Spring Things

Last week was a busy one. We were thrilled to have a week of nice weather, so Elise and I took advantage and skied at Blackcomb on Wednesday. Whistler is closed for the season, but Blackcomb remains open until the end of May. I was surprised, though, at how few lifts were open midweek. The Glacier Express was closed, as were both T-bars on the Horstman Glacier. We could access all the terrain we wanted, but it was a little tricky with the lift closures. Elise and I enjoyed a fantastic day in the spring sunshine, had lunch at the Horstman Hut at the top of 7th Heaven and then bootpacked up the Showcase T-Bar line to ski the Blackcomb Glacier at the end of the day, which was a highlight. The video below is on the glacier, and the whiskey jack feeding is from the bench at the bottom of the run before the rescue road ski-out.

 
Saturday was Elise's tae kwon do yellow belt exam. Just like last time, she was very excited and did a good job on the test. There were other kids present, all testing for their yellow stripe, which is one level below yellow belt. Elise had trouble breaking the board, but got it done in the end. Of course she wore her uniform for the rest of the day (and evening) proudly displaying her newly-earned yellow belt.

 
Sunday we hiked around Cat Lake and then came back to town so Elise could attend a practice session for her upcoming triathlon. This was prearranged through the recreation centre and about 10 kids signed up. They had an orientation and then did all the events, albeit more slowly than in the actual race. Elise swam with much better technique than last year (the training sessions seem to be helping), but had to stop and rest a couple of times on the lap back to the start. The biking went well, too, but her strongest event is the run I think. She knows how to pace herself and did a good sprint at the end. The race is in two weeks on Mother's Day. It will be lots of fun.

We'll keep you posted on the results!