Big Trip... Big Fun!!
January 9, 2002

Happy New Year to all and it most definitely was for my bud Dave and myself. We finally made the pilgrimage to the Promised Land and we were not disappointed. After a relatively uneventful flight we arrived in Calgary to find the airport virtually abandoned. This was taken full advantage of in regard to renting a vehicle. We had our choice of 4X4's (at the agreed to price) and ended up in a Chevy Avalanche. Kind of a Pick-Up/SUV/Baby Hummer mutant thing that no matter how hard we tried would not get stuck. There was however one problem. Technology has now taken us to the point where cassettes are obsolete and our new found space-age ride had a CD Player but no cassette deck. Of course if you are about to embark on a seven-hour drive, tunes are of the utmost importance. There was no way that we were going to give up our ride, so in typical male fashion we stopped in Okotoks, Alberta on the way and picked up a few CD's. About seven hours of Allman's, Dylan, Stones and the best collection of original blues that either of us had ever heard. With this problem resolved we were back on the road in no time rocking down the highway. As is always the case, Kootenay Pass is the only real concern when travelling from the east to Rossland. The snow started about half way up and we were in it for the rest of the trip. Of course with the Baby Hummer we had no problem getting to our destination. Once in town, we proceeded directly to the Rock Cut Pub to commence the festivities. Our good pal Warren made us feel right at home. He introduced us to some buds from Chilliwack, BC and we imbibed while plotting the next days riding. In that none of us were paying any attention to the time, it took one of our new Chilliwack buds to fall off a bar stool to suggest that it was time to go and get a little rest before rippin' it up the next day. Thanks go to Nicole for pointing him out lying on the floor. A dull morning in the valley, became a beautiful sunny day in the alpine with about 8 inches of fresh to carve up. Totally stoked, Dave, Warren, The Chilliwack Boys and myself proceeded to hoot and holler all over the mountain. The Slides and anything on Buffalo Ridge were exceptional to say the least, as was Beer Belly ("Get in my Belly"), Ledges and the Powder Fields. "Sall GoodMan" was the saying of a solid leg burning day! The usual, food and drink at the Rock Cut followed again and went well into the evening. As day two provided no new fresh I suggested a little romp on Robbie. After a couple of high speed cruisers, Dave and I proceeded to boot pack to the top (the fat guy at the front of course) and with the sun shining through the snow ghosts had a couple of rockin' runs through lots of untouched snow. A little apres' Rock Cut, followed by a fantastic feed at Olive Oyl's for dinner. Day three was easy, back to Robbie for the main course followed by DL's Trees and Exhibition for desert. For dinner, Dave determined that he wanted Elk to go with his ruby red Aussie Shiraz that evening and through typical Rossland hospitality, our new friends Monroe and Deb made it happen. Unfortunately, we had to head back to Calgary at some point on Day Four and decided to hit the mountain early. To our surprise, 4 to 6 inches fell overnight and we wasted no time getting to the top to play in the fresh. After a couple cruisers in the near zero vis, we determined the trees were where it was at. The tree stashes were awesome. Not quite a face shot day, but excellent, none the less. Maggies, Mini Bowls, Ledges, et al provided excellent riding until noon. A quick how are ya at the Rock Cut and back on the road. I'm sure everyone there was relieved to see us leave so they could get back to some semblance of normalcy and/or sobriety. It was an action packed, fun filled adventure and big thanks go to Warren, Steve and the whole staff at the Rock Cut, Monroe and Deb for the delicious Elk roast and Rod for keeping the road to the pub and "Rat Shack" clear. Once the pics are developed (and edited) I will post them on the site. After 5 days of bliss, I am satisfied I finally got out there, however the next excellent adventure is already in the works! Rock on!

- Sall