My Wet Coast Life

This week I was fortunate enough to be the lucky winner of 99.3 The FOX member's only contests. Now I've won stuff in the past on the radio but never through the online member pages and it's been a long time since i won anything substantial. This particular prize just happen to make my day, week, month and year. I won the Warren Miller's Wintervention ski trip to Big White ski resort! What a way to start an extended Remembrance day long weekend. I am the proud recipient of 5 days of skiing up in Kelowna, B.C. at the Big White ski resort. I also won tickets to see the screening of Warren Miller's Wintervention at the Center in downtown Vancouver. Never actually been to one of these, i was somewhat enthusiastic to see what Warren Miller had planned for this year and in a theater setting.

In the past I've watched some Warren Miller shows, but always at a friends place who happened to be a ski enthusiast and never in a theater environment. Now what the titles were, i cannot recall but they always made me want to drop everything and go for some runs through some fresh powder. Living on the west coast, we have ample selection of mountains to ski on at our door step. Being a recent host of the Olympics, most have gotten a decent overhaul in runs and amenities. With picture perfect back drops, i expected some of British Columbia's finest mountains to appear in this year's showcase.

Follow up:

So off i go on a typical wet Raincouver night with some friends to take in this powdery display of goodness. Firstly, i thought the Center for the Performing arts was an odd place to be showing a movie when we have IMAX and various movie theaters but hey, that's what technology and projectors are for. After navigating our way through the crowds as they hovered around the various event sponsor booths, and getting enough magazines to make you feel like you're at a trade show, I ran into my first irritant for it being held at The Center. You're not allowed outside food and drink into the place and they charge $2 for a tiny, couple swigs and it's gone size bottle of water (but it comes covered in various quotes to keep you distracted from the price to volume ratio). What can you do though, gotta keep hydrated.

Now my tickets were free but for others attending, they paid approximately $30/ticket. Never being to one of these, I'm comparing it to a movie theater and if IMAX 3D is under $20, this is going to knock my socks off. Hopefully. Maybe. As we sat in our seats waiting for the show to start, we got to play Russian air plane roulette. The balcony patrons had some decent skills in making moderately aerodynamic planes using the great card stock supply we received on our way in. My friends and I were fortunate to make it through unscathed but some not so lucky patrons around us found out what it's like to be the recipient of a kamikaze heavy bond paper pilot.

As the lights dimmed, we were left with the faint glow of iphones and androids as the MC stepped onto the stage. After a brief intro, we were informed to open one of the magazines we received and fill out the 11" X 14" fold out entry questionnaire for the intermission draw for some prizes. One slight drawback, no pen and the house lights just went out and they've given us a time limit. I guess my life story to an advertiser will have to wait.

Now i cannot tell if it was the initial footage or the projector and screen incorrectly setup but the MC made the point of stating it was being shown to us in get ready for it....take a deep breath....HD. The picture was anything but clear or crisp but hey, my tickets were free so I'm here to enjoy the show cause it cost me nothing. As the show progressed, it either got better or i no longer noticed.

The theme for this years clip was based on interventions for ski enthusiasts. We are taken on an epic journey from pole to pole and every powder covered mountain in between. We get a glimpse into what it takes to ride these mountains from heli-skiing to having to hike or climb your way up. You get to see the various styles of skier as they navigate various routes, pushing the limits and defying gravity. Most of the time they succeed with ease with occasional epic runs raising the roof with cheers and ovation. Just to show these people are close to but not super human in there skills, we get the occasional bail thrown in here and there. The thing is, these skiers are going so big, the bails are in the same ranking and tended to get a decent groan from the crowd. Flying gear is always a sign of a decent bail. It's amazing some of them got up after.

At the half way point of this snowy round the world adventure, we got an intermission to allow us to finish the epic questionnaire and then hope to win one of the various prizes available. With this intermission, it also allowed the paper aircraft factories to swing back into full production. With the draws over, none of my friends or I winning and a close fly-by or two, part deux began. More or less continuing where it left off, we got to see more inspiring runs, epic views and remote locations I had never heard of. I can only assume some viewers critiqued the moves and route choices of the skiers; were more jealous of the adventures these skiers got to partake in; and were already planning there own personal version of what we were seeing. As for me, i just sat back and enjoyed the show on my own, more basic level.

With the sun setting on the mountains and the last runs being made, the show was over and i left inspired for my upcoming days at Big White. Overall the show was good with a nice variety of footage and interviews and a couple hours in length. I would give it a 8 out of 10 with a recommendation to anyone that asks. The intervention based story kinda made sense to some level for keeping the flow but sympathizing with someone who heli-skis for a living is hard. If they are willing to trade with me for a week or two, i could drum up some more sympathy. Someone like me can only dream of skiing some of those mountains and locations and maybe one day I'll be pulling 50% 10% of what they were doing. Someday. At least with B.C. as my backyard, i have access to the same mountains without having to go far.

As for next year, I am not sure this is something i would go see again in a theater mainly due to cost (even though it cost me nothing this year) compared to what I got. If i won tickets again, I'd go again but maybe i was expecting to much based on the ticket price? At least for me, I highly doubt i would pay $30 to see it on a big screen when I could own the blu-ray for the same cost and be able to watch it over and over again before hitting the slopes myself. If i had paid for the tickets, i would have felt the experience let me down as i did not leave going thinking "that was so worth it, i'd go again." But i am also a summer, hot weather person who prefers skim boarding and skate boarding. For the avid skiier that attended, i would assume they left feeling the it was worth it, but i can only guess.

Now if this was in IMAX 3D, i would hands down pay $30 to see something like that as it would put you as close to being there as possible and it would just be epic. EPIC. Maybe next year's version will be in IMAX 3D? One can only hope or at least suggest. And if it is, i would definitely go.

To sum it up for all of those reading this, if you're a real avid enthusiast, who eat, sleep, think snow, go see this show on the big screen. If you're one of those people that just enjoy seeing epic ski runs and want a good vid for your collection to get you pumped on your next ski trip, you should buy this. If you want an example of what is in store, you can watch the trailer.

Hopefully when I take my trip to Big White, I can recreate in my own way what I saw in Wintervention and enjoy the same thrills these skiers did.