East to west; from Barrie, ON to Whistler, BC in about four and a half minutes. Recorded October 26 to 31, 2009.

Beetle Kill

The red areas represent trees that are dying as a result of an infestation by the mountain pine beetle. The beetle is not new to BC, but warmer weather conditions have enabled the beetle population to flourish. According to a 2006 report by Natural Resources Canada, “50 per cent of the mature pine will be dead by 2008 and 80 per cent by 2013.” It is a almost unbelievable that this could happen in such a short period.

Total Area Affected by Mountain Pine Beetle in Western Canada (Natural Resources Canada)

The devastation isn’t limited to BC, much of the forest in the western United States has also been affected. The only thing that might end the outbreak is a winter low of -40°C or a sudden cold snap in early fall or late spring of -25°C . Here’s one vote for a new ice age.

More information about the mountain pine beetle can be found at the BC Government website.

Palm (Pre) vs Palm (Treo)

Palm Inc, an off shoot of the 3 Com company, made the PDA a mainstream object – it was the Palm Pilot; a name synonymous with the PDA. I never owned a Palm Pilot until they merged that item with a phone. The Palm Phone was born and I was a fan.

I got my first Palm Phone, the Palm Treo 600 in 2004 and then the Palm Treo 650 in 2006. The Treo 650 works so well, that I still use it to this day. I think It still works better than the Apple iPhone.

Recently, the Palm Pre was released on the Sprint network in the US. I got to test drive it when I was in New York last month. It is a worthy successor, unfortunately, in North America, the new Palm Pre is only available in the US on the Sprint network – a non-GSM network. I refuse to get one because I wouldn’t be able to use it outside of North America and I’m on Rogers in Canada. It it were available on GSM, there would be a much larger market for this phone.

However, they did produce some good commercials as seen below…

On the range today

As a volunteer at the Whistler Golf Club, I’m entitled to unlimited free golf. I’m not sure if I can golf as much as I ski, but I will soon find out. I haven’t swung a golf club in almost two years. Today I spent an hour hitting golf balls. I will definitely feel it tomorrow.

I didn’t have my clubs with me – so I tried a variety of clubs – some that likely came from the lost and found. Regardless,  It was just like old times. I was happy with how I hit the ball – most went where I wanted them to go. One surprise was the Nike Slingshot iron (pictured above). This was the first time I tried Nike clubs and I was pleasantly surprised. The club seemed heavy, but it was rather effortless to get the ball into the air. I used to poo-poo on Nike clubs, but I guess I shouldn’t knock it until I’ve tried it.

I can’t wait to retrieve my clubs from Toronto and play a proper round with them. I’m not looking for new clubs; but I would like to try the rest of the Nike irons. It’s going to be a fun summer.

]]> http://garry.cc/blog/2009/05/21/swing/feed/ 0 http://garry.cc/blog/2009/05/19/internet/ http://garry.cc/blog/2009/05/19/internet/#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 17:09:53 +0000 Garry http://garrychoo.com/blog/?p=505

Internet in Squamish!

The Internet isn’t new to many, I’ve had the Internet on my mobile phone for almost ten years (it sucked at the beginning). Many of us have access to the Internet via mobile phones. With the advent of smartphones such as the Palm, iPhone and similar devices, they brought mobile Internet to the average consumer. I’m not sure if this or Facebook caused our addictions.

I had some free time on the bus this morning so I though I would try to connect to the Internet from my computer via my iPhone. Without too much effort, and not very much technical knowledge, I got it to work – I just had to look for the information on the Internet!

Rogers sells a mobile internet plan for computers for about $25-$100 per month plus the fee for Mobile Internet Stick – this is mobile Internet without the hassle – for a fee. I wouldn’t be willing to pay more than I do for Internet service as I have Internet access already at home. I pay about $30 per month for 6GB of data on my mobile phone. When I had an ADSL connection, I wasn’t able to exceed even two gigabytes of data so I should be okay with this connection when I use it periodically. Now I can get Internet access where I couldn’t before!

Published from the bus while on the Sea to Sky Highway. Woot!

Kiersten's last run on the Couloir Extreme this season

As the weather in the spring changes, people are starting to leave for the season or pack their skis in favour of their bikes, golf clubs and shorts. It’s a bit of a sad time – but many will be back – I’m sure of that.

Since the conditions aren’t the best because of the high temperatures, sunshine during the day and low temperatures at night causes some hard packed (read: icy) conditions, I decided to venture on the mountain with my SLR – which I’ve only done one or two times before this.

As I was taking photos of places I’ve been before but without my SLR, I met Kiersten. She asked me if I was going to go down the Couloir Extreme. I wasn’t planning on doing it as it was closed because of icy conditions. She mentioned that it was her last day on the mountain. I though for the season – but she said possibly forever because she said she was moving back to Holland after five years in Vancouver.

My heart sank a little; but I know that this place can’t keep anyone away for very long. I told her that I bet she’ll be back.

The last days on the mountain for several people plus some recent images on flickr. Click on the larger image to advance to the next one.

It’s difficult to sum up the last five months in one word, but I can do it in three – eat, sleep, ski. That’s basically what I’ve been focused on for the past five months since I arrived in Whistler – that’s why I haven’t posted to this blog, my food blog nor flickr. I took today off to recuperate and give my body a break and thus I have the time to post.

Over the five months, I’ve achieved most of the goals I set for myself – as crazy as some of the were – like ski 100 days in a season; ski an entire month (February) and become a certified ski instructor. I’m a few days shy of 100, but will have achieved that in the next week or so. The season will go another three to six weeks, so there are many days left to ski.

Within my ski days, I’ve learned much more that I could have ever imagined. My skiing has been deconstructed and been put back together again – with the help of some great instructors. I ski better, more confidently and have more fun. I can’t wait to take more lessons next season!

Skiing for 28 days in a row in February was a physical challenge, but it was also fun. I could have gone 39 days in a row, but my bus from Vancouver had mechanical problems and didn’t arrive in Whistler until the end of the ski day. In all, I skied 38 days out of 39 before I went on a road trip with a friend. The photos in the link are incomplete because I haven’t had time to post them.

However, after spending five months here, I realize that there is much more to the mountain experience than skiing. There was the breathtaking view of the mountains, some of the best sunrises and sunsets I’ve witnessed and being able to see stars on a clear night. There was also the endless stream of friends, visitors and the people that I met who share the same passion for this place.

In some ways this winter, it was like being in school again. As the warmer weather approaches, so does the end of the ski season. Several people that I’ve met this season will be returning home or traveling to some other city by the end of the month. Some lasting friendships have been formed and I know some of them will return – that’s something to count on.

I skied my 60th day of the season yesterday – more days than the last four seasons combined. Living in a ski town certainly helps. I’m well on my way to skiing 100 days this season. Even after taking a vacation from my vacation, and if the weather cooperates, I will reach my goal by the end of April – right around the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival – more reasons to celebrate.

Fifty days slipped by rather easily as winter really began on February 22nd (day 48). It was a good month; however, the snowfall is much less than the last three seasons which would be considered epic seasons. The best day that I’ve had, probably over the last four seasons was on February 25 (day 51) where it snowed over 30 cm. This combined with my powder skis made for a very enjoyable day!

I also managed to somehow ski 28 days in February and 29 days in a row. The streak was broken when the bus from Vancouver was delayed. February was all about skiing, eating and sleeping – and not much else.

In the 60 days I also took five lessons which dramatically improved the way I ski. I took lessons before, but my days on the mountain were always limited to practise what I learned. I also think the quality of the instruction at Whistler Blackcomb made a difference. This was the first time I took lessons here and the style was much different than other resorts in North America. This combined with the positive attitude of the people that work here is probably why WB is consistently ranked as one of the best ski resort in the world.

Today, day 61, is also my birthday, I think I’ll celebrate by going skiing! :^)

My flickr set of my days on the mountain so far. Click on the larger image to advance to the next one.

West vs. east; Vancouver on the left and Toronto on the right. December 2008.

It feels like I’m trapped in the Twilight Zone in some sort of crazy weather spiral. However, the weather I’ve been experiencing over the last several years has been so drastically that crazy weather seems to be the norm.

When I arrived in Whistler earlier this month, it was warmer than usual and there was not enough snow to ski. Then it became too cold and snow started to fall slowly. When I returned to Vancouver before Christmas it started to snow – and snow it did. I think there was a snowfall warning issued daily for over a week on Environment Canada.

I flew from a snowy Vancouver to a rainy Toronto on December 24th – barely making it because there was a shortage of crew available in Vancouver because many flights were canceled from several centres in the west. Toronto is now enjoying spring-like weather. It reached almost +15c yesterday. Warm enough not to require a hat or gloves – something that I was never without in BC this month.

Much of what I do is dependent upon the weather so I will be glad when things return to what we once knew as normal – except in the mountains where it should snow as much as possible!