So tired & head is full of avalanche knowledge

I have two days left on my Level 1 Ops course. We have been out on the mountain every day, touring, digging snow pits, and trying to cram as much knowledge in our heads as possible. I am exhausted. Legs and arms hurt. So tired, but going to sleep means time not spent studying or practicing transceiver searches.

I've learned so much over the past few days, and really feel a lot more comfortable going out on the mountains. Not sure if I've learned enough yet for the tests at the end of the week?

Skiing has been great. For some reason, I felt really nervous the first day or two (had to do with me tweaking my knee first turn of the course) but now starting to get some good turns and getting that surfboard feeling under my skis.

Today I built my first ever pit, and did a pretty good job (although the instructor did help with some of the digging). Starting to actually see what's going on with snow layers, crystal formations. Not sure if I'll ever really like peeing in the snow. I'm sure everyone's seen my bare butt by now.

So tired, contacts are sticking to my eyeballs. Not even able to type coherent paragraphs, although the sentences still seem okay. Time to do some more summaries of the day's observations, pack my bag, and head to bed.

A detour on the way to Powder Monashee Mountains

I'm on my way to the Powder Monashee Mountains to take my Avalanche Ops Level 1 course. Was planning to make it all the way to Vernon, but we didn't leave Whistler until 2:30 this afternoon. So now I'm chilling at the Holiday Inn in Kelowna, drinking some beer, wondering what this course is going to be like.

Lessons learned today:
1. Ski pole baskets are impossible to find in Whistler
2. Trying to find last-minute items, such as a cheap snow thermometer, never works.
3. When driving somewhere you've never been, it's a good idea to check a map before you leave. And also a good idea to check before you take a right at the fork in the road, when you really have no idea if you should go right or left. (For the record, I should have gone left. It would have saved an hour of driving).

I guess I'm also a bit nervous about the course. I'm a bit rusty on my beacon searches. But I've had a lot of touring experience and everyone tells me there's lots of practice time during the course. So cross your fingers for me, and I'll do my best to study hard and learn as much as I can.