Visit with Sylvia and Gary (Jasper)

View of Seaton Lake from Mission Ridge

Gary, Tracey, and Sylvia

Sylvia and Gary came for a visit from Jasper.

We took a drive up to Mission Ridge and a trip to Sloquet Hot Springs. Gary ran into car troubles on the logging road and had to leave his vehicle in Mount Currie. The alternator died, and to top it off he blew a tire.From the middle pool at Sloquet Hot Spring

Downton Creek Guided Trip

Aug. 28, 2008 - Hike to explore the Alpine
l-r Kaleb, Luke, Cody, and Alan

Aug 29: Horrible weather gets even worse on an unnamed summit attempt - 50 ft short of the summit.

Aug 30: Hike to 8400 ft summit north of Camp.
Top to Bottom: Misty Morning, Cody looking off the edge of the summit, a giant scree slope descent, four very happy hikers.

Aug 31: Flying out. Nice weather when we awoke that deteriorated as the morning carried on.
Top to bottom: Looking NE down the valley, Dalton's Pond with unnamed mountain reflection, me hooking up the long-line to the cargo net, the group flying out with Scott.

I had agreed to guide one trip this year; a trip for Alan and his friends. Alan took part on the Athabasca Pass trip I guided last year. This year he brought along Cody (also present last year), Kaleb, and Luke. I was glad to guide for Alan again; he and the boys know how to have a great time in the mountains, and were game for just about any terrain I threw at them. They kept their spirits up despite the cold weather... they also ate my food with glowing praise!

The Party was flown in by Helicopter from Lillooet, the helicopter (piloted by Scott Taylor - great guy and pilot) also slung gear in for our base camp.

Between August 27 and 31st we experienced some pretty foul weather, but at times, amazing scenery. This basin, including Dalton's Pond, was a hiker's heaven, with accessible peaks and vast alpine meadows. Out of the many places I have seen and guided in Western Canada, this is definitely one of the most beautiful places to date. This was a great place to set up a base camp, given better weather we would have reached at least one more summit. I don't know if you could ever run out of things to do in this area, so much that is so accessible... I can't wait to return! Already I'm planning for the groups return... however, this time it will be in late July.

Lillooet Rocks

Oh, one of the locals!

Tracey says, 'this area rocks!'

Looking back to the tarn and Downton Creek valley.

Glacier not found on the topo. Peak is unnamed.

Looking back on the way out... in 30 minutes we're back home.

Tracey and I did a recon. into the Downton Creek area where I will be guiding at the end of this month. A lot easier access than I ever thought, this is going to be a great area to guide in and I can't wait to explore the many other areas around Lillooet. This is only the tip of the iceberg (sorry for the cliche). I can't see myself missing Jasper anytime soon.

Why move from Jasper?

A lot of people have been asking why we would decide to move from Jasper. I just thought I'd take the time to let everyone know why we made this decision.

It is true, Jasper is a beautiful place, one of the top nicest I've seen yet. But from the moment we moved here, it became very apparent that we would never be able to live here permanently. Jasper is extremely expensive (half a million for a falling down shack), and even more, not very welcoming. I don't mean to insult Jasper, but I have found that most people here to be very guarded due to the transient nature of people who live here. We have only a few friends that we have known since moving here 6 years ago, that are still here... the rest all moved away. Also, never say you are a local, if you're not born here you have no right to say it (so the real locals say). Most of all, living in Jasper is so expensive, that one must work enormous amounts of hours, especially during the summer, thus one can never truly enjoy the wilds of Jasper National Park. Living in a National Park is difficult, there are numerous double standards; there are many rules that apply to all but park employees... nudge nudge wink wink.
Another reason is the climate. After several failed attempts at a garden, I gave up. Every evening in the summer, the temperature always dips down to single digits... a constant reminder that winter coming soon. When winter does hit, often we receive little to no snow, making winter fun more like aggravation (except ice climbing... you can't beat it here).

Believe me, we contemplated living here for the rest of our lives, we said we would never move anywhere that didn't have all that Jasper has to offer. Well then we found Lillooet... everything Jasper has and more. After six years of living here, Jasper really began to wear us down in all sorts of ways, emotionally, financially, and physcologically. I don't regret a moment of living in Jasper, I accomplished a lot and saw a great chunk of the park (more than most life-long residents), but I couldn't stay any longer... the funny thing is, many people that we know here will also be leaving this year too. I never understood why people thought Jasper was a hard place to live; now in retrospect, I can clearly see that it is true. I no longer see Jasper as the next best thing to heaven; it is more like its historically reality, a place with extreme environments that was never conducive to ongoing human habitation. Natives never lived here full-time, only wandered through from other areas of favourable conditions. I feel I have done much the same... stuck around when conditions were more or less favourable, only to move on to a better place for our needs.

Lillooet Blog

Waterfall coming from Moon Lake - found 5 km from Lillooet, heading East on HWY 99

Two Damsel flies on Pavilion Lake, 45 km East of Lillooet

Check out my other blog - Livin' Life in Lillooet @ http://lillooetbc.blogspot.com/.

I'll keep you posted on my renovations and other Lillooet stuff. I'll keep posting on the mountain world when it pertains to mountain stuff!

July and movin' on

Happy Canada Day!

What the hell is George Doing here?!?

Surprise Lake - Final Visit

Surprise Lake

Surprise Lake

Hey everyone, here's a few photos from July. Most of our time has been devoted to moving and moving out. Over the last month George showed up with Isabelle. We moved all of our stuff during the second week of the month, and I just returned from Lillooet today after a lone 10 days of renovations. Tracey and I move out on the 30th and will be in Lillooet as permanent residents on July 31!

Back at it!

Wow, it's been nearly three months since I've blogged and here's what has happened.

I had a horrendous winter. There wasn't an awful lot of snow, so skiing wasn't the best. Ice climbing was good, but work was a constant problem. I was advised to take most of the winter off, but asked to manage two companies. These two requests do not work well together, and as a result I lived in a perpetual world of stress. Add to that the ongoing mortgage issues and that lead to a lot of trying times. I'm happy to say that is all in the past, and now I have the time and will to blog more. I plan on a pretty full summer on the mountains and working on the new house once we take possession on July 1. Here's what has gone on in the last while

March.

Tracey bought and received our Bowflex home gym. I can now say that this was a great purchase. So far we have been pretty religious with our work outs and this has not only reduced outside stress, but has worked our bodies very nicely.

April.

Dragon Peak seen by moonlight at Big Bend JNP.

After a bit of a blow out with the boss-man, I was asked to take all of my owed vacation time off. I was not too impressed with this considering April is a lousy month for any outdoor activities. We did go camping at 'Bug Bend with friends on the 14th. A beautiful full moon night (but windy!). I also took the time to finally compile my wild flower photographs from over the past four years. This involved a lot of time completing identification. organization by date of bloom, and countless hours on photoshop resizing and bringing out the colours exactly how I wanted them to appear. All in all I have complied 204 species for Jasper alone. I'm happy with the accomplishment which is now available in a CD format. I will continue to add to the collection when I find flowers I have not yet photographed or excellent lighting the desires a new picture.
During the last week of the month I had to recert my advanced wilderness medical training. 40 hours in Calgary. I spent the week at Paul and Angela's. Tracey arrived for the last half of the week. The Jeep's starter died which actually worked out for the best as I was able to see Mikey and Lisa (even for only a few minutes was better than nothing) and spend some time at Ikea, Home Depot and Rona. Upon returning to Jasper, work was back up to busy as the Aussies had started to arrive. Work is back into full swing, and I am refreshed and ready to work like a dog for the next couple of months.

May

Much of this month was devoted to work. Lots to do but we did make it out for two camping trips.

Valemount Hot Springs.

Yes, they appeared again, and to seems we just caught them before the lake level rose enough to cover them. I got a nasty sunburn on the trip, and suffered from heat stroke for the next several days. Wow, was that nasty. Maybe I shouldn't have finished off that bottle of Scotch (ouch).Top... me at the camp with the new Nemo (great tent now!). Middle... Tracey in the Hot Spring. Bottom... Sun burned Tracey.

Owls.

There was a nest of Owls at Jasper Park Lodge. they have all grown up (three of them) and flown away.

Glacier Lake.
Troy joined us for a two night stay at Glacier Lake. Sadly, I developed some nasty blister which I haven't experienced in five years. A blessing in disguise as I can now relate to my clients for have to endure this pain. Due to the blisters, we spent our full day there in camp and all we did was eat. It was nice to sit back and relax with nothing to worry about!

Top... Traey, Trop and Yoho on the way to Glacier Lake. Note the lighting... we never reached camp until 11 pm. Bottom... Glacier Lake.

June.
As you can see below, wildlife is becoming very active. I have been shooting bears, elk, sheep, and looking for Mountain Goats. Below is a picture of a Rufus Humming Bird that is constantly visiting our feeder. I'll keep you posted on what else this month will hold. Come back next week!

We bought a house!

Due to the lack of blogging I'm sure you have been able to tell that something has been up. We have have been very busy driving back and forth, working (and some leisure of course) to prepare for our new big venture.

We have bought a small house in Lillooet BC. We are very excited, it is a fixer-upper but that is fine for us, especially if you knew the price. We were told that location is everything, at in this case it is. Lillooet has everything that Jasper has to offer but more! It is a dry climate, but very warm. It has a growing season two weeks longer than Kelowna so for once we will be able to grow our own garden. It is said to have one of the best climates in Canada. The town is surrounded by mountains and overlooks the Fraser River... in fact the town is located on a terrace above the Fraser Canyon. There is all aspects of mountaineering available there, a large lake five minutes away called Seaton Lake... it even rivals Maligne Lake in beauty (and size). The Pemberton Icefield is nearly the same distance away as the Columbia Icefields are from Jasper. Furthermore we have world class rock climbing in the area, ice climbing, mountain biking, hot springs, hiking, remote backpacking, excellent backcountry ski touring, fishing, canoeing, rafting, and lots of wildlife. The town has a population of 3000 people and has a hospital. To top it all off, we are two hours from Whistler BC and three hours from Vancouver.

So when do we move? Not for the foreseeable future. For the time being we will stay in Jasper and work until we are ready to move. Initially, when we move, I will work where ever, but I will continue to guide, and hope to make a successful business guiding in this area. There is a lot of potential, even more than Jasper. The views are just as nice and the wildlands are even more accessible. There is a heliport in town, so heli-hiking guiding is available. To top it all off the area has a rich native heritage. The local native bands are in great shape and very industrious as well as tolerant toward others. The town is friendly and diverse.

Do I sound excited? I am! Tracey is just as excited as I am. I am not prepared to show any photos yet, it needs a lot of work, but soon.

I'll blog again now that I have time.

Hot Spring Pilgrimage and a new Television spot.

Me proud of my new belt buckle

Last week, we took Paul and Angela to the West Edmonton Mall and stayed at the Fantasyland Hotel. Good times... we were still wandering the halls of the Mall at 2 am... we may or may not have been drinking.

As we returned to Jasper, the temperatures cooled considerably, and with wind chill got uncomfortably close to -50'C. It really hasn't warmed much since. We've had a few days in minus single digits, and yesterday it may have reached plus 1. Today we are back to sub minus 30'C but warmer weather seems to be on the way.

St Leons pool... big enough for 8 people

Tracey and I made a last minute decission to go to Half Way Hotsprings for our yearly winter pilgrimage. We left Tuesday morning and as a result never reached the road to the hot spring until dark. We decicded to forgo Halfway Hotspring (12 km in) and skiied to St Leon in stead (3.5 km). I spent hours in the hot spring but we found little to do. The next day we decided to ski out and head home. We drove (all together) for 17 hours in ski 7 km and soak in a hot spring... yeah it was worth it.

I was sent this link yesterday. It seems that I was on City TV last night... almost everyone in town saw it... or so it seems by the people I see outside (not that there are many due to the cold).

Anyhow, click the link and watch the program:
http://www.citytv.com/edmonton/yourcity_53469.aspx

More Canyon Photos

Here are more pictures taken from the upper Maligne Canyon.

All photos were taken with a tripod and using the stock 18 - 55 mm canon lens. I hate this lens, and hope to replace it in the next comming months. It did an alright job with the canyon walls.

I am now shooting in RAW format. Everything is so much easier to process now, and lighting is a lot more adjustable. Seems I'm going to have to reshoot a lot of things.

The Whole Canyon

Ryan starting the 37 m rappel... check out the two people below.

Climbing the first ice fall

Climbing the frost rime.. well not really... looks good though.

Yesterday, Ryan and I explored the entire Maligne Canyon. For five years, I've looked over the first bridge and ofter thought about rappelling down and walking the entire canyon... so that's what we did.

We started at the top of the canyon and were originally planning to rapp off the first ice fall but found crappy ice that neither of us wanted to trust. Instead we rapped the 37 meter drop off the first bridge and explored from there. We were amazed! The canyon seemed a lot taller from the bottom than from the top and the water formed limestone walls were many times more exciting and interesting than what we show people during the lower Maligne Canyon Ice Walk. the light levels were low so the pictures didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but I am planning to return soon with a tripod for more photo opportunities.

Interesting Geology


Oh yeah, Jasper experienced a power outage on Wednesday that lasted the entire evening. For those of you who are unaware, Jasper has it's own natural gas power generator, and if anything happens to the natural gas pipeline... we have serious problems. Anyhow, some contractor out side the park border breached the pipe line, and thus we were without heat and power for nearly 8 hours. Here is a photo taken from above the town. The only lights you can see are cars and the railway (they have their own backup generators).

Lose the lights from the railway, and this is a lot like what Jasper looked like during a full moon, 80 years ago

The Last two Weeks

Across the river is how you get to Penny

Last week, we continued our never ending quest for a place to call our own. We drove to Prince George, Quesnel and back. Along the way we stopped to look at a piece of property we thought would be promising: Just under 2 acres of land, house, greenhouse, driving shed, and lots of wilderness. This house is off the grid so seemed very interesting, and at only 89K a good value... or so we thought. This place is found in Penny BC, the only place in North America that receives mail three times a week by train. The population is 8, we met half of them and the easiest way to get there from highway 16 was to ski across the Fraser River... other wise drive to P.G. and turn back onto a little gravel road... all in all 2 extra hours of driving. No being off the grid is a great idea and something I've wanted to experience. However, Penny is at the end of this road... it will NEVER be on the grid... that's right, NEVER. Needless to say the house was a shack, chipboard floors, no running water and immediately beside the rail tracks. I would have considered it at half the price... maybe.

Wayne relaxing during the descent

This past weekend we had scheduled three days off to go to our favourite hot spring south of Revelstoke. The day before it rained and then snowed 30 cm, the highways were closed. Instead we enjoyed the fresh powder up at Marmot Basin and the next day made our way to Edith Cavel hostel by cross country skis. We spent the night there and returned the next day. A great substitute with a lot less driving. All in all we cross country skied 25 km and gained a maximum of 400m.