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 …
Snowshoe to Boston Falls Lookout: A Sunny Day below Mount Becher’s Summit
When I’m stuck inside, it sometimes feels like I won’t ever break free and get outside! If you’re passionate like I am, you probably feel the same. Now that I’ve added two kids to the equation, it’s even more difficult to balance the time between my family obligations and my …
Mt Becher –Ski and Snowshoe
Mount Becher is a popular destination for ski touring, hiking and snowshoeing, but on February 4th, it wasn’t our primary objective. Our first option was Mount Curran, in the Beaufort Range, but an unexpected snowstorm conspired against us. Mt Becher was a better goal for a day with a heavy …
Mt. Cain –The Long Way Around
Being focused on an objective is a great way to track progress and remember to celebrate when you achieve a goal. But sometimes, I get so focused on the objective that I forget about everything that goes into making the day a success. On January 22nd, I had a good …
My First Ice-Climbing Experience
Hiking, mountaineering, and rock climbing have been my passion for about five years. Every weekend, I get together with a few close friends, and sometimes my hiking club, to head out into the backcountry to seek out one obscure peak or another. Each experience is unique unto itself, but it’s …
Mt Grey, another in a growing list of failed summit attempts
Mount Grey is a lovely hike through old-growth alpine fir and along a treed alpine ridge, up to a summit that offers great views of the Alberni Inlet. My Mount Grey trip had two portions of adventure: the cold from an arctic outflow, and the ride home. On January …
2017 Kicking off the year of family adventure
A large group of Island Mountain Ramblers and guests assembled in the parking lot of Raven lodge, mid-morning of January 7th. The wind in the parking lot was frigid and the thermometer in my car read temperatures close to -10 C. In keeping with many of the family/novice snowshoe trips I lead, I …
2017: The year for adventure!
View PostMount Spencer: The Great Congo Line of December 2016
I’ll cut to the chase– we didn’t make the summit of Mount Spencer. Of course, as with most of my stories, the devil’s in the details. On December 18th, Vancouver Island was deep in a colder-than-normal shoulder season. The day held a forecast for overcast skies and precipitation. Further, the …
Snowshoeing on Mount Milner
The name “Mount Milner” is unfamiliar to most Vancouver Island hikers. Hidden deep in the Prince of Wales Range, it’s not a well-known mountain. The rocky peak sits high above the connecting ridge that forms the Prince of Wales Range, and is only visible from deep in the valleys, from …