I admit, I have been awol to most of you since January. I was going with the attitude that 'a picture can say a thousand words'. Actually, I have been busy having the time of my life to force myself to sit down and write about it, rather than be living it! I'm sat on the ferry departing for Nanaimo, after spending 10 days traveling Tofino and Vancouver with Sophie. The ski season ended 2 weeks ago so I am no longer a lifty at Mount Washington. The experience of working on a mountain left me happy and with so many names and numbers of awesome people, that hopefully one day I will meet again. I have places to stay around the world, which is a very good feeling!

Life as a lifty was sometimes amusing, sometimes frustrating, sometimes relaxing and sometimes tiring. The season wasn't the greatest for snow (if I hear 'you should've been here last season' one more time!!!!!) but for someone who wasn't there last season, I had an awesome time skiing pretty much every working day. We had epic parties and nights out and I think I had my worst hungover working day ever after a night at the Avalanche bar (never again with the tequila). I got fined for being, in nicer terms, 'a very drunk cowgirl', at the 'What I want to be when I grow up party'. Fines were handed out all season to the liftys for the stupid things we did, some people had lots of dollars to pay and some people like myself had only $6! This was due to my ability to stay in the background and not let my stupid things become well known. After all, I did end up in first aid 3 times, none of which involved accidents whilst skiing, but just trying to walk on my 2 feet seemed to difficult for me sometimes.

The worst time was being hit across the shoulders/chest area with the 6 person Hawk Chair. I've never been hit by a car, but I feel that this was very similar to what it would feel like! I officially lost that fight and ended up flying through the air backwards, landing on my back and watching the chair fly over my head. The funny thing is, no body noticed! I was lying on the floor watching a fellow lifty raking the loading ramp, completely unaware of me lying on the floor trying to breath after being completely winded and panicked!!! After I managed to sit up and move out of the way of the other oncoming chairs they only became aware of it when another lifty came and asked if I wanted to go on a ski break. When they realized I was breathless and shaking like a crazy lady they asked what happened! But then they stepped up to the mark and got me in first aid and I escaped with nothing but bruised ribs and a bruised arm where I had put my arm up to protect my face. I am so lucky that I wasn't any further up the 'runway' because if the chair had hit me any higher, it could've been a much less funny story to tell as I would've been knocked out for sure. As it was I got sent home with a full days pay and a sore neck/back and some ribs. All in a days work of a lifty!!

When I wasn't the one flying through the air, my favourtie thing to do was watch the beginners flying through the air on the Green chair!!! From about February onwards I pretty much forgot about being a professional and would be in hysterics laughing at a punter that could not co-ordinate himself to 'FOLLOW THE CHAIR' and instead tried to race in front of it as it swept around the corner. Consequently he would be on the floor on his face, both ski's unclipped and his poles stuck at funny angles, or poking a lfity. Certain Races were far wosre than others for this, completely uncoordinated and just down right stupid; I would often find myself yelling and manhandling them to get them to the red line where they then had to sit on the chair as it came round behind them. Most of them would stop in the middle of the ramp, turn around and watch the chair as it took there legs out because the lifty didn't have time to 'bump the chair' and slow it down. After putting up with this for a while and stopping and slowing the chair, I refused to stop it and literally ended up pulling them along and shoving them back in to the seat. You wouldn't believe how difficult some people make such a simple act! It amused me immensely and me and the other lifty working on the lift would make it our mission to get the beginners groups through without stopping the chair once. It became a good game and was very satisfying to see them off on their merry way, especially when a lot of them had no idea what just happened to them in the 6 seconds they have to get to the next red line!

When I wasn't working as a lifty, I would be spending time with my awesome awesome awesome roommates. I don't think I've ever laughed so much in 4 months as I have whilst staying in the Riding Fool Hostel. I had a visit from 3 of my greatest English cousins, none of which wanted to leave Canada after 10 days. We partied hard, snow shoed, snow tubed, skied, partied some more and basically had an awesome time! When they left, my parents arrived and I had 2 great weeks spending time with them. My Dad skied while me and my Ma went shopping and went to a spa. Skiing with my Dad was awesome and we had a very funny day taking a few risks down then ungroomed black runs and killing it on the Eagle chair. He worked me hard! Then I took them snow tubing and had a good giggle at my mum screaming her head off down the runs and getting stuck in the tubes. We ended their trip with 3 days in Tofino, which is a little surfing town and amazing sandy beaches. My friend Ben is a float plane pilot, so I got us a free ride on the plane with him and we flew the mail over to one of the native islands! Ben took us for a scenic flight back and I only had to shout at him once when he pulled the plane up vertical and scared the hell out of me.

Leaving the hostel was a very sad day, we had so many good times there and we had a real family feeling going on with big pot luck dinners and family arguments over lemon pies. But the day had to come eventually and it was nice to have a little road trip planned with Sophie to soften the blow.

So whats next?

I am moving to another Island called Quadra Island, I have a job on the Front desk of a swanky Resort and Spa called April Point (google it people!). I was snapped up instantly and didn't even have to have an interview! I think it was my posh English Accent that bagged it (HA!!). Anyway, one of my roommates from the hostel is also working on a different resort on the Island, so I will have one friend to begin with which is a nice feeling! I had to find a place to live before I could commit to the job as it can be difficult to find accommodation. But the first place I looked at was where I knew I wanted to be! Its on the beach!!! It's an awesome house/hostel/cottage/long term rentals place that has stairs down to a beach and is located by the pub and grocery store for only $450 a month. So I am basically going to love my summer hopefully as much as I loved my winter. I start working on 15th May, so I have a couple of weeks to relax and catch up with everyone I neglected over the winter and also to detox.

So until the next time people, I appreciate the ones who were still hanging on for a new blog entry!! I'm sorry I have been so slack, but good times got in the way :-D I've been here 6 months this week, its gone so fast that I'm sure the next will do the same, but I will try and be better at writing what I've been up to! If I don't…. then enjoy the pictures! Oh and I love all the messages that people leave on the blog, if I haven't wrote back to you, I will try to in this break between jobs! It's nice to know I've not been forgotten in England ☺ Peace out homies, love you and miss you all!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx