The end of 2011 became really hectic for me. Patrol had started up and was as busy and physically demanding as ever, I took and completed my Canadian Avalanche Association Operations Level 1 course and then Christmas hit. Christmas is an insane time for everyone, which is why I was so pumped when my complete 2012 Norco Sight showed up at Fanatyk Co’s doorstep on Christmas Eve.

2012 Norco Sight - so pumped!

The Sight 1 weighs in at just over 27lbs with a Rockshox Reverb and tires with tubes (rather than the tubeless conventional seatpost weigh in that happens a lot). This is nothing short of impressive for me, especially since I’ve spent years pedalling 34lb + bikes until now. I took it out for a shred with Gunner, Strand and Paulo a week and a half ago in Squamish and it pedaled super well (Shimano ten speed with the new XTR derailleur!) and shredded on the descents. I think I’m gonna love this one – and why wouldn’t I – it was designed by Owen Pemberton and PJ Hunton, the rockstars who brought us the Aurum!

Thanks Norco. So stoked to be a part of the program again.

-Leishner

It saddens me to add my first post in a while as a note about my friend Duncan Mackenzie, who passed away a week ago today in an avalanche in Caspar Creek just outside of Pemberton.

The news had come to both the skiing and biking world last week as a shock. Duncan was a good skier, a great person and incredibly knowledgeable in the backcountry. I saw him last Thursday morning as I prepared for an avalanche control start on my Monday and he got ready to head out with his friends to Caspar Creek (three other patrollers who are insanely experienced and skilled both in rescues and snow safety alike)…he was so pumped.

There are about a million details of my last few encounters with Duncan that have been ripping through my head like wildfire but the bottom line is that he was a great guy. In my rookie year of ski patrol, he would take the longer sweeps that I would be left with at the end of the day (that no one else wanted) so I could make it to work at Fanatyk Co on time. This past Christmas day, he figured out who all the patrollers were who were out working, pulling “wrecks”, etc, and saved us each a specially marked plate of dinner that had been made by two other patrollers (a Whistler Mountain Ski Patrol Christmas tradition). He didn’t take credit for it. He just did it.

Tomorrow is his “Celebration of Life” at the Telus Conference Centre in Whistler, which, I doubt will be big enough even though it’s likely the biggest venue in the Sea to Sky. In a way, I’m looking forward to it. It has been a gnarly, gnarly week and I’m ready to celebrate my friend Duncan, try to say goodbye with my friends who knew him and loved him and smile when I think of him. There have been so many painful, gutwrenching moments since last Thursday and I really can’t do them any justice in words. I will miss him forever and I will appreciate the time I did spend with him, laughing, carpooling, skiing and chatting on early mornings in the locker room. My heartfelt condolences go to his family, his best friends and his girlfriend who he adored and admired so much…

Rest in peace, Duncan. You will be missed.