When you’re a little kid from Ontario, and all you care about is skiing, having an Uncle that lives in a van in Whistler kind of makes him a celebrity. Therefore, when you get to go visit your van dwelling Uncle, it’s kind of like skiing with a celebrity. I was always trying to be one of the first ones down to the lift so I could ride the chair with you and listen to stories of lines you had skied last week, hoping that one day you’d take me there, and dude did you ever.

In the fall of 2019 I migrated from east to west, as most Paul’s do at some point, eager to clock some serious hours on two planks. I soon realized that if I wanted to ski all those places I once heard stories of on the chairlift I was going to need to start skiing uphill. I remember my introductory tour up Flute and Oboe, trying to figure out how my pin bindings worked while you were halfway to the top. That became the norm for the first little while, me tripping over my skins and then gunning it up to the top to try to catch up with you. Eventually, I figured out what I was doing (or so I thought) and started breaking trail, only to hear “why are you putting in so many damn switch-backs you big baby?” - looking back to see that classic smirk while you cackled at your own joke, let’s call it constructive criticism. At the bottom of every run I would be losing my mind over the blower pow we had just skied, always to be congratulated with a “welcome to the big leagues!” - thanks for that.

On the skin track I’d point at a different peak or a line and ask you about it, your response would always be a story about how you shuffled there or boot packed it and say “Dude, I’ve got to take you there” - and sure enough you would. Too many good days to count, always ending with tired legs and shit-eating grins.

Soon enough the conversation switched to mountain biking. You’d tell me about all your favourite trails in the valley and say “Dude, I’ve got to take you there”. Clearly the golf addiction had taken over in recent years and it had been a while since you rode a lot of these trails, this was evident on our first venture up to Billy Epic. Early May and the snow is starting to thaw out most of the trails but Billy Epic starts at about 1000m. I suggest taking a newer climbing trail up the frontside as it might have less snow but your response was “Dude, you’re new. We climb up from Alpine, that’s how we did it back in the day”. We made it about two thirds of the way up the climb before we hit the snow. Not too deep at first, but soon we were pushing our bikes through about 2 feet of rotten snow that filled our shoes. I kept looking back wanting so desperately to say “I told you so”, but held back until we got to the top. You kept your head down and kept pushing, stating “we’re almost there, it’s just around the corner” - this went on for about 2 kms. At the top with soaked feet and snow caked bikes we could just see the top of the climbing trail that I had suggested, bone dry sitting in the sun. I looked over, trying to mimic that classic smirk gave you a signature Al Paul “dude, I told you so” - this was met with laughs and something along the lines of “maybe you young guys do know something”.

Throughout the summer there was one place that you would always bring up when talking about bike trails - Disneyland. You described these perfect trails carved on the side of bluffs with velcro rock and long sustained loam sections, and you’d always finish with “dude, I’ve got to take you there”. Sure enough, true to your word, you lined up a day trip Coco and Ted (two dudes who do not have a serious golf addiction and are still well acquainted with the best climbing trail to take). It’s awfully difficult to ride your bike with your jaw dragging on the ground, but I had to make due considering these trails lived up to your praise. Always encouraging me to ride something scary, you’d pull up to a steep rock face, pull your phone out, start recording and say “you don’t have to do it if you’re scared” - reverse psychology I guess? Ted would do the same thing to you a little further down the trail and I got to witness you in your glory riding some pretty steep stuff, for a golfer haha! As always, that ride finished with sore legs and shit-eating grins.

I was riding the chairlift this past winter with Colt, he was telling me about this drop that he found on Harmony and states “dude, I’ve got to take you there!” -as if he didn’t resemble you enough already. You’ve taught that little dude so much and it’s apparent not only in his skiing, but in the way he carries himself with composure and kindness - thanks for that. I’m looking forward to many years of skiing with a mini Al Paul and getting a heavy dose of the classic Al Paul humour as a result.

Thanks for patiently waiting for be to de-ice my bindings, for letting me get first tracks, for giving me tips on my swing (“line it up with your crotch”), for showing me all the old-school tech, for letting me bunk with your kid and eat all your food, for coming to the clinic when I fell off of Air Jordan and offering the doctor tips on how to stitch up my back (paging Dr. Paul), for showing me what an appreciation for the mountains looks like, for marrying a kick-ass lady, for having a kick-ass kid, for all the laughs, and for being one of my best friends.

Dude, you’ll always be taking me there, wherever I go.

Love you forever,

Andrew

Top of Flute - leading me to the pow

Top of Billy Epic - wet feet, high stoke

What kid doesn't like Disneyland?

Top of Ladies First - the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Al Paul Forever