Gin Peak: A Trip to the Land of Snowmobiles
The snowmobile zoomed right past Maya, passing literally a few meters behind her. I held my breath to avoid inhaling the black smoke, and almost put my fingers to my ears to protect them from the racket. In the distance I could see about a dozen other snowmobiles, milling around like bees in a flower bed. But they aren’t bees, and they weren’t in a flower bed. In fact, they were in a “non-motorized” zone and in addition in the Whistler watershed – the area that Whistler gets its water from. Understandably, the residents of Whistler aren’t interested in drinking water polluted by the inherent gas and oil leaks and…
- Backcountry Skiing, Birkenhead, British Columbia (and nearby), Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Phelix Hut: Spring Skiing and the Illusion of Summer
Last weekend we headed to the Phelix Hut. There is something nice about going back to a place that you’ve been to before, especially when there is so much to explore around it. Since the drive to the trail head is pretty long, and the way up is quite long as well I always prefer to go to Phelix for more than just a weekend. So we decided to stay till Monday, but to go down early enough so I could still make it to my Spanish class in Vancouver at 6:30pm. The first thing we noticed after we started skinning up was that it was unusually warm, and especially…
Red Heather: Avoiding the Ditch
I’ve been avoiding driving up the Diamond Head Road for a few years now, since it is often icy and very dangerous. Many people don’t realize this, and on a few occasions I’ve seen four or five cars in the ditch, and tow truck drivers are said to make thousands of dollars on a good weekend there. However, it’s a great day trip – it’s only an hour away, you can drive high, the access is quick, the views are spectacular and there’s reasonably good skiing, so I do like going there once or twice a year. After a not too early wake up, we drove up (with Mirella and…
- Backcountry Skiing, British Columbia (and nearby), Sea to Sky, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Mt. Sproatt: Sprouting Wings
Yellow icicle? I never thought of this, but most icicles are clear. This icicle was more of a frozen waterfall, and although I’m not an ice climber, the thought of climbing it got me a bit excited. What were the chances that we would find an icicle, let alone the correct yellow icicle? We had been looking out for this yellow icicle, since it was our path out of the forest and into the glorious sun. On Saturday I organized a VOC trip to Mt. Sproatt, near Whistler. Ten people showed up, two of them not members of the club. We followed the directions on the VOC wiki and parked…
Phelix Hut: J. R. R. Tolkien Lives On
The well known author of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy supposedly died in 1973. However, in a small almost unknown corner of southwestern British Columbia, J. R. R. Tolkien lives on. I know this since I visited his snowy throne. Yes, with my comrades I scaled the steep ice walls of his castle, to stare face to face with the literary giant, and to view his kingdom, or failing that, at least his magnificent creations, notably: Gandalf, the white bearded wizard, his fearless and fast as lightning horse Shadowfax, and Aragorn, the tall warrior. Together, they make quite the bunch, or group of mountains, it depends…
Cuba: Cycling Journey to the Land of Socialism and Endless Coconuts
When you think of Cuba, what do you think of? Perhaps Fidel Castro, Cuban cigars, cheap rum, old American cars, communism and the US embargo come to mind. But the experiences we had, such as riding alongside more horse carts than cars, gulping coconut after coconut given to us for free and watching kids ride to school on a tractor, never failed to surprise us, and gave us a glimpse of another Cuba. A Cuba that keeps marching on to its own special drum, despite huge obstacles that have been put in front of it (thanks in large part to Uncle Sam). Not all Cubans are happy, naturally, but Cuba,…
- Backcountry Skiing, British Columbia (and nearby), Sea to Sky, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Telemagique Ridge: Blue Skies + Powder = Magic?
This weekend I organized an “intermediate friendly” trip to Telemagique Ridge. I chose this destination since I was hoping that the high access road would cut down our elevation gain to get to the good snow, especially important for a day trip in mid winter, when the days are short. We woke up “dark and early” and drove up the Sea to Sky. Speaking of the sky, it was clear, very clear. It was starting to look like stellar weather, better hurry up to get to the trailhead. I was feeling giddy, hyperactive, charged and ready to go. At the trailhead, it was quite chilly at -10c, cold enough to…
Bagley Lake: Soft Start to the Ski Season?
On the Remembrance Day Long Weekend we set out to get some early season turns with Anne and Marcin. The Mt. Baker area is supposed to be a good place for this, so we booked a cheap cabin and planned to do day trips from there. On the first day, as we were driving up to the ski area, I was starting to get worried. There was no sign of snow. Only when we got to the very top it started looking like there was enough snow to ski. It was chilly, and there was a strong wind that blew snow sideways into our eyes. We attempted to maximize our…
Saint Marks Peak: Definitely Not Unnecessary
St. Marks Peak is a small peak, more of a bump actually. However, it is quite a spectacular bump, due to the steep topography to the west and to the east, dropping down 1400m steeply to the ocean. The access is easiest from the Cypress ski area, where we began our trip. The ski area was still closed, but quite a few people were milling around. It turned out that around 25 of these people were also heading up our trail, an organized Korean looking group. We let them pass us and slowed down so that we could enjoy the peace and quiet. I guess this is how others feel…
Crown Mtn: The Crown of the North Shore
I have often looked at Crown Mtn. while enjoying a BBQ with friends down at Jericho or Locarno beaches, near UBC. I knew I would make my way to the summit, it was just a question of when. We drove to the Grouse parking lot, and were surprised to see it so crowded: what were all those people doing there? We chose to hike up the BCMC trail, shunning the Grouse Grind and its many artificial steps and spandex clad hikers jogging up and down. After just over an hour and a half we arrived at the chalet and took a quick bathroom break. I always find it weird to…
