Epilogue

And so, it's all over. We've lived the dream, even if we didn't get the official recognition.

At least we don't have to worry about the weather any more! It's hard to imagine quite how important it's been over the last five and half months - almost every day we've checked how much snow has arrived, how much is due over the next few days and what the temperature is going to be.

Having lived through some massive dumps of snow in the last couple of months, our obsession with the weather has been taken to new heights. We've apologised to various guests for the conditions not being ideal, only to be told that they've never seen such good snow! It seems we may have become powder-snobs. I'm certainly more interested in powder than sun - I'd happily live with a cloudy sky for six months if it meant fresh snow every day.

It's obviously going to be pretty depressing getting the tube and going back to work. One of the strangest things, though, is going to be making decisions. The hardest decision we've faced out here is which mountain to go up in the morning, and when that's been too complicated we've just switched during the day and done both!

Another hard decision has been what to do on powder days. Most of my great powder days have been on Whistler, where the first decision is often what to do before Harmony and Peak open. We now have a good selection of mid-mountain powder runs down Emerald and Red and can normally find fresh snow for a good three or four runs. During those first three or four runs, though, I normally start panicking about the higher lifts.

In the early days we often missed the opening of the Alpine lifts. Arriving even 15 minutes after they've opened means missing out on the really great runs, so we've learnt to get as much information as possible from the ski-patrollers. They're normally prepared to give a reasonably accurate prediction of when a lift will open, which helps enormously with route planning, enabling us to get to lifts in time to queue but not so early that we freeze.

For me, the ultimate powder-run is the Justice Drop-in into the West Bowl, so Peak is the ultimate chair. Three or four times now I've queued for the first chair on Peak, but even when you end up on an early chair the decisions aren't over. A lot of people do a run down Shale Slope, as this normally gets tracked out first. If you want the first track into the West Bowl, however, you can't waste time with Shale Slope, as we've learnt the hard way.

Another problem on powder days is whether to wait for your friends. There's a well used saying in Whistler: "No mates on powder days", but we've found that following this rule can be a bit lonely! Using the radios we've managed to meet up even when the first-run panic has separated us, but it's nice to have someone doing the same route so you can discuss the best bits, rather than just telling them about the huge drop-off you did.

The problem has been bad enough when it's just been Stan, Matt, Bob, Andy and me. When we've had guests it's been much more complicated, as they can't generally keep up, especially in deep powder. Several times I've felt bad about telling friends I'm leaving them to their own devices, but I'd have gone mad riding down normal runs, knowing that there was 50cm of untracked powder in the back bowls.

Having said that, the guests we've had to stay have been very welcome. Bob, Andy and I have got on pretty well most of the time but would probably have gone mad if we'd been in a more isolated resort without the constant flow of guests. Living together has been more intense than any other house I've shared. We've seen more of each other than we would have done if we were married - most couples don't have breakfast together, spend the whole day together and then go out in the evening together, every day, day after day.

We've had huge numbers of people up from Vancouver for a night or two at a time, but it's the friends from back home who've really made a difference. While I don't feel I've missed the UK at all during our trip, I have missed my friends and family, so it's been great to have so many of them come to stay. They've brought many gifts with them, but none more important than Otter Madness which, as the galleries show, has become a part of everyone's life. It's also been fun getting to know Andy and Bob's guests.

Of course there are two other Brits we've seen almost every day: Stan and Matt have been regular Associate Riders of Justice. Stan, especially, became a great friend during the course of the season, and I've missed him and his family since they went to Australia at the beginning of April.

During the last month there's also been the substitute Rider, Dawson. He's come on brilliantly over the course of his 20 or so days on the hill - to be able to get down the steep gully of Cockalorum and ride the powder Piccolo only a month after beginning is no mean feat.

It strikes me as a little risky to mention the names of our Canadian friends, as there are so many that I'm bound to offend some. Some, however, need to be remembered.

We've probably seen the most of Mike MacLean, our host in previous years. He's ridden with us on numerous occasions, performed the biggest tricks of anyone we know (with the possible exception of Matt the pro!) and used our washing machine more than anyone else. Of the other people in Whistler, Mike Dick and Crystal deserve a mention, though more for the parties they've organised than their riding! The one person we've missed this year is Jer, who's only managed to make it up to the village a couple of times.

The Vancouver crowd is too enormous to mention them all. We have to thank Dom, as he's the original reason any of us came to Canada and he introduced us (directly or indirectly) to almost everyone else we know. His housemate Mark has been very helpful, ferrying us around when we didn't have a car and sorting out the purchase of the Wagon. Beyond them, we've had some great times on and off the hill with Ingrid and Dave, Emilie, Amrit, Mack, Nasya, Patrick and Shannon, Amber and Curtis, John and Tara, etc, etc...

All of the above have, at one time or another, joined us for a bit of a party. We've hosted a few, been to many, and almost always felt terrible the next day. People in both Whistler and Vancouver know how to party!

The riding itself has been fantastic. Until March we'd had only a handful of powder days and were all a bit disappointed with the amount of snow. Christmas Day was the obvious exception, when we straight-lined the Crystal chair through 1.5m of light powder. I don't think any of us will forget that day.

March and early April brought the conditions we'd been hoping for all season. I've heard that it snowed every day for 19 days, but whatever the number, we had some great runs. Holes were filled in and rocks covered, making the whole process easier. The mountain changed dramatically, but none of us were complaining. We got used to riding through feet of powder, gaining confidence even on the steepest slopes.

It's amazing how the conditions affect your confidence. A run can be a nightmare one day when it's icy, bumpy and the visibility is bad, then it snows overnight, the sun comes out and the run becomes the fastest straight-lining experience known to man.

There are several things that make riding in Canada more pleasant than riding in Europe. The quality of the snow and the presence of so many trees (due to the lower altitude) are obvious physical differences, but one of the most important is the lift queue etiquette. There is no pushing (except possibly on powder days) and the queues are generally very civilised, so the whole day is much more relaxed. They even have "sniffle stations", providing tissues in case your nose is running.

Being North America, people are much more likely to talk to you than in Europe. Gondolas and chairlifts are rarely silent, as everyone seems more friendly. At times this can be a bit too much (normally with Americans) but in general it's quite nice. A certain etiquette is required here as well though, as it's not the done thing to ask too much about people's routes, especially on a powder day!

Skiers are another interesting facet of life as a snowboarder. There is some real animosity between the two groups, with most skiers looking down on snowboarders as young hoodlums, as evidenced by the comments we've heard shouted across the slope after a snowboarder has crashed. In general the animosity is fairly light-hearted, with skiers complaining that snowboarders wipe the snow off the runs and snowboarders complaining about the formation of huge great moguls. Skiers also seem to have a habit of pulling to a halt on narrow cat-tracks without looking behind them, which can be quite annoying!

Then there's the Justice itself. It's made the three of us much more of a team than if we were just three mates and has proved to be a talking point on many an occasion. Hundreds of people have asked what it's about, but few really understand. Perhaps only three.

The website has proved surprisingly popular. Even now, almost six months after it opened for business, it's being visited by almost 20 people a day. During the course of an average month, around 250 people are finding out about our latest experiences. It's been a great way of keeping in touch with people and has also given us something to do in the quieter evenings.

I came out with a long list of things to do in those evenings but, strangely, very few of them have been ticked off. I was told by many people that I was crazy to imagine that I'd find the time to do useful things in the evenings - to them I have to say you were right.

There were other people who told me I was crazy to go snowboarding for six months. To them I have to say you were wrong. I've never once got bored of the snow and have enjoyed the last few weeks of riding more than ever. The powder days have been incredible and when there hasn't been fresh snow, the terrain park and hits along the runs have kept us more than entertained. I would happily carry on if it wasn't for the fact that it's summer. And I'd lose my job. And I've run out of money.

To conclude, a final thought, borrowed from Whistler's local paper: Don't take life too seriously as you won't come out of it alive.