Thursday 26 January 2012

Cypress Mountain

Today was one of these days where after a long 4 days of rain and grey skies (I should be used to this kind of weather from living in Amsterdam for 10 years) I was able to enjoy a  perfect ski day. Having the mountains just on our doorstep I am very grateful to be in this wonderful city.



Based on recommendations I had bought a seasons pass for Cypress Mountain, one of the three mountains in West Vancouver, before I even moved here. Since we don't have a car yet, I take the ski bus from downtown Vancouver to the mountain.The first time took public transport to get to the ski bus stop I felt a bit awkward with all my ski gear but it's a normal thing to do in Vancouver. It is not uncommon to see people walking around town with their ski gear or snowboards coming from or getting to the slopes.

Although the snow has been disappointing in the first 3 weeks of January, it was mainly man-made snow with lots of ice, I did enjoy going up there to enjoy the amazing view of Greater Vancouver, Vancouver Island as well as Mt. Baker and on a very clear day Mt. Rainier in Washington state. Now, that there is real snow, I will enjoy as many days as I can.



The other amazing thing about Cypress is that you can watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean while skiing as the lifts run until 10pm every night. Actually, the mountain doesn't get busy until about 4pm when the kids and working folks come up for a few runs.