The In-Laws have landed

This week my shoes will be metaphorically shined and I shall be on my best behaviour while my girlfriend's parents are in town. They don't share anything like my enthusiasm for spending day after day on the mountain; instead we'll be embarking on a good old-fashioned road trip into the Canadian wilderness, taking in a couple of national parks and shedloads of spectacular scenery along the way. Photo-laden updates soon.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter one and all, from everyone at Jimmy's Desk Towers. And remember, chocolate is good for you - particularly in egg form.

Our last Fresh Tracks of the season

As if in answer to our prayers, snow has been falling pretty consistently over last few days and in light of this I decided I was perfectly justified in getting up at the crack of dawn 2 days running. Each morning, for the princely sum of $18 or so, your plucky skier or snowboarder can enjoy Fresh Tracks, which consists of uploading at the Whistler Village gondola a good hour before anyone else and, just as importantly, a dirty great buffet breakfast (which with the aid of Tuppaware can very easily turn into lunch and afternoon tea). This also gives you the first crack at the mountain, and is best enjoyed on a powder day.

The early morning upload affords some beautiful views of the valley and Blackcomb mountain, bathed in the singular light of the recent dawn.

We're really going to miss this place when we're gone.

Things that ail me

Skiing can be tough; skiing for a whole season is tougher. Here's a list of the niggling little things which currently afflict me:

- Sore knees
- A blister on the top of my left foot
- A bad right shoulder

- A pulled right glute muscle
- Painful left upper wisdom tooth (nothing to do with skiing but annoying nonetheless)

All sympathy gratefully received.

Pay day

Finally, after the indignity of spending a good 3 or so days without a Canadian dollar to my name, I have been paid, and am once again flush. Praise the Lord.

Enter the backcountry

It occured to me a few days ago that, for all the time I've spent on the mountains here in Whistler, with something like 6 weeks until the end of the season there's still plenty of this colossal ski area that I've left untouched. How convenient, then, that a colleague suggested we go on a rather large hike on our mutual day off, following a full 24 hours of solid snowfall. I admit to being a touch apprehensive as I've never explored the backcountry terrain before - my previous exploits have been firmly within the limits of the patrolled ski area, as walking a slope to ski down the other side, then walking back up it again seems like a lot of hard work.

In hindsight, I have no regrets - my first entry into Whistler's backcountry was quite simply epic, and the hard work was more than worth the rewards. At the end of our first stint, the views on offer were just breathtaking, and all the more so for being so utterly untouched by civilisation.

Later on the day this was what lay before us - a huge, cloud-like field of fluffy, unblemished snow, encircled by jagged peaks and ridges.

This last picture I include to prove I was actually there - my riding companions are Jack (in the middle) and Aron (to his left), with Sam behind the camera framing the shot beautifully. My thanks to all three for such a good day - and tolerating my whining about my legs hurting so much from all the hiking.

Bursting The Bubble (part 2) - Our 3rd anniversary in Seattle

On Wednesday I set foot on American soil for the first time since somewhere in the mid-1990s - a time when I sported a rather unflattering bowl-cut hairstyle and, when not in my school uniform, wore Global Hypercolour t-shirts and stonewash denim. Our lodging, the Ace in Belltown, was just the sort of hip hostel I'd been hankering after having spent countless nights in uncomfortable beds and under flaking ceilings over the years.

Our busy work schedule in Whistler meant we had only allowed ourselves 48 hours in the city: we embarked on a whistlestop tour of the sights, starting with at Experience Music Project, which was very hands-on, and the Science Fiction Museum, which wasn't. My hightlight was the display devoted to a pair of Jimi Hendrix's favourite guitars - unfortunately the extent of his presence in the Project, but for that short time at least I was rapt. Thanks to Microsoft co-founder Steve Allen for the abundance of memorabilia in each collection, and thanks to my girlfriend Anna for providing a steady drum beat while I jammed on the Fender guitars. Both attractions are housed in a fabulous Frank Gehry-designed building, featuring his trademark style, echoing the Guggenheim's iconic shape but infused with much more shimmering colour.

Seattle is a quirky city - walk along any given street in the centre and there will always be some curio or other to stop you and make you to ponder how such an oddity came to be so positioned. Below are just a few examples.

We reached the peak of the Space Needle at around a half-hour before sunset, and were in awe of the beautiful view of the illuminated bay:

So much to see in so little time. Things we will do when we next visit Seattle in May:

1. Eat at the revolving restaurant at the top of the Space Needle
2. Take a picture of the Seattle skyline to emulate the sillhouette from the opening credits of Frasier.
3. Figure out how to use my camera properly and take better pictures at night-time.
4. Try a lot more of the local beer.