Brandon's Photo Of The Day

BRANDON BOUCHER, SnowSeekers Inc.

So today in the SnowSeekers office we had a discussion about the photos appearing on our website. We found that there were SO many great photos that we had taken, that never see the light of day! So not only are we soon going to be proud owners of a brand new photo gallery on the website, but I am going to dedicate a blog every week for my "photo of the day" but I guess it would be called "photo of the week." Regardless, today, it begins!

I stumbled across a LOT of good photos today.

These "photos of the day" are only based on my personal thoughts toward the photos, keeping composition, lighting etc in mind.

I hope you like it!

Photo taken by : Doc Pow

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Go rest high on Pilot Mountain

RICK MACDONNELL, SnowSeekers Inc.

SnowSeekers visited Banff's famed Johnston Canyon  two weeks ago , and the had the pleasure of being guided through the Canyon by Anick Cadieux, a guide with Discover Banff Tours. If you plan on taking a trip to Johnston Canyon in the future, I'd suggest you book a guide. This was my second visit to the Canyon--my first with a guide--and my experience was markedly better with Anick by my side.

There's a remarkable amount of history surrounding the Canyon, and during the three-hour trek we learned a lot of it. One remark, in particular, caught my ear.

In 1927, the log teahouse at the base of the Canyon was purchased by Walter and Marguerite Camp. This began a rich history of Rocky Mountain lodging in Banff. Since then, Johnston Canyon has become one of the top hikes in Canada (literally, at 4710 feet above sea level).

Walter Camp is something of a legend in Banff, a town treasure and a man who treasured his town. Before he passed away, he asked that his ashes be spread on top of Pilot Mountain--the one mountain that can be seen from both Banff and Lake Louise. Even after his death Walter wanted to watch over his beloved town, which he did. Marguerite had his ashes placed on the mountain via helicopter. And when Marguerite passed on, her ashes were laid there as well.


This was just one of a dozen or more anecdotes. I had expected to be impressed by the beauty of the Canyon, but I had no idea its history was so rich and interesting. Do yourself a favour and take a tour. You'll learn a little something, and come away with one hell of a photo album.


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For full stories and videos on Western Canada's winter destinations, visit www.snowseekers.ca and friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

We weren't sure we could believe it

DOC POW, SnowSeekers Inc.

You'll note a blog below by Dan, our digital guru here at SnowSeekers, announcing our new snow reports on SnowSeekers.ca.

He came to me the other day to tell me that he wasn't sure that he could trust what was coming out of Mount Washington's website, reporting of a 600 cm base - almost twice that of Whistler Blackcomb's.  "They must be inflating that number, I can't trust it," he said.  Well the numbers don't lie; they are true.  Mount Washington, just outside of Comox, BC, is experiencing one of their snowiest seasons in history – actually their second on record – only next to the infamous season of 1998-99.

"We’re extending the season by two weekends after April 11th and we’re delivering an extensive and entertaining event calendar to everybody next month,” explains Don Sharpe, Director of Business Operations.

One of the really interesting things about Mount Washington, next to these epic conditions, is its location: an island. Vancouver Island, to be precise.  So, in April you can head out for an adventure like few people on the planet can ever get in on.  A surf and snow safari, get in a few days on the skis or snowboard and then head off to Ucluelet for some surfing (between the two is only a two and a half hour wicked drive).

Enter into to win our trip for two to Whistler and you may just have the best April ever.....

Subscribe to www.snowseekers.ca e-newsletter and be automatically entered for a chance to WIN a 5-day trip to the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler, British Columbia. Make sure to share with friends.

For full stories and videos on Western Canada's winter destinations, visit www.snowseekers.ca and friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

His name is Rusty, but his skills aren't

RICK MACDONNELL, Snowseekers Inc.

A little more than a week ago, the SnowSeekers "road dogs" were in Fairmont, British Columbia, where we visited the Fairmont Hot Springs, as well as the Family Ski Hill that's just minutes from the resort. You can read all about the trip  here.

As you more than likely know, for every destination we visit, we profile not just the on-hill and off-hill activities, but resort destinations and dining opportunities. On this particular trip we were fortunate enough to be taken care of by Rusty Cox, the Farimont's Chef de Cuisine. We soon found out that in addition to being an incredibly cool guy and an absolutely dynamite chef, he is also a world-renowned ice sculptor.

Rusty sent me this photos a few days ago, and I just couldn't keep them to myself. They absolutely blew me away. There's a reason why he travels the world doing this stuff.

Enjoy.

Probably my favourite. Amazing stuff.

I should email this one to Peter Jackson.

Yes, the entire bar (and the walls surrounding it) is ice.

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For full stories and videos on Western Canada's winter destinations, visit www.snowseekers.ca and friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Improved Snow Conditions on SnowSeekers.ca and SnowSeekers iPhone Go-Guides

DAN MOORE, SnowSeekers Inc.

Recently, I updated our snow conditions page to include not just links to the snow conditions pages of the various resorts around Alberta and BC, but also to include graphs of the snowfall this season. Hopefully this will give our users an easier time deciding where to spend their weekend with less page navigation.

For now the aesthetics of the graphs are pretty basic, and we will probably look to improve them long term, so be sure to check back.

Yesterday I also updated most of our SnowSeekers go-guides (iPhone apps) to include past snowfall information. So, when available, our apps will now also provide users with snowfall in the past 24 hours, 48 hours, and 7 days, as well as snowfall to date and base packed snow on the mountain. This has been one of most requested features for our apps so I was very glad to finally drop it in. Go-guides that have this functionality currently include all apps except for Comox - Mount Washington, and the Vancouver mountains (Cypress, Grouse, and Seymour).

In the future I am also looking to add additional stats to our apps and snow conditions page including lifts in operation and open runs. So if you love getting information on the conditions at your preferred hill and getting updates to your favorite apps, keep checking back!

Subscribe to www.snowseekers.ca e-newsletter and be automatically entered for a chance to WIN a 5-day trip to the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler, British Columbia. Make sure to share with friends.

For full stories and videos on Western Canada's winter destinations, visit www.snowseekers.ca and friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival 2010

You Could Be Here

How would you like to be at one of the hottest spring parties in Western Canada? The TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival is a kick-ass event running Apr. 16 to 25, and it has it all: big air events with competitors from around the world, A-list entertainment that covers all music genres, parties that go all night and a large cultural side that includes competitions between some of the best photographers and filmmakers around, plus much more.

You could win a 5-day trip for 2 to the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler, British Columbia by going to www.snowseekers.ca/wssfcontest and entering today. Tell your friends.

For full stories and videos on Western Canada's winter destinations, visit www.snowseekers.ca and friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

The Olympic experience

RICK MACDONNELL, SnowSeekers Inc.

This Olympic journey has been three weeks in the making for the SnowSeekers crew, but in a sense it's also been six months (since the season started), 2.5 years (since the company started), and a decade and a half (since the bids for Vancouver began).
For some, these past few weeks have been the culmination of five year's work, others, their entire lives. But when that calendar page flipped over to March 1, the journey was all over.
This morning came with a weird mixture of accomplishment and melancholy.
On the one hand, we did it. We came into Whistler as the little company that could, and stood shoulder to shoulder with the big boys.
The content that's been produced in the last three weeks has made us all proud. It's validated all the work we've done and showed us where we're capable of going.
On the other hand, we did it, and now it's over. This entire season has been one big prelude to the Games, and now that they're over, that build-up is gone.
It's time to find a new goal, whatever that might be.
Sochi, 2014?

Who knows. Four years is still a ways away, and there's no telling where SnowSeekers Inc. will be then. All I know is that this Olympic experience will only serve as a launching pad to bigger and better things for all of us.
A psychic even told me so.
I've seen some amazing things in my time in Whistler. Unlikely triumphs, tragic defeats, career-defining performances, and life-changing events. But I've also experienced kinship with complete strangers, people who literally live continents away and can barely speak my language.
It's taught me a lot about compassion and community, how similar we all are when borders aren't involved.
But I've also seen human faeries frolicking through the Village and killer rock shows almost every day. A giant sasquatch punched my friend in the face. Needless to say, I've laughed a lot since I've been in Whistler.
As Whistler's psychic told me just a few days ago, my future will be defined by my present. My experience at the Olympic Games will affect me in ways that I can't even imagine.
All that I can do is wait for it to happen, and blog about it along the way.


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Celebrating together

RICK MACDONNELL, SnowSeekers Inc.

Even though they were a few hours away from the Closing Ceremonies in Vancouver, the people of Whistler were as awash in the glow of victory as any of their provincial neighbours last night.
Every screen in the Village – both big and small – was tuned in to see Canada's best deliver a send-off to the world. Whistler's Village Square was jam packed with hundreds of excited onlookers as they watched the Closing Ceremonies on the big screen behind the Whistler Live! stage.
"We're not there (Vancouver), but we are at the same time," said Mark Roberts of Oshawa, Ontario. "With the crowd here, the big screen, it's almost better in some ways because you get the feeling of the crowd, but the intimacy of watching the performers on this massive screen. It's quite the party."
A party is the best I could describe it.
Along with the crowd standing in Village Square, every patio around was armed to the teeth with revelers. The Amersterdam, Citta's, and La Bocca all provided a great place to catch the action while enjoying some dinner and drinks.
There was a considerable amount of nostalgia on display last night. People were already looking back on the Games as if they happened two years ago, and a couple of hours.

"It was an amazing, amazing experience," said Patrice Henry of Gatineua, Quebec. "My life is now divided into two parts, before and after the 2010 Olympics. I'm not sure if I'll ever see anything like this for the rest of my life."
And while most were already longing to have the last two weeks back, there were some who were only looking toward the future. Slava Mischenko of Kiev, Ukraine, decked out in a 2014 Sochi jacket, has already started counting down the days until the next Winter Olympics.
"I'm not from Sochi, but I'm excited for them," Mischenko said. "I can't wait to be there in 2014 when Russia does what Canada did in these games."
After stopping to ponder for a few seconds, he continued. "Well, maybe not exactly what Canada did, but hopefully close. Fourteen medals is a lot!"
The crowd was full of Canadians from coast to coast, along with visitors from dozens of countries around the world.
For two weeks we laughed together and cheered together, sang and even cried together. For two weeks this was Whistler, one big happy international family.
Driving away from Whistler this morning, we were all sad to see it go. But, when you think about it, 2014's only four years away.
Think Sochi!

Stay tuned to www.snowseekers.ca/olympicnews for daily blogs, videos and more throughout the Olympics.

For full stories on Western Canada's winter destinations, visit snowseekers.ca and friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.