StartFragmentThe Revelstoke trip was a surprise to me. I got a call from Jeffy when I was inUtah getting my new skis from Atomic Headquarters. So I did the math, I have 4 days to travel the 1500 milesfrom Utah to Revelstoke, and I still want to ski a day at park city with mysister. So I figure it islogistically sound and give Jeff my word that I will be there by Mondayafternoon. I ski at Park City withErica on Friday, its fun, then I blaze trail to Oregon and hang out Saturdayand drive to hood Saturday night so I can ski some fresh snow and try out theBent chetlers before my big trip. Sunday is fun, I meet up with Brandon Becker and give him his Bent chetlersthat I picked up in Utah. Hemounts them and skis that day, and decides that he wants to come to Revelstoketo film with PBP, Jeff says there is room so we strap our sleds on in Portlandand are on our way to Bellingham to meet with Grant Gunderson on Sundaynight. This is where thingsget interesting. Brandon is a goodkid, and is a Law abiding citizen, but a few years ago he got a DUI forsleeping drunk in his car with the key in the ignition. Brandon and I are justshooting the shit on the drive, drinking red bulls and he tells me this storyand asks me if it will be an issue at the boarder. I was not 100% sure that he would be denied access to Canadabut I remember Steve Rozendaal telling me about his DUI and how he couldn’tdrive to Canada. So basically mythoughts were we would get to the boarder and see what happens, barteringdoesn’t work (I learned this from watching Fargo). So we were hoping that theyjust wouldn’t ask about the DUI, or possibly it was old enough that it wouldn’tmatter. So we get to grants andsleep on his couch, wake up at 530 and are at the boarder by 600. We hand over our passports and ID’s andare drilled with questions, the standard, what do you do, why do you want in mycountry type bullshit. We bothmake sure not to say we are professional skiers (this opens up a whole array ofunanswerable questions such as do you have a work permit….uhm no? well gohome!) Brandon says he works for the forest service, which he does, and I say Ido Commercial fishing in the summer and I do. So we are not lying in any way, but then the worst questioncomes, do you have any run ins with the law…. Brandon tells about histrespassing citation at a frat party to try and cover for the DUI. The attendant is intrigued, and tellsus to go inside for further questioning. So I know we are finished, and when we get inside, the guy drills Beckeruntil Becker has no choice but to admit to the DUI and is politely askedpolitely to go home! So this is apickle, but Brandon being a gentlemen apologizes for the inconvenience he hasbrought to me, and I say, fuck it man, it was worth a shot, I am not feeling inconveniencedin anyway. Brandon calls the Amtrak train and buys a ticket for the 835 trainsto Portland. WE race back, andstop to pick up Brandon’s sled cover that he spots in the middle of Interstate5 (it was windy as hell and Brandon didn’t securely fasten his snappy snaps)and this stop puts us in a tight race to make the train. We follow some poorly given directionsand get to the Amtrak around 8:34…..we casually walk in, thinking we havemissed the train and will catch the 3:00 one. As we walk in a lady yells ALL ABOARD andBrandon strolls towards the already moving train. This is where things got really whacky, the ticket lady yellsto the train attendant to stop the train the guy radios the conductor, and getshim to stops the train, but once the train stops the automatic hydraulic doorsslam shut. The guy is stressingbecause now he has to get the conductor to unlock the safety doors. His impression of us is that we aremadmen chasing the train with skis boots, and a poorly and hastily packedbackpack and luggage bag. He looks at us like we are doing a juggling act atthe circus and are being chased the uncaged lions. He scolds Brandon saying that this is the only time he isever going to do this, and asks him what the hell he is doing with skis, andwhy he wasn’t here earlier. Anyways we thank him, he is still all huffy and I walk to my carlaughing and finish my drive to Revelstoke, which was slow, very slow. So a drive that should have been 8hours at the most turned into 14 when it was all said and done. The cabin thatRevelstoke mountain resort put our crew up in is amazing, big thanks tothem. The crew is now: Charley Ager+Riley Leboe+Brandon Kelly+ Jeff Thomas+GrantGunderson-Brandon Becker= PBP crew.

So we can ride in rideout sled to our crib, which is something I have never experienced before, andlet me tell you it is the most accommodating feature I have ever had with anaccommodation. The zones here are fun, easy to get to and easy boot packs aremade with the snow conditions. Sothings are going smooth until I bust up my chin on a cliff 180 attempt. It would have gone super smooth but Ihit a stick that was sticking out of the snow, and unfortunately it knocked meback and I got the well know knee to chin landing that I am used to (I have 2scars on my chin already from this same phenomena) So this day is pretty much ruined for me, as well as myblood covered white saga jacket, what a great color to wear when your bleedingfrom the face! So I decided to take it easy untilthe Heli skiing day that We were promised by Revelstoke Mountain Resort. We had a big crew, which called for abig heli. The heli reminded me ofthe Intro to M*A*S*H, and the theme song played out in my head as we arrived at the obese helicopter’sresting grounds. We got some great runs in, and the heli day was by far thesmoothest and unproblematic day of the trip for me and the crew. Little did I know, it would be alldownhill from here.
GrantGunderson said his goodbyes and headed on his 2 day quest to Salt LakeCity. Riley headed back to Vernon,and the rest of the crew and I were off to whistler for some more sledding. I was already having car troubles, onthe ride up, and when I went to start my car, it did not cooperate. So we were able to get it started withsome tedious jumper cabling down the highway, I think averaged 4 miles perjump. So we get it to a auto shopat 445 and I get down on my knees and beg that he fixes it before his weekend. He fixes it and me and Jeff make itback to Whistler where things get worse. We go out sledding and its pretty low snowpack(kind of the reason wetraveled to Revelstoke) and I hit a rock at high speeds. So the trip is over, I sat and grievedat the loss of my sled, and then paid a helicopter to flight it out of thebackcountry….such a wonderful experience!EndFragment