Tuesday, April 7, 2009

7th April

Day 106 and an interesting day for all sorts of reasons that haven't got a whole lot to do with skiing or ski conditions.
On the way to the hill for another summer bluebird day ( highs of +14) we picked up some guys hitching in fancy dress. They were skiers with the Non-Stop programme (a uk based programme which brings skiers out here for extended holidays) and it was their last day after 12 weeks. When we got to the hill there were quite a lot of guys and girls dressed in fancy dress and they seemed to be having a great party ripping round the hill - a bit like hot dog day but one day early.
When we got to the hill we found that the Timber chair and therefore the whole of the new side wasn't working. The reason for this was that a tipper truck delivering rubble for the film set (see later comments) tipped and managed to hit the power cables for the Timber chair with the top of the tipper. This killed the power to the lift and if reports are to be believed scorched the ground all round the truck where it had earthed. The driver was by some miracle unharmed but he had to go home for a clean pair of pants for obvious reasons.
The Movie - we are having a movie shot here in Fernie, It is going to star John Cusack and a few others who probably should know better. The plot synopsis is that a bunch of guys go off on a guys weekend and discuss their mid life crisis and decide that they wanted to go back to the early 1980's which was when they were at their best. They then get into a hot tub which turns into a time machine and takes them back to a ski resort in the 1980's. Sounds like a complete turkey to me but everyone is getting very excited and signing up as extras. When we left the hill tonight they were building an artificial front for some 1980s condos annd I expect we will all be filmed tomorrow during hotdog day and used as background for the movie.
Oh - today old side as it melted and new side in the afternoon just as they got the Timber chair going to chase the melt line round the hill. Best of the old side was twice through Boom ridge as it melted and twice through Kangaroo which was tough but fun.
In the afternoon the new side went to slush in all areas facing direct sunlight and just to prove it a run through gun bowl was more like waterskiing that snow skiing. Best run again was through 1-2-3 with the run off the hill alternating between Bootleg glades and Diamond Back. This was probably the only faces that represented skiing in any meaningful sense of the word.
Ready for tomorrow which is hotdog day. For the uninitiated hotdog day is our tribute to the 1980's skiing and soft porn movie Hotdog. We dress in retro gear, ski round the hill drinking beer and doing stupid stunts, go to the Griz bar where the kids do nude table sliding then we all head to the Pub where they show the movie which is truely dreadful. A very large amount of beer is involved so it is quite possible that reports of tomorrow may be a little late in appearing - like about 24 hours.
Enjoy

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