Backcountry birthday

Backcountry skiing takes you right away from chairs and lift passes and busy ski hill lodges selling hot chocolate and cake. Not that these things aren't a whole lot of fun, but there's something really special about being in the silence of a snow-filled wilderness, surrounded by trees and mountains, with noone else for miles around. Years ago Domhnall helped Bridget and Sparky build their very own piece of backcountry heaven, known as Shambala - an A-frame, tarp-covered hut in a valley a few hours ski from the highway - and we spent the night before my birthday there, with a wood fire burning in the stove, snuggled up in warm sleeping bags, with wine and whisky and good food, and the snow falling outside. My 40th year began with porridge for breakfast and a powder run through the beautiful lodgepole pines that cover the slopes of the Kootenay hills. I couldn't have asked for much better. Except perhaps the evening to follow, at Jimmy's back in Rossland, with dinner and singing and whisky and flowers and presents and laughter. Thank you again to Domhnall and Lucille and all the Rossland crowd for the celebrations and friendship. You made turning 40 seem like just the next step in a journey where the uphills might be long and hard, but are always followed eventually by a downhill ride that leaves you smiling all over your face. And with each run you make, the skiing slowly, gradually, gets easier.