Trading Salt Water for Whitewater

Leticia and Gary have recently arrived from the Coast for a season of pow, and here are their first impressions of our humble home. Gary and Leticia are from SeaStoke.com and will be providing us with several perspectives of the Whitewater culture throughout the season. Stay tuned for more from the SeaStoke crew!

Trading Salt Water for Whitewater

What would you do if faced with the dilemma of choosing between the coast or the mountains, if you are drawn to both? After living and surfing on Vancouver Island for almost 3 months, winter was approaching and we had to decide whether to stay and surf in frosty waters or snowboard amongst some of the mountainous terrain for which Canada is world-renowned. Given that we??e from a country known for its surfing and certainly not for our skiing or snowboarding, the option to take advantage of the snow seemed like the obvious choice. But as ocean addicts that rarely stray too far from the coast, there was also a part of us wishing to stay on the island to surf. After some deliberation (and impulse purchases of snowboards and gear that sealed the deal), the decision was made - heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to the slopes we go! But where? We chatted to some Canadian powder hounds we've met during our travels before deciding that Whitewater Ski Resort sounded like our cup of tea. We were drawn to the idea of a ski resort that prides itself on being authentic where POWDER, FOOD and PEOPLE are the key aspects. It was also the simplicity of Whitewater that was an alluring draw card. Similar to the nature of surfing where the best spots are those where the surfer is amongst pristine locations and the absence of construction or human interference enables you to simply connect with the elements and the sport, we'd heard about Whitewater's natural landscapes that aren't spoilt by multi-level buildings you see at most resorts. So we packed away our surfboards and headed to Nelson and are stoked to have teamed up with Whitewater to bring you our Aussie perspective on the mountain life. As we document our time away from the ocean and what it's like going from the coast to the slopes, we'll occasionally stop by to share our journey with you as we experience everything White Water has to offer. Our first day on the mountain assured us that we?? definitely made the right decision. The moment we pulled into the car park, it was like pulling into a familiar surf spot back home. Friendly greetings all-round, genuine good vibes in the air and hoots of stoke could be heard echoing through the trees. It left us with the impression that the focus is on the riding, not what you??e riding. We found it refreshing that Whitewater has no room for pretension and people just come to ski or snowboard without getting caught up in the "hype" that too frequently predominates over ski resorts. Being away from the ocean prompts certain withdrawals, but we're sure replacing surfing with snowboarding will fill the void. At the end of the day, we're still riding liquid and getting stoked, so that's all that matters. While there is no ocean, per se, The Kootenay Lake is Nelson's ocean, with a small pirate ship and all! We've even met one skier who looked like a bit of a pirate with his green parrot on his shoulder! So stay tuned for some of the faces, events and other facets of Whitewater that we look forward to sharing with you. See you on the slopes! Gaz and Teash