What an amazing trip! There were 9 teenagers in total and 3 advisors. Venturers were: Nicole Hirtle, Jenn Turnbull, Mike Stewart, Blair Murray, Maddy Hope, Walter Grant, Kyle Blaikie, Steve Manicom and Ryan Turnbull. Fearless leaders included the amazing Mike Brown, the indestructible Bruce Moore and the home away from home mom Nancy Moore.

Day one, Sunday March 11, found us all at the church at 4:45 AM and ready for departure. We loaded up, 7 to the van and 5 to the truck and then we started out on our long 11 hours drive to the beloved Mont Sainte-Anne. First stop was in Fredericton for breakfast at around 9 am. We only ate at Big Stops because they are the most reliable. Breakfast consisted of Jenn and Blair facing off to an eating competition and although many of us have our own opinions, we defiantly say that Blair won, sorry Jenn. Man the little people sure can pack it in. We then drove on to the Quebec border and arrived sooner then expected so we just stopped over for a pee break and then continued on to the next big stop along the way for lunch. Lets just say Bruce was leading and he somehow FORGOT about lunch and we drove all the way to Mont Sainte-Anne without eating, arrival time being about 3:30 pm. The people in the van had a barrel of laughs though, especially with Mike and Jenns’, um, battle. As soon as we get there we get our chalet number and we go straight there to unpack. We start a supper/lunch and unpack everything (which is just pretty much taking it out of the truck and strewing it all over the floor in the chalet) and then after that is all taken care of, we hastened off to the ski hill. We pretty much went straight to the bus table top, yeah, a bus that you can ski on, wickedest thing ever. At hill closing we make our way back to the chalet and all hit the hay after a long day of driving and skiing!

Day two, Monday March 12, was one of the best days. This was our first full day on the slopes and Nicole decided to break out the snowboard for that day. It was a really good day filled with getting almost all the trails on the north side done including some black diamonds. Nicole decided that the t-bar lift personnel thought that she was a gay pimp because when you are on the t-bar there is two people to one bar therefore I was always with one of my skiing buddies and the way it has to be done to ensure that I don’t fall over is I put my arm around the skier and pretty much hug them all they way up the hill. The first go it was Mike that she was hugging (he was better), second in like was Jennifer and last but not least was Blair. After supper was taken care of and cleaned up the toughest of the tough (Nicole, Mike S, Mike B, Jenn and Blair) headed back out to the hill and the rest stayed home to rest, tisk tisk. We skied until as late as possible and then rushed back home in hopes to get all the showers done before 11.

Day three, Tuesday March 13, was the best day of all. It was our “Black Diamond Day.” The crew (Nicole, Mike S, Jenn and Blair) did nothing besides black diamond and double black diamond trails unless some of the others managed to convince us to go on an easier trail with them. There is many funny stories that happened one this day but you’ll find them later on along with all the other hilarious stories and great quotes. Around 5 ish we headed back home for a hearty home cooked meal before the night of skiing. This night all of the people on the trip managed to get out which was good.

Day four, Wednesday March 14, was the killer. It poured rain until about 2:30 then it sprinkled on and off. We went to Le Massif (another ski hill) just to look around and see how many people were braving the rain there. Not too many were out. We then continued on to a massive church for a self-lead tour. It was really beautiful. After all that we went back home to the chalet and made some lunch. After lunch the crew (Nicole, Mike S, Mike B, Jenn and Blair) and Steve headed over to the hill while the others went into Quebec City. Upon arrival to the gondola lift we all see a sign and it states that there is no night skiing that night. We were devastated... we couldn’t believe that we wouldn’t be skiing that night and on top of all that it was 3 o’clock then which only left 45 minutes till closing. We managed to get 2 runs in on the slopes and then the Mikes invented bag sliding on the 3rd run (Awesomest thing ever, look below for details.) So the five of us went home to the chalet, and it was a few hours before everyone else came back from Quebec City.

So anyway, Mike falls asleep (as always) and Jenn thinks it would be a good idea to wake him by tackling him. She does. Mike throws Walters’ toothpaste at her. It quickly escalates to all out war. Jenn and Mike retreat to opposite corners of the room and build forts out of the furniture and anything else that is handy. Nicole and Blair wisely hide in their own fort. And so the battle commences. Almost everything imaginable is lobbed across that room, from toothpaste, to socks, to pillows, to deodorant, to toilet paper (Jenn found a pack of a dozen toilet paper rolls). Eventually Jenn retreats to the bathroom, and Mike emerges victorious (as always). All the while Nicole and Blair were cowering behind their fort waving a white flag, trying to escape the mayhem of flying toilet paper, it was an epic battle.

Later on when everyone came home we had supper and then we all played big rounds of cards. Janitor and Poker were the games of choice.

Day five, Thursday March 15, wasn’t a very good day but it was better than day four. The snow was very squishy after all rain and we sank quite a bit. All in all it was a pretty good day, the night was where it got really bad. When we came back from lunch it got really cold out which doesn’t mix well with wet heavy snow. We went home for supper and then Blair, Nicole and Mike B went back out. The rest of us stayed at the chalet and went out later.

But the problem was, Steve was having a bit of a bad day, and didn't want to come skiing. So Kyle, Mike and Jenn went up to his room and tried to convince him to come skiing. So after a bit of talking Steve was like, "Why would I go skiing?” Mike was like, "Because if you come skiing I will give you bananas!" and Steve is like, hmm ok. So Mike gallivants off to get a banana and gives it to Steve, who quickly peels it and eats it in one bite. ONE BITE! He just slides it in, the most impressive thing you will ever see. After swallowing it pretty much whole he’s like, "MORE BANANA!" and Mike gives him more, which he immediately proceeds to down like the others. It was a sight to see, and we won't be having any penis jokes here.

But the time night skiing came around it just plainly wasn’t safe to be on the trails. The hill slowly started closing trails one by one to wean people off the hill completely. When you first got on the lift to go up the hill they were standing there warning you that they weren’t liable for any injury’s we might sustain. At that point Mike B, being the smart guy he is, gathered as all up and took us back to the chalet because he really didn’t want any of us to get hurt, but not before doing a run on the bunny hill (the only trail that wasn’t death-defying at that point). What a caring guy. So off we went back to the chalet for another night and we used the extra time to pack up and get lots of showering in. By the time bedtime rolled around most of us were mostly packed and ready for the hectic morning ahead.

Day six, Friday March 16, the last and final day. We were up and gone for the chalet shortly after 8 in the morning. We needed to leave nice and early to make sure we stayed in front of the big storm that was supposed to hit all the Maritimes and central Canada. We did manage to stay ahead of it and beat it home. The way home in the truck consisted of lots of janitor, sleep, and a movie.

All in all it was another amazing trip for the 2nd Truro Venturer group and we’d like to thank all that helped out with it especially Mike Brown, Nancy Moore and Bruce Moore for putting up with us for a week. -Nicole and Mike