I am back! It is hard to believe that is has already come and gone!

The trip was a success, even if I have returned with a bruised ego and shaky confidence in my skiing.  I will save my bruised ego details for the next post.  I am happy to say, that on the other hand, my confidence in travelling alone has not only returned, it has skyrocketed!!

I took an Air Canada flight and everything went fine.  It is just annoying that they don’t allow even one free piece of luggage, if you want to take anything you better be prepared to spend $25 each piece.  I find that almost insulting after paying so much for the flight.

I stayed at the Crystal Lodge in Whistler, very close to the Gondola and lifts. Skiing is an uncomfortable sport so I really try to maximize my comfort by staying as close as I can to the mountain.  There was originally a mix-up with my room but once I complained they quickly gave me a much better one.  I had a balcony and a view of the mountain from it and from the other window a view of the village.

The weather was a letdown.  I had been there twice before and both times the entire village and mountain was covered in fresh snow.  This time there was no fresh snow and it was extremely cold.  The consolation was that it was very sunny and also the mountain made snow non-stop.  It is also a good thing to ski under different types of conditions as I learn.

The below picture shows the temperatures on my last day there, which was already getting warmer than the previous days.  This coming week will be warm and there will be several snow days ahead, of course! lol  I am not complaining about the cold, I am stating the fact.  I had many layers and was not cold at all.

As I had mentioned I went alone. I put an ad on Craigslist and ended up meeting a guy from Montreal, that was in a similar predicament as I was: skiing alone for one week.  We skied 2 days together and had various meals together.  There was no romance, and that was not the intention of the ad.  The aim of my ad was for a dinner companion.  Whistler has amazing restaurants, I wanted to make sure to eat at some of them and I didn’t feel like eating alone.  I have made a friend. (of course I got all sorts of response to my ad, rude, crude, etc.  I want to make sure that I am in no way recommending Craigslist or any online medium. I am extremely careful and don’t ever meet anyone until I am certain that I am safe, and always meet in a public place. So being safe is key, online and otherwise).

I also made several friends in the lifts and in the classes I took, I exchanged emails with them and even got invitations to visit Australia and Japan.  I actually spent very little time alone and could have used more time alone as a matter of fact.

I am so happy for having done this trip and I am already thinking of the next one.  Looking back I don’t know why I procrastinated for so long.   Whistler is beautiful and majestic.  I love the little village and love that I know my well around it well.  I am sure I will return many times over.  I am blessed and I know it! I am grateful!

“Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.”― Maya Angelou