shredfever: WELCOME TO CANADA.

Winter vacation happens once a year—a much-needed break from school that conveniently comes around at the height of snowboarding season. What could be better than spending winter vacation in Vermont? One week, two adults, five kids, a slope-side condo, and heli-skiing at Kicking Horse Resort in British Columbia, Canada.

Unfortunately for me, my dad favors my brother's friends over mine. Hence how I wound up on vacation with my family and my brother Angus's three best friends, Max Ebenstein, Chris Feloney, and Alex Loud. Traveling with a male dominant group is... entertaining. After nearly 24 hours of plane rides, layovers, rental cars, and travelling through three different time zones, we finally made it to Kicking Horse at 4 AM. Three hours of sleep later we were all awoken by my dad, Bert. Bert is the unchallenged leader of our clan and packs the excitement of a six year old. I was grouchy until I got up and saw the view out of my bedroom window. Excitement quickly infected me too.

First in line at the quad every morning, we were always on the slopes by 8:00AM. We would shred straight until the lifts closed at 4:00PM, then return to the condo to feast and hit the hot tub. On the slopes we entertained ourselves by finding cliffs to drop, people to harass, and bowls to hike.

One day in particular we planned to do the well-known 40-minute hike up Redemption Ridge to the summit of Blue Haven peak (8,033’). We had the option of riding in a catamount half of the way, but characteristically, Bert decided we should hike the whole ridge. At a higher altitude than any of us were used to, it was a brutal hike. When we finally reached the top, however, all of our sweat and lungs was greatly rewarded. We spent thirty minutes at the summit, admiring the view, taking pictures, and resting. We even placed a Sam Stone carefully in the snow, taking a little time remembering Sam. On our early bird schedule, we were among the first people to reach the top and likewise, among the lucky first people to descend. We all got fresh tracks and intense facials. By the bottom of the bowl, my thighs were burning from leaning back to prevent nose-diving into the bottomless powder. The “brutal” hike was completely worth it.

The only time we severed from our strict, first-in-line/last-ones-to-leave schedule was on day number three of our vacation. My dad had arranged a day of backcountry heli-skiing. We left Mom at the condo while me, my brother, Dad, Max, Alex, and Chris drove to Purcell Heli-Skiing. We were taught avalanche safety, paired up with four young British skiers, and then loaded into a helicopter. The view from the sky was beautiful, snow-covered peaks reached as far as the eye could see. The helicopter let us off at the summit of some peak, and then, we were off. Soaring through feet of untouched powder, we took four runs on four different mountains. Running on pure adrenaline, our guide told us we were the most enthusiastic group he had ever been paired with. Heli-skiing was a first time experience, and most likely a last time experience. Most importantly, it was another day snowboarding that I will never forget.