Sad day here at Vagabond Lodge and personally of course.  We lost a great guy, great person and one crazy son of a bitch. He was a piece of work to say the least. 
Bill James has stayed with us since we basically opened 10 years ago for a ski holiday.  One winter he came twice  and he was from Australia.  He has been fighting cancer for the past year and his wife Helen informed us today he has passed away. The photos above are of Bill holding court behind the bar.  
Bill could be found behind our bar every night holding court with whomever there was to talk too with a case of corona at this side. I remember on numerous occasions he would go to bed when there was nobody to tell stories to, only to return a few minutes later when he heard other guests come back from dinner. He was an entertainer and a character. Everyone knew Bill.  Bill and Helen not only enjoyed their stay here but also made sure they got to know the Golden area and always made a point of checking out the bars and restaurants in town every time they were here.  One winter they skied basically every ski area in Western Canada.  If there was a lift in town,  he was skiing there. Bill's wishes were to have his ashes spread at Kicking Horse. 
I did find a video I shot a couple years ago of Bill skiing and have posted it below.  
RIP Bill.  We love you. 

Ken and Lori

December 7th isn't far away now. That is the opening date for Kicking Horse Resort and of course Vagabond Lodge.  The resort has tagged December 7/8 as a Sneak Preview Weekend as it will be only open for 2 days skiing.  It will then reopen for the season on December 13th.  With the big dump of snow we got last week, with 60 cms in 48 hours to go along with the other snow we had already, it should be a pretty good weekend for skiing.  Usually the top part is really good.  We shall see.  Can't wait until I can head up to T2, which is my favourite run at Kicking Horse. We obviously have some rooms available for the opening weekend.  
One of the top women skiers in the world Lynsey Dyer stayed with us last ski season.  She was here with 2 other young ladies, Jacqui Edgerle and Lexi DuPont to shoot a video for National Georgraphic on the Powder Highway.  Lynsey had some nice things to stay about her stay at Vagabond Lodge in her blog.  Check it out by clicking Here. 
Here is a short video of part of their shoot in Vagabond Lodge last year.  

Yikes...woke up to another foot of snow. Overall we have gotten around 60 cms of snow in the past couple days and overnight it was another 37 cms.  Needless to say I spent most of the day shovelling snow.  I think this may have been one of the biggest dumps of snow we have received since we opened 10 years ago.  This should set the stage for an early opening although I am not sure what Kicking Horse is waiting for??  Rumours have been running rampant they will open on the weekend of December 7/8 and then daily on December 13th.  There is nothing holding them back now.  Lets do it guys.    
More photos from today around Vagabond Lodge to give you an idea of the snowfall. 

I suspect any day now, Kicking Horse will announce an early opening for the season.  It has been snowing steadily for the past couple days and off and on for the past week pretty heavily.  We probably have gotten at least 20 or 30 cms over the past few days and it is puking pretty good right now.  The official opening day is December 13 but strong rumours suggest they will open the weekend before.  
Here are a few photos from this morning.  Reminder we still have some availability for New Years.  Give us a call at 250 344 2622 or toll free in North America at 1 866 944 2622.  You can also email me at ken@vagabondlodge.ca

Okay...winter is here to stay now.  We always get a good dump of snow around this time and this year was no exception.  It pretty well snowed all day and into the evening.  We tried to go in the evening to a house party south of Golden and it was snowing so heavily we turned back about half way and returned home.  This morning it looked like about 20cms of snow here at the base of the resort.  Needless to say we spent most of the morning shovelling snow.  
Here are a few photos of what it looked like this morning. 
The resort is opening daily on December 13th but speculation is they will open early if we keep getting snow.  

We have been having some snow off and on for the past month at the top of the mountain but until today, really nothing much around Vagabond Lodge. It has been snowing pretty well all day and this is what it looked like this morning in the plaza area.  
Yes it is starting to look like winter and a great ski season coming up. The resort opens for daily operation on December 13th but if we continue to get snow, I would think it will open for the weekend prior or even two weekends prior to December 13th.  
Bring it on!!