In March of 2012 “Lucky” Luke Dillon won the Whistler Sabbatical Project and came to town for a one-month, all-inclusive Whistler dream vacation. Along with his skiing partner “Tag-along” Tim, Luke enjoyed a powder filled month of Whistler adventure. The hook was set and Luke and Tim promised “They’d be back.”
In March 2013 Luke and Tim did return, but this time there’s no free rides and they’re couch surfing with friends. But the skiing is as incredible as ever and nothing says “Welcome back to Canada” like an NHL hockey game. Check it out.
Week One
The good fortune continues for Whistler Sabbatical Project winner “Lucky” Luke Dillon and his ski buddy Tim. In their first week in Whistler, over a metre of fresh snow fell and the boys hooked up with Extremely Canadian owner Peter Smart for some steep and deep freeskiing clinics.
“Peter Smart is more comfortable on skis than most people are on two feet,” Luke says. “He showed us parts of the mountain that really get your heart racing.”
“If a five tonne cornice directly over your head doesn’t get your heart pounding, you are either very brave or very stupid,” adds Tim. “Pete says things like, “watch the rocks, and the cliff…Trust me you don’t want to go over the cliff.'”
“A couple of runs with Pete and some of his tips and tricks really had a huge impact on our confidence and technique,” Luke says.”It was extremely challenging and equally rewarding. A day with Extremely Canadian means proper skiing; you will never look at snow the same way again.”
Check out this short video of Luke, Tim and Peter making the most of a week’s worth of fresh.
Week Two
Two videos this week as Whistler Sabbatical Project winner “Lucky” Luke Dillon and his buddy Tim cap off their one-month, powder-filled sabbatical by hopping in a helicopter for some virgin pow and bluebird skies with Whistler Heli-Skiing’s head guide, John Furneaux. Living the dream and the video is above.
As the snowstorms kept rolling in the boys embarked on a day of deep tree skiing with Whistler local and Olympic Skicross gold medalist Ashleigh McIvor. Ever see a double double-ejection before?
Week Three
Whistler Sabbatical Project winner Lucky Luke and his buddy Tim have been enjoying the snowiest March on record but all that powder skiing hasn’t stopped them from jumping into some of their other Whistler Sabbatical experiences. This week The Insider presents two short videos as the boys hook up with Olympic bobsleigh coach Pat Brown for a blast down the track at the Whistler Sliding Centre, and then head out with legendary Whistler local Ace MacKay-Smith for a night of GoGo dancing on the speaker. Bobsleigh is up top, GoGo’s below…Enjoy.
Week Four
Whistler Sabbatical Project winner “Lucky” Luke Dillon and his trusty sidekick Tim Davis finished their action-packed month in Whistler on April 18, 2012, but winter has since refused to let go. With fresh snow in the alpine this morning you can bet the boys, who skied every single day of their month in town, would be up there ripping another day of fresh lines in Spanky’s Ladder. (Luke and Tim also managed 31 straight après sessions, which is incredibly admirable.)
The boys are back home in England now but their enthusiasm and adventurous spirit will not soon be forgotten. (Plus i have a feeling we will see them back here soon enough…) In the meantime, enjoy this video of the experiences and lessons learned on their incredible one-month Whistler Sabbatical.
