I got the job!
After all the uncertainty, I was ecstatic to move back to Banff, working in a job that I really enjoyed.
The people I worked with had become my best friends, like family, and I was happy to go to work every day, I felt like I had a sense of belonging and direction in life again and of course, the pay was very relieving to have. Besides actually working- our hours were filled with chatting, laughing and joking around, which I always look back on (to this day) with fondness. It was coming into full blown winter by November 2018, even though the snow had been falling since I first got to Banff in September, it hadn’t stopped and the weather was slowly getting colder AND colder! It was weather I’d never experienced before and had many doubts about… yet, I thrived in it. I also couldn’t wait for my first Christmas in Banff, which was just around the corner!
I was in staff accommodation on the corner of Beaver Street in downtown Banff and shared with three great guys, Blair, James and Courtney, two of them from Australia and one from England. Courtney eventually moved out, with Jack moving in to work up with us on Tunnel Mountain. Anyone knows with housemates, sometimes initially it’s challenging to find your flow, but we were all very lucky and grateful in the fact that we got along so well and had an excellent sense of community between us.
When I wasn’t working, I was either hiking or sightseeing around Banff, I loved hiking up Tunnel Mountain or Sulphur Mountain, walking up to Bow Falls to the Fairmont, through the Hoodoo Trail and Surprise Corner. In the mornings I made it my little routine to visit my favourite cafe Wildflower by myself or with my housemates for a coffee. In the evenings and at night, I usually went out my friends, either to play pool or party. Banff is known for the nightlife, with events going on every night of the week in different pubs or clubs along the downtown strip; the normal was Wild Bill’s on a Tuesday, Wine Wednesday at the Rose and Crown, pub crawl with the HI Hostel on Friday or Saturday and all clubs were open such as The Gap, Sasquatch and High Rollers for the entire week. It was an epic place to be at twenty years old.
Sunshine Village opened in early November, and I was so excited to start snowboarding. I got most of my gear from Dylan and a few items of clothing off Banff Buy and Sell and I went up for my first time with Ellen and Lily. I didn’t have a helmet and had never done snowboarding in my life so my first day I spent on the bunny hill practicing and getting used to my boots and board. It was the most surreal experience going up on the Gondola and seeing that much snow. I’d only ever been skiing once during high school so being at one of the best ski villages in Canada, I was blown away. Once I got a helmet, I moved onto the green runs, then blue runs and it took me about four weeks to feel somewhat confident. I loved being beginner, no matter how many times I fell over or got stuck in the snow, I laughed my way through it because I just thought it was the best thing ever, I was too busy having so much fun.
I met more friends who loved to snowboard and I was fortunate to have been able to snowboard with multiple friends throughout my first winter, some were better and had been snowboarding a longer than me and some were new like me. I felt like I always learnt something from the run and the people I was with, which I loved and after every day on the mountain, I was so keen to go again. The feeling of being on the mountain, cruising with my headphones in, being on the chairlift or gondola chatting and laughing with my friends, being in nature, learning something new and challenging myself everyday, made me feel so at home and so at peace.
I reflected often and came to realise I had found the best work, life balance in Banff my first winter. Taking myself for coffee before snowboarding every morning, going to work in the afternoons and either chilling or playing pool with friends at night, hiking and exploring on my days off. I’d never had a lifestyle or routine like that before and I enjoyed every single moment, I remember thinking multiple times “I’ve made it.” My lifestyle was my version of success.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed as always. Stay tuned for more posts about my travel story. If you did like this and want to reach out or ask any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or message me on my instagram the_runawayredhead.
Talk soon,
The Runaway Redhead
No comments:
Post a Comment