I had an incredible summer full of back country adventures in the mountains, and on the ocean. With the summer well behind me I’m back at work waist deep in students and the daily grind of the job. Adding insult to injury, I’m a student again, retraining myself in the …
Failure Is A Stopping Point on the Way to the Top: Climbing Triple Peak via Southeast Ridge
The road to success is seldom straight forward, particularly when mountaineering. Success comes from hard work, education and experience. This is the case with my August 9th, 2015 summit of Triple Peak, located in the Mackenzie Range on Vancouver Island. In February, I wrote of my failed attempt at the …
Matchlee Mountaineering School With Island Alpine Guides
View PostCastlecrag and Mount Frink, an alternate route for a rainy day
Foggy days are common on the long moraine leading to Mount Albert-Edward One of my good hiking buddies recently joined the hiking club I belong to, The Island Mountain Ramblers. When he hosted his first trip, I was surprised to find out that I was the only person to join …
Settlers Road to Cape Scott’s Lightouse… for the 8th time
My love of hiking and mountaineering is to the level of obsessive. I blame my wife for my love of the sport, she got me started when we were first dating. Our second backpacking trip ever was a trip to Cape Scott. It was March 2008, it rained and snowed …
Climbing Elkhorn and Elkhorn South Mountain
Elkhorn and Elkhorn South Mountains overlook the Elk River Valley, inside Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island. Elkhorn is easily identifiable by its classic Matterhorn shape, making it distinct in the Strathcona landscape. At 2,194 metres, Elkhorn is the second tallest peak on Vancouver Island. Of note, it is one of …
Mount Adrian Meet and Greet
Rogers Ridge, Lower Route June 14th, set our sites on Mount Adrian. This was our third attempt at this peak, the two other attempts were thwarted by weather and terrain conditions – 1st, 2nd. We were on a mission, this time we were resolved in our ambition to finally stand …
Hiking to an unnamed peak in the Alberni Valley
It isn’t often that I am able to take time to go camping in the middle of the week. I made a smart decision and took time off work to join in on adventure, a trip up a never-before-summitted mountain. June 8, 9 and 10th, I joined four other hikers. …
What is in my Backpack?
I often have folks ask me about what gear I carry with me when camping. Many of my friends know that I don’t like to take a heavy backpack, not anymore anyway. I have worked hard to trim the fat, eliminating what I don’t need while at the same time …
Hiking in the Comox Lake Region, Mount Ginger Goodwin
View from Capes Lake Trail, Warm alpine scented air greeted us as we exited my Subaru on the Cruikshank Main in the Comox Lake Region. The morning of June 7th, we set out early in the morning to avoid the heat of the day; the forecast was for an …