Sandwich of my Dreams ... and Whistler

Whistler Blackcomb is a sweet place, and the greatest sandwich I've had in recent memory was at Portabello in the Upper Village.

Feast your eyes on this.



JD discovered this place, so I have to give him all the credit. My sandwich was a masterpiece -- cranberry bread with roast beef, ham, pepperjack, cheddar, chicken salad (boo-yah - 3 meats), pickle, lettuce, and red onion with hummus and olive spreads. I had to take a picture of my creation. My sandwich was really good, but JD is a sandwich innovator. He was genious enough to inquire about bacon, a rare item which makes everything better. Turns out the bacon was hidden behind the counter -- sneaky. Then, JD did something utterly amazing -- he asked for egg salad on top of his roast beef, turkey, and bacon sandwich. BRAVO YOUNG MAN! Egg salad really took his sandwich to the next level. It keeps getting better -- a customizable salad (also with great, fresh toppings) and drink come with the delectable sandwich for just $12 Canadian (mere pocket change USD)!

That was one heck of a sandwich. You might want to stop drooling all over the place!

The rest of the Whistler trip was stellar as well. Whistler and Blackcomb are both GIANT mountains with a great variety of terrain and the surrounding village has everything you'd want from a resort town. There were so many bars that I'll have to go back just to check all them out.

On Day One, Joe, Christina, David, Liz and I went snowboarding; it was a good day, my first day of the season so I was shaking off all the rust. The night of Day 1 we played some spirited drinking games (I had to ride the bus) and there was a monumental game of Kings -- for rules, you had to curse and use an accent with everything said; plus make an animal sound prior to drinking. JD stole the show with his Aussie, Canadian, Mexican, Indian, and Russian accents. I can't remember if we went out to the bars after our drinking games -- must've been a good night.


Day Two, everyone else was tired from the night's activities and I was pretty roughed up also, but lots of snow had fallen and was expected to keep falling, so I decided to head up boarding alone. It's a decision I didn't regret -- there was a great run off of the Creekside Gondola on the Whistler side called Kadenwood. It was roped off but ridable with a foot of fresh powder. So there I was on a deserted, powder rich run on a great day at Whistler, enjoying every turn ... not to say I didn't face-plant a time or two.

More on Whistler later ...

Allright, continuing the tale (February 27th, 2009).

One of the other special things about Whistler for me was enjoying some quality time with J-Thrilla. I am a BIG fan of this kid, and we turned in quite a performance. We were the non-stop, no-holds barred, "let's take a shot at 8 AM", bash brothers. We puffed cigars outside the pubs, kept the beer flowing inside the pubs, then closed down those pubs; we even sipped brew in the hot tub. Good times!

Day 3 on the mountain was forgettable except for the last epic run of the day. I became seperated from friends most of the day (ehh -- DITCHED!) and was ready to head back to the condo to relax. I was down in the Creekside village looking for some grub but only came upon ridiculous lines. Boo on lines! I decided to call it a day and walked to the bus stop to grab some transportation to Whistler Village. Talking to local 'Joe' I found out that ride was going to cost $2; everywhere else was complimentary. Quite a dilemma; I had 2 options. 1) Hang out with Joe and pay $2. 2) Gondola back up and ride gloriously (FOR FREE!) down to Whistler Village one last time.

If you know me, you know what I did. Gondola baby. As soon as I made this decision, I was IMMEDIATLY rewarded. Still hungry, I scavanged through my backpack for any leftover granola bars. BAM, I found two leftover sandwiches from JD and Caitlyn's lunch at Portabello the prior day. I unwrapped one at random and discovered the leftovers of JD's masterpiece with egg salad! MAGNIFICIENT; I knew the kid was a genious. I scarfed down the sandwich, every bite better than the last.

I hopped off the goldola and started boppin down the mountain, just takin' her easy. As Whistler Village came into view, I hear a "yo Brent" from behind me. I took a seat, swivelled around and saw my bro, my flesh & blood, J-THRILLA! We decided we needed ONE MORE EPIC WHISTLER RUN; "to the top" he said and I said "YUP."

Thirty minutes of lifts and we were as close to the top as we could get. We rode down through a deep powder bowl, some moguley junk, and just a few more last Whistler runs. Riding down with James on that last run was perfect.

Some other things I'll remember from Whistler were the Ketchup Chips (weird), the drunken singing couple walking back from NYE at 4 AM, and the "2000 Sweet Running Mix".

I can only imagine what Whistler is like with full coverage ... someday I shall return.

The Four Agreements

From an unlikely source I got a great book recommendation. Thanks JD, I didn't know you could read! :)

The book is "The Four Agreements" (TFA) by Don Miguel Ruiz; it is inspired by Toltec wissom passed down through the generations. TFA essentially tries to lay out guiding principles for how to interact with others and how to perceive those interactions. The lessons are applicable to all kinds of relationships, even one's relationship with one's self. Ultimately the goal of book aims to free the individual from crippling self-practices and preconceptions while enabling people to interact without with utmost trust and honesty.

Without further ado, here are the four agreements:

1) Be Impeccable with Your Word -- Basically this means to speak with integrity and mean what you say. It's argued in TFA that words are our most powerful tool; I'd like to think our minds, ideas, and thoughts can be more powerful, but definitely I see the point. We can use our words to spread good or evil and their impact is huge.

2) Don't Take Anything Personally -- You've gotta be strong to not take anything personally. The argument here is that really you shouldn't let others influence your mood with their words, whether they be good or bad. We should know ourselves well enough to know the truth and not let images of our selves be bent by others.

3) Don't Make Assumptions -- When things are unclear, ask questions; clarify! Communication is key here, do not assume something as it could be false and really lead you down the wrong path.

4) Always Do Your Best -- Sometimes your best isn't as good one day as it is another. The important thing is to strive for excellence always. We cannot be perfect and will always have missteps, but we can strive to be better every day.

For any Superman nerds out there like me, I'd say a good Kryptonian is an example of someone who follows the teachings of TFA. Us mere mortals would be doing good to follow the teachings four times out of five. TFA is simply written and straightforward; I read it in less than 2 hours.

I think I do a good job with #1 as I always strive to be honest and straightforward. #2 is tough because to be influenced by others and society seems to be part of the fabric of being human. I really identified with #3 because I think I make assumptions too often without seeking clarification; I plan to get clarification more. I do a good job with #4; I always feel like I'm striving for excellence.

Thoughts?

Narada Falls Snowshoe

Some of my favorite adventures have been a collaboration between Mt. Rainier, my friend Gene, and me. We had a crazy summit adventure of Mt. Rainier, other grueling Rainier hikes, ape cave exploring, Mt. St. Helens summit, and unplanned bike trips in both LA and Seattle. Our latest adventure didn't dissappoint either.

We decided to trek around some of the lower areas of Mt. Rainier ... on snowshoes. On the way up, we had some navigational issues (lack of planning on my part) and snowy but passable roads in the National Park.


Almost to our starting point, Gene and I came upon two climbers who flagged us down and requested that we follow one of the climbers back down the road about 5 minutes and taxi him back up to their starting point with the other climber. By hitching a ride, the opportunist climbers could avoid the 1 hour walk up the road back to their vehicle after thir hiking. What is the official climber etiquitte on burdening other groups for shuttle service? Who knows, but if it were me I would've let us pass by. A little peeved, but still in a good mood, I complied. A little good Karma never hurt right?

We found out the climber's names were Josh and Ernie (ficticious but fun name that Gene and I agreed on). Josh was a young college lad climbing with his Dad, Ernie. Their plan was to showshoe out onto some 200 foot cliffs, set up some top ropes with already-existing anchors and do some ice / rock climbing -- pretty hardcore; I was impressed.

After reuniting Josh & Ernie, we found our spot in the Narada Falls parking lot. We searched for the trailhead trailhead for the Mazama Ridge hike up to Paradise, thought we found it, but discovered later that it it was a summer trailhead that NOBODY snowshoes on, or so it seems.

Departure time: 11:08 AM.


First we came upon the almost completely frozen Narada Falls, which were spectacular and at least 150 ft. high. The picture really doesn't do it justice. Then, we got into some rolling terrain that gained elevation gradually. With 2 ft. of fresh powder and unbroken trail, Gene and I were soon gasping for air. We took turns breaking trail, switching after about every 5 minutes. Breaking trail in so much powder is grueling. While the leader broke trail, the follower got to relax leisurely behind and enjoy the picturesque scenery. The forest was quiet, only the sound of the snowshoes and breathing. It was surreal and tranquil.

We continued and had lunch looking over the frozen Reflection Lake; after 15 minutes of inhaling calories and cooling off, it was time to get moving to generate body heat. We passed Lake Louise and found a good spot to snap some pics, and drink our victory beers before turning back.


Turn around at 2:25 PM, 3 hours, 17 minutes one-way.

The way back went by like a blur, following our tracks, neither one of us had to break trail. We were cruizin' and made it back fast.

Return time, 4:02 PM, 1 hour, 37 minutes -- about twice as fast as the first leg.

Following a celebratory high-5 and we headed down the mountain, noticing Josh and Ernie's SUV still parked in the lower lot, but figured they'd be OK. The good karma seemed to pay off for us. It was an uneventful trip back except for my 1st exposure to the delightfully crispy Popeyes chicken. Cajun Sparkle baby!

Good snowshoe, another good adventure.

Picasa Link (check out the Victory Beer photos): http://picasaweb.google.com/bbero82/RainierSnowshoeingNaradaFallsReflectionLouiseLakes