Life Before and After the TGR Whistler Premiere

Normal people enjoy four seasons of the year. Obsessive skiers travel the globe chasing only one. I, on the other hand, divide the year in two; the wait from Gaper Day until the TGR/Gaper Day Whistler Premieres, and the blurry white mess of winter that spans until the next Gaper Day. This year was no exception. Whistler Blackcomb's ski season was wicked until the bitter end (Gaper Day, May 24, 2010), and the wait for winter and ski industry life is now officially over - because TGR and Gaper Day premieres just dropped in Whistler!

Baam! Game on for winter and no looking back. Millennium Place theatre was packed from wall to wall with another 2-show sell out crowd, skiers came out of the woodworks to perv on some satisfaction-guaranteed ski porn, and old-guard shredders combed the audience looking for the new faces in town.

The night kicked off with our usual special treat for movie-goers - the world premiere of the Gaper Day 2010 short film. When heckles and laughter subsided, we rolled out more free stuff than we've ever gathered for a premiere. Lucky skiers went home with new skis from presenting sponsor Atomic, skis from K2, a Whistler Blackcomb Season Pass, Surefoot's new Contura X1 Liner and Custom Orthodics, and more goodies from Smith Optics, Comor, The North Face and Smartwool.

Things got off to a rocky start when the bomb was dropped that TGR had cancelled the 3D segment, and then some white-balance projector funkiness, but the excessive carnage and radness quickly took over the mood. The local boys represented, and TGR didn't dissapoint. Stay tuned for our film review coming out shortly.

The night just might have ended there, if it weren't for a stash of beers courtesy of RECCO waiting for people at the Longhorn, and a Backcountry Snowcats 2-day catskiing trip up for grabs! It came down to a battle of galactic proportions that only the Longhorn could pull off. Let's just say it involved 10 red balloons, matches, flaming shots, musical chairs, and elimination, until Graham Driedger claimed victory. Judging by how long he was bouncing, we're pretty sure he REALLY wants to go catskiing. And he will...

And of course congratulations to Sheila Rivers who won the Whistler Blackcomb Season Pass earlier in the night!

Thanks to everyone who came out, and to our sponsors for hooking you all up with so much swag!