Avantura

hey kids, here you go - this is the Foxliar trail run, under the gondola; lots of snow and gorgeous day! see you all in a couple of days!

• your envelopes will contain Friday Party tickets for parents only; kids are free so I didn't bother.
• Yellow wax - I'm not into that stuff, but Pat Cunningham (Ski Barn), past the Summit, swears by it. Says Pat "have your engineers friends come check it out". Not sure what he means by that - do you?
  
• Jeff Palka has the local store "The Gear Source" just past the "4 corners" on your way into town. He sends this message "We do ski tunes at the shop this year and will be running a special all week for your group. A full tune which includes a grind, file and wax is $30.00 usually $39.95. A quick tune which includes sharpen and wax is $20.00 usually $25.00. We also have great deals on Mountain Hardwear and Outdoor Research ski clothing. Up to 80% off MSRP. Let the group know that we are the ski shop for deals.
• Great breakfast place "Common Roots" across the supermarket on the Main Street. Cool place, now my favorite over Sarah's Cafe.
  
• Join me Wednesday, after the Movie, for the live jazz at the "Bar Vino". It's St.Patrick's night so you know what that means? Sea of green and rivers of booze flowing. Should make for the fun night! Try "Justin", central California costal Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 and shrimps. You'll thank me later.

I'll be at Common Roots Sunday morning for breakfast between 8am - 9am if you want to join me. Be safe and take it easy. See you soon! Aleks

North Creek on Hudson River, New York; 10 March

Arrived here Sunday. Lots of snow but the roads are clear. Mountain looks awesome. Weather quite pleasant during the day, cool overnight - perfect. Skied today and yesterday early in the morning. Check out the YouTube video at www.gusev.ca with my new HD helmet cam. It was filmed this morning on the Foxliar trail. Ignore the fall, it was on purpose!

Couple of updates:

• You old hands will notice few new restaurants on the Main Street. New pizzeria "Pete's Ahh" is cool plus it serves good stuff. It's conveniently located across the street from Bar Vino (same owner). My favorite is still Trapper's Tavern at Copperfield Inn for dinner (ask for the skirt stake, they have some weird name for it but they'll know what you mean) and Sarah's bakery for breakfast. Locals frequent Bar Vino in the evening, some night live band plays.
• If you're looking for something else to do, my friends here tell me that Natural Stone Bridge & Caves Park is worth a visit.
• Remember - for most of us this is the last skiing until next season! So if the weather is warm or the rain falls - who cares? You're here now, so might as well enjoy it.
• Local supermarket knows you're coming. Fresh baked bread and Heineken are stocked piled. Everybody here is quite excited! Canadian flags are flying everywhere. I can't resist but apologize for the win over Team USA in hockey finals at the Olympics - they take it in stride, I guess.
• Tannery Bar (Friday night's party) ordered extra cases of Australian Shiraz and South American vintages. I kindly asked, on your behalf, to remove American and Canadian beer from the shelf (apologies to our Canadian friends here, but truth hurts). We know our beer!