The fireworks are back

Celebration of Light - China 30 July 2008 I, originally uploaded by Tim McDonald.

Also managed to smoke out the upstairs neighbours with the bbq on the balcony.

The 2009 "Pontiac G8"

"Pontiac G8", originally uploaded by Tim McDonald.

Does this car look familiar?

Taken at the Vancouver Motor Show at BC Place on Saturday.

Had some nice cars there, and quite a few exotics such as Aston Martins and Lotuses.

The new Nissan GTR (Skyline) was also on show there and looked impressive.

We were there mainly to check out the Jeeps as that's probably what we're going to get.

It also snowed here yesterday, but today is bright and sunny. What crazy weather we're having.

Night Snowboarding on Grouse

Getting Ready, originally uploaded by Tim McDonald.

On Saturday night, we gave night skiing on Grouse Mountain a try. A couple of weeks ago we purchased ski passes to Grouse that give us unlimited skiing though to the end of April 2009.

We got to the gondola at about 7pm and were pleasantly surprised that the usual throng was nowhere to be seen. At a guess, there were probably 15 of us on the gondola on the way up.

Even at 7.30 there is quite a bit of light left (the sun sets at about 8 at this time of the year here). Now, the view from Grouse Mountain at dusk is nice, but it's after dark that it really comes alive. The sensation of belting (or falling) down a hill in the middle of the night is quite spectacular. The runs are very well lit and visibility is very good throughout. Better yet, there are about 20% of the crowds that are normally there. One downside, is that the number of 'nut' skiers increases; lured by the smaller crowds they can roar down the runs much faster than during the day without fear of taking some poor beginner out. On two occasions, a skier came within a metre or so of taking me out.

Finished up (bruised and sore, mind) at about 9.30 and headed to the restaurant for a burger and beer. The runs close at 10pm, but the restaurant stays open til around 11.30.

We got the 11pm gondola down the mountain and due to the joys of public transport, we didn't get home until 1am.

Time to get a car methinks.

Snowboarding on Grouse

Snowboarding on Grouse, originally uploaded by Tim McDonald.

I write this, sore and knackered, more than 24 hours after my first snowboarding experience.

Travis and I headed up to Grouse Mountain Saturday morning to give snowboarding a shot (neither of us had done it before).

We got there about noon and picked up some rental gear (board, bindings and boots) for $45. This is in addition to the $50 day pass that includes gondola up and down and unlimited use of the chair lift.

Once we got our gear we headed outside and spent the first 15 minutes figuring out how to get bloody things on.

Once we got our gear ready, we headed up to the top to try our hands at riding these things.

I was expecting to be hopeless at these things, and as it turns out, I was. I did really enjoy it when I did get up and actually found riding a snowboard to be easier than I thought it would. The fact that you're not afraid of stacking it because of the soft snow really makes it easier to to keep on trying. I actually found the act of getting up from a sitting position to be the hardest part as I found that when I pushed up with my hands to try and stand up, I would push the board forward and my feet out from under me and end up on my back again.

We mucked around on the green (beginner) slopes and took heart in the fact that everyone else there was as bad as we were.

We eventually made our way to the main slope which is about 100m wide and about 700m long with a chair lift to one side. Here there were hundreds of people all doing much the same as we were; stacking it while trying to avoid everyone else stacking it. By this time, I was starting to get tired and frustration with being hopeless was starting to get the better of me (I cracked my goggles after I threw them). I also was starting to get a headache from the constant rattling around of my brain in my skull due to my numerous falls. So instead of continuing to try to ride, I removed my boots from their bindings (which lock your boots to the board) and sat on the board to ride it the rest of the way down the slope. I was good for about 20 or 30 metres until I tried to use my foot to turn, which cause me to roll over and resulted in the board shooting out from under me and continuing apace, uncontrolled, down the slope. I did my best to run after it (I was the only person actually running on the ski slope) down the hill but it had too much of a lead. I found it resting in a snow drift at the bottom of the slope near the entrance to the queue to the chairlift back up.

We took the chairlift back up to the top and at which point I returned my gear and waited for Travis in the pub.

We plan to go again next weekend, where I will in all likelihood, take some lessons.

Dr Tim Tam

Dr Tim Tam, originally uploaded by Tim McDonald.

This window caught my eye as I walked past on the way back from buying snowboarding pants this evening.

Glad I had my camera on me.

Also, picked up a pair of snowboarding pants for $50 (on sale for half price).

A Break in the Weather

Granville and Broadway, originally uploaded by Tim McDonald.

Surprisingly, the weather was clear and sunny this weekend. Took advantage of it and did lots of walking this weekend.

Whistler

Whistler-Blackcomb, originally uploaded by Tim McDonald.

Went for a quick (5 hours total) trip up to Whistler on Sunday with friends. First time I'd been there in winter (went during summer in September). Quite a lot of snow there; with approximately 2 feet of snow on the roofs.

Took some photos and drank some beer.