The Grand National is one of those events that help me navigate the year. Being away from it always feels a bit funny. But while you lot were sunning yourselves and spending the housekeeping on the one with the funny name, I went looking for winter.

It's not in Calgary anymore (famous last words..). It's been lovely for the last few days but on Saturday I got the bus to Sunshine ski resort near Banff. It's an hour and half from Calgary and at 7000 ft winter lives on.



It wasn't really winter, more spring skiing. That means that things are rock hard first thing and then a bit slushy at the end of the day. But in the middle of the day conditions were fantastic: soft snow giving you the confidence to really let rip. Skiing on my own I was able to take the single skiers line at the chairlifts which meant hardly any waiting (not that the queues were bad by any means) and I learnt a valuable tactical lesson - get an early lunch! Just as conditions were getting to be the best of the day I was getting more and more hungry. So that's a pro-tip for next time.