Die Hard Three

I set my alarm for 06:00 because I wanted to try and make “first tracks” – we talk about this every year but no one ends up going. This morning however one of my travel mates was snoring extra loud and even though I had slept but two hours I figured I would be unable to get a decent rest – might as well hit the trails.

It may be super-cold here at Mont Tremblant but they don’t seem to get a lot of natural snow – most of it is man made. This results in very beautiful snow-covered trees.

Snow on the trees, ice on the ground.

But the trails end up being this machine-groomed packed-powder corduroy-like surface that is more like a hockey rink than a snowbank.

The view from mine this morning.

OMG, what a crazy meal. There was so much food and wine and snacks. I’m glad we only do this once per year because anymore and I would end up washing my back with a rag on a stick. To give you an idea, here is a photo of one aspect of the meal.

Essen

And here is the other.

Fondue or fondon't?

This time we decided to skip dessert. I think I know why. I feel so fat I can hardly move. Anyway, they have this thing here called “first tracks”. It’s a pass to be the first one up the mountain to enjoy the fresh snow before the stupid snowboarders wreck all the trails. OZ keeps saying each year that we’re going to go but I think this year is the one we actually do.

See the past three weeks I’ve been waking up at 06:00 to get to work for 07:00. The lifts open at 07:45 so I should be able to make it.

I wonder if we will.

So this weekend is our annual ski trip. The boys and I have been going to Mont Tremblant every year for the last half decade for a little R&R (if you know what I mean ;-). There’s DR, OZ, and CS (I’m going to use code monikers to protect the innocent). Normally we have a cone of silence with respect to what happens on Ski Weekend (everyone knows what the fist rule of Ski Weekend is) but this year I was able to get a special dispensation to blog all our shenanigans.

We got a suite with one bedroom (two queens), kitchen, fireplace, everything. The hotel is right in the village – if you’ve been to Tremblant you know that’s a good thing. I have to say I think this year is going to be the best ever. Don’t believe me? Check out this itinerary.

Right now OZ and I are driving up early to get the place set up. CS and DR will be joining us around 20:00 – they’ve got some things to take care of.

Tonight for supper we’re having a cheese fondue *and* a meat fondue. It is going to be delicious! DA is bringing two bottles of his favorite red wine – Chateau Monteambleu 1989. We have to get up early tomorrow to hit the hills so it’s going to be a quiet evening. We’ll probably play a few games of Pictionary or charades or maybe some Scrabble (I bought my travel edition). Last year the hotel had a DVD player so this year we decided to bring a few movies with us – Bridesmaids, Mamma Mia (I love Abba almost as much as I love Meryl Streep), Chicago, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog, – you know, just in case.

Saturday, will of course, involve skiing during the day but the evening is when the real fun begins. We’ve got the whole thing figured out – we’ve been planning it for weeks.

For supper it’s a simple three-course. The salad is an arugula lettuce base, cherry tomatoes, with raspberry vinaigrette dressing, pine nuts and black currents covered in warm goat cheese. The main is penne pasta in a creme sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and spicy Italian sausage. CS is responsible for the dessert and it’s going to be to-die-for. You know how I know? Because everything he cooks is amazing! Anyway, he won’t tell us what it is. All I know is that he played hooky today to work on it. I talked to him at noon and he said he’d been awake since five AM. Come Sunday they’re going to be wheeling me out of here feet first. I can’t wait!

So after supper we’re going to chill for a bit, sipping a nice digestif – Grand Marnier – by the fire. Musical selection for the evening, Petshop Boys, ABBA, CBC Radio 2, the soundtrack to For Your Eyes Only, Celine Dion (we are in Quebec you know), Henry Rollins, Elton John.

But this is all the calm before the storm. Every year on the second Saturday in February the village of Mont Tremblant is home to the world’s second-largest costume party – La Masquarade. All the bars in the resort are hosting events and parties where the patrons with the best costumes win all sorts of prizes and cool stuff. This year we’re going to try and win one of the group prizes – passes for four to Le Nordique Spa. Normally I would not say in advance what our costumes are going to be, and today is no different.

I imagine we’ll be up pretty late on Saturday night. Sunday will be an optional ski day.

Anyway, we’re almost at the resort. I’ll try to post periodic updates.

I can see the music