Snow Bummer

As you may have heard, I entered a contest in November 2009 to try to become the "Snow Bum Sun Peaks." The winner got to go hang out and ride at Sun Peaks, British Columbia, Canada from January 4 through March 31, 2010, with all expenses paid - season pass, lodging in various hotels/condos/inns, outerwear, demo equipment, food, drinks, special events - reportedly a $35,000 prize - most importantly, 85 days straight of snowriding! I submitted a one minute video and made the Top 20 Finalist cut, the only American. I then had a phone interview with the judges and submitted a 500 word essay on a memorable travel experience. They announced the winner on Decmber 1, 2009. I didn't win. They gave it to some guy named Thiago from Brazil. Oh well, 'twas fun. Below is a link to my video entry, and I pasted in my essay below that. Gonna be a great season nevertheless. Oh, and by the way, I really do love the Powder Triangle of Southeastern BC; Sun Peaks, though, that place sucks.

I kid, I kid. Let there be snow! Deep snow!

http://www.snowbumcanada.com/entry/brian-united%20states

The Powder Triangle

I’d been living in Boston, Massachusetts for 15 months, and after one winter of riding only small, icy mountains in New England, I was in dire need of a trip West. Everyone in Boston said, “Go to Colorado!” but I was much more interested in Interior British Columbia, Canada, having heard stories of deep powder and tiny crowds at places like Red Mountain, Whitewater, and Fernie. Strolling by a newsstand one day in autumn ‘98, I spied Powder Magazine’s Insiders’ Guide to North American Ski Areas. So I bought it and read it cover to cover. About 17 times. For me the best story in the Guide was about “The Powder Triangle,” a triangle formed by those exact three B.C. mountains. In Boston no one I knew had even heard of these places and thought I was a bit of a kook for wanting to go way out to the boonies when I could just ride Colorado’s I-70 resorts. I searched for weeks and was stoked to locate a company that was doing a one-week tour of these three hills. This was clearly meant to be.

After waiting for months with high anticipation, I hobbled solo across my Boston neighborhood one cold January morning in ‘99, my trusty LibTech snowboard in my old ‘86 Sims bag on one shoulder and a big duffle bag on the other. I caught the Orange Train to Logan International, boarded a flight to Toronto, then on to Calgary. At the Calgary baggage claim area our motley crew of skiers and riders began to congregate. As it turned out, I was the only snowboarder and one of just three Americans, the other two being New Yorkers. The rest were all from Ontario, but for one Quebecer. We excitedly hopped on the bus and headed to Fernie, BC, still several hours away. The kick-off party at the Griz Inn was a blast, and I could tell that a couple-few of us were true powder fiends. And it was snowing hard outside.

The mountains and snow proved completely worthy of the praise and the “Powder Triangle” name. I bonded with the crazy Quebec skier and the hardcore New Yorkers, and we floated wonderful, life-affirming deep powder all over Fernie for three days straight, exploring their then-new 1,500 acres of in-bounds expansion terrain and, of course, the “old side” too. It just kept snowing. Day four was another fantastic powder day at Red Mountain; I even rode through the backcountry from the mountain to the picturesque town of Rossland with some local rippers. Next up, Whitewater was the deepest day of the week, so I blissed-out on amazing powder turns all day and hit some wicked fun rock drops, then got charmed by the town of Nelson. The final day was bluebird back at Red and I happily cruised groomers, but sadly had to say “goodbye” to my beloved new crew. It was time to go back to Boston. But my heart remained in B.C.