Rachael Burks » Travel

Three month whirlwind… quick up-to-speed:

Rachael — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:51:26 +0000

Since the end of my ski season ie- me visiting AK— I’ve been on the road pretty much ever since. Three bachelorette parties, one wedding, one surf trip, one brother sighting, and one visit to BC… booyhahhh…. Here’s my last three months in a nutshell:Snowbasin:Star Burger.Alaska:Rich:Tara and Hand :Portland wine tasting, drag shows, and the whole nine yards that come along with things for Sara’s Bachelorette party:Mexico:San Diego for Sara’s wedding:Santa Barbara to visit my bro:Vegas for Jessie’s bachelorette:Look at the people screaming for Jess’s high kick and Bev’s singing!Only three still standing at 6:00 am. Then Nug came into town for Britta’s Bachelorette Party: White Rim(Britta-ah-ah-ah makes a sexy bride)Somewhere in there Julian shaved his neckbeard….I saw David Byrne…My mom had a birthday party….I went to Whistler for Canada Day:Britta simulated sky diving in Seamus’s kitchen: & Dirt forgot to open his eyes for our only group shot. good talk. Well… that’s a quick up to speed. Did I mention I got pneumonia in Canada?sucked… but I still love Canada.

YEAH CHAM!

Rachael — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:23:33 +0000

WHAT IS GOING ON IN CHAMONIX?? uh…. it’s snowing… and then clearing… and then snowing some more. I’ve been out here with Dynastar and Team Focus for the Nissan Outdoor Games: check it out: enter the site and check out these videos! It’s amazing that each of these films were made in a matter of 7 days! It was such a RAD EVENT. (That’s me… heh heh image of the day:))This is my village:This is where I stay:This is what I eat:This is what I see:This was my first run in Cham:This is my family in France: This is the “apres ski”:This is my team:This is my favorite thing in the world: CHHHEEEEEEEEESE : And this is how I feel about it: ALL SMILES: LIFE IS AWESOME:

The EXTRAVAGANZA continues… #2

Rachael — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:48:32 +0000

For my actual birthday … Jacopo took us to a restaurant in a tiny village close to Aosta. This restaurant is owned by a couple: The woman is the server (yes, as in only one), the man is the chef, and their first son drives every other day two and a half hours to pick up the fish that the second son fishes for on the coast… You don’t get a menu, you merely sit down and she brings you the courses that he’s prepared for the day. Everything is homemade and incredibly fresh. There were five tables in the whole restaurant and you need to call ahead and tell them that you’re coming if you want to dine… IT WAS MARVELOUS! We sat down around 1:00 and seven courses later plus wine and genepi we stood up to leave around 5:00? Kelly, my favoritest nugget in the whole wide world gave me the present she had been toting around with her for two months:WHAT!!??!?! AHHH!!!!After lunch Jacopo introduced us to his friend Jepo… Jepo and his father are butchers. We stopped by during business hours and Jepo and his father immediately opened a bottle of wine and started drinking with us, all while letting us taste all their fresh sausages!When the second bottle was opened the team was a little hesitant:It didn’t take TOO MUCH PERSUASION: I needed only to remind them that they were sitting in a Butcher’s shop in ITALY being offered fresh Italian wine and sausage during business hours!!! HOW MANY TIMES TO GET TO DO THAT IN THE STATES?!! Good talk. Birthday night was a party… I danced all night at a “toga” party … in Italy?… hmm… Needless-to-say- it was magical to have my father out here to catch a glimpse of my life. I’ve wanted to share this with him for a long time. It was a treat to have Fred Arne travel out for the extravaganza… such a fabulous thing to see him. Jacopo was, as he always is, the most incredible host in the world… and my nugget made my birthday extravaganza what it was… she stuck with me all the way around the country… she even navigated me through Paris. Few closing shots: (this is the view from the back door of my dad’s hotel room! AH!) (Kelly and Rachael on an old Roman bridge) (for anyone that wouldn’t know… that’s a ski lift on top of the rocks?)

Birthday EXTRAVAGANZA #1 !!!! ROAD TRIP

Rachael — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:53:07 +0000

Well I suppose it’s that time again– that time when I get to drag out the word “Birthday” for as long as I can… AND I DID: 2,600 km’s of France in one week… how do I know that exact number? Because I was charged for every kilometer over 2,000 without knowing… merde. However being with The Nugget (pictured below) as my faithful and trusty co-pilot I had the time of my life…First stop: Arras for Radiohead & Sigur Ros:I don’t have words to describe how amazing this night was… so I won’t try.Next stop: Take a wild guess:Road Trip 101: Don’t EVER drive in Paris. While Paris may not be my favorite village in the world, Kelly and I had an incredible time. Kelly and I dined and at one of the most incredible restaurants I’ve ever been to. She treated me to an amazing birthday dinner and we wandered the streets for our other meals and experiences. We did the tourist thing as there are things that must be seen in Paris and then we managed to get lost some as well. I’ll get lost with my Nug any day… Next stop: Chamonix… and guess who’s there waiting at the Chambre Neuf when we roll into town?Oh that’s right… MY FATHER! IN FRANCE!!!!My dad joined me in Chamonix so that the birthday extravaganza could include a daddy-daughter-duo up the Mont Blanc… We then headed for Courmayeur, Italy to catch up with our Italian-stallion-of-a-mountain-guide-and-friend: Jacopo… Tragically because of bad weather we were unable to do any climbing. We made up for it though thanks to our amazing and fabulous Italian mountain man, Jacopo:(This would be the second time this amazing man has made my blog…) Jacopo took us canyoneering!We suddenly found ourselves rappelling and jumping off waterfalls and cliffs into crystal clear water with HUGE grins on our faces. Absolutely fabulous…Dad and Kelly killed it. Unfortunately my dad separated a rib… however a cold beer and a shepherd’s feast afterwards quickly made everything better:Ahhhh…… The next day our beloved Norwegian flew in for the extravaganza… it’s been over a year since Kelly and I have seen our amazing Fred Arne… it was such a pleasure to have him join us: So we decided to try out the “parco adventuro” ….? Why not right? -Weather is gnarly can’t see the top of the mountains, why not head into an adventure park for the afternoon… Well LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING… this thing was no picnic. They literally give you a harness and a say “have fun” … Check it out:the nugmy dad…. So here’s the crux: There was a “rope swing” (ps. there’s no belay or anything… no one to check and made sure you’re secured correctly… no nothin’– you fall= your fault. no waiver either! I LOVE EUROPE!) … the “rope swing” was such that you had a pretty decent free fall–you hang on and swing to a webbing that you then must catch in order to detach yourself from the rope swing and onto the webbing…? Check it:then:(uh…yeah that’s my dad) He was the first to go… this thing legitimately scared the poop out of me… Dad dove right in without a problem… ?? (only casualty was a broken finger… but who needs ten functional fingers anyway)Needless to say these were needed after the “parco adventuro” … Fred, Jacopo, Dad. Les garcons. Dinner that night was an Italian recommendation… incredible… as all food is in Italy…

OK Andy… Notes on the French McDonalds

Rachael — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:55:00 +0000

So during our 2,600 km road trip around the entire country for my birthday holiday… Kelly and I–needless-to-say–stopped at NUMEROUS (sometimes two in one day) McDonalds. Out here the cool kids call it “MacDou”. Subsequently I thought it appropriate to take notes on the experience of french fries at various different french McDonalds… My first MacDou’s in France was in Valence… Kelly and I had to leave the toll road and actually ask the toll-worker “Il y a une MacDou dans Valence?” — really? … two american girls driving around a rental car attempting to find a McDonalds- in FRANCE? The toll-worker laughed (at us) not with us… and spit out something that sounded like there might be a golden arches somewhere if we continued “tout droit” (straight)… but we second guessed ourselves as we realized that “driot” alone is to the right? Greeeaaat. Whatever. We giggled and drove around for 30 minutes until we found what we had been looking for. We ordered and stood around for a bit thinking that our food would come out as fast as it does in the states. As we waited we watched the manager eat a burger while directing his employees during a busy time. When was the last time you saw a McDonalds employee eating McDonalds? Our food took forever turns out even fastfood in france is on the french clock… our food had to be taken out to us. I sat between two women breast feeding…? While I sat contemplating this fact, I noticed a security guard opening the door for customers arriving and leaving? The MacDou’s had bar booths complete with pillars and club music pumping… My Big Mac had no ketchup, no mustard, and only “salad sauce”. My coke had no ice. My M&M’s McFlurry had peanuts. My tray came with no straw, no napkins, and no ketchup for my fries nor could they be found anywhere in the restaurant. We later discovered that you need to ask the person you order from for all of the above — Good talk. The manager (that had just eaten the burger) noticed that we were not familiar with these MacDou methods and proceeded to check on us twice… ? …. at McDonalds?? The next 6 McDou’s I stuck with the “cheeseburger” — it was a good bet… usually extremely fresh considering NO ONE orders the cheeseburger in France… they prefer the “M” = a burger with only cheese and mayo on stale ciabatta? F-ing disgusting…. (I tried it and couldn’t finish) ?? One of my favorite MacDou’s stories was our last experience with the golden arches… Kelly and I arrived at a drive through that was supposed to open at 11:00 am… we drove through twice looking for the appropriate window/com board to place our order… on our third pass (we were determined to be as smart at the drive through) we saw that the manager racing over to unlock the window for us to start-up the drive through service…we were the first drive through of the day… it was NOON … on a friday…?? Welcome to McDou in France. Thing is… it’s still good–worth driving through three more times if need be… Delicious little slice of American heaven in every cheeseburger. McDonalds transcends regardless. hell-O?……….. anyone awake?

Last time I Frontier

Rachael — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:37:54 +0000

Went to Last Frontier Heli Operation in Northern BC. Best Part of the trip= Hanging out with Kevin, Cory, and my new found Rowdesian friends: Chris and Pete. Thanks for being rad guys! Not to mention the rad staff there at the operation– the bar-tender was one of the coolest girls I’ve met all year! So frankly– didn’t get to ski much, and what we did ski was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. We did some REALLY really mellow skiing. But- o well- the window shopping was incredible.

Wrap up Bald Face

Rachael — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:09:23 +0000

I win… what did you win Rach? – I just won– sweet snow, people, lodge, beer = winning. wake up to this….. leave this…bring along R2…..and shred around here for a while.

Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Rachael — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:27:29 +0000

green beer on St. Patty’s Day… cliche? -not if you’re drinking wildcat afterwards. uh. yeah. wildcat in a cozy cat/sled/chopper-access cabin outside of Nelson BC?! Pretty damn good deal. Then…. go to sleep after partying with the coolest staff imaginable up here at Bald Face Cat Skiing Op. Pretend then that it snows about 6 or maybe 10 cm’s over night and you shred all day in untouched powder? i didn’t have to pretend today- that was my reality? ? I don’t know how i got so lucky. oh yeah–ride guide. stoked. shred dog Tyson- killing it today.left to right: Killer shred-tastic guide Joel Mcburnie extraordinaire, shred-dog I-go-huge-Tyeson Carmody, sir-stomps-a-lot Peter Velisek, star-fish Burks, his eyes are the color of beautiful “since you’ve met John”-Laing, I guide-while-I-slay cliffs-Ty Mills-extraordinaire, Angry Midget shredder-faceshotswithatripod-Mike-the-camera-MAN Benedek. WHAT A CREW!!! “let’s just find the rowdiest terrain we can and shred it.”, “ok”. This was below Ghostcycle today– but the cake was taken at Pacific Ocean. beach party? this is truly a picture of a pig in shit.

Wrap up Chamonix

Rachael — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:46:28 +0000

First meal in Cham– Thanks to Jaccopo and his lovely girlfriend Jenny I successfully made it to Italy after arriving in Geneva. I stayed with them and Pumba the hound for a couple of days in Courmayuer. food was awesome–dinner the last night was a treat– good times.So much fun– good new friends. stoked to spend time in france and italy. hope the snow gets a little better though. good times all around though.

Sun Valley Feb 1st

Rachael — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:26:18 +0000

Spent a few days in Sun Valley with my family for Superbowl weekend. Cassidy came up and hung out for a few days. Jill took us around in Ketchum as she usually does… I had a blast with my brother, Cass, Ivana, Marta, and Jill out for a night. Then the real treat was skiing with Andy Sabatier and Zack Leader. Both guys were patient enough to wait for the gong show that unavoidably is myself and my family when attempting to coordinate. Once we got together they took us for an INCREDIBLE ski through the ‘burn zone’ off the backside of Bald Mountain. My brother launched a huge fronty and my dad went off his first cliff ever at 55! WHAT? Not only GREAT POWDER; it was surreal and special. I needed this day of skiing. It was incredible. Thanks to Andy Sabatier I was out and shredding again for the first time in three weeks…