An update

Zo

It's been a few days since I left Old Europe and I have to say, so far I am not missing it much, except of course for the company of those I love. Canada is just what I expected: a wonderful nation of the North. And also the quick transit through the US didn't offer surprises. Security checks at NYC were awful, with Nazi-looking border guards grilling me for hours on my life and whatnot.

I am staying in a modern flat in a complex just outside the small town of Whistler, the posh ski resort that will play host to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Skiing here is an absolute pleasure. The weather has mostly been stunning, and even when clouds covered the town, most slopes were actually above the cloud line, creating this magical effect of skiing in the sky. Interestingly, despite the fact that we are 2 years away from the games, almost everything is ready. It reminded me of when Turin played host to the Winter Olympics, and almost nothing was ready just weeks from the event. Oh well.

The one weird thing is that Whistler has some of the most amazing skiing one could desire: long, perfectly manned pistes for km on end, running through woods and above glaciers. It's a skier's paradise. Yet, the town itself looks like shit. Millions spent in expensive hotels and apartments, yet not one of them looking even remotely good. I am afraid Canada could do with a lesson or two from us Old Europeans on how to design a beautiful mountain resort.

I am staying with old Tot F, who yesterday decided she was hotting the slopes on her snowboard. That lasted until she fell on her head, which forced her to crawl down the mountain and return home. Today, a little more sheepishly, she was back on the skis, giving us all lessons in style. For she is a good powder plougher, as we all know. She bounces on those pistes like a little cangaroo, the wonderful creature.

We are sharing the flat with Rob, a friend of F, and his step sister's family, which includes a 4 month old baby, a super-cool dad with a 40 cm pony tail and the body of a diver, and a 14 yo teenage daughter who loves mountains, Barbara Kingsolver and Gossip Girl. Naturally, we are in awe.

As far as my skiing is concerned, today there was the big breakthrough. After almost 20 years of crap descents, a few well-placed words of advice and some of the best snow I have ever touched led to one of those "AHA" moments, when I suddenly remembered what this sport is all about. Suddenly, the legs came together, the movements became harmonious and the body responsive like a musical instrument. I returned to my childhood on the Alpine slopes, and fell in love once more with this wonderful sport. I also realised that spending even 20 minutes on my ass trying to learn how to snowboard would be a crime. God knows when I'll be able to come back to these wonderful mountains. Let's just accept that I am from a generation that didn't know the horrid board. We are old fashioned people after all...

So there goes. Canada rocks. We love it...