- Backcountry Skiing, British Columbia (and nearby), Sea to Sky, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Brew Hut: or How My Finger Almost Fell Off
A few highlights from a trip to Brew Hut a few weekends ago: After a grey and drizzly morning, the weather cleared in the afternoon, just as we were breaking out into the alpine. There is so much snow, that the orange trail markers in the meadows are almost buried. A piece of our Brew Hut fell off a while…
- Backcountry Skiing, British Columbia (and nearby), Sea to Sky, Trip Reports, Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC)
Sphinx Hut: Beginner Friendly on Easter
The trail up to Garibaldi Lake was at first bare, and then treacherous ice. In several places people had slid off the trail and obliterated it, making travel on skis annoying. Half the time I was wishing I had crampons. The group moved reasonably fast but gradually slowed down as the beginners ran out of energy. Crossing Garibaldi Lake we…
Marriot Basin: Secondary Shoulder Season
A few weekends ago we headed to Marriot basin with Pascale and Ignacio, their friend Michelle, Marius and Adriana, and Piotr who joined last minute. When Pascale contacted the Alpine Club to make a reservation for the hut, they said that the hut was closed due to the outhouse being too full. After promising to carry out our poop, they…
- 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…
