Dear Hemingway, We did it! We survived our first father-and-son backpacking adventure. I’m happily writing the trip down as a success! We picked the perfect location, Flores Island’s Wild Side Trail, and lucked into a spate of great weather. Of course, our adventure companions helped us enjoy the trip all the more. We …
Meares Island : Lone Cone & Big Tree Trail
To early European explorers, the western edge of North America must have been an overwhelming place to visit. We humans navigate by landmarks, known places with names; explorers applied names to many places, making them easier to identify on maps. At some point, it must have been really overwhelming to …
Mount Spencer: Revenge on the Mountain
View PostMount Abel: A Great Spring Snowshoe in the Sutton Range
View PostA winter route up Big Den turns unseasonably warm
View PostWaring Peak: a snowshoe in the Sutton Range
It’s been a disappointing Spring for me. While I’m not normally a ‘glass-half-empty’ sort of guy, the last few soggy months have brought canceled multi-day trips, abortive summit attempts, and numerous other events that simply failed to launch. It’s been a trying season! I don’t intend to dwell on these facts, …
A first winter ascent of Mount Milner, in the Prince of Wales Range
View PostMt. Hall – Coronation Mtn, Ski Traverse
View PostWinter snowshoe ascent of Springer Peak, Prince of Wales Range
Springer Peak wasn’t our first objective for the day, but when I took over leading the trip, I felt that the snow conditions were too questionable to continue with our original objective. When I suggested using Bill’s Trail, a section of the route used for the annual Kusam Klimb race, …
Mt Elma: A Beginner Ski tour
On February 19th, we met at Ski Tak Hut in Courtenay to gather the final pieces of backcountry ski gear needed for our day on the mountain. Lisa and I watched the sky, hoping that the hard rain would let up – or at least, that it was snowing on the …