Summer 2009
In August two friends from Germany, Christoph and Markus, came to visit in BC. There is nothing like having friends from foriegn countries to get you off your arse to go do all things you have wanted to do. In this instance it is the Seven Summits mountain bike trail in Rossland.
I rode this trail with Chriostoph, Markus and Eric a few weeks ago on our way to Nelson. A new trail built by Riley McIntosh, it is smooth, flowing and oh so fun. The Germans were stoked, having found the type of trail that they had only ever dreamt of riding. Pure, unadulterated BC.
To watch a little more artistic video of this trail, check out Riley's Rilor Wilderness site here.
The Bugaboos are one of my favorite places on earth. Towering granite spires with rugged glaciers lapping at their feet, they make for an awe inspiring landscape. With an extremely lucky break in the weather that allowed us three days of perfect conditions to knock off my biggest objective for the summer- the classic Beckey-Chouinard on the South Howser Tower.
Quintessentially Canadian, genuinely peaceful and well a good way to get tennis elbow—canoeing. I had never done a canoe trip and with other plans thwarted by wet weather, Hillary and I decided to do a paddling trip. The famous Bowron Lakes circuit isn't an option for the spontaneous type, but we stumbled across the Nation Lakes north west of Fort St James. A 120km enchainment of four lakes and wild Northern BC landscapes seemed to bid well for an adventure.
Rogers Pass is one of my favourite places in the world to ski during the winter, but until last week, I had never made it "up the Pass" in the Summer. With sun forecast for three days straight and it being oppressively hot in Revelstoke, Hillary and I decided to venture up and tackle the Asulkan Traverse.
Last week Eric and I were back in the Rockies climbing. The weather was ordinary early in the week restricting us to the Canmore Library and fighting with every other wet dog for bandwidth, but when the weather cleared again, we hit up Grand Sentinel and Wiwaxy Peak. Check out some of the shots.
Eric and I have been in Canmore for the last week, busy climbing and eating too much each night. Here are a few snaps from the hulking piece of limestone outside town famously know as Yamnuska. Yam comes with a reputation for adventure and epics so we approached through the vibrant, gren meadow below with due trepidation. The first day we set our sights on "Forbidden Corner" (10 pitches, 5.9) and came away unscathed. The next day we rallied for "Kahl Wall" (9 pitches, 5.10) and topped out just as the first claps of thunder unleashed rain in the valley below.
All in all a good adventure.
