30th Birthday with Fam

Where #

Sun Peaks, BC 2 nights in ski-in/ski-out condo

Kamloops, BC 3 nights at my condo downtown

Conditions #

Great visibility on days 1 and 3, overcast and light snow on day 2. Snow conditions were icy and it was best to stick to the groomers in the morning and call it a day before the underlying ice was too exposed. I did find some fantastic skiing off of the chief on day 3, still icy but pockets of windblown powder and the ice patches were grabby.

Day 1 #

Kamloops #

Rented skates and went up to Paul Lake to skate. Got my skates sharpened too, first time in ~12 years. Gisele gave me a heads up that it was looking nice up there, it was unreal. First time lake skating out west, the ice was glass and smooth. It was a little thin and make some concerning sounds, but it was worth being concerned over. The views were amazing. When I made a cajun gumbo for dinner and tried to get people to Karaoke at the central, but Mom and Dad would not be moved from the couch.

Day 2 #

Went skating at the riverside rink before returning skate rentals and heading up to Sun Peaks. Family went to get rentals and go snowshowing before meeting me at the condo. I went skiing and ran into Mitch, Jared, Gisele, Adam, Aut-lin, and Steve (on Patrol Shift). The visibility was fantastic and I almost killed Jared and I ripping down Sundance, but I did avoid him by a couple feet while we both were going around 75 km/hr.

Day 3 #

Skied out from condo and got over to the main village, my mom took her time and snowplowed the whole way. We went up main mountain to hopefully get a view but the amazing visibility from yesterday was replaced by clouds and light snow. Not enough to change the conditions but enought to take away the views, worst of both worlds but I can’t complain about getting snow no matter how little at this point. My mom took her time getting down 5-mile while I took Dad and Sarah for laps up from elevation. I ripped down OSV a couple times while Sarah and Dad went down Cahilty and 5 mile. Unfortunately my dad twisted his knee and had to hitch a ride with ski patrol. Sarah and I got a couple more laps in after we got dad back to the condo but it wasn’t great and we called it early so we could go back and sit in the hot tub. Warming up for lunch at bottoms is a mistake if you mean to keep skiing after.

Day 4 #

Mom got a late checkout from the condo so dad wouldn’t need to move too much. I went back out with Sarah and did some more skiing. Sarah suggested skiing separately and meeting for a warmup at Sunburst lodge. I found some fantastic skiing off the chief. Some windblown snow made for some small patches of powder and the ice was grabby enough so that if you committed to the run you could have some fun. Met back up with everyone at Masa’s for lunch and headed back to kamloops.