PQ Ski Team :: Past Trips

Whistler, BC – March 2002 – “Operation Marshack”

Date: March 9th – 16th 2002
Team Captains: Tom Albano, James Valentino
Vehicles: Boeing 757, DeHaviland DH8, Airbus A19
Lodging: Whistler Village Inn and Suites

Tom decides to stay up all night at Echo Glen in hopes of sleeping through the entire flight, plan fails miserably...Early morning at Newark Liberty International Airport…Continental Airlines Presidents club (bagels, juice, no Bloody Mary’s?!)…Tom is going to boot…Jim pretending to know what mountains were below him only to be contradicted by the captain 30 seconds later…descend into zero visibility snow storm in Seattle...flightless in Seattle…5 hour wait to de-ice the plane, “the prop plane”, Tom is terrified…beers and bad sandwiches in SeaTac…Walking the entire length of the airport to get to the next terminal…Waiting in line for the metal detector only to have it shut down and having to wait on another line…Tom gets held up in check-in line...”May I touch your belt?”...”absolutely!!”....Tom is forced to remove belt and shoes...Tom suggesting to rent a car and drive to Vancouver…the Kokanee stoner…taking off in the turboprop...breaking through the storm to blue skies…less than a half hour hop over beautiful Puget Sound to Vancouver…right through customs and right on the bus…winding, beautiful ride up the coast watching the snow covered coast mountains...Terror-filled white-knuckle near flipping bus driving to the mountain....cool…Tom is going to boot…check-in at hotel....Jim downstairs, Tom upstairs...bed flips out of TV cabinet...arrive for beers at the angus...trips to Starbucks…wake up to chaos in trying to get our lift tickets...skiing above the tree-line…amazing powder skiing....longest gondola ride ever…NorthFace recon bag....lunch at the Garibaldi lift company…this place is huge…can’t find Quiznos...the inaugural visit to Quiznos…the Nintendo game cube terrain park…Tom takes Wednesday off as a recovery day...walkie-talkie communication…Jim sets off alone to conquer Blackcomb peak…Jim gets stuck twice on Blackcomb peak in 40 mph gusts and -15 degree weather…skiing the half pipe…the top of Whistler peak…”the saddle”...Tom has snow-blindness, freaks out....Tex Corleone’s…skiing off the big red…sitting outside the bar on the patio, in the snow, drinking beers....Tom pulls the trigger mid-mountain (foot pedal porta-john flush)…Buying mass amounts of Kokanee and any other west coast beer we can get our hands on…trip to the guitar store, Tom plays amazing hand-crafted 12-string acoustic guitar....Jim runs interference with shopkeeper while Tom keeps playing...Tom doesn’t want to ski down to Whistler Creekside…large powder days…skiing the first sun bowls…Jim falls in a large clump of powder and can’t get up…picture taking through the trees....Not being able to get into Maxx Fish…Tom getting hit on by the waitress at the Blackfin...”I didn’t know Tremblant had a logo like that”...sneaking around the Blackcomb lodge and room 220 (where I’m gonna do you!)...taking pictures of door #220…constant “Ski School” references…Jim buys some stickers and gets a $25 hat for free…Tom and Jim have a romantic seafood dinner...rushed last night dinner at Japanese steak house...Jim fills the dishwasher with liquid soap, bubbles everywhere…the long trek home...stopover in Minnesota...Burger King…return to Newark airport....

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