Hello all,

I hope this mail finds you all well. We’re now in week 8 of our Whistler adventure and very much enjoying ourselves. The conditions have been on the whole superb and I have managed to board for 48 of the 50 days although I must admit that my body is starting to tell me more and more that I am not a young 20 yr old (and yes Mark that includes my ankles!!!!) So far nothing too serious and in fact it took a whole month before I had my first bad fall – but when it came it hurt! I fell of a box/rail in the terrain park and bruised my ribs and winded myself badly but fortunately I was wearing my helmet and it took the brunt of it. I then managed the following week with a hard nose plant into a jump which left me with some grazing and bruising, but hey no pain no gain!!! Some of my other riding buddies have not been so lucky and we have seen broken wrists, separated shoulders, and dislocated elbows! Not nice but these things do happen! Anyway enough of that as my mum will start to worry!

Life in Whistler is pretty kool, it is a world a way from corporate life and using Microsoft Excel, Siebel/SFDC everyday. I can’t say I miss it yet, but might have to bust a quick spreadsheet to stop me getting rusty. It’s funny but Mary and I are now both obsessed by the weather. We must check the snow report at least 4 times a day and we always check it first thing in the morning to see what the day will bring. When new snow arrives you literally feel the excitement in the town and see everyone walking around with smiles.

We are living outside of the main village in Whistler Creekside which is much more full of locals than tourists and is still in a great location to access all the amenities. On the course I have met a lot of people of different ages (I am an old guy!) and from different backgrounds. Most of them live in a very large shared house and I am defo glad we don’t as it reminds me of university halls and it’s nice to have our own place. And of course that’s also handy for all our guests of which there is a constant stream until we leave. I have completed my Level 1 course and am now a qualified instructor. The exam was actually ok, although we were judged on our riding ability over 3 whole days and teaching ability over a day. I am working towards my Level 2 which is far more intense and stretching and with a bit of luck I will take the 4 days exam for that at the end of March. We went to Vancouver last week trampolining and after much persistence I managed to land my front flips! However this is not something I ever plan to try on a snowboard! We also did a backcountry jump day which was very amusing (the web pictures explain this), and maz did her first kicker which was great.

Maz is still working part-time in Subway, and no I don’t get free subs everyday (in fact not many free subs at all! - bad form but probably not a bad thing in reality!). She is managing to get out on the mountain 4 days a week and is now a very competent rider. To be brutally honest she puts me to shame with her style and elegance! Everyday when I return from lessons she is so hungry to know what I have learnt that day so she can practice the next. She attended a weekend Roxy Girls camp where once they had finished talking about makeup and shopping they did some hardcore mountain riding. One of my Pro Ride coaches on the camp says there is not much she can teach Mary now as she is a natural (great it only took me 9 years to get this far!!!!). No in all honesty it’s all good and she is nearly ready to ride with Pro Ride and we might even get her to take her Level 1 at the end of March too. We both went up early on Sunday to hit the fresh powder and had a fantastic morning together - It was also the first time I used my helmet camera and we got some great footage so watch my You Tube page (lordjlo) for more action soon.

I don’t really have much else to report, probably the pictures on our website provide the best story. Thanks for all the emails we have received, it’s great to hear what’s going on wherever you are. Future guests – look forward to seeing you soon!

Better check out and get to bed, we are up at 6am tomorrow to hit the new dump of snow.

Take care

J