A trip to Vancouver would be incomplete without also visiting
Whistler
Village, home of the 2010 Olympics. After all, Software Engineers like
to ride
too.

From May 12 to May 16, prior to the conference, some of us are
planning
to go skiing or snowboarding at Blackcomb mountain (fyi - Whistler
closes this
year at the end of April). If you would like to meet up with other
conference
attendees with a shared passion for riding the snow please get in
touch with
Gail E. Harris (gail.harris at instantiated dot ca). Or simply meet us
on
these days at 10:30 am by the signboard outside the Rendezvous Lodge
on
Blackcomb.

The Whistler ski resort is considered by many to be the best ski
resort in North America. It regularly makes the top 5 or top 10
destination lists in the various trade magazines. With an average
snowfall of 10.2 meters (33.5 feet), a vertical drop of 1609 meters
(5280 feet), several terrain parks, over 200 runs for beginners,
intermediates and experts, a dizzying number of high speed lifts, and
a bustling village, you just can't beat it for fun.

The resort actually consists of two mountains, Whistler Mountain and
Blackcomb Mountain. Most people ski either one mountain or the other
on any given day, and then alternate. In the springtime, however, the
management closes one mountain and leaves the other one open for
spring skiing. This year Blackcomb will be open until May 18, 2009, so
that's where I'll be skiing.

I hope to see you on the slopes.