Happy 2021! Although this wasn’t where we thought we’d be at the start of 2021, we were eager to start a new edventure. After a two-night stay in Kelowna (at a place with a super-fun water slide!), we found our Invermere home waiting for our arrival. As is always the case, the first order of business was deciding who gets what room. This time, the girls decided to share and Simon was “fine” with the idea of having his own room again (secretly, he prefers company and would rather share). It didn’t take us long to unpack and get settled.
The town of Invermere is nestled between the Western Rockies and the Purcell Mountain Range of the Columbia Mountains. Our rental home was a 20-minute drive to Panorama Mountain Resort and a 20-minute drive to the Radium Hot Springs! Woot woot!
We had pre-planned our ski passes, gear, and lessons so we were ready to give this skiing thing a try. We had our first ski-day and lessons only two days after arriving. We were so lucky to find a great coach and friend who showed us not only how to put our feet into skis, but also how to navigate the mountain terrain, control our speed, and how to safely stop.
Over the course of a month, we had all improved from the “Little Ripper” hill to both varied terrain and black diamond runs. As a parent, it was so heartwarming to see the looks of pride and achievement on the kids’ faces when they conquered a new run and really wanted to tell you all about it. It was also very interesting to see what runs were becoming the favourites to each family member. Simon and Erik gravitated towards the runs that offered terrain challenges like gladed runs through the trees, or moguls. Claire enjoyed the runs that were not groomed and had some fresh powder. She also liked doing dips in and out of the trees along the sides of the open runs. Molly, at first, didn’t appear to have a specific preference and was quite comfortable tackling either type of run. I was in my element when I had a bit of speed and had lots of open space to carve on my edges.
We really lucked out with great weather. Only one week in February was too cold (-25C) for us to ski. Otherwise, we had mostly clear skies and reasonably warm temperatures. We even had the opportunity to ski fresh powder tracks a few mornings after a snowfall. We found a photographer who skied with us on a “bluebird” day and we LOVE the resulting family photos!
By March, we were well acquainted with the whole mountain and had shared some epic ski days with a few friends we’ve met travelling. Erik had found his favourite spots on some of the backcountry runs. Simon was delving into some free-style skiing and trying some jumps and spins. Claire’s favourite spot was a short but steep and bumpy double-black-diamond run named Pi which led you to one of the most ‘fairy-tale’ spots on the mountain. Molly remained the most versatile skier – happy to go wherever the others went – but with a preference for fluffy snow and not-too-steep pitches. My favourite run remained the wide, groomed, blue run called Rollercoaster as it was a string of varied pitches that had the ability to really get you zooming at times.
In April, I celebrated my 40th birthday. Leading up to the big day, Erik arranged for us to try paragliding with Max from flyingmax.com. It was both exactly and nothing like I expected. I was expecting the sensation of flying, but was totally surprised by the peaceful and graceful feelings it evoked. I expected to feel the pull of a turn, but did not expect that we’d pull 4 g’s of force on a sharp corner. It sucked the wind out of me! The kids got to see me land and even helped Max get the chute packed back up for Erik’s flight. We have a short clip of the experience that you can see here.
My main birthday present was a surprise weekend in Jasper where we met up with dear friends from my RMC days. The kids got along really well (they really needed to see other kids!) and Bryson took me ice climbing in Maligne Canyon. This was an amazing experience – to be on the canyon floor staring up at this jagged, frozen waterfall and know that you’re going to climb that sucker, was pretty bad-ass. Bryson is one of the most patient people I have ever met and his calm coaching style had me climbing in no time. We did a few ascents before calling it quits to take the kids on a walk through the canyon. The hour spent exploring the canyon and its crevasses remains one of the kids’ most memorable hikes of our edventure so far! I was also treated to a stargazing session at the Jasper Planetarium and left the weekend feeling very special and fortunate. Thanks Cate and Bryson for making the trip, bringing the gear, and sharing your skills with us!
Skiing really dominated our schedule and we found ourselves at the hill up to 3 times per week. But when not skiing, we enjoyed some of the town’s great parks, tried a few walking trails, visited Radium Hot Springs, made lots of crafts, read a TON of books from Invermere’s great library, built LEGO, and played lots and lots of UNO.
Our season-closer was a ski day at Sunshine Resort in Banff. I am grateful that we took the time to go and see what it is like to ski elsewhere. The highlight was riding the gondola and the heated chairlift. Simon was tickled to ski a run named Sasquatch. We put in a lot of miles in one day but we did it together as a team and could feel proud of how far we’d come from that first day when we didn’t even know how to stop.
With the warm days came soft snow and the end of the season. The winds had shifted, as they say, and it was time for us to move on. We completed a few local hiking trails with views of the Columbia Wetlands and the Fairmont Hoodoos to take in some of the area that we hadn’t yet seen. We were so fortunate to meet Deb, who skied with us often, and became such a great friend. I will forever remember the breathtaking views of this lovely spot in our world. Next stop, Golden BC.
