As it’s been so warm here these past few days, for my Wednesday Wander this week I wanted to go somewhere cold. I had a few options – the mountains of Australia or Andorra, inside a glacier in the Swiss Alps, or a view across a frozen Lake Ontario, taken from high above in the CN Tower. But in the end I decided to go with this photograph:
This is me, back in the days when I used to go snowboarding, standing at almost the top of Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler, BC. I’m wrapped to the gills because it is freezing up there, early January when the snows run deep. You can see the line of the valley below me, and the Cascade mountains stretching beyond towards the Rockies.
I met my husband in Whistler. He was an Aussie on his big world trip; I’d just finished university and had headed west, wondering what to do next in the face of a major recession and dwindling job market. A friend decided she was going to Whistler to work for a season, then invited me up as well, to meet her new roommate. One thing led to another and within weeks he and I were sharing a small room in a house (how small? Let’s just say the bed was half in the wardrobe, as it was the only way it would fit in the room). It was destiny, obviously 😉
So, as I sit here in sticky heat, the sun setting golden outside my window, I can remember fresh cold air, the sun glinting off frost, the crisp bite of snow squeaking under the edge of my board. And for a moment, I’m a bit cooler.
Thanks for coming on another Wednesday Wander with me – see you next time!
Helen Glynn Jones 
Yes I remember those days of teaching a good friend the joys of turning to the dark side and snow boarding! I’m still living the dream with my Peter Pan husband and at the moment snuggled in a wooly poncho by the fire in Arrowtown with my three children wondering if we will brave the icy slopes of Coronet Peak in the Sth alps of NZ! I do remember your first day up there and you getting dizzy in the cafe after one too many falls on tail bone and head and concussion setting into and patrol clearing the floor to assess you then load you into the blood bucket! Ahhh if only I was a qualified instructor like I am now! But you survived, fell further in love and I have the pleasure of still being your friend across the Miles and seeing all your marvelous anchormen t’s and read your amazing stories! Glad I could be part of it hot and cold!
hehe, the blood bucket! Oh my goodness, that was so full on. Although, when I think about it, I was very lucky not to have been more seriously injured, esp with no helmet. Still, it was very dramatic – I remember a couple coming into work a couple of days later and seeing me there and just being ‘we were praying for you’. Ah, those were fun days, I remember them so well, and with lots of love – I’m so glad too that we’re still friends, sharing laughs and achievements across the miles. Love the way you describe where you are right now, it sounds so idyllic. Love to you and your Peter Pan husband 😉 And the kiddies too xx
Omg this is a great story. I love it! I’m such a sucker for love/travel/random living situation stories hahaha.
Ha ha, thanks Kristin – it was a true life fairytale 😀
Cute story,Helen! I feel refreshed
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it, and that you feel refreshed 😀
This is gorgeous, Helen. Sometimes the most vivid romantic stories don’t take long to tell!
Thanks, Tara, it was a pretty romantic time 🙂 I have very fond memories of my time in the mountains
That’s such a cute story!
Thanks, Allie 🙂
I love hearing how people met their spouses—they’re our very own romance stories and even nicer than fictional ones!
Lucky you with your heat at the moment—we’re shivering at this end of the earth! x