A Very White Winter in Nelson, British Columbia

If you happened to see our latest planny plan, you may know that we planned to spend most of the winter snowboarding in Nelson, British Columbia. It was our first return to Canada since our wedding in 2005.

Canada welcomed us with open arms

Our plans happened to coincide with a record-breaking snowfall for British Columbia and much of the west (lucky us!). In Nelson, schools were closed for the first time in 29 years. When we weren't backcountry snowboarding, we were digging out the truck, and the all important hot tub, buried under feet of snow. I'm not complaining.

One of many dumps, after which we had to figure out where to put all the snow

Well-shoveled path to the hot tub

We found a really special backcountry stash 11 miles from our house. It was a lovely treed area that enabled us to snowboard during high avalanche-danger and no-visibility days, which was almost everyday. Too many times, I was secretly hoping for a day off because my legs were screaming. Now, spring is here too early, and I wish I had never secretly thought those things...

Here are some pictures of the beautiful area:

An added bonus to our epic winter was the unusual amount of live music, especially in such a small town. One of our all time favorite bands (The Rural Alberta Advantage) stopped in Nelson between their big-city shows. It turned out to be one of the best concerts we've ever seen. The venue was small, and the band was really into it. Almost everyone there was a die-hard fan.

Other memorable parts of the winter included the time when I happened upon a pine marten (!!!) slowly climbing up a tree, all while keeping an eye on me. These little animals are insanely cute (cuter than a teddy bear?). I'm so glad I happened to have a camera handy. So was Scott, who was further down the hill, listening to me describe the encounter over our walkie-talkies.

One thing about Nelson and the surrounding area, is that it isn't exactly a sunny place in the winter. It definitely reminded us of the dreary Northwest winters we suffered through for 10+ years. When the sun came out, we took pictures (see above) and one day, Scott got particularly inspired:

Rockin' the moss-tache

Finally hippie-cool enough to live in Nelson!

"Believe me. My stylist does the moss amazing work. No toupee. Totally natural."

The snowy winter came to an abrupt end throughout the west. The rain is pouring on the mountains, so we are sadly packing our bags. Some of our favorite mountain biking destinations in Utah are reporting 70 - 80° F with sun. It's time for some vitamin D.