Hi friends!
Is it really Monday? I could have sworn it was just Friday and I was busy packing for a snowboarding trip to the mountains; or, more specifically, to Marmot Basin in Jasper. This weekend went by way too quickly if you ask me, but at least I get to do a little reminiscing thanks to the lovely Katie and MIMM…
I’m going to have to reminisce in point form, though. I’m writing this on Sunday night after spending half of the day on the slopes and the other half in the car – my brain can only focus on one thing right now…
Namely, how comfy my hotel bed was; and how much I enjoyed sleeping snacking in it…
Barefruit Cinnamon Apple Chips. Holy wow do I love these things.
But there I go getting distracted already. Focus, Amanda. Focus. Okay. Mountains. They were beautiful…
And fun as heck….
Funny story. I brought a few baggies of my favorite tea along with me, but the mugs that were in the hotel room were WAY too small. I mean, who can be satisfied with just two or three sips of tea?! Solution? Brew tea in a tall drinking glass 
Very tempted to do a little backcountry, but no snow gear = no go.
The upper half of the mountain was a little cloudy on day 1.
What the heck does this strap do?!
And can I just say that these may have been the best fries I’ve ever eaten?
Was there anything special about them? Defnitely not – they were just your typical, holy-crap-are-these-ever-greasy cafeteria style fries. But you wouldn’t believe the kind of appetite you work up after a day on the slopes, and getting smacked in the face by the tantalizing smell of ketchup and fries as soon as you walk into the lounge makes you completely forget about the sandwiches you packed. Such is life. I figure that there are far worse things that one can eat, like plastic fruit…
… which, judging from those bite marks, is what someone who had stayed in the room before us apparently tried to do 
Happy Monday, friends! Make it a good one.
. – . – . – .
Have you ever been snowboarding?
Do you sleep well in hotel beds?
What was the best meal/moment of your weekend?
omg. looks like snowy paradise! I’ve only ever skied, but I’ve already told myself that the next time I go, I’m going to learn to snowboard. Looks like so much fun! And it’s amazing how delicious fries all of a sudden become after a a good afternoon of on the mountains. I mean, I love fries, but they instantly become that much better!
those fries look freaking amazing! I suck at snowboarding! I been skiing since I am 3 years old and decided to try and live life out of the box and snowboard. Everytime I’d go to fast I would sit down. After 3 runs and a wet and cold butt I got over it that I would never be a snowboarder because I don’t have the patience of falling anymore and put on my skiis lol Hotel beds are hit and miss but yours, my god that thing looks comfortable! That mountain looks gorgeous and love that picture of the “whats this strap for”. I have those on my skii boots and jacket and just tuck them wherever because I don’t know there purpose lol. Glad you enjoyed your weekend!
Wow, what an amazing view!! I’ve never tried any kind of snow sport before…mainly because I know I my (accident-prone) self all too well and figure I’ll end up ruining the trip with a stay in the hospital…and a full body cast! Lol
I lovvvvvvve hotel beds, but I hatttttttttte hotel pillows! Gotta bring my own…always!
Best moment of my weekend: “holy sh!t, I just walked!”
How fun! I love your snow pics. I’ve never been snowboarding, and yet somehow I know I’d be bad at it.
I still want to try though!
Ahhh I can’t wait to visit Canada. Me and my husband are traveling from Australia to Canada next year and hope to go snowboarding… would you recommend Jasper (we have been previously looking at Whistler Blackcomb)? Also when would be the best months to visit to do all the touristing/touring stuff but also get decent snow in the ski areas?
PS those chips look awesome! I adore reading your blog
If you were already planning on going to Whistler then I’d definitely stick with that! Jasper is nice and I frequent it because it’s close by, but I would be going to Whistler a lot more if I could. As for the best time to visit, most of the resorts are open until May, so you’ll still be able to get good snow and pretty decent weather well into April.
Haha the bite marks in the fruit…no words…Anyways, it looks like you had such a nice little getaway and the slopes are breathtakingly gorgeous! It is funny how the simplest things taste so good after being out in the snow all day, I remember feeling the same way last time I went snowboarding.
My heavens!! Those views are to die for. I am sitting here completely in aw and pretty darn jealous! Can I come visit & we go to the mountains?? I’ve never been snowboarding before (okay I lie, i did snowboard down a tiny hill near my home.. does that count?)
AAAAAAH there is NOTHING like a weekend in the mountains!! Marmot Basin looks incredible – the mountains out west are truly so much more epic than the ones back east! I’m big into skiing so of course I love that you board! And yes, food tastes 100000x better after a day on the slopes – I went on a week-long ski trip to Maine my senior year of college and coming back to the bed & breakfast restaurant to dinner every night afterward…best tasting pizza/pasta/fries/paninis EVER. Glad you had a great time!
This trip was the complete polar opposite of your last but looks absolutely amazing! The scenery is gorgeous. I’ve actually never been snowboarding or skiing but it seems like it would be exhausting.
PS: Those fries actually remind me of when I would go to winter camp every year during middle school & high school…there was something so comforting about warm, salty, greasy fries when it was freezing cold outside!
Those shots of the mountain are gorgeous! You could be a professional photographer.
I went snowboarding once when I was 10 or 11, but it was just on a tiny hill in a park… I really sucked at it and I got scared off from every trying it again haha. Plus I hate being cold, so outdoor winter sports aren’t really my thing.
I’ll take canoeing, sailing, and hiking in the summer instead!
too fun!! I have never gotten the hang of snowboarding, but I can ski! Teach me??
lollll at the biting plastic fruit, although im getting a strange deja-vu feeling like its probably happened to me before… :$
Nature is the cooolest <3
Yep, I just went to check!
And those mountains really are beautiful
Oh and I agree about tea needing to be in a big cup! The mug I use for tea is one that holds 1 litre of tea
I have no idea what back countrying is, but it sounds like you had a great trip and french fries after a day expending so much energy, yes please.
By the way, I have completely finished the A Storm of Swords and I’m still reeling. So much goes on in this book, wow. I know you’ve read the books too, and I bet you can’t wait for the HBO series.
One more by the way, some cool things about Canada: dill pickle potato chips, french fries and gravy, Coffee Crisp, pea-meal bacon, and Toffey.
Back countrying is pretty much just going off the beaten paths and riding parts of the mountain that aren’t exactly part of the ski resort. The plus side is that the snow is fresh and untouched, but the downside is that it’s a lot more dangerous because you have to watch out for cliffs, rocks, and avalanches.
And you better believe that I can’t wait for March 31st and the start of the third season! Book 4 has some pretty crazy happenings too, so prepare to be even more blown away
Well that seems kind of obvious when you put it like that and also incredibly dangerous. Glad you had a great time.
That picture of you is TOO cute. I love that you enjoyed yourself so much this weekend. Probably a smart idea to wait until it warmed up a little overall to hit the slopes though — bet it was absolutely frigid out there for most of the winter!!
And I’ve definitely bitten into my fair share of plastic fruit in my life. A little embarrasing, perhaps, but what can I say — I’m a sucker for good looking apples!! I blame the genetically modified fruit of our time for looking so plastic when it is real — how am I supposed to tell what’s what until I actually try to chomp down?!
What gorgeous pictures!! I’ve never been snowboarding, but I’ve been skiing and you definitely do work up an appetite.