Photos

A few pictures of our winter home up at Mt.Washington on Vancouver Island...

Pauls truck in front of the Chalet.
Its been snowing here steadily making shoveling a losing battle... We got about 20cm overnight when this photo was taken and since then we have had equal or more amounts of snow (last night we got 26cm). There is now a base of 230cm on the hill, the snow banks around the lodge are taller then I am and the forecast is call for much, much more in the next few days!

At least we have a really nice snowcat driver that comes and plows our driveway for us (when there are no cars in the way)! The snowcats seem to run 24hrs clearing roads and grooming the hill. Mt. Washington gets an average annual snowfall of 1050cm (the record was in 98/99 when they got 1848cm - it was an La Nina year like this year!).

The view off of the Elkhorn balcony.

Although the first picture makes the chalet seem pretty small it rambles down the hill for 5 floors (and 2 lofts) and we can sleep 24 people between the two suites! Each suite comes with a full kitchen, a sauna (one suite has a hot tub as well), and gas fireplace.

The summit of Mt.Washington is 1588m and our Chalet is at the base of the Green Chair and the Hawk Chair at about 1100m. There is 1600 skiable acres, with over 60 runs and glade skiing. Plus 55km of total cross country skiing trails.

Mt. Washington!

Just a quick post this time!

Paul and I arrived save and sound to the Chalet on Mt. Washington a few nights ago and have been busy getting settled in and getting a feel for the Chalet. Paul was able to get a job with the Mt. Washington resort and has already worked a few shifts and I have been starting to figure out what all needs to be done before the guest show up on Thursday.

The weather here has been a bit everywhere, but in general pleasant and sunny! Yesterday was a bit of windy white out and this morning there was rain and then a hot (+8) day on the hill (ew!). There is lots of snow already (hopefully it doesn't get washed away with the rain they are calling for tomorrow) and it looks like there is more on the way later this week (we're going to dip down to -1 for a few days!!). Its perfect. I have always dreamed of a warm but snowy winter....

We are off to see the midwifes here in Courtney tomorrow morning. I am going to have to get them to weigh me as I have certainly been gaining weight lately - I even have started to need to utilize the bottom up second zipper on some of my hoodies and let the baby bulge poke out.

We are going to be taking lots of photos (probably tomorrow) and will post those so that you can see what are new home and surroundings are like! If you have free long distance we can receive called on our land line (250.334.8161) and it would be really great to hear from you!

Peace and Love,
Ashley and Paul

Back in Calgary

Some interesting things have happened since we left the lodge a last week. The first is that we did get the job working at the Mt. Washington ski hill! We are still working for Strathcona Park Lodge, and will be managing their chalet/ski lodge at Mt. Washington. The chalet is located about fifty yards from one of the chairlifts at the hill! The job is meeting and greeting guests and taking care of the place. I've also started applying for various jobs at the ski hill as well, and am really hoping to get on with the ski patrol.

The other big news is that we're now expecting our first child in June. Ashley is about 8 weeks pregnant now, and we are very excited! Having a baby will (obviously) be a big change in our lives and we're really looking forward to this new adventure.

We're back in town for the next month and a half until we head back to Vancouver Island. Our job there will run from the middle of December to the end of March. We expect to be back in Calgary at the beginning of April, at which time we plan to settle in here and wait for our new family member to arrive.

A farewell to SPL

Yesterday was officially our last day of work here at SPL; we said goodbye to our last group of girls (an amazing group all around - the perfect way to end things off), did a lodge clean up and then had our end of contract talks with the boss man. Its seems that he is pleased with our work here and recommended us for a position over the winter working as managers at Chalet on Mt. Washington. It sounds like a pretty awesome gig - meet and greet guests, do the housekeeping, potentially get another job on the hill (to get the free lift pass) and do a whole lot of snowboarding, cross-country skiing and playing in the coastal mountains while living for free! (Check out the Chalet at... http://www.strathcona.bc.ca/accommodation/washington.html) It would be pretty exciting if we get it, and we should find out by tomorrow for sure!

There was a surprise group today and so Paul get one more day of work (sadly its pouring buckets so it will be a hard day's work) and I am getting laundry done and starting packing up the gobs of gear that seem to have taken over our room. As sad as it will be to leave here there is certainly some things I am looking forward to like cooking for myself, toilet seats that are not cold when you sit on them, and not waking up to mice gnawing on something in the walls. It will be good to be home! Most of all though, it will be great to see you all!!

See you soon, lots of love!!

Shy and Paul

Second Last Week

As our second last week at Strathcona Park Lodge is coming to an end, I think we are both looking forward to not having to run about at mock chicken always being uppity and high energy while dragging (sometimes unwilling) students through various activities. The upcoming stint at the Ashram will be well earned peace and quiet. What a change that will be, eh? Student madness to yoga/mediation retreat; couldn't be more extreme.

Thanksgiving dinner was amazing; stuffed butternut squash, stuffing.. vegan pumpkin pie!!! Not to mention that they did the mess hall up beautifully with fancy things like table cloths, those nice wine glass like water glasses, matching silver wear.. even harvesty centre pieces. Fantastic. Ate too much, as required by north american tradition, and really enjoyed the chance to hang out with some of the people that were leaving this week.

This week all the students have been really young - a big change from the highschool groups earlier in the season. It's been interesting adjusting to the lower maturity level and the more chaotic energy.... sometimes just explaining simple games is a task and a half. However, they have gotten into the grove of things and are learning to work together and even are showing some good leadership qualities! I got to paddle with my group to Rainbow Island for an overnight camping trip and Paul was on canoe day trip to False Echo yesterday. All the groups leave tomorrow and then we are on our weekend till Sunday when the final group shows up!

More canoe/sea kayaking on the lake in store for us next week. Keep your fingers cross for us to have good weather. (We just had a storm blow in this afternoon and there is a dusting of snow at higher elevations... eeee!!! Its going to be winter soon!!)

Happy Turkey

It's thanksgiving weekend and we are both feeling fairly home-sick; We miss you all like crazy.

Living here a Strathcona we have fallen into an interesting community of people that act as a sort of stand in family since we all are kilometers, provinces and even countries away from those we love. I have to say, it is one of the most incredible communities to be apart of; there is a mind-set of self sufficiency here - in their own way everyone has something to contribute to an off the grid, do-it-yourself way of living. There is also an amazing diversity of people coming from all types of backgrounds and experience. Finally, there is the common tread of love for nature and outdoor sports that connects us all.

Strathcona as a organization runs mostly off-the-grid as we said in early posts, but its really the people within the organization that show the true nature of self-proficiency. Every day I am amazed but the amount and diversity of knowledge that is available here; There are people who are making their own bow and arrows, well practiced at tracking animals (there was two people that even had their group of students track and find a small herd of elk as part of a "survival skills" weekend), and then smoke the meat and work the hides of the animals they kill. There are people canning and preserving the fruit they pick off of the trees on-site (all done outdoors on portable propane burners). There is wood being milled on-site from trees stolen from logging sites or fallen selectively from the forests around the lodge and building being made from them. On the weekends it is not uncommon to find groups of people together knitting, working on hand-made looms and doing crochet (there is probably more toques then people kickin' around). On upper property there is a massive garden with everything from turnips and green beans to quinoa is planted and have cared for all summer by staff (there are gardens that are grown just for use by the lodge as well). The list of skills and knowledge goes on and on - its truly amazing how much there is to learn just from the people around us. Its so compelling being part of a place that could stake it out on it own if need be.

The diversity of people here adds so much character (and a lot of entertainment) to the lodge. There are Germans, English, French and French Canadian, Kiwi's, Aussies, a half dozen languages able to be spoken and lots of world travelers. The East coasters are quite the group of people to hang out with; they certainly know how to party and can be overheard yabbering nearly uncomperhensively about lobster fishing and making screech; I learnt that "Git cho' marble out o' cho' mouth, boay" [get your marbles out of your mouth, boy] means "stop swearing", various entertaining swears in french, and "havin' a time" is an appropriate response when someone asks you how you are. I also found out that things I say like, "give'er" (as in we will really have to give'er to get there in time) give me away as an Albertan. Go figure.

As far as proficiency in outdoor sports there is so much skill and talent here. Most people are strong in the water sports - kayaking, canoeing, and even some people that can sail. However there are still a lot of people that are strong in the mountain sports- climbing, hiking, ski/snowboarding. No matter what you love to do above all, everyone just loves to be in nature and to find that intimacy with it through the sports we do. This is a community of people that gather around bugs and get excited about rainbows and thunderstorms- It is so wonderful.

So know, as much as we are missing our friends and family back at home, we are learning so much and are surrounded by a great community of people. We are in a great place. Happy Turkey, and we are looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Another Update

Well two weeks have passed, and two more schools have come and gone. Last week both of us got to work on "Adventure Programs"; that means spending most of the week around the lodge, and only doing a short overnight trip down the lake. That was a nice change since we could eat at the lodge, sleep in our own bed, and enjoy all the other comforts afforded by being on site.

This past week Ashley was back to rock climbing camp (her third time thus far), and was very pleased to find out that next week she will get to do a hiking program. Last week I got to instruct a hiking group on a trip to Mt. Myra, a mountain that the two of us climbed a few weeks ago on a day off. The weather this past week has been perfect; warm, sunny, cloudless days that came just as the entire staff began to fall into an overcast and rain induced depression. Hopefully it lasts!

The big news now is that the lodge has asked us if we would want to stay on for an extra two weeks of work, which we both agreed to. So now we are working here until the twenty-second of October.

Not really too much else to say right now, still having fun and enjoying our time here; even more so now with the sunshine!