Whitewater Wonder

We have wanted to visit Nelson, B.C. for quite some time, but it is typically dumping snow at home and we never want to leave good snow. So, this year was the perfect year to go, with no snow at home.

Whitewater Ski Resort is pretty awesome. With just three, slow, two-seater lifts, it has a nice ma-&-pa ski area feeling. Despite having just those three lifts, there were no lines. The lodge was crowded at lunchtime with rosy-cheeked kids and families enjoying some excellent food.

[Our camping view for the week, in the parking lot of Whitewater]

Whitewater is part of what is called "The Powder Highway"; this year, it wasn't exactly powder, but there was white stuff covering the whole hill, and that's better than our hill, so we were pleased.

Kye and I spent some time one day on the rope tow, while Brandon did a little 'touring' for exercise. At one point, Kye decided it was super fun to go backwards, calling himself 'Tow Mater' (the best backwards driver in Carburetor County, for those unaware). 

[Tow Mater]

The next day, Kye said he was ready for the chairlift, so we enjoyed a few lift runs in the sunshine as a family. Pretty awesome experience.

[His legs didn't reach the edge of the seat.]

[Heather's view: is that blue jacket attached to a person?!?]

Little guy straight-lined the whole ski run unless we forced a turn (manually grabbing his binding). He said, "I'm Lightning McQueen. I want to go FAST!" 

[An evening skin, after lifts closed.]

We spent a day wandering around the town of Nelson, getting groceries and propane. Then, we drove to Ainsworth Hot Springs and set up camp nearby. We enjoyed an evening soak and shower. It's a cool spot, with a warm family pool and some hotter caves.

 [The nice Kootenay Lake campground near Ainsworth]

After cleaning up a bit, we headed back to Whitewater. Brandon got up early and headed out (with plenty of time, phew) to do the Coldsmoke Randonee Race . He felt strong and good during the race, finishing in 3rd place.

[B is far left front with orange pack, 

hidden next to dude in blue skinsuit...the start.]

1st- Philipp Schaedler (center); 2nd place- Ben Parsons (right); 3rd place- Brandon Kern (left)

And one last run for little man, after the race and before we hit the road to head home.

 Somehow he managed to sneak out his sleepy sheep.

Bachelor Bust

The past two years, Brandon has made a quick 'Batchelor' trip to Mt. Bachelor to do their randonnee race, enjoying a race in bluebird conditions and some time to himself on that long ride. This year, with the lack of snow, we decided to join him, so we made the trek down to Bend on Friday night after work.

Due to high winds, we opted not to stay in the Mt. Bachelor parking lot and instead stayed down in town. For some reason, Brandon has an issue arriving on time to this race. The past two years, he was stuck in traffic and unsure if he'd make it to the race (after 7 hours of driving). This time, we simply didn't allow enough time for the morning tasks and drive. Once there, Brandon sprinted from the truck to the start line and made it there literally just in time. He was already gassed before the race had even started.  The snow conditions were less than ideal as well, with thick cascade cement. When the race was finished, Brandon had finished in 6th place.

Our friends Seth and Holly joined for the trip, so I got to watch their son in the lodge with K while they all raced. Both finished strongly, with Holly taking 3rd in the womens' category.

[The boys were pretty happy playing trucks on the table.]

[The boys spent a little time skiing on the bunny hill.]

After the race festivities, we headed back down to Bend and enjoyed dinner with Seth, Holly, and Eli.  The next morning, we had breakfast at Sparrow Bakery, which might be worth a 7-hour drive in and of itself. Then, the loooooong drive home, with many pitstops at parks for little guy.