The skiing buddy i never had.

I'm very attached to my backpack. I take it everywhere. It's been with me almost every day at uni, on every camp, and on every ski trip I've been on since I first bought it in 2006. At first it felt a little bit wierd skiing with a pack, although it was less the skiing and more the sitting on the chairlift, but over time, i've gotten so used to having it, I don't know how to ski without it. It's an extention of me.

Now my jacket has about twenty different pockets on it, inside and out, but i don't really like carrying things in my jacket. It makes me feel bulky and everything bounces around everywhere. I prefer to have it all in one area. It's a better weight distribution, better balance, and its also just appears more pro style. So i only carry my ipod, camera and phone in my jacket along with the lift pass and resort map. The rest goes on my back. Normally i fill it up with pretty useful things, although i tend to also pack some rather redundant items too. I've been carrying around an extra pair of padded boot inserts this whole week in there, just in case my feet get sore enough on the mountain that i need to slot them in. But its mainly for extra layers for when the weather quickly changes on the slopes. In the morning it might be beautiful sunshine and i decide that just sunnies are the answer, but by 11am the clouds roll in and i have to swap over and stick on the balaclava, beanie and goggles. Having it all in the pack is essential for these quick transitions. (insert gratuitous vanity shots of self thinly disguised as an illustration of the blog topic)

Here's a list of what i've always and often carried in my backpack this trip.

Thick brown beanie.
Thinner blue beanie (for when it snows, because the brown beanie is too big to fit under my jacket hood)
Gloves
Spare gloves (for a while i was so good at losing gloves i always had to carry a spare pair)
Goggles
Sunglasses
Balaclava
Neck Warmer
Jumper
Detachable Jacket Hood
Spare socks (don't do this anymore, but used to like swapping socks just before going home)
Boot inserts (I normally stick these in my boots, but this trip they came provided at the rental place, so my own pair just been in my backpack the whole time... just in case.)
Snacks.
Water Bottle.
Lunches (in Whistler, we made our own lunches on most days, so a pack was useful)
Suncreen
Lip Balm / Paw Paw
Wallet

I used to carry a book with me, just in case (of what, i don't know) but i realised the hard way that my backpack isn't entirely waterproof and snow melts straight through it...

On all my adventures over the years, my backpack has always been there alongside me. It saved me once when i took a tumble and it softened the blow against a bit of a rock. It almost killed me another time when the waist buckle got caught in the chairlift seat and it almost took me for an extra ride. But its always been there, through thick and thin. And it's never been left behind. It's a true adventure veteran. The skiing buddy I never had.

It's starting to get pretty worn through these days and I'm thankful uni is over now so it can get a bit more rest between trips. It's bloody tough, amazing quality, held some very heavy loads and never looked like tearing. It's sold me on Caribee as a brand for sure. (And it was only $79.95 no more to pay!). I might cry the day it falls apart. It will be like losing a best friend.

But before then I'll probably replace it with a smaller camelback pack with the awesome drinking tube thing. I've always wanted one of those. Cos they're fully pro.