Normally, riding up chairlifts is what it’s all about – but that’s in wintertime. In the summer, its better to ride down chairlifts because of the view. Above is a time lapse from Blackcomb Mountain – from the top of 7th Heaven to Blackcomb Base. Recorded July 15, 2009 when it was nice and dry. This summer might be a different story as the top portion of the mountain is still under a layer of snow – more than 2 metres in some places!
Anything but ordinary. A great sesaon: 192 days in length – opening two weeks early on November 14, 2009. Over five metres of snow fell in November and a total of 15 metres of snow fell over the season. There was also the winter Olympics, Paralympics and lots of great memories. I skied 176 days, missing days only due to poor weather (rain and high winds) and recovery from the Canadian hockey team gold medal game.
Recorded from November 14, 2009 to May 24, 2010 with a digital camera that took a photo every 30 minutes; the film is comprised of over 8000 images. It was taken from the taco-cam perched on a windowsill above the deck in the house that I live.
Terri stealing a bite of my cookie at Jericho Beach in Vancouver
Canadian Thanksgiving weekend marks the end of summer in most of Canada. The summer has been filled with hiking, XC biking, downhill biking (ouch!), golf, barbecues, trips to the beach and travel. Although, it was a fun summer – I’m definitely ready for winter!
Image below: one of many images from my flickr set, 100 days on the mountain in 2008/09. I’m not sure what I’ll do this season but I’ll think of something because one has to have goals.
After a lightning strike last Thursday, a fire started on the Crystal Ridge area of Blackcomb Mountain. It was mostly contained within the first day as I’m sure workers were pulled off the 100 or so other fires burning in the province. I imagine fires in Whistler are given some sort of priority over other fires given the high profile nature of the location.
For the many firemen in town for the World Police and Fire Games, I wonder if it was a treat or a horror show for them to watch the mountain burning.
As of yesterday, four days after the original fire another fire started on Ruby Bowl, an area with very steep terrain. Blackcomb mountain was closed to tourists and hikers for a few days after the original fire, but remains open after the new fire on Ruby Bowl yesterday. Whistler mountain and the Peak 2 Peak are open with the exception of the backcountry trails which the province has issued a voluntary ban on hiking due to the fire risk. It’s been an eventful week.
As I know all of you like watching stuff burn, here are my photos from the fire. Click on the larger image to advance to the next one. If you’re on a mobile device, click here to view the images.
I always find it funny when I see bags of potato chips in a town that is at a high elevation. Whistler isn’t that high at 670 m/2,198 ft but when the chips are packed at near sea level and then brought to a higher elevation, it’s a bit puffed up – enough to be used as a pillow in a pinch. But I wouldn’t take my food to bed with me.
It’s simple science and great entertainment as explained by this science teacher in Mussoorie, India (elevation 1,826 m/5,991 ft). I wonder how puffed up the bag would be if I took it to the top of Blackcomb Mountain (elevation 2240 m/7349 ft). Maybe this has to be done.
After hiking to Rainbow Lake in Whistler, I started to think about where our drinking water comes from and how we use it.
In 1988 when I traveled to Europe for the first time, it seemed a bit odd to drink bottled water. However, everyone seemed to do there and it was the norm for Europeans. Growing up in Canada, I drank unfiltered tap water. As the population grew, so did the strain on the system. Water treatment facilities started to add (more?) chlorine to the tap water and I could really smell it in tap water. In the summertime when it got really warm, the Toronto tap water smelled like algae. This was really unpalatable to me and I started drinking bottled water – like the Europeans. However, this was costly and also created a lot of waste. I moved to an in-home water filter system, however, this removed the bad things (chlorine, algae, eliminated plastic bottles, etc.) but also removed the good things like minerals. This was a no-win situation.
When I look at where the water supply comes from, it makes me shudder. In Toronto, the tap water comes from Lake Ontario. Lake Ontario is also one of the most polluted lakes of the great lakes and dare I say it – in the world. There have been instances when periods of heavy rainfall caused sewers to overflow and have raw sewage run into Lake Ontario. Toronto, Kingston and other Canadian cites are have had similar instances. This happens worldwide and there are probably worse instances than these, but it doesn’t make it acceptable.
The treatment and necessary measures to ensure a safe water supply are required by the large concentrations of population in large cites. Even our food supply is similarly concentrated in factory farms and agriculture that also pollute our environment. I’m not sure what kinds of long term effects that this environment could cause to our health and economy, but the possibilities are frightening.
It is tough to find a healthy balance between our health, lifestyle and food choices. However, after moving to a smaller town, I have one less thing to worry about and drink unfiltered tap water with peace of mind.
I haven’t posted in a while, but that’s because I’ve been busy with a few other things. While I’ve been busy, I haven’t been on the mountains. However, it’s summer now and I finally went on Whistler and Blackcomb mountains yesterday and today. Even without snow (somewhat) it’s still an awesome place. My time away has been fun, but I’m glad to be back.
Here’s a winter/summer comparison of Whistler peak…
My images from the last two days on the mountain are below. Click on the larger image to advance to the next one.
Me in my vintage ski jacket (circa 1986) on Blackcomb Mountain
It took a little over five months, but I reached the goal that I set out to achieve in November – to ski 100 days in a season. Previously, the most that I have ever skied in a season is about 30 days. Doing 100 was a personal challenge. First I needed the time, second I needed my health and third, I needed snow.
Time wasn’t an issue – I put most of my other pursuits on hold – I’ve got thousands (literally) of photos that I haven’t gone through; I’ve been delinquent in returning emails to my friends and family because all I’ve been doing is eating, sleeping and skiing. Luckily for me, my friends are understanding and patient.
Health wasn’t too much of an issue. Since moving here, I’ve cut down on my consumption of alcohol, eat better and get more sleep. In the city, I tended to stay up way too late and I wasn’t the fittest sitting behind a desk most of the time. When in Whistler, I get up on the mountain daily. I’m not sure what drives me, but I think it’s a combination of the fresh air, sport and the spectacular view. Even today, I mentioned to a friend that I still am in awe of the view from the mountains.
Weather was probably the biggest challenge. This is something that nobody had any control over. December was quite dismal. It was cold and there wasn’t much snow – Vancouver received more snow than Whistler in December. The season started slowly and it wasn’t really winter until late February. It all came together in March and it’s been pretty steady since. However, I think the season will end on the Victoria Day weekend when Blackcomb Mountain closes. Whistler Mountain is set to open, but I’m not sure how the can as the snowpack is less than prior years and there seems to be a general disinterest for skiing this spring.
If this is true, there is 12 days of skiing left in the season. My friends will be glad that I won’t be constantly talking about skiing any longer. However, if Whistler reopens, then this will be continued.
Stats:
First day of skiing: December 3, 2008
100th day of skiing: May 5, 2009
Days on Whistler Mountain: 19
Days on Blackcomb Mountain: 67
Days on both mountains: 12
Days at Revelstoke: 2
Kiersten's last run on the Couloir Extreme this season
As the weather in the spring changes, people are starting to leave for the season or pack their skis in favour of their bikes, golf clubs and shorts. It’s a bit of a sad time – but many will be back – I’m sure of that.
Since the conditions aren’t the best because of the high temperatures, sunshine during the day and low temperatures at night causes some hard packed (read: icy) conditions, I decided to venture on the mountain with my SLR – which I’ve only done one or two times before this.
As I was taking photos of places I’ve been before but without my SLR, I met Kiersten. She asked me if I was going to go down the Couloir Extreme. I wasn’t planning on doing it as it was closed because of icy conditions. She mentioned that it was her last day on the mountain. I though for the season – but she said possibly forever because she said she was moving back to Holland after five years in Vancouver.
My heart sank a little; but I know that this place can’t keep anyone away for very long. I told her that I bet she’ll be back.
The last days on the mountain for several people plus some recent images on flickr. Click on the larger image to advance to the next one.
West vs. east; Vancouver on the left and Toronto on the right. December 2008.
It feels like I’m trapped in the Twilight Zone in some sort of crazy weather spiral. However, the weather I’ve been experiencing over the last several years has been so drastically that crazy weather seems to be the norm.
When I arrived in Whistler earlier this month, it was warmer than usual and there was not enough snow to ski. Then it became too cold and snow started to fall slowly. When I returned to Vancouver before Christmas it started to snow – and snow it did. I think there was a snowfall warning issued daily for over a week on Environment Canada.
I flew from a snowy Vancouver to a rainy Toronto on December 24th – barely making it because there was a shortage of crew available in Vancouver because many flights were canceled from several centres in the west. Toronto is now enjoying spring-like weather. It reached almost +15c yesterday. Warm enough not to require a hat or gloves – something that I was never without in BC this month.
Much of what I do is dependent upon the weather so I will be glad when things return to what we once knew as normal – except in the mountains where it should snow as much as possible!
Banner Image, Environment, Hiking, Photography, Skiing, Video | Garry June 30, 2010 | 
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