Big White is AWESOME! A Story... Bubba, Slavitca, Sladja and Miki.

Croatian names. Well maybe Bubba just means grandmother; and Slavitca may not be spelt correctly; and Sladja...? Not sure about either the pronunciation nor the spelling (no, I agree, not an auspicious introduction), but I may as well include Miki, maybe Miljeko is/was his full name.

Croatian names, a Croatian family living in Bosnia; during the collapse of Yugoslavia; living in Tuzla, well, a few clicks from the Tuzla airport anyway.

There were other members of the family, Juro - Bubba's husband, but we never saw him much and a daughter, long dead, killed by... Well it doesn't matter how, she and Juro are not part of the story.

I met Bubba et al in early 1995, I, a civilian contractor with the United Nations, was provided local billeting with two other guys - Yam Yam and Dickie Greenwood. Three of us shared this quite large house; Bubba and the four other family members, shared not much more than a garage. Both Yam Yam and Dickie are dead now, I told you about Yam Yam before. Dickie? Ex-Army like Yam Yam and I, but probably destined to die young - he had a minor stroke at 25; and when I met him he was overweight, not obese but big enough, he smoked and managed to avoid exercise... Heart gave out eventually, probably 10 years ago now. Great guy tho, both were actually.

So, the story.
Yam Yam was away, maybe leave and just Dickie and I were home, in the living room, probably not doing much. Well there was not much to do, no internet, mobile phones, computers were just becoming ubiquitous but they did not do much - solitaire and minecraft were the advanced games of the day. Communication? Letters, hand written - pen and paper, no spell chek, (it is intentional) no instant send/receive, there was a phone, of course; it didn't work. There was a TV but limited programming; think one channel, working maybe a couple hours every few days with picture quality so poor that you could barely make it out... And in Serbo-Croat. We had a video tape player, a couple of movies and... we had one series of Blackadder, Blackadder Goes Forth. Awesome!

We watched Blackadder a lot. A lot!

Anyway, despite being Croatian, Miki was seconded to the Bosnian Army, they were kind of peaceful at this point. Miki was not front line but was a radio operator - Remf, you army guys will know. He was not safe safe, but relatively, if you know what I mean. The Bosnians were using the local Croatians as additional 'labor' not quite conscripted more volunteered... 'Freely volunteer for this and we won't volunteer you for the more dangerous stuff.'

This went on for some time, it was not ideal but probably the best of a bad situation.

Lets help!

We started hearing rumours, a new Bosnian General was in control. A new Bosnian General decided protecting Croatian 'volunteers' was not a good way of protecting Bosnian front line soldiers. All the Croatians 'volunteers' were no longer volunteers, they were going to the front line. Miki decided 'living' was a better idea and deserted. AWOL, punishable by firing squad... If, you get caught.

It was a few nights later, Dickie and I were probably watching said Blackadder, it was late, maybe 11:30pm, I was likely heading for bed soon. Dickie spent more time with our adopted family and k
new something was going on, "Wait a bit" he suggested, eventually Bubba came in, Bubba came in all agitated "Ohhh, Dickie, pwroblem, pwroblem... Miki, pwroblem" She was very very Balkan in her pronunciation, well she would be. Long story short, Miki was back, being hunted and needing to get to somewhere to join a Croatian squadron, somewhere across a front line... Can Dickie and I help?

Adventurers...

UN vehicles were given almost free reign, almost free access everywhere. It was not unusual to be stopped at checkpoints but, would usually get through - beer was a popular bribe. Dickie and I had our own UN vehicle... We could help, it could be dangerous, smuggling a deserter destined for the firing squad was not part of the UN mandate, can you say 'International Incident'? But what else can you do? Besides we were young and... let's say 'adventurous', it sounds more romantic than dumb.

We got in the vehicle - Toyota Landcruiser, Dickie driving, me shotgun, Slavitca back seat... Nothing was stopping Slavitca coming with us; her husband, she may never see him again, she was coming. We waited on the drive. Remember this was war torn Bosnia, even if there were streetlights there was no electricity. It was after midnight... dark... silent. We waited.

Suddenly Miki was there, out of nowhere, no noise, nothing, from nowhere Miki was in the vehicle, with a big grin on his face. A big grin - Miki was 'adventurous' too, I guess. And so we were off. Kind of, Miki got himself onto the floor in the space between the seats, and then off.

We didn't know where we were heading but Slavitca did. After about 20 minutes we came to the roadblock, the front line, the temporary delineation between us and them. We couldn't stop, not with our cargo. We drove straight towards them, they were waving their weapons for us to stop, we were smiling and waving back... we drove straight through, and sped off - lots of running behind us, lots of yelling... They didn't shoot. I guess making the call to shoot at a UN vehicle needs higher level
authorization - waking the Commander? Takes more time than us speeding away.

We were through, Miki was safe. We got to the drop-off point, some farm I think. Slavitca said her teary farewell and we headed back.

The checkpoint this time was not letting us through, but that was okay. We were UN staff, and Slavitca, well she could make up a story - it would be all good. We stopped, wound down the windows, we smiled handed over our ID's...

Or Dickie handed over his, me, I stopped smiling, yours truly had forgot his ID... Now, I don't look completely caucasian, people used to think I was part South American, or Moorish, or Spanish... Or Muslim... It's Chinese, I am a quarter Chinese - dad's side, but that is another story. Anyhow... No ID, looking like I do, Croatian woman in the vehicle... that had just 'ran' a checkpoint (they were a bit cranky about this) and on the lookout for deserters...? An interesting situation, they wanted us to go with them, they presented a compelling argument - guns; good enough for us.

We were driven to a distant house, put into a room and we waited.

Obviously we got away, or I would not be writing this; and the release was a bit of an anti-climax. Before Yugoslavia collapsed everyone lived in relative peace, Bosnians, Croatians, Serbs etc. Same villages, towns, friends, schools...

The Commander came to find out who was 'running' through his checkpoint, travelling after curfew without ID, and who was ruining his precious sleep. The Commander walked in the room. The Commander... had gone to school with Slavitca. A smile, a glass of slivovitz all round(the local hooch) a ride back to the checkpoint and a wave goodbye.

When I was in the British Army, you went to jail if you lost your ID. I should have known better eh.

And full circle? What happened to Bubba et al? This is not Hollywood, I don't know. I left late 1996, I do not know their proper names or remember their surname. Miki did reappear regularly before I left, I guess once he was in the Croatian Army, it superseded the Bosnian desertion thing.

Sólido Properties, does less adventurous stuff now (I don't know better, wifey does tho) does not drink Slivovitz (have you tried it? Its' disgusting) tries to write a blog about life at Big White, but sometimes can't think of stuff; so I tell other stories... Manages, owns, and maintains seasonal property... and after the 'adventurous' seasonal staff leave, clean up after their 'adventures'. If you are looking for property management, have actually got to this point, and are thinking "you know, I could use the type of person, that drives around war torn Bosnia in the middle of the night, running checkpoints without ID... whilst smuggling a deserter across front lines..." If that is what you are thinking then you are my type of 'adventurer'. Send me an email. Or visit the Facebook page.

Oh... and if you want to read the Yam Yam story... click.

Big White is AWESOME! Checking out and coming back next season.

Pretty good season eh? The best snow ever! Ever! Yes, double emphasis. Well the best I have seen and I arrived in 2000. 

See you next season...

So seasonal staff, you have been here for the season and now you are getting ready to move on to the next part of your journey. Coachella for many - I heard a number of around 600 heading down from Big White, is this true? Big White should have their own (recruitment) tent down there... 'Sponsored by Telus'.

But you have to move out of your place... and it is a mess... and you have far more belongings than when you arrived... and there is that stain on the carpet... and that tear in the leather sofa... (yes Jess).

Remember when you arrived? They were (Sólido Properties places anyway) clean, yes maybe they had wear and tear but they were clean.

So... tips.

Damage.
Firstly talk to your landlord, show him the damage - a picture is fine, apologize and present a solution. Work with your landlord to find an inexpensive fix.

Damage to Furniture?
It can be a problem but, you can mitigate that problem. The furniture is likely to be a few years old, so it is not reasonable for a landlord to demand a brand new state of the art, bells and whistles coffee table from Country Treehouse costing $1800 because you broke his 20 year old, stained, scratched, wobbly one. But be proactive...

• Take ownership - yes we broke this.
• If it can be fixed-
• Find someone to repair it.
• Have the work done.
• If it cannot be repaired find a replacement - Castanet is great.
• Get the replacement brought up and put in place.
• Take a picture, tell your landlord, show him the replacement.
• Apologize and ask what he/she would like done with the old item.

If you reduce the landlords work load, he/she is less likely to be angry, and if they do get cranky... it will be for less time, or should be.

Drywall.
Usually can be fixed relatively easy by someone who has the tools and materials, it is a little time consuming but can be managed. The most important thing is matching paint - your landlord is likely to have colour codes or original paint laying around. Find and organize someone to do the work - check the Big White Facebook page, there are drywallers on the mountain offering their services.

Stained or filthy Carpets.
I find the best companies are the restoration ones - Total Restoration are on the mountain. Figure on $150 - $300 for a carpet clean.

Wood Flooring Damage...
Ouch. But own it, try and find a repair option, regardless you are probably looking at $200 - $300 cost.

Damaged Cabinets.
Most are easy to fix, again inform your landlord and present a solution.

General Cleaning.
Make your landlord's job easy.

• Strip the sheets, wash, dry, fold and leave on the bed.
• Empty fridge completely, clean all shelves thoroughly.
• Empty all cupboards, wipe down surfaces, replace cupboard items neat and tidy.
• Stove - interior, run a self-clean cycle, wipe down residue.
• Wash and fold all towels.
• Wood floors - sweep and mop.
• Tiling - sweep and mop.
• Bathrooms - clean, clean, clean! Somebody did it before you arrived, you are doing it or paying someone. Your choice.
• Baseboards will be dusty wipe them.
• Light switches will be greasy/dirty, wipe them.
• Walls will be gull of hand prints, wipe them.

Left over food - get rid of it, nobody wants your half bottle of ketchup. If it is unopened, take it with you, give to your friends moving to Kelowna, or to the food bank. Unless of course it is beer, you can leave the beer.

Draws full of junk... get rid.

Garbage - every season I take literally hundreds of garbage bags to the waste transfer station, it is time consuming, it is gross, it is a pain. I charge my tenants, your landlord will charge you.

Stuff you cannot fit in your bags...

Remember when you left home for the first time? Went to university or travelling, or living with a bestie, boyfriend/girlfriend. Remember how you left all your stuff in your room and when you broke up and came home... how you came back to your room and everything looked familiar (well, except clean, tidy and put away), remember how your first bike was still in the garage, your skateboard, roller-blades, surf-board... all those forgotten clothes...? Yes? How nice was that eh?

This is not your mum's house - take your crap with you. We don't want your worn out canvas shoes that stink like a cat died behind the sofa. We don't want those broken ski poles you were gonna use for a Go-Pro that you never bought. We don't want the old ripped ski pants, we don't want the de-laminated snowboard/ski. We don't want the old gloves, helmet, useless scratched goggles, bong made from a plastic bottle, seven single socks... hell, I don't even want pairs. I don't want underwear, I don't want that crappy St. Paddy's day costume covered in Guinness or even the Halloween/New Year/Aussie Day ones covered in your regurgitated lunch. I don't...? Yes, surprisingly it is true, I don't want any of that crap.

What do I want? Nothing, I want the place to look like you were never there... cos if it doesn't... I have to get my #1 to make it so. Star Trek reference dated me eh?

Is this how you found... left it?

The Day you leave.
Protect yourself, there are landlord horror stories...

• Get your landlord to inspect the place on the day you leave.
• Get him to confirm the damage deposit return process - in writing.
• Make sure you understand what is likely to come out of the damage deposit.
• Cleaning including carpets?
• Damage - will he keep all of it for a tiny ding in the drywall? This is wrong.
• Unpaid utilities? Remember, these may take a while for the bill to arrive.
• Fines for noise.
• Breach of contract.
• If your landlord cannot inspect the day you leave, take pictures as the very last thing you do.
• Get a date when he will inspect.
• Send him/her copies of the pictures proving the condition it was left in.
• Confirm how the deposit will be returned.
• If there are multiple people, make sure all are aware of how deposit is returned.
• My company uses email, if your landlord is the same, ensure everyone has provided their email to the landlord.

References.

Sure, you can have a reference...

Moving to a bright, new, shiny place... need a reference? Ask your landlord, he/she will probably give you one... Of course if you feel an accurate reference would ruin your chances of ever finding accommodation again... you can still ask, your landlord would be happy to offer his/her opinion on your character...

Which leads to - Coming Back Next Season... dunno why I added capitals.

Where will you live?
Popular requests I get are...

• Village.
• Own Room.
• Hot tub.
• Deck.
• Really really really cheap, cos I'm nice... er no I don't have references... well my last landlord was an ass... my friends kept coming over making all the noise... well, yeah, I still have friends...

How much...?

Cheap...?

If your landlord can rent a place for $3k per month... why would he rent it to you for $1k?

Or... would you pay $2k, when your landlord only asked for $1500... why not, he is a nice landlord? 

Didn't think so, be realistic.

• Village - everyone wants village, expect to pay a premium.
• Own room - if it sleeps two, you will pay for two.
• Hot tub - better chance in Happy Valley.
• Deck - hmmm, maybe, but again better chance in HV.

When should you start looking? This season I had 22 properties, five are already gone for next. The earlier you start, the easier it will be. Starting October? Ha! No. And don't contact me now, forget about it for four months and then ask 'is that place still available?' Yes, I was just holding it for you, I know I had four hundred other enquiries, but you seemed so nice and responsive... Ha! Gone.

I can manage my EMOTIONS!

Good Ideas.

• Find people with whom you want to live.
• Not noisy,
• Clean and tidy.
• Respectful of the property and neighbours
• Can manage their emotions...
• Contact the landlord early.
• Have your ducks in order (it's a metaphor)
• Get your references ready.
• Have your deposit ready.

So, there you have it, simple eh?

Beer...? Oh, okay...

Sólido Properties owns, manages, operates numerous properties targeting long term, seasonal and staff accommodation at Big White Ski Resort. We also (reluctantly) clean, repair damage, take junk to Value Village, empty fridges and cupboards, shampoo carpets... listen to endless excuses (they don't work, I have kids), fix beds/tables/drywall and even writes a blog to try and manage tenant expectations... but that does not work leading to drinking beer... and why I don't mind you leaving it...

This is our Facebook page - Like it. Yes, doing it now is a good idea... it is where I post available properties...

This is our email

This is our website.

Big White is AWESOME! Sante's... They Lie!

Yes they do.

In this ground breaking expose arguably comparable the to Watergate scandal our (aware of the) Pulitzer prize; investigative reporter (me), discovered through, thorough (did you like that?) investigative and comprehensive undercover research (I was drinking beer after hours). That...

Wait for it.

I discovered Santa's bar and restaurant are guilty of false advertising! Gross misrepresentation of the facts. And... they continue to do this.

I saw this and I thought 'somebody should make the public aware'. But who? Then I thought, 'wait, I'm a somebody; I, can do this'. 

Of course the decision to expose this 'falsehood' was not taken lightly. My first port of call was to discuss the situation with the manager. Dawn (pronounced Don, or Dawn...) Dawn is a long time resident, and established member of the community - not only does she work hard, but in her spare time is an aficionado of the (un)popular (but more popular than this blog) pageant - 'Miss Pregnant America. Lack of research has begged the question - do you have to be unmarried and pregnant? Or is the 'Miss' artistic license...?

Anyhow...

They Lie!

On Saturday's Sante's have something called 'Super Stein Saturdays' they promote 20% more beer for the price of a regular beer. This is false.

Whilst doing some foggy math (I was drinking these beers) I realized a regular beer is 16oz, a stein offered?  20oz... Yes, 20oz! 'Wait...' I thought, something is amiss. So putting my MBA to task I started crunching numbers (not only did I do Financial Risk Management but also other 'county' thingies...) 

10% of 16 is 1.6; ergo 20% is 3.2. Do you see my point? Their Stein's are 25% bigger, 25% more for the price of a regular beer. "Dun, dun, dunnnn..." Yes, I caught them in their vicious lie.

But it did not end there. Being a good doer, I brought this startling fact to the attention of Miss Pregnant America aficionado - yes Dawn. "What...?" was her initial response, closely followed by "Do you have nothing better to do...?" Compelling evidence, no? I suggested amendments to their 'false advertising' but she just looked at me and walked away. I put it to you readers; is this the action of an innocent party? No! I did not think so either.

Of course, a regular beer IS 20% less, (20% of 20 is 4; 20 less 4 is 16) maybe they should be honest, either tell the world that Saturdays is 25% more for free... Or... that Sunday through Friday, you can enjoy 20% less beer for the same price as Saturday's special... 

So, I urge you, my reader(s), go and check it out this Saturday.

But does it end there? Santa's have specials every day! Maybe I should check for other 'misrepresentations'.

Sólido Properties owns, manages, monitors and maintains properties at Big White Ski Resort. And... and... and... writes gibberish and drinks beer (obviously). Normally I would add pictures n' stuff but being lazy or rubbish (you can decide), I didn't.

Big White is AWESOME! Opening Early...? And skiing anyway...

Dunno, she followed me...
She calls herself 'Wifey... or boss... or 'she who must be obeyed...'

Will we? Won't we?

Everyone keeps asking the question. Well as a someone who un-officially doesn't know the answer (I have not asked, and they have not answered this un-asked question... yes, yes I know it is a complicated system). I am going to say... depends.

Quick note... the pics you see are from today - skiing! It was AWESOME!

Depends on what?

A number of things, now imagine if I was the big dog looking at the situation; balancing up the pros and cons, I would ask myself a number of questions...








Operational...

1. Is there enough snow?



Kinda like Darth Vader.

• And will it last, what does the god of grooming tell me?(Jeremy).
2. Can we get the lifts running?
3. Do we have the staff available to run the operation... and are they trained?
4. Is it safe? Actually this would be like, question one...
5. Do we have ski instructors?
6. Do we have ski patrol?
7. Can we prepare the runs?
8. What about other businesses? Can they gear up quickly?
9. And accommodation - is it, or can it be ready?
10. What does wifey say?
• I did say if "I" was the boss.

Wait, which way up
 do these go?
And pointy end goes down?

Financial...

1. Can we balance expenditure with increased revenue?
2. If no, what is the marketing value/public relations value?
• Do the two balance?
3. Will opening early generate local interest and lead to increased season pass sales? This year... next?

Marketing...

1. What is the PR value of opening early?
1. If we are the first to open compared to the other major BC resorts?
2. What is the PR cost if we can open... but don't? 
1. And other resorts open?

Strategic...

1. Will opening early meet with our long term strategic objectives.

Not smiling... It is the Dark Side of the Force death-grip...
but in a nice Canadian style.

So there you have it, will Big White open early? The answer is still 'depends'.

Remember, Big White are a business, they have to answer to stakeholders, who ask questions like 'Why did you lose money...? Or why didn't you make more money...? Or where is my cookie? (I made that last one up.)

Of course I am not the big dog. But there is a good reason for that. Yes, exactly, they are Australian and I'm English.

But... going out on a limb. My prediction is yes, on the 21st November. And if I am wrong, don't blame Big White... blame me.

Told you. Deep! No, I am not kneeling.

And yes skiing today. Stunning eh? We hiked up, the weather was perfect, we got some great exercise, enjoyed the stunning scenery, played in epic epic powder, and (almost) had the mountain to ourselves. Being carried up the mountain is easier but this was cool too!

Keeners! First in line for Telus Chair.

Sólido Properties... well I usually do a self deprecating and some people think (me) both humorous and entertaining, end to my blog... but this time I think I will just

Big White is AWESOME! Cos the people... 13 (maybe...) and Welcome to Big White.

I don't know... I could check how many, or count but that would involve time taken away from walking to the coffee machine and pressing a button...

Part 1 - The People.
Kris and Jolene... They are AWESOME!

This weekend was the big annual Halloween Bash at Sam's, it is the first big party of the season. Tons* of people go... tons of people from Snowpines.

*I was going to use the metric Tonnes but decided to stick with the old imperial... easier to write and I come from GB which once had an impire... Queen Victoria - she was an Impress... it was also how the navy got its' sailors. But she was defeated by Luke when he blew up the death star.

But... since the mountain is not open yet, there is no official transport. Kris and Jolene decided to help. They not only donated a vehicle but paid for a driver to help shuttle the sober to Sam's and (jumping to conclusions here) the inebriated back home again.

I think this is the most unselfish act I have seen at Big White. Of course I once got given a ski pass... but, they had taken it away first... and it could have been a mistake.

• They did not earn a penny.
• They risked their vehicle.
• They paid for the driver.
• They paid for the fuel.

Did I say unselfish!!? Their actions were so cool... ...I decided not to copy... cos that is how I role.

Kris and Jolene run a business at Big White. Snowy Nights, they could have promoted the business but they didn't. Maybe because they don't need to tell everyone how good they are... maybe because they do a great service and grow because of this... maybe they are great employers with happy and loyal staff...

Snowy Nights have been managing tubs for years - their rates are fair, their staff are honest, they inspect tubs more and I know when they say 'this needs fixing...' it needs fixing.

If your service is this good, do you need to advertise? Probably not. 

And they spend most of the summer fishing on the pacific coast. How cool is that? No... I don't do that either.

Part 2 - Welcome.

We fill up every year with seasonal people - whether on a working vacation, a gap year, a life change or whatever. Big White enjoys almost 1400 seasonal visitors and not all are from Australia... no, it is true - there are German, East German (is that PC?), Kiwi, English, Scottish, Welsh (I didn't forget you Alyn), Chilean, Argentinian, Frenchian... etc etc. I made that last one up... yes I did!

We love you guys! You make Big White interesting and fun, and diverse and... possible to exist. Yes, we probably couldn't do it without you. So... Thanks!

But I have a couple of requests, or guidelines if you wish...

Garbage.

Big White is beautiful, a pristine part of the world. Fresh, pollution free air, the purest water, unobstructed 360 degree vistas and of course snowsports. How lucky are we? How lucky are you...?

...But Snowsports are winter specific, when the snow melts we see everything under it - trash doesn't melt, beer cans don't melt, cigarette butts don't melt. Please please please bag your garbage. You wouldn't want to visit a dump, please don't leave one.

Theft.

Don't steel, (I know - intentional... maybe) Period. The value of the cheapest item you steel (or not) is the value of your integrity... think about it.

Alcohol and other recreational activities... 

I was gonna say drugs but thought better of it.

Moderation, have fun but stay in control - you will thank yourself in the morning.

Work.

Balance it with life, be reliable, respect your employer - don't abuse the trust.

Respect the place you live.

Owners have a choice of renting to seasonal staff or... not. You are there because they chose the former, don't make them regret their decision.

Respect your roomies.

Pull your weight, share the chores, respect their space.

Respect your neighbours.

Noise - respect the quiet hours.

I think that is it; if you follow these simple guidelines, your season will not only be fantastic... it will be awesome - Big White AWESOME!

Sólido Properties owns, manages, rents, lives, and enjoys just being at Big White. Of course we also do this social media marketing thing to promote our business (unlike Snowy Nights... some say it is because they are better, others... because we are worse... fortunately we use Snowy so that brings up our average... :)

If you are an owner looking for a self righteous, narcissistic, inferior blogging, (employing uninformative verbal drivel) company to help you, to help Sólido increase profits... and generate stable, guaranteed, revenue  for your property... contact us. That last sentence was the call to action... if you got so far.

Big White is AWESOME! Excited...!

So I was out hiking with the dogs and wifey Sunday and guess who I saw? Yes My boss.

No, not Bob Casson, higher.
Not Lucy Gilbert either, and she is not my boss, she just has cats... too many!
Not Josh, higher.
No, not even Michael J, even higher.
No! Not god... in between Michael J, and god...

Yes! Peter P! The leader of the free world! ...Okay, of the mountain. And guess what he was wearing? Blue underwear!

Well... I know because my wife mentioned it. No... I don't know how she knew... wait...

Anyway, it is kind of the reason I am excited. No, not the blue underwear specifically. More that Peter's blue underwear matched his mountain bike! (I don't know who dressed him, Sally probably... no... I don't know what colour underwear she has on...). The blue underwear/mountain boy/bike was at the top of the mountain... he had ridden up from the Snowpines side. Now I had been shown these paths a couple of years ago...

I had never really bothered with them, they were on the other side of the mountain, overgrown, difficult to find and a bit hard... which comes into play if you are lazy. Besides I hiked lots on my side.

But people were on the mountain... and biking... I asked the young one "Did you come up from Snowpines?" Yes... muddy apparently. I had better check this out, my two readers need to know what's going on!

I know it is not quite Watergate... but still.

So... breaking news! Someone has been riding a mountain bike, and enough so the path is clearly visible. Do you remember when Big White laid out the hiking trail? The first time I did it, whilst traversing the cliff, I missed the actual route and went too high. But in just a short season the regular foot traffic makes the trail clearly visible. Foot traffic makes a difference.

So I followed this (no longer hidden) path...

Sunday was my 64th trip up the mountain since the last ski season ended, 65th if you count the one time I went 'Miking' this year. This page for more info on Miking. Yes a sport I invented two years ago, interestingly since that day the population of the whole world have collaborated in not adopting said sport. Pretty impressive eh? I should be in politics.

Monday became the 66th trip... not hiking, and not Miking... but yes! Mountain Biking! There is a beautiful, fairly shallow gradient (well I could ride it) path to the top of the Snow Ghost; and at that point you can easily follow the hiking trail across to the top of the Bullet. 

This was my route-

Pretty cool eh? Actually the path is not an official path, and there were a couple of areas I had to stop and get off the bike, (man, that was a relief) and push, but easier than riding the maintenance trail (Miking). Down hill, I followed the Falcon hiking trail, from the top of Snowghost... the same one from the 'Chairlift Challenge' but hiking trails can be challenging to ride. I had to get off a few times... cos I wuz scared... Hey did I tell you the last time I went Miking I went over the handlebars? Yes, but but but, I landed on my feet... no, not Ninja style, more WTF (Well That's Fantastic - for the under 12's) style.

But the ride was beautiful... stunning... tranquil... it made my life... Richer!

Pushing my own blog here, a while back I wrote about where I would live if I was rich... here - living the millionaire lifestyle without being a millionaire. Actually I am an inverse millionaire... yes I owe the bank $4m... remember the Edge? That was me. No, at the time, it wasn't funny. But my point is my millionaire lifestyle has just got richer... And it is thanks to Big White, oh... and blue underwear boy.

Actually... they were blue cycling shorts, but that is not funny is it.

Sólido Properties, Hikes, Mikes and now Mountain Bikes up Big White mountain! And we drink beer, and we have dogs and we write a crappy blog (really, do you have nothing better to do? Nobody gets this far... go and do something productive)... And we operate a seasonal rental business. Actually the main reason I started this was to generate business... no I haven't been blogging much... it is cos I'm full... oh, and out of good ideas.

Big White is AWESOME! Sailing...

Yes! It has nothing to do with Big White. Or No! It has nothing to do with Big White. 

Same thing.

Have you ever sailed?

Picture this, you are on a sailboat, the wind has filled he sails, it is coming off the port (left) bow (middle), you are heeled over 25 degrees. The boat is cutting through the water, the sun is shining, the breeze is keeping you cool, shade is found under the sails... you look up, all you see is the crystal blue of the sky, the odd cotton ball cloud, the peak of the mast above the whiter than white sails. All you can hear is the water flowing past the hull. The boat is gently rocking with the swell and you think... you think about the 15,000lbs of the boat, the 5 knots of breeze and the 4.5 knots of headway. You think how much energy is being generated by the wind against canvas... takes a lot to move that much weight at that speed...

Have you ever sailed?

Have you ever sailed with a dog? Two dogs?

With a dog that has a bit of a stomach issue? An issue that makes you jump on the tender with the dog and race against nature to beat the stomach issue. Race like you are James Bond chasing the Spectre agent, thinking in your Sean Connery voice 'Hold on there picshel, thish will be sho much better if you can keep it togetherrr...' A dog that can't hold it together...

So you head back to the boat, and you look at the sailboat with your wife and daughter just as the squall hits... 45knots... just as it almost capsizes... as you try and do your best Jimmy Bond thing, racing over/through/under the 4 foot white caps, racing as your dog bounces 2 feet off the deck cos your wife and daughter are still (you hope) on this out of control boat.

Have you ever gotten back to the out of control boat, heeled over 40 degrees, chucked the dog on as your daughter says 'the boat is out of control...' oh really. So you attach a line to the dinghy, steer into the wind, get the engine going and think 'fogging hell..'

Have you ever tried to find a safe harbour for your sailboat with the 45 knot winds? Tried to weigh anchor, only to have it drag? Try to recover the anchor and the 200 feet of line attached... hauling in the soaked rope, heavy chain and finally the anchor. Trying to power the boat against the wind, trying to give directions to the helmsman in the bouncing swell, and blowing gale whilst recovering the anchor by hand...?

Have you ever have your tender break loose and start to float away in the middle of all this...? Because the D ring bends due to all the pressure...? Recovering the anchor can be done, recovering the boat can be done... finding safe moorage (eventually) in the dark and gale winds can be done.

You can find moorage, you can settle down, you can drink that well earned beer...

Have you ever sailed? With two dogs... who both have stomach issues...? Who wake you in the middle of the night, with the 'look'? The 'please for the love of god mother, let me find some grass...'? Who wake you five times... (well four and one). Dogs that have liquified stomach issues...?

Have you ever sailed?

Have you ever sailed after a figuratively and literally shitty day and night with two dogs... two dogs that have not recovered? The dog that 'looks' at you in the middle of the lake? Trying the Bond plan again... failing again... desperately failing all over the dinghy... Have you ever returned to the boat with a dinghy full of 'desperation', chucked the dog in the lake cos his paws are full of this desperation? Got the dog back on the boat, and tried to figure out the best way to clean this liquid desperation when you realize... you realize the dog has not finished being desperate... he has not finished being desperate, on the big boat... no, not finished, he has not finished everywhere... everywhere!

So he goes swimming again and you start to clean this desperation... you clean it off both boats... it takes a bit of time, it takes hoisting the dinghy out of the water, it takes a desperate amount of rinsing...

Have you ever sailed?

Have you ever sailed after having a brain frying day and night and day, that you don't pay attention? Have you ever run aground whilst sailing...? Have you ever spent two hours with the help of a very nice pontoon boat trying to unground your sailboat... whilst being watched by numerous spectators...?

Have you ever spent 11 stressful and 'desperate' hours on a boat, only to discover the directions you were given were misleading... 6kms misleading... 6kms at 6km/h misleading. 6 km misleading, when you have missed, dinner, breakfast, lunch, coffee and dinner again...?

Have you ever sailed?

Guess what we did last weekend.

Big White is AWESOME! Mission Idiotpossible!

Look at this. I did this post two years ago, but never actually posted it... So, after a little tweaking (I did some good grammar thingy, and sum spilling). And of course it was pre-hiking at Big White... And and and... don't try this at home.

...Remember the film Mission Impossible 2 with Tom Cruise? The start is him free climbing a treacherous cliff without ropes, harness or any safety equipment... once false move and he is strawberry jam. As he is doing his improbable climb, his mission arrives, he gets a message and cue the music - dum dum dum da da dum dum dum da da... Bond theme... easier to remember, but you get the idea.

Opening clip to MI2

So, I hike the mountain quite a bit, sometimes when alone I do more 'interesting' stuff... climbing the steep bits... as you look up the cliff chair I go up to the right, as you get to the point where you see the crazy snowboard/skier dudes doing their entertaining thing in the winter (crashing). I start to climb up. The going is easy... at first.. and then I get to the climby bits.

This way I think.

The route I am following is pulling me to the right; straight up is too technical - I only have hiking boots... this way seems to gives me the best route upwards. The downside of a traverse climb is the slope of the ground - for every foot I climb to the right, the ground drops off another foot - each foot higher means two feet further from the ground. Before I know it I am high, very high. At one point I am thinking I could base jump from this height, not that I have base jumped before... and I don't have a parachute but you know... I was probably wrong, but it was high.

Now it is not the fall that worries me, I am more concerned with the very rapid deceleration caused by those jagged boulders at the bottom.

Anyway I am at the point where continuing seems my best option. Have you ever climbed? Your eyes and head are close to your hands, not your feet. You can spot holds, spot your route and looking up is less scary... than looking down a 4000 feet drop towards those happy little killer rocks. So onwards it is, I am not that concerned at this point, I am moving, the climb is challenging but is doable.

I get to a bit of a crux and I manage (with quite a bit of difficulty) to get beyond the 'hard' bit. Now unfortunately as I get over the hard bit, the tiny hand and foot holds I used fracture away. I am spiderman-ing against the face and I notice for the first time the whole face is fractured... everything I touch is coming loose - big slivers of rock are breaking off in my hands. Despite my less than admirable performance in the brain department so far, i.e. what a dumbass, I am able to conclude (by myself) this could be tricky, as in 'OMG I'm gonna die...' tricky.

As difficult as it was getting up, it would be less fun getting down, even if the holds still existed... the don't. And with the rock fractures constantly coming loose, yes I am also a bit concerned with getting a 'tap on the head' (old Navy saying) from above - then performing my swan dive into those happy rocks. Anyway the shaky legs I have from 'muscle fatigue' (yes that is what I am calling it) subside, oxygen gets back to the noggin and I start to think. I cannot go up, I cannot go down, both sides are looking impossible... yes, Mission Impossible. Clip again - Opening clip

I am on the cliff!

So there I am doing my Tom Cruise bit on the Cliff and at that point (in true MI2 style) my phone rings - so still being spidey I answer the wife... "Where are you?" She barks, okay she enquires but this is my version.

"I am on the cliff" I answer honestly.

"Are you still going up, or on your way down?" she asks.

"I not sure..." well I am not, but she cannot hear me clearly anyway. "Can I call you back?" I ask, and hang up, yes I was a bit short with her but you know, I have a situation here and boy would she be mad at me if I killed myself - best be avoiding that situation... it could be 'tricky'.

So I am thinking of options. I am stuck but I am not panicking, I am stable in my spidey position - and I don't want to embarrass myself by calling 911 having search and rescue come and get me - no no no. So I figure a 'soft' rescue would work (for me - cos it is all about me). 

The fire dept. Yes, with a harness and rope, that would work - so I call Gareth, no answer (I should have been nicer to him I think). I call Brad in the Globe (love the Globe) 

"Do you have the chief's number?" I casually enquire... 

"No, he is on vacation." 

"Ah... do you have Chris's?" again, cool as a cucumber.

"I'll get it for you, let me call you right back"

By now I have been in this spot for probably 30-40 mins and I am still trying to work out a way down... And and and... my battery is almost dead, appropriate.

10 mins later and no call... I decide to get myself down. To be honest I don't really know how, I do recall at one point I was on a sheer face holding on with my finger tips and trying to reach a toe hold... and crying... Eventually I get to a easier area and I go up - I am hoping and hoping I don't hit a tough area again cos I am vertical and it is a long, long way down.

I reach the top, and then go down - I have to find my glasses, (whilst I was doing my Cruise thing those bloody horse flies kept trying to eat my head, and whilst trying to swat them away I knocked off my glasses - didn't see that in the movie), rescue one of my dogs (the barky one - you know which one) and find the other. Then I head down, I stop at the lake and drink the water... if it is good enough for ducks... it is good enough for dumb-asses.

As I am heading down the deputy fire chief calls me (well done Brad), I tell him I had an issue but everything is fine. It is about this point the battery in my phone dies. I have a meeting at 11am at the Globe and I head straight there - sweaty, dirty, and stinking - but hey, this is Big White. As I get through the door Brad says you had better call your wife... Susan had called the Globe got hold of Brad, Brad had told her I was trying to reach the fire Chief... I had been gone two hours longer than usual... why would I be two hours late and calling the fire chief...? 

So that is my Mission Idiotpossible story - at Big White - where else can you live where you can walk out your door and get stuck on a cliff? Big White is AWESOME!

So... finishing with my Pitch again, Sólido Properties is still alive and has a bunch of properties on the mountain, which surprise surprise... We Rent! Yay! Of course we do. If you have continued reading (I don't know why, I am not Shakespeare, this is not considered literature... but have) and you are looking for a place to live then... visit our website, or Facebook page.