By 9.30am it was already the best day's skiing I've ever had! It was dumping snow last night so my housemate Deke and I decided to get the early bus up to the ski hill and try and be near the front of the lift-queue. As it was we were there at 8.30 with half an hour before the lifts opened but already plenty of people lining up. We met some other Nonstoppers who suggested walking up the length of the first lift so that we could be at the front of the queue for the second lift! It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the walk was pretty steep and exhausting especially as I was the only skiier - everyone else was in snowboard boots. Even at the base of the Bear Chair we were still not the first in line but it looked pretty good. Once the lifts started we were soon at the top and decided to drop off Cedar Ridge into Cedar bowl. It was at precisely that moment that walking all that way seemed like a very, very good idea. We got "first tracks" all the way down, i.e. we were skiing fresh powder that no one else had been through yet. The snow was waist deep again but this time it was sunny as well! Reader; I may even have whooped at one point in a most un-British fashion. But everyone else was doing it! All along the ridge the air was alive with shouts and screams and yee-hahs and whoops and the like. As we regrouped at the bottom to get the lift back up, people were basically delirious. Everyone was beaming, laughing, giggling, swearing - that's the only way to express the feelings of first tracks on a powder day at Fernie: you can't put it into words!

That's all very well but - WHAT ABOUT THE TELEMARK RACE?? I hear you scream. Well that was great fun. I think I acquited myself honourably, and the organisers seemed pretty impressed by my run when I told them I'd only started the day before. The course was a standard slalom event with a few nordic twists. This included a jump (eeek!) and roundabout gate which involved turning back uphill and round another uphill gate before continuing downhill. Anyhow I got down in one and I did proper tele-turns all the way so I was pleased. I had a rather groovy costume as well. I attached a gold lame cape to my hat (which gave me more of an Omaar Sharif look than I had bargained for) and then taped red crepe paper strips to my coat. Thankfully it wasn't just me in fancy dress. The whole event was very light hearted and thanks to some high spirited Norwegians pretty noisy as well! The original plan was that we would all do two runs but once 50 + people had been it was getting way to late to do it all again. So instead we all went down in one long line. The roundabout was quite fun - it involved skiing and trying to merge into traffic. But there were no casualties. In the evening everyone gathered in the bar for the prize giving. Turns out I didn't win! But there were prizes for everyone; some cool ski gear, or vouchers for local resteraunts. The prizes were picked out of a hat randomly as we went to collect our t-shirts. Me - I won a lampshade...

harrumph!

Pics:
- Hero of Telemark.
- Me and The Griz!. Dig those Panda eyes!