I’m FINALLY a credible Ski Bum

On By Rick McIn health & fitness, hiking, travelLeave a comment

For years I’ve been coming to Banff in the shoulder season SPRING for skiing and hiking.

Never a bad day in Banff. Note they moved this sign.

FINALLY in 2026, I bought a Spring Ski Pass – Midweek.

Cost CAD $584.85 for unlimited skiing at Sunshine Monday through Thursday.

Enjoy unlimited access Monday through Thursday to Canada’s Best Spring Skiing starting March 8th all the way until Slush Cup Monday May 18th with a Banff Sunshine Midweek Spring Pass.

I got my money’s worth in 2026 with 12 days on the hill.

Luckily for me Banff Sunshine Village had a historic season with 812 cm (26 feet) of total season snow. 

I usually follow the same sequence of lifts if the snow is good:

  • warm-up run on Angel
  • multiple runs on Standish
  • multiple runs on Wawa (my favourite lift)
  • Banff Avenue to base of Goat’s Eye base. Quick lunch.
  • one or more runs on the Ski Out to the parking lot
  • Goat’s Eye for the rest of the afternoon
  • Favourite run is Eagle Creek – end of day when snow is often softer
  • Ski Out to the parking lot
Eagle Creek

These days my goal is NOT to fall and get hurt, so I stay mostly on Blues and easy Black Diamond.

I try not to have my skis leave the ground. 😀

Happily, I had only one fall in 12 days. No injuries.

When picking up my pass at Sunshine Village, I noticed there is a Senior (age 65+) year long pass that’s even cheaper if you buy it mid-season, and good every day of the week. (It’s no longer advertised this late in the season — but I might buy that one instead next year.)

If I was 45 years younger, with an Aussie accent, I’d fit right in with the real ski bums & snow bunnies spending their winter in Banff.

Sponsored by Helly Hansen and Gorilla Duct Tape 😀 (A.I. photo)

There are 3 hostels in Banff, by far the least expensive accommodation.

I usually stay at Samesun Banff, about CAD $200 for 3 nights in a 6 bed dorm. With breakfast.

Free ski bus picks up and drops off on the same block. So convenient.

Spring is a fantastic time to be in Banff. It’s so beautiful — without the crowds.

No photo editing.

One highlight for me is watching Elk wander town.

When I’m not skiing, I’m HIKING. Spring hiking can be magical.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Hey. On April 16, 2026, Banff Sunshine was named the “Best Overall Ski Resort” for the 2025/2026 ski season by users of OnTheSnow, the world’s most visited snow sports website. 


ALBERTA PATRIOTS – JOIN THE Bloc Albérta

On By Rick McIn GOP USA, government, humourLeave a comment

Obviously, Danielle Smith is a TRAITOR to the cause of Alberta Independence. 

Join the newest extreme right wing fringe party, Bloc Albérta. 

Paid for by a supporter of Naheed Nenshi and the Alberta NDP. 😀 

Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

This book explores the complexities of aging, loneliness, and the “extraordinary resilience” of ordinary people.

Olive Kitteridge is the 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning book adapted for an the HBO miniseries starring Frances McDormand.

Olive, Again (2019) is a sequel, 13 short stories that are interrelated but discontinuous.

The sequel is similar — but I’d argue even better than the original.

Olive Kitteridge is now in her seventies and eighties.

Still blunt, unkind, and insensitive — but less so. Seems she’s gotten a little more mellow.

In her review for The Washington Post, Joan Frank gave the novel a positive review, calling it “arguably better than the original” and writing, “Sentences flow in simplest words and clearest order — yet line after line hammers home some of the most complex human rawness you’ll ever read.”

I was surprisingly intrigued with the chapter called Cleaning:

A teenage girl, Kayley, develops an unsettling arrangement with her employer while struggling with her own awakening and the loss of her father.

Neither book is a must read in my opinion.

BUT, as I get elderly, I find I’m more interested in old farts.

I can relate.

Olive Kitteridge – 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel

On By Rick McIn books, TVLeave a comment

I’m surprised this novel won the Pulitzer. You can argue it’s a short story collection.

Also, Olive Kitteridge is not a particularly likeable protagonist. Retired math teacher, she’s often blunt, unkind, and insensitive.

She is certainly memorable. And authentic. Perhaps slightly on the autistic spectrum.

Some people appreciate her honesty. A few.

The writing is OK, not brilliant. But I did appreciate tiny insights into daily life, not often acknowledged out loud.

Olive Kitteridge is a 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Elizabeth Strout and a critically acclaimed 2014 HBO miniseries.

Both tell the story of a misanthropic yet complex retired schoolteacher living in the fictional coastal town of Crosby, Maine.

The narrative explores themes of depression, family dysfunction, and the quiet tragedies of ordinary life over a 25-year span.

Written by Elizabeth Strout, the book is a “short story cycle” consisting of 13 interrelated but discontinuous stories.

While Olive is the central figure, she sometimes only appears as a minor character or cameo in certain chapters, allowing the book to paint a broader picture of the community.

Frances McDormand produced the series, specifically seeking out the role to highlight complex stories for older actors.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Devil Wears Prada 2

On By Rick McIn moviesLeave a comment

GREAT movie.

I’m surprised.

With zero interest in the fashion industry, I never saw the original.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 sequel reunites the core creative team and original lead cast to follow the characters navigating the modern, digital-first media landscape twenty years after the events of the original 2006 film.

Cast is fantastic.

Stanley Tucci as Stanley Tucci is always great.

But it was Justin Theroux playing a rich idiot that surprised me the most.

Gaga was hiliarous.

The dozens of celebrities doing cameos must have had a lot of fun.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Even if you hate high fashion and mourn the victims that pay for that overpriced crap, see this film.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole – season 1

On By Rick McIn books, TVLeave a comment

Jon “Jo” Nesbø is a Norwegian novelist and musician. His books had sold over 50 million copies worldwide by 2021, making him the most successful Norwegian author to date.

Detective Hole, the Norweigan TV adaptation, is based on the book The Devil’s Star, one of Nesbø’s best.

I’d actually given up on the books because self-destructive Oslo police detective Harry Hole was too much of an asshole. And the books too violent.

He’s slightly more likeable in the TV show.

But there’s gore. Graphic violence. Alcoholism. It’s hard to watch, at times.

The cast is great.

The look of the show is striking. “… dark, gritty color grade characteristic of Scandi noir, … heavily utilizing orange tones in the lighting. This intense, moody aesthetic, characterized as “gloriously grim,” 

Tom Waaler (Joel Kinnaman) is scary believable.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

End of Story by A.J. Finn

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

If you like a murder mystery where it’s not easy to guess the killer, this book is for you.

You might not like the final reveal as it’s highly improbable.

End of Story is a 2024 psychological thriller by A.J. Finn (the pen name of Daniel Mallory), who also wrote the bestseller The Woman in the Window.

Set in San Francisco, it is a thriller about a young woman writing the biography of a celebrated crime writer. …

Chris Hewitt of the Star Tribune praised the novel’s plot and scene-setting, concluding that “Finn is an assured, witty writer with a gift for entertaining description and sharp instincts.

The Times of London noted “… a critic may query the slow pacing,” and concluded that Finn is “more skilful stylist than original auteur, there’s no doubt that he can write, and well.”

Upcoming Adventures: SKI ➙ HIKE ➙ BIKE

On By Rick McIn best bike rides, cycling, friends, health & fitness, hiking, travelLeave a comment

“Man plans, and God laughs”

I’m staying closer to home due to Trump’s stupid, unnecessary war.

Starting my 4th week of skiing out of Banff.

I have a permit to backpack a couple of weeks on the world’s best long thru hike – the Pacific Crest Trail. Starting May 26th out of Palm Springs, California.

AND I want to get back to Banff by June 12th (or shortly after) to start the Tour Divide – the world’s most famed long distance cycling route Canada to Mexico.

I won’t be trying for Mexico.

From Missoula, Montana I’ll divert to Idaho. And on to Kelowna, B.C. for a reunion with lifelong friends.

Here’s my cycling itinerary.

What could go wrong? 😀

… I’d say the odds of everything going to plan are about 25%. BUT that’s why it’s adventure.

Wish me luck.

Viscount Bennett High School Reunion in 2026

On By Rick McIn about RickLeave a comment

For the past 2 years, I’ve made it to the ALL YEARS Viscount Bennett High School Reunion hosted at Schanks Sports Bar on the first Saturday night of May.

In 2025 we had many of my 1975 grad cohorts — it was our 50th.

In 2026 by the time I left, we had only 6 graduates from 1975.

Viscount Bennett is today demolished. As are some of us elderly grads. 😀

Hope Rises by David Baldacci

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

I enjoyed the first book in this series — Nash Falls — so downloaded the 2026 sequel.

Hope Rises finds our hero, Walter Nash, living under the alias Dillon Hope.

Having transformed from a gentle businessman into a skilled operative, Nash is working as an FBI informant to infiltrate the inner circle of global criminal leader Victoria Steers.

Nash’s primary mission is to dismantle Steers’ empire and exact revenge for the loss of his family. However, as he penetrates her operation, he uncovers shocking truths that force him to choose between completing his mission and protecting the woman he previously viewed only as a monster.

Baldacci’s books have been improving in recent years.

This one, too, is far more sophisticated than his shoot-em-up, save the world thrillers of old.

I give him A for effort.

BUT … the book is far inferior to Nash Falls.

If you think of the complicated plot for even 30 seconds, you’ll see it makes no sense. NONE of the characters act logically.

OK, Thura: penniless guy from Burma acts logically.

related – a positive review