2/23/09

Few CMs Softens Things


Mark, Elliot, and Robyn on the Kicking Horse gondola.


Mark Auclair shows off his skills off CPR Ridge.


Kim Lamb in an angel-like powder pose.


Marc O needs to work on his flip landings.


The Lambs (Kim and Becca) learn more about the Scottish whisky drinks served at The Hero.

2/22/09

Day One: Taking It Easy!?

Day #1 was far from taking it easy. No new snow but plenty of challenging terrain and scenic views kept us busy.


The crew taking its first steps from the Highland Lodge.


Elliot Reed does his best Flavor Flav with his new GPS compass.


Robyn Avery carves one out with the Selkirks (?) in the background.


They say snow is on the way!


Mark "Air" Auclair lives up to his nickname.


Terry Jennings shows off his Santa Fe turning style.


Mark reflecting on his first ski day at Kicking Horse, Golden BC.

2/19/09

Obama Goes to Canada

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama, traveling to Canada today on his first foreign trip since taking office, will focus on many of the same economic issues that are dominating domestic debate in Washington. Obama’s meeting in Ottawa with Prime Minister Stephen Harper will likely include talks about trade, energy, finance and the environment as both countries battle the global economic crisis. Full story

2/13/09

Bring Your Snorkel

This is banned in many U.S. states but perfectly legal and encouraged in Canada.

Snorkel Ski

2/2/09

Phil Predicts Wintry Ski Holiday!

"Another Six Weeks of Winter"

The world's most famous groundhog saw his shadow, predicting that winter will last for six more weeks.

The annual ritual in the Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney took place just after dawn on a tiny hill called Gobbler's Knob when the groundhog named Phil emerged in front of an estimated 13,000 witnesses.

According to legend, if a hibernating animal wakes up and casts a shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last six more weeks. If there is no shadow, spring will supposedly come early.

Early American farmers relied on groundhogs, though there is no scientific evidence that the animal has any weather-predicting skills.

1/18/09

John Cavanaugh's Notes

From: John Cavanaugh <johcav@gmail.com>
to: Marc Oettinger
date: Fri, Jan 16, 2009
subject: Re: Ski Holiday '09

Recommendations:

Banff is great as is Banff Springs Hotel Chateau Lake Louise. Spend some time there.

Make sure everyone has plenty of warm clothes. Temps get down to -25 C (-15 F).

Swim suits [bring them] lots of outdoor hot tubs.

On your last night in Calgary hit the Kensington Pub.

1/5/09

12/12/08

Highland Lodge BC Reports In ....

from: aaron williams
to: Marc Oettinger
date: Dec 12, 2008
subject: Re: Highland Lodge

Morning !

OPENING DAY & ITS SNOWING JUST NOW !!!!

See you in Feb.

Cheers,

Aaron

Highland Lodge & Ronnie's Local Hero Pub
1593 Cache Close
P.O. Box 2135
Golden, BC, V0A 1H0

12/11/08

Skier Bio: Rebecca "Becca" Lamb

Becca LambMs. Rebecca "Becca" Lamb is the second Lamb to sign on with the Ski Holiday crew. Becca is Mark's other significant half — in fact, the Becca-Mark newbie duo is the only couple to join this year's trip! Ms. Lamb joins us from Marblehead Massachusetts, where she works out of home and from the road, managing clinical trials for Roche Pharmaceuticals. When Becca's not poring over data, documents, protocols, and processes, she enjoys cabins in Maine, cross-country skiing, and gardening sans pruning. Becca is from the Portland Maine area, and attended Trinity College in Hartford. And she is always smiling.

Tele-Skier Bio: Mark Auclair

Mark AuclairMr. Mark Auclair has never Holidayed with us and for no apparent good reason. However, Mark was the motivating force behind the '04 backcountry expedition into Gaspésie National Park in Quebec Canada — the same trip that Marc used his Man v. Wild / Survivorman savvy to care for the fallen sick while sustaining fire and demonstrating foreign language skills. Mr. Auclair is IT when it comes to IT; he is a systems analyst at Kronos Inc. where he gets to express himself in SQL, XML, JSP, UNIX, and other languages that mean little to the common desktop user. When Mark is not analyzing systems, you might find him in his Marblehead Massachusetts basement building chairs from scrap..or on the Singer mending windsurfing sails or sewing wheelbags from old bike tubes..or on the couch tying monkey fists — he'll make you one upon special request.

12/10/08

Skier Bio: Susan Brockway

Susan BrockwayMs. Susan Brockway is a Ski Holiday newbie! Ms. Brockway lives and works in Los Alamos (loosely translated as "The Alamos") with her daughter and cat. Susan claims to have owned a ski pass every year since 1972, which if true, fully qualifies her to be on this trip. When she is not schussing Pajarito Mountain, Susan enjoys biking, hiking, swimming, dancing .. and going to bed early in Las Vegas. Marc and Susan worked in the same office at The Alamos.

12/7/08

Tele-Skier Bio: Terry Jennings

Terry JenningsMr. Terry "T-Bone" Jennings holidayed with us on the 2007 trip to Verbier Switzerland. Terry immigrated to Nuevo Mexico from his Colorado homeland to work as an environmental consultant with North Wind Inc. in Los Alamos. When not jonesing for fresh powdah, he can be found riding his bikes, eating green chile, or saving the planet from environmental catastrophe. His hair has been known to get really big after a good day on the slopes.

12/1/08

Exercise #2: Jump Side to Side

Jump Side to Side

Try to cover a reasonable distance with each jump.

11/21/08

Skier Bio: Kim Lamb

K.L.Ms. Kimberly "Kim" Lamb is a second-year Ski Holiday varsity, joining the group from Boston where she works as a Research Contracts Manager for Merck. A native of MA, she did a stint in the Midwest for grad school that extended into 13 yrs of living the good life. Missing family and the pace of the East coast, she moved back in 2005. Hoping to truly earn varsity status this year, Kim is actually planning to ski a couple of times BEFORE the trip. She's even contemplating the purchase of some skiboots to call her own. What will be next?!

11/16/08

Boarder/Tele-Skier Bio: Denise Abdoo

Denise AbdooMs. Denise Abdoo is no stranger to the Ski Holiday circuit. She hails from Denver, Colorado, where she works as a pediatric nurse practitioner in Emergency Medicine and Trauma at The Children's Hospital. Denise owns a Vizsla mix, which by the way was used in development of other breeds including the Weimaraner and German Shorthair Pointer (thanks Wikipedia!). Denise is a flexitarian which means she only eats flexi, a fibrous breakfast cereal foodstuff which I think is made by Kashi and sold at places like Whole Foods.

11/15/08

Tele-Skier Bio: Marc Oettinger

Marc OettingerMr. Marc Oettinger is the marketing director for this year's Ski Holiday. Marc is a Scorpio who enjoys fine dining, dancing, art history, sunsets, water polo, equestrian polo, Ralph Lauren’s polo, arroz con pollo, and delightful conversation. Marc has drawn upon the good and the bad in planning this ski adventure, and he hopes this will be the best snow trip ever.

11/14/08

Skier Bio: Robyn "Beena" Avery

Robyn AveryMs. Robyn "Beena" Avery is a second-year Ski Holidayer. Robyn lives in Boston, where she works as a Sr. Recruiter for a large pediatric hospital. When she's not recruiting and hiring, she spends her free time globe trotting and seeking adventures. Some of her favorite places to visit have been New Zealand, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and soon-to-add Canada. On the weekends she enjoys spinning, running and singing karaoke. You will also spot her at the après-ski with a glass of vino in hand.

Boarder Bio: Elliot Reed

Elliot ReedMr. Elliot Reed is back! Elliot was the driving force behind the amazing 3 Vallées France trip March 2006. He had a strong but injury-prone showing for the 2007 Verbier Switzerland trip. And he flexed his karaoke muscles (I WANNA ROCK) at Holiday 2008 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Elliot was born in the Netherlands, raised in Phoenix, and currently hails from Cleveland. Elliot currently serves as the general manager of VasoLux MicroSystems, a start-up medical device company. Fun facts: in 1993 Elliot was a pineapple picker in Maui; he is also color blind and routinely buys purple things believing them to be blue.

11/11/08

Fun Facts, Eh!

• Canada is the world's second-largest country (after the Russian Federation), covering almost ten million square kilometres. A quarter of this is the Inuit homeland of Nunavut.
• Canada extends across six time zones, and shares a border with the US of 8900km. The highest point is Mount Logan (5959m).
• The population is almost 33 million, with an average life expectancy at birth of 80 years. Almost a half claim British ancestry, a quarter French ancestry and just under a million (3.3 percent) claim aboriginal ancestry.
• Canada is a confederation comprising ten provinces and three territories. It has been self-governing since 1867, but retains ties to Britain: the Canadian head of state is Queen Elizabeth II.
• Canada's colossal natural resources help put it among the world's top-ten richest countries. Almost two-thirds of its power is hydroelectric, and it's one of the few developed nations that is a net exporter of energy.

11/9/08

Exercise #1: Isometric Power with TV Sits

Isometric Power: TV Sits

With your back against the wall, lower yourself down until your legs form a 90-degree angle. Try four sets of one-, two-, and three-minute intervals twice a week. Increase the duration of intervals as you gain strength.