It's nearly time...

Click-snap.

A noise unlike any other. The sound of a ski boot buckle shutting.

After months of anticipation, it's this that finally makes it real. We're almost down to the wire: checking our kit, counting out socks. Battling to remember that thing we've forgotten, and hoping it's not important.

It's 384 days since we came off the mountain - the longest break since I started skiing in 2006 - and at last, Whistler Odyssey 2012 waits in the wings.

The mountains need no introduction. After an unforgettable month in 2011 - and a terrible season in the Alps - our choice of 2012 venue was a shortlist of one. Not everyone loves Whistler and it's not perfect by any means. But for us, the sheer variety of terrain make a compelling case - from lose-your-lunch alpine bowls to whisper-smooth trails to serene glades. Combine that with great food, quality accommodation and Canadian hospitality, and it's near-unbeatable.

This year's Odyssey will be different. After the 28 day, open-house marathon that was Odyssey 2011, 2012 will be smaller, tighter, more focused. Three people, eleven days. Between us we've amassed nearly seven months on these mountains. We think we know the place.

But we don't.

Over the better part of two weeks, Whistler and her shy sister Blackcomb will beguile and enchant, frustrate and terrify. They'll be consistent only in providing fresh surprises every day. As always, I'll try to provide a bit of the story along with pictures and video.

Odyssey 2011 had its share of ups and downs but was, overall, a huge success. As the wheels of this trip start rolling, I'll say what I said last year: we've worked hard to make this happen. Come what may, we're going to embrace it.

One sleep and twelve hours until the coach whisks us up to Heathrow. The mountains are waiting...