WINTER /SPRING2016
MOUNTAINLIFE
71
Like the tick-tocking crocodile in
Peter
Pan
, time is chasing all of us. Evenwithin
theyouthful confinesofWhistler’s veritable
Never-Never Land, the inescapable
truth exists that life is constantlymoving
forwardwhetherwe acknowledge it or
not. Andwith each flipof the calendar
page, schedules fill up faster, children
beginmultiplying and thewindows of
opportunity todrop everything and
escape onwild adventureswith your
mates become increasingly scarce.
But sometimes, all the piecesmagically fall into
place, andwhen theydo you simplyhave to let
the real world slip away, seize the day andmake it
happen. Suchwas the case inApril 2015when, at
the twilight of one of themost forgettable coastal
ski seasons in recentmemory, Iwas invited to join
a fullyorganized ski touringmission to a remote
fly-in cabin in themajesticRockyMountains. At
any age or time of life, there is onlyone correct
answerwhen that phone call comes.
Andyet, in classic fashion, the tripwas almost over
before itbegan.A fewdaysbeforeourdeparture, one
teammember suddenlypulledoutdue toa caseof
“skiing-relatedmarriageneglect.”Then, ina rapid fall
of dominoes, another aggravateda crankymeniscus
injury, someone else camedownwithavicious
strainof the flu, and Idevelopeda caseof the runs
Story by PatrickMcKinnon, Esquire
Photography byMalcolmSangster
Rules for ski touring
vacationswhenyou’re sorta,
kinda, almost approaching
middle-age.
playoff hockey battle on the radio.Go Flames!
