Week 5 - February 23 rd March 1 st. Whistler, Callaghan Valley

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1 Saturday February 23 Whistler A season pass is a lovely thing. End of the season last year, as Whistler passed to ownership/management of Vail Associates they offered a new Epic ski pass that included Whistler, Vail and a few dozen more destinations in North America and around the globe. This seemed too good a deal to pass up. So tomorrow we are doing the long trek up to Journeyman s Lodge on cross country skis and are thinking about taking a down day today. Given the luxury of a season pass, instead we will plan for a late start and just a few hours of skiing as almost a down day. This also permitted us the treat of a late lunch at the bottom at the Dubh Linn Gate an all-time favorite in spite of the challenges of getting a table given its popularity. Was a particularly good day of skiing with good snow from fresh drop yesterday and Max skiing particularly well.

2 Week 5 - February 23rd March 1st

3 Sunday, February 24 th Callaghan Valley An early morning start to pack, eat a good breakfast and drive from Whistler to the base of Callaghan Valley cross country park. We have an 8+ miles, feet climb up to Journeyman s Lodge where we will stay for two nights. The trail starts out with a 3-mile climb with great snow and warm sun. After a short start we switch over to skins which is a first for Max. The skins make the climb longer and slower, but more sure-footed.

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6 We arrive at the Lodge taking a bit more than five hours as I believe the 2 nd to last group. Max is exhausted, but did a great job trekking along with no complaints. Lodge welcomes us with warm chili, warm drinks and a warm fire as well as a great room on the 2 nd floor with stunning view up the valley. For most of the trip up the path I was thinking about how much fun it was going to be to take a sauna in the Lodge s rustic, wood-fired Swedish sauna, but after a shower, comfy clothes and a glass of wine, the 5- minute trek in the snow to the sauna proves too far. Interesting and eclectic group of 21 people staying at the lodge this evening with a shared 2 nd floor lobby, reading game room and dinner served family style. Max is the only person under 25 and one of the few under 40. Monday, February 25 th Callaghan Valley A great night s sleep followed by a simple breakfast and best of all, a day with absolutely no plans (though this is something Lori is working hard to correct). Start the morning with a bit of re-reading The Quark and the Jaguar by Murray Gell-Mann. While in Copenhagen, Max had a chance to spend time with our friend Poul wandering the grounds of the Niels Bohr Institute. Poul has always been a particularly gifted teacher and Max s appetite for learning more about Quantum Mechanics has only increased following his time with Poul. I recall reading The Quark and the Jaguar long ago and thinking it was one of the more accessible lay descriptions of modern quantum theory

7 and I have been wondering if it might be something we read together as part of Max s homeschool science curriculum. After a couple of chapters, it seems promising, but I want to get a bit further into it before I pass it to Max. (Cindy, note the super cool camping lantern that you got us in action) We settle on two shorter events for our snow adventures, a short ski adventure heading into the woods where there are a couple feet of fresh unbroken snow and then an afternoon snowshoe with snowball fighting equipment (which Max has insisted we bring with us from Seattle to Sweden to Finland to Canada so good it finally gets some use).

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9 We also volunteered to light the stove that heats sauna as we are hoping to be the first crew for afternoon sauna time. The sauna is about a 5-minute walk from the lodge and a short set of stairs up from the stream for the cold dunk portion of the ritual.

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11 Tuesday, February 26 th Callaghan Valley Up early Tuesday morning to get ourselves sorted and ready for ski out. The trip down was lovely providing clear evidence of the climb as we had the luxury of scooting down more than half our path. We originally felt pretty hardy planning to do the overnight self-powered trek out the Journeyman s but found the lodge populated by a particularly hardy lot the two young women who race skate skied up the 8-mile trek so they could swap out from skate skis to climbing skis to explore the upper bowls. The lovely older trio likely in their late 70s also there to explore the backcountry. None the less, it was still a wonderful journey for us as a family.

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13 Following our trip down, we checked into a new place in the Upper Village of Whistler for a second week of skiing. We took the last bits of Tuesday to wander around Whistler Village and visit the Whistler Museum which show cases the history of the town and resort as well as a bit of a local natural history museum. Wednesday, February 27 th Whistler With a few weeks of various snow adventures under our belt and cold conditions we decide to make Wednesday a rest day and skip the now ritual of putting on some form of snow gear and venturing out into the cold. This gave us a nice day of catching up on a bit of Max s home schooling as well as various bits of reading, planning and correspondence. Complementing yesterday s Whistler Museum visit, we spent lunch time at the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre which builds on a unit Max did earlier this year as part of his work at Explorer West.

14 We finished the day at our all-time favorite restaurant at Whistler 21 Steps. Thursday, February 28 th Whistler We wake up with 8 inches of new snow and Max scheduled to take a lesson to polish his skills. Max was four when he was last in ski school since then he has enjoyed concierge parent skiing so getting him to take a lesson is a bit of a milestone. Post lesson I note some nice improvement in his form so likely worth the 8 years of negotiating. It also permitted Lori and I to do a morning of skiing on our own which was a real treat. New snow, no crowds PERFECT.

15 A wonderful bump and powder run with lots of fresh tracks.

16 Friday, February 29 th I am now close to the one-month mark of a six-month sabbatical. I continue to interact with Kedest who has stepped in to take over my role at the Gates Foundation (or perhaps more accurately the last bits of the job she was not already doing). We connect about once a week with a focus on larger strategic issues and anything I can help with on people issues for the team. This has permitted me the opportunity to reflect on the work we do and continue to do the fun part of thinking about new possibilities without any need to deal with the various necessary (and unnecessary) bureaucratic annoyances a large organization seems unable to avoid. One interesting transition is my screen time. Max once asked me what I did at work, to which I responded, I do and sit in meetings and eat donuts. I think the donut part contributed to sparking his interest in science. Whistler I am now down to spending less than 10 minutes a day dealing with , lightly scanning work channels and engaging with family, friends and travel planning. It is a truly lovely change of life - I am not sure I will be willing to revert back to the old pattern post sabbatical. We had yet another lovely day of skiing. In part, we planned this extended winter sport opportunity because we love doing these things as a family, but in part because we wanted to leave Max with the gift of being a great skier. So far the plan is working he is now skiing beautifully without hesitation on a wide range of blue and black terrain across Whistler Blackcomb and will have a chance for about 5 more days split between Vail and Winter Park as we visit Jim and Sue, Lori s parents next week. Today s skiing combined near perfect weather, still quite good snow and short lift lines.

17 Below is a picture of the lift line at the mid-point station of the new Blackcomb Gondola at lunch time. And no visit to Whistler would be complete without an afternoon Crystal Hut waffle.