TIDBITS

Yesterday was a great day on the ski hill.
There was at least one foot of snow over night.
Beth and I had to be up there early, because we were volunteers working at the BC Provincial High School Slalom Ski race.
We got first-tracks down the first run in the near knee-deep fresh powder!
Whoopee!!!

On Friday I took Beth to the doctor to see if we could get her some medication for an ear infection.
While the doctor was examining her, he stopped suddenly, looked up and out the window.
We followed his gaze and looked outside, too.
There was a female deer, standing upon her hind legs looking back in at us!
The window is about chin height, so the only way we would have noticed any animal out there was if they were very tall.
Apparently, there are several mountain ash trees planted about the perimeter of the medical clinic. The hungry deer (there was a herd of about five) were standing up to reach the few berries left over from last fall.

Today Beth had her two snowboard runs to do in the Provincial Snowboard giant slalom race.
...don't you wish you could get a couple of days off school to go skiing in The Rockies..?
She called me at work this afternoon, breathless and excited about the excellent times she got for her runs!
Way to go, Beth - I am so proud of you!
One more race to go tomorrow.

Henrietta is doing fine and she says thank you to everyone who sent get well wishes...

We came in eighth out of fifteen teams in the Starlight Challenge. The last race and windup banquet was on Friday night.
Each of our team members won a round of golf at a local golf course.
Yay, team!

Congratulations to all the Canadian athletes who competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy!
We brought home twenty four medals!

TAKING A DUMP...

I will take a snowfall like this any day!!!!

It is simply DUMPING snow out there - and has been for hours now!

Thank You, to the Snow Gods!

BY THE WAY...

Thanks to Zoe for updating me on the Canadian Womens Curling Team - WE WON THE BRONZE MEDAL!!

OUR LOCAL OLYMPIANS

These are our two home-grown Olympians.

On the left is Christina Lustenberger who skis for the Canadian Womens Alpine Ski Team.

On the right is Carol Keshen who plays Lead on the Canadian Womens Curling Team.

Canada has won several medals and we are very proud of all the athletes who are competing in Torino, Italy this winter!

Photo credits - Invermere Valley Echo.

RED

These photos were taken eighteen years ago while I was on a pack trip into the high country of Kananaskis.
I was living in the Alberta Rockies at the time.

The first photo is of my friend and guide who took us on the overnight trip to do some maintenance at a hunting camp.

The second photo is of my horse, Red. I still have Red, but he is since retired and, literally, out to pasture...

THE REAL VIEW OF 1000 PEAKS!

This photo is of the ski run from which I adopted the name of my blog.

I find this is a magical place for me.

By the way, Henrietta appears to be doing much better today...
Thanks.

HENRIETTA

I am worried about our guinea pig.

Yesterday she was stepped on by accident and we all feel dreadful about it.

Poor little Henri has not quite been herself since, but I think it could have been much worse...

She is such a dear member of our family and has been for three years now. I hope she is okay and recovers without any harm done.

I included a special thought for her in my evening prayers before going to bed last night.

Henrietta is such a happy and cheerful pig - if guinea pigs can be happy and cheerful...

I am looking forward to hearing her hungry squeaks again when I open the lettuce drawer in the fridge.

GOLD, GOLD and MORE GOLD!

Canada is doing very well at the Olympics and we are very proud of our athletes.

Not only are our Olympic athletes doing well, but here in our household we seem to be faring well on the sports front.

On Thursday, my older daughter went to her first snowboard race with her high school team.
Her team won the gold medal in the competition! My daughter has her own medal proudly displayed in her bedroom.

Last night was our third evening at the Starlight Challenge and I came in first with the lowest differential in the womens' division!
I am not a racer myself, yet I beat some pretty hot skiers!

Yippee for Gold!

SKI BUMS

This is my husband and I apres skiing last spring.

This is a picnic we had with the kids in their ski lessons last weekend.
Left to right is me, Jenny and Bobby. Beth was not there that day.

This is Bobby after lunch getting ready to go "boot skiing".

This is my husband and the kids.

GOLD!

Congratulations to Jenn Heil for winning Canada's first medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics!

Jenn won the women's freestyle mogul event and will be bringing home the Gold!

WELCOME TO THE 2006 WINTER OLYMPICS!

I am very proud of two local girls who have berths on teams in the 2006 Winter Olympics!

One of the girls is in her late twenties and will be representing Canada on the womens curling team.
The other, in her early twenties,will be representing Canada on the womens alpine ski team.

Both the girls were born and raised in our little town - population of approximately five thousand souls. Those are pretty good odds!
There are three others who have homes in the valley that are going to compete, as well. Although they are not "home grown", they live and train here, so I really think that counts, too.
Two of them are on the womens cross-country ski team and the other is on the mens alpine ski team.
One of the girls on the cross-country team was a gold medal winner at Salt Lake City four years ago!

The opening ceremonies are being held today in Turin, Italy.

All I can say is - You Go Girls...and Boy!!

FORTY NINE

This is a photo of me taken about six years ago at the top of the run called "Elmo".
It's hard to tell, but the run is very steep . To get a bit of perspective, that is the top of the tree and the rest of the tree is behind the pitch of the hill.

It's my birthday today and so far so good. I checked my profile and it's right on...
Thanks to everyone who wished me happiness for this day!

I have today off work, but will be working at home this morning getting caught up on the household books.
My older daughter, Beth, has no school today because it is exam week and she has already written hers.
My two younger ones are off to school and my husband has gone to work.

Later Beth and I will be heading up for an afternoon of snowboarding and skiing respectively.
Today is the last day of Chicks on Sticks - it has been so much fun, even though I missed two sessions because I was sick.
This evening is the Chicks wind-up dinner at the Lakeside Pub. They have the greatest homemade food buffet in the valley!

My husband's birthday is on Sunday - I'm the "older woman" by three days - so we will be celebrating both our birthdays on Saturday evening at a wonderful Bavarian restaurant after a day of skiing with the kids.

Here's to getting better, not older!

LAST "48"

This is the last day that my Blogger Profile will show "48 Years Old"...

Happy Birthday, to me.

And not to forget - Happy 80th Birthday today, Dad!

YOU CAN BE MY HERO...

STARLIGHT CHALLENGE

The Starlight Challenge is an annual night-skiing event that is held every Friday evening during the month of February.

Hosted by a tiny local ski resort, it attracts many skiers/snowboarders from the area.
Although it is a race, the main focus is on the social aspect of the gathering.
One need not ski or snowboard well nor be a racer. The only prerequisites are to have a good sense of humour and a solid knowledge of how to have fun!

The challenge consists of several teams of four, with at least one member being of the opposite sex.
Each member of the team has two runs down a dual slalom course.
The fun of a dual slalom is that the racers are running the course beside another competitor at the same time. Each course is timed separately, so it really is not a race against the other skier, but it helps contribute to the competitiveness of the event.

Times are recorded, but the fastest time is not necessarily the winner.
The differential between each racer's two recorded times is the ticket.
So, if you have a slow first go, make the second go just as slow...
In other words, if your first time is 30 seconds, do your best to make your next run as close to that as possible.
The only trick is, the competitors are not privy to any of the times until the end of the evening.

This is where the social aspect comes into play.
After everyone has had their two chances on the course, there is a wait until all the times and differentials have been tallied.
That means we all meet in the lodge for a pint...
Prizes are given within all the categories and most go home happy.

That does not mean we win every time, but how can one not go home satisfied after an evening of fresh air, competition and fun?