SilverStar: The Ski Combo

Google Maps claimed the drive would take five hours. I disagree, in fact it took about hundreds of hours, or at least this is how it felt. We’ve done this trip before, when I was pregnant, but it didn’t feel so long back then. I guess having a baby does change a few things.

To break the long drive we stopped at Othello Tunnels, a nice place we discovered on our first bike trip along the Kettle Valley Railway. The tunnels are always impressive, no matter how many times we visit the place. We took a nice walk and had a picnic before continuing east.

After a few hours we stopped again just on the side of a small road so Neil could play outside a little bit and explore his surroundings. Eventually we arrived to Silverstar around 8pm. We met with Pascale and Ignacio, and their twins Max and Ava, who were already fast asleep. Pascale arranged a very nice apartment for us to share right on the mountain which was very convenient for ski-in-ski-out, and hanging out with the babies.

On Saturday we were blessed with a sunny blue sky day and we went to check out the cross country area, which we could connect to very close to where we stayed. In the last few years I became a big fan of cross country skiing. At first it was always a back-up choice when the weather or conditions weren’t good enough for either downhill or back country skiing. But gradually I started to really like the light gear (compared with back country), soft boots, the flat terrain, the lack of people, and the simple fact that one can go for just a few hours and still enjoy a relaxing and fun workout. This year we started doing cross country skiing with Neil on Cypress with him in the Chariot, and of course now I like it even more, since we can do it together as a family.

We did a few loops in the cross country area while all the babies were taking their naps. Then we had a long lunch break at Mountain View Cabin, to eat, play and try some icicle popsicles.

The afternoon brought more cross country skiing before returning to our place for a well needed time in the hot tub and a yummy dinner that was busy preparing itself in the slow cooker while we were busy skiing. The dinner was followed by a chocolate fondue, after the babies’ bed time. Yup, life is good.

After the beautiful sunny warm day on Saturday it was very surprising to wake up to snow! We decided to devote this day to some downhill skiing. Gili took his turn in the morning while Neil and I took a blissful nap together in our cozy room while the snow was falling outside. In the afternoon it was my turn to enjoy some ski time. We went to Mt. Baker two weeks before, but that was my third ski day in two years and it was lots of fun to ski on an almost deserted mountain. I even did a good Samaritan act by returning a phone and a driver’s licence I found on one of the slopes. After my experience on Mt. Baker four years ago I really don’t like to stop in the middle of  a run, but since the mountain was almost empty, I decided to save the phone as it would have been buried in snow in the next five minutes.

Another well needed dip in the hot tub while it was still snowing, was followed by an amazing Raclette dinner prepared by Pascale and Ignacio and a small birthday celebration for Max and Ava’s first birthday.

On Monday we packed up and drove to Sovereign Lake Cross Country Area. We did a few loops there, had lunch in the lodge and were ready to hit the road around 2pm. We weren’t looking forward to the drive back, but it went a lot smoother than the way there. Neil slept almost till Hope (2 hours and 45 minutes) which was pretty amazing. Then we found a really nice park in Hope, where a six years old named Zoe was ready to adopt Neil as her younger brother or as her baby. We had dinner at Rolly’s which was nothing special food wise, but we were given both a free ice cream and a free coffee to keep Gili awake for the final stretch. Then Neil fell asleep for the night in the car which made the drive very civilized. It was an awesome long weekend with great skiing, yummy food, good friends, and double friends for Neil to play with.