Snowboarding in Asessippi

On Thursday night after work, Jerrod, Brad, and Blair picked me up in our borrowed mini-van (thanks Rick!) and we hit the road for Russell, Manitoba and our ski weekend at Asessippi. It was an uneventful drive marked by Brad's horrible driving, the intense cold, the satellite tunes, and intense alcohol consumption. We made it there around 10:30pm and settled into the basement suite of our bed and breakfast to continue drinking and preparing our gear for the following morning.

We got up in time for our 9AM breakfast and got all geared up for what was quite possibly the coldest day of the year. We didn't notice because we were well prepared, but the ladies at the convenience store said it was -53C. They were also kind enough to call the ski hill for us and then let us know that the hill was closed. Closed?!? Yes, it was that cold. We retreated back to the B&B to "discuss" what our best course of option was. Brad wisely decided to call the hill himself and they told him that the hill had just opened, although not all the lifts were running. That was good enough for us and we headed out. When we got there, it was just fine. It was super cold so there was nobody there, but we were bundled up and in perfect position to have a great day. I did a fuckload of falling down for most of the day but caught onto this snowboarding business fast enough for my tastes. We took frequent breaks at the chalet (read: bar) which also helped us make the most of the day :)

The rest of the weekend was more of the same, except it warmed up big time. When we weren't living it up on the hill, we were having drinks in the chalet or back at the B&B at night. We even treated ourselves to a great (and expensive for Jerrod) meal on Saturday night. For my part, I managed to stave off illness through excessive medicinal (read: alcohol) consumption and by the end of the weekend had a pretty good handle on the basics of snowboarding. That's not to say that I didn't fall down a billion times and am completely sore in every part of my body right now, but I digress.

I have to highlight the place we stayed at: Boulton Manor. If you are looking for a place to stay in Russell, I can't recommend it enough. It's a big old house with tons of room and fantastic hosts. Don't be fooled by other hotels or B&B's that offer a "continental breakfast". Throughout the entire weekend, we had huge and delicious hand-made breakfasts featuring such delicacies as hashbrowns, ham, bacon, eggs, sausages, toast, muffins, cheese, fruit cups, crepes(!), yogurt, juices of all kinds - and all more than we could eat. The place itself is just as close to the ski hill as any other hotels in any of the other surrounding communities. Fantastic food, friendly hosts, and reasonable prices make Boulton Manor the place to stay for a ski weekend at Asessippi!

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. It felt so good to do a road trip for what feels like (and has been) years. We will definitely do it again next year!

Also, I'm a gay cowboy.