- Backcountry Skiing, British Columbia (and nearby), Sea to Sky, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Garibaldi Neve Traverse: Neve Say Never
I organized a two day traverse of the Garibaldi Neve which ended up attracting 14 people with a good mix of experience and speed. We set out on Saturday morning, in a minivan that we had borrowed from the car coop. The road up to the Diamondhead Trailhead is notoriously dangerous in winter, but in spring it is often bare.…
- Backcountry Skiing, British Columbia (and nearby), Coquihalla, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Nak, Yak and Thar Peaks: Nak n’ Cheese
Last Sunday we headed to Nak Peak for a day trip that I organized through the VOC. A Nak is a female Yak, by the way. On the way it was raining hard, and I was starting to wonder if we were going to suffer in the rain. We had three cars that arrived within 10 minutes of one another,…
- Backcountry Skiing, British Columbia (and nearby), Duffey Lake Road, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Mt. Rohr: Beginner Friendly Mission
As we made our way north to the Duffey Lake Road, news of the cars that had broken down filtered through various cellphones. Ryan’s car’s battery was dead. They got Craig to drive over to Piotr’s place, so that they could pull out Piotr’s jeep’s battery and install it in Ryan’s jeep. However, the battery was too high, so the…
- Backcountry Skiing, British Columbia (and nearby), Coquihalla, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Iago Peak: Beginner Friendly Day Trip
I sometimes hear it claimed that there aren’t any good backcountry ski day trips from Vancouver. This is simply untrue, the only caveat being that one has to drive quite far to get to them. We managed to fill three cars to capacity, despite some passengers bailing and others joining in at the last minute. This was termed a “beginner…
- Backcountry Skiing, British Columbia (and nearby), Duffey Lake Road, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Caspar Creek: Winter Camping at -30 Degrees
Last weekend we headed out on an Intro to Backcountry Skiing trip with the VOC. I volunteered to help “lead” the trip. The approach to Caspar Creek is mostly along surprisingly flat logging roads. Looking forward I could see a seemingly never ending ant line of backcountry skiers. There is something overwhelmingly satisfying in this sight, although I’m not sure what…
Phelix Hut: Goodbye Lisa and Jules
Our friends Lisa and Julian returned to Austria. Just before they left, they organized a slew of excellent parties. One of the parties involved skiing up to a backcountry hut belonging to the outdoor club (VOC) and spending a weekend there. Maya and I stayed for three days with some of the others. It was a great combination of beautiful…
Mexico: November Sun – Cycling in Baja California
September was already rainy, October wasn’t much better. The famous “Mamas and the Papas” song “California Dreamin’ ” kept on going through my mind. The skies were indeed gray and the leaves were brown. As November was getting closer, “November Rain” by “Guns N’ Roses” was now stuck in my head. I had just submitted my thesis and the question…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Kayaking and Canoeing, Metro Vancouver & North Shore, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Indian Arm: Kayaking Right From the City
Some highlights: – Indian Arm is located just on the other side of the city. It’s quite amazing how close it is – One literally leaves from town and ends up in this somewhat wild (albeit inhabited location). Many of the locals are supposedly somewhat weird (reclusive?), and many of them have outrageously huge houses. On the way back we…
Pebble Creek Hot Springs: and Mushroom Picking Too
On the way in we stopped to admire the devastation of the Capricorn Creek drainage by a huge slide (2nd biggest in recorded Canadian history) a few months ago. The section of road through the slide debris consists of a deep a trench cut through these mounds of mud and broken trees. We spent hours and hours of sitting in…
Tomyhoi Peak: and Yellow Aster Butte too!
Some things are different in the US. The cars are bigger, the people are fatter, and the trails are much wider. We still had fresh memories of our eight day traverse on Vancouver Island where we seldom saw a trail, people, or any sign of humans at all. So we actually enjoyed the wide trails and excellent signage – no…
