided lots of fun for those that were watching! I then had to take care of my friend Vanessa, who was quite more drunk than me. Not really take care of, just made sure she was safe. An eye in her direction. So.. the pub closed at 3am, I left, with Vanessa’s bag, she followed. It was my way of getting her away for that ugly guy. We walked over to Seven11, for chicken. Sign on the door- “No Chicken” What! we still go in, and Vanessa proceeds to ask the attendants for the next 5 minutes for Chicken, to which we all reply, No chicken! We stood at the Bay Marie for about 5 minutes staring, there was only wedges in there. Trying to decide what to buy. It was funny. I then walked Nessa home, she couldn’t really walk on her own. When we got to her house, she basically passed out in her room. I slept over. Woke up at 9am, way to early for me in the state i was in the night before. I actually felt quite good, rye drinks like me. No Hangover. Nessa however was still drunk, she had to work though. I got the day off, I’m smart!

I then met up with Ange and Christine, and wished Ange good luck boarding. She was so excited about going seeing she had a new board and bindings. I wish i could have boarded, but my knee is still playing up on me, sucky! Then i wanted to leave, didn’t happen. I tried to get a lift down for about 45 mins, either they were snobs from Alberta or they were full. I gave up went back inside and chilled till around 3, when Kristine was finished boarding. (Yes it is a different Kristine)

I managed to score a lift down the hill straight away with Kristine, we then hung out all arvo. She forgot her house keys, so we walked around for a bit, went to another Christine’s house. I then had dinner with Kristine and Jay (or James), Christine and another dude. It was ok food. Note: I have still not been home yet.

I then decided to walk home and get clean, and headed over to Christine’s house to watch movies. They were not to bad, Employee of the Month, then the scary The Decent. Had to watch some SNL to get over the scary movie tho. It was a fully awesome few days, i then also headed out on Sunday night as well. Monday night i slept!

Well my first injury of the mountain (excluding bruises) is a sprained ankle, yep it is nice and puffy after a big stack on the mountain. I also ran into a tree and have bruised and battered my thigh. Lovely. I kept saying to myself, that tree is coming closer and closer and closer and damn, hit it and broke a branch with my thigh. One of my good friends also knocked herself unconscious too, maybe i should buy that helmet now??
It was a beautiful day on the mountain tho! Check out pbase site for photos!
But Australia day was awesome, we had VB, timtams, vegemite and even had burgers that had beetroot, eggs and pineapple on them. You have no idea how good it was! I wore my australia shirt and wallabies scarf so felt very australian.
So now i’m just resting my ankle and taking it easy

It sucks. I have had it for the last 5 days. It started as a “i can’t swallow” then went to a “i can’t breathe” then it moved onto a “my heck hurts” then finally at the moment it is at the “my neck and head hurt” I came home from work at 2pm today. When i got home i had a 2 hour sleep and im still tired. I was meant to be working for Amanda tomorrow, but managed to switch that. Hopefully 4 days of R&R will help me get better. I hate being sick. It. Sucks.

Wow! That was a good birthday weekend. It all started on Friday night when a group of 14 of my friends and i went up to Eagle’s Eye- which is Canada’s highest resturant by the way! The wine was amazing, tried a bottle of wine that cost $120!! The food was divine- had a steak and soup. And the chocolate platter was the best thing i have ever tasted!! My god, it was just a perfect evening, with great company, great food and great chocolate and wine, what more could you ask for??!!

Saturday morning i slept in, then Telsin came around and we went bowling and had coffee and lunch. Bowling here is an experience, great fun but it is only 5 pin bowling which are attached to strings so they can set them back up again. You also only have a hand size ball in which to bowl with, so no ten pin bowling and no stuffing your fingers into 3 holes. The place is called “Down Memory Lane”. So cute and a lot of fun. Got a few strikes too.

Saturday night, luke took me out for a nice romantic dinner! lol No, we went to a really cute and romantic restaurant called the “Kicking Horse Grill” and had some more divine food. I had the Artic Char (fish) and luke had a nice steak followed by a creme brulee (?? spelling??). We then walked over to The Roadhouse pub and met up with all the people i had invited there, i think about 20-25 people came which is a nice turn out. We froze our arses off on the way there tho!! It was -19C.

At the Roadhouse, DJ Czech was playing and so we drunk and danced our little butts off. Needless to say i felt very rough having to get up the next morning to work. Very rough! Phil got a drunken phone call from me which would have been pretty funny. But in the end it was just a fantastic weekend. Check out my photos on pbase.

Lady Jesslyn

Today on the mountain is -28C!!! (and thats not even with wind chill) There is even a frost bite warning out. I put some boiling water out on the road this morning and i swear in under 1 min it was frozen solid! It’s just nuts, today is one of those days that i am glad that i work inside.

We have also had about 1 metre of snow in the last week and the mountain is so quiet that you can have first tracks at like 12pm! (gondola opens at 9am so that gives you an indication)

We are still having a problem with the roads being closed due to avalaches so it’s a whole new experience.

Lady Jesslyn

So I just realised that I haven’t blogged since December, so here is an update from me for the last couple of weeks. Christmas and New years was good, our first white christmas. We had Christmas with our landlady and her family, kinda like a redneck Christmas but still fun anyway. New Years was awesome! We went up the mountain and partied till about 3 in the morning and then I had to work the next day at 8 so 2 hours sleep and a very large hangover kept me going for the day until I could get home and sleep for 12 hours straight. I’ve just posted some photos on my website so feel free to have a look. 

 

My snowboarding is slowly getting better, I’ve found that falling in powder is a whole lot nicer than falling on a groomed run cos it doesn’t hurt! You fall in powder and you laugh cos it’s like landing on a pillow that is kinda cold and tastes like a snow cone (not a yellow one! lol). So my turns and riding is getting there. We got snowed in the other day, all roads too and from Golden were closed for about 24 hours so there was so many people in town that couldn’t get home. We received about a foot of snow in 24hrs which is massive! 

 

I’ve been through my ups and downs while being here, I went through a period of homesickness and really wanted to go home and see everyone and then other days I have a really good time with friends or even just walking around town looking up at all the mountains and realise how cool it is to be here. I’ve looking forward to a good 2007 and having some great times where ever I may be. 

 

Anyway, I’ll write more later, hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! 

 

Lady Jesslyn 

Powder, powder, powder
Oh my powder
Wonderfully powdery
Deliciously powderful
Eerily soft and fluffy powder
Relucently bidding powder goodbyes

Yes is it is an ode to Powder. The gloriously white, fluffy, soft, cold, yummy stuff that falls from the sky. It is happening in abundance at the moment. To date over the last 48 hours we have had 53cm. 35cm on one day! The Trans Canadian highway has been shut in both directions for the last 2 days. People are stuck here, 9 bus loads of people.  Some are even sleeping in cars in the right hand lane of the highway all night, hoping to get out. Truck (Semi’s) are everywhere. Unable to escape a truck fortified highway, you have to squeeze between them dodging and weaving between the hauling engines and long carriages.

It makes for some interesting times over at Jiggers, our local watering hole (Read- Pub). It is normally only locals that go there, but at the moment everyone comes in and plays pool. We went last night with Lara and Sonja. It was a good time. Bought chicken wings, with our jugs of beer and had nachos! It was great fun just chatting around, good times. Except when Sonja said to me that “You’re a Smelly Pirate Hooker” then she went on to say- quoting her “Oughta punch you in the Ovaries” She didn’t really say those things, she just loves that movie-Anchorman. I however am not to sure if I like it. I love it, so many quotes, to small a brain to remember them all. If only I could package it up and squeeze it into my brain.

The highways were closed because of the fact that there were strong possibilities of Avalanches in the Kicking Horse Pass, and in Rogers Pass. Things are not dire at the moment, for now the highway is opened up again. People are still hanging around cause of all the beautiful powder on the hill. Oh how lucky I am to have 4 days off….. I’m going to be a sore man by the end of the week. Flying Dutchman here we come! Black all the way baby, bring it on!!!

I like to stretch myself when snowboarding. I do however take it all safely. I just purchased a knee brace, for my shitty knee. So I don’t blow it out in mid season. I have a helmet on the way. I also like to ride with people that are above my level. Mind you I have only been riding for the last 2 weeks. 15^th December was the first day that I snowboarded. I was hooked from my first run. It is an amazing feeling, hurts the legs though. The reason I ride above my capabilities is it makes me a better boarder. Go hard or go home, is my motto at the moment. I have made my own style, which I’m sure will be refined as the season goes on. It is part surfer, part old skool skateboarder, part snowboarder. Quite eclectic, you could say. It sure isn’t orthodox, no matter what people say. I get down the hill without hurting myself (most of the time) and that is the whole point. The fun bit is throwing in the moves, and pretend that your riding a surf board on the nice long edges of the transport road (Cat track). Ahh the fun.