back from the west

I just got back from a sweet two weeks of vacation: 3 days of traveling, 6 days on skis, and lots of great times with my family and friends. Like all great vacations, I was sad to have it end. I’m a west coast boy now and I’ll definitely be missing the mountains and the west coast feel.

I started out in Kelowna, B.C. and headed for the mountains right after I arrived. The snow was fantastic. Dry, champagne powder at its best.

My brother and I got in some pretty fierce skiing at Silverstar over in the Alder Ridge area. Fierce, but tricky. It was a long hike over and a lot of work to get down due to the immense amounts of snow, fallen trees, and hazardous bushy things at face level.

A few days later we caught up with a cute pair of ski dogs (I need to get me an alpine rescue dog soon…) and my older brother’s family joined us from Hong Kong. My nephews strapped on skis for the first time! Way to go, guys!

When we weren’t on the mountain, we were all enjoying some delicious winter ales and spiked cappuccinos while cooking up feast after feast. I gained 3 pounds, but who’s counting. It probably all went toward muscle mass on my legs after the skiing, right? I’m pretty sure that’s the case.

Thanks Mom and Dad for hosting a fabulous Xmas holiday! The complete photo collection is here. Next up on the trip is Seattle, WA. Read about it in my next post!