MountainSurf Adventures

UPDATED BLOGS

2010-01-15T09:17:00.001-08:00

FOR UPDATED BLOGS VISIT MOUNTAINSURF ADVENTURES

Winter in Hartley Bay

2009-10-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Yup, moved up to Hartley Bay on the north coast to teach an Essential Skill for Work course to the young adults through the Northwest Community College in Prince Rupert. I moved up here on the 19th of October. Jen will be joining me mid November after her world championships in Portugal. I am stoked to be up here and I am excited to explore this area in the winter. High on the list of activities are ski tours to remote islands, backcountry trips to Terrace and lots of stand up paddleboarding. Here are some shots below with my adopted family Cam and Eva. We are in a stunning inlet thats rich with wildlife.....and dungeness Crabs.

Magical Great Bear Rainforest

2009-10-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

September was another incredible month for me in the Great Bear Rainforest. I resigned from my position as the women's basketball coach at Quest University so this allowed me to get back to the place I love, Princess Royal Island.

August 30th-September 6th

My first trip of the month started on the Pacific Yellowfin with Captain Colin. Colin hired me to take some special guests from Aspen up to the area for an 8 day trip. It was a very successful trip which started in Bella Bella. We worked our way up the coast, anchoring in stunning inlets, walking salmon rivers in search of Grizzly Bears, watching humpback whales and relaxing in hotsprings. We also took the group to see the Spirit Bear and participated in a community feast in Hartley Bay which is where we ended our trip. I am looking forward to running more trips with Colin next summer in this area. Colin's boat, the Pacific Yellowfin, is most likely one of the top boats on the coast. It is 120 feet long and it is an old reconverted WW2 Minesweeper. It is mint. Colin is a great captain and super host and his crew is one of the best i have worked with. It was a real treat to guide on this boat. Amazing boat, amazing trip, amazing area.

September 7-17th

Immediately after the trip on the Yellowfin I hosted the 3rd ecology class from Quest University in Squamish for a 10 day immersion into the culture, ecology and wildlife of Hartley Bay and the Great Bear Rainforest. The 18 students were blown away by the experience in the community. Cam Hill was an incredible host as he had most of the students staying at his place and he and Eva along with the elders in the community provided a learning environment and cultural experience that had a deeply lasting effect on the students. Along with this incredible cultural experience the students also had a chance to walk salmon streams, view Spirit Bears and visit local whale researchers Herman and Janey. Another special treat was having Ian MacAllister of Pacific Wild come in an talk to the class about the environmental challenges facing this coast. Ian is an environmental legend and has done some incredible things on this coast over the last 20 years. I am already looking forward to the next years class. Quest University's mission statement of Integrated, Intimate and International could not have been better represented by the experience in Hartley Bay and the Great Bear Rainforest.

September 18-25th

My last guiding stint of the month took me back to King Pacific Lodge, a place I have worked at off and on for the past decade. It was good to be back taking guests into rivers loaded with salmon. We had at least 9 humpbacks feeding right off the docks at KPL and the Spirit Bear viewing was some of the best i have ever seen. Another treat was having my partner Jen with me on all of the adventures and activities over the week. She was "job shadowing" and was awesome, bringing her own passion and excitement to the area.

So that was my September. Another great one. Now i am back in Squamish getting fit and enjoying a little bit of down time.

Mt. Rainier- Climbing For Kids

2009-09-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

August 20th, my 40th birthday I headed down to Ashford, Washington for my three day climb of the Disappointment Cleaver route with Climbing For Kids. Thanks to the generous support of family and friends I was able to raise over $4500 for Climbing for Kids. Climbing for Kids is an organization that helps underprivileged kids to get into the outdoors. I was pretty excited about climbing this mountain which I had my eye on for awhile now. Our guide service was International Mountain Guides. Jenny Fogle was our lead guide and with us we also had Austin Shannon, Kelly Ryan and Josh Smith. We had 7 in our group and the forecast looked very good. We started our climb from the Paradise Parking lot on the morning of August 21st. The parking lot starts at 5500 feet elevation and we climbed for hours to get up to the Camp Muir situated on on a rock saddle at 10500 feet. It was an incredible location with a number of other climbing groups getting ready for the summit. After a great sleep we packed our bags on the 22nd and headed up to our high camp at 11500 feet. You could not have found a more scenic high camp. This camp was situated at the foot of the Ingraham Glacier and we were not too far away from crevasses that could swallow a semi truck. I was so excited to get moving I had a hard time sitting still. I took a nap in the afternoon and hit the sack at 5:30pm to get ready for our 1:30am departure on the 23rd.

We were up at 12:30am having breakfast(cold golden grahams and coffee) and then packed and got ready to go. It was a brilliant clear night with a sky full of stars. We started off with our headlamps on and began to pick our way up the mountain. Disappointment Cleaver was challenging since there was no snow on it and we had to scramble up for an hour over loose rock with our crampons on. We continued on past massive glaciers and deep dark crevasses. I was so stoked to finally be on the mountain and working my way to the summit. The group seemed to be doing well. At around 5 the sun started to rise and I experienced one of the most amazing sunrises ever. It was hard to not stop to turn around to look at the sun rising in the east over the lower mountains.

It was at this point that i realized how big this mountain really was as we were towering over any mountain that was around us. The relief was impressive and we had clear views down to Mt. Hood, St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Jefferson to the south and Mt. Baker and British Columbia to the north. It was also really windy and a lot colder up near the summit and i had all of my gear on.

We continued to zig zag up the summit and at 6:45 we were all at the crater rim. Myself and Jason with guide Kelly Ryan went a little higher to the true summit(14410 feet) to sign the register and take a few pictures. Simply amazing.

We stayed on the summit for about an hour and a half and we then made our way back down to high camp where we collected our stuff and then back to Camp Muir. Most of the group was pretty hurtin from the climb and I needed to get back to the car to get back to Squamish for the vancouver island quest with my partner Jen the following day so I was lucky enough to run down from Camp Muir in under and hour with another guide.

Physically I felt great, my body was strong and the altitude did not cause me any problems. The guides with International Mountain Guides were incredible. They were safe, patient, great teachers and were passionate and enthusiastic. The meals were nutritious and delicious. They really set the whole group up well for success. I am really motivated now to go bigger and higher and i hope I get a chance to climb with them again. Congratulations to my climbing partners as well. I was proud to have raised the money for Climbing for Kids and this as well has inspired me to raise more funds in the future for people and environments in need. I was on a pretty good high driving home to Squamish. Not much time to rest though as I had to get on the ferry the next morning to meet Jen who was already starting the vancouver island quest, top to bottom, 750km in 4 days. Not sure how i was going to accomplish this but first things first.......a hamburger.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED ME ON MY CLIMB FOR KIDS!!!

I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!

Fun way to spend my 40th!!

BUSY GUIDING

2009-08-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

Right after the 5 day Stand Up Paddleboard trip to the Great Bear Rainforest i headed up to King Pacific Lodge for a week of adventure and fishing. This is my 10th season working in some capacity at the lodge. It was amazing to be back. Its such an incredible place to spend time. The highlight of the trip for me was 11 year old Laila catching a 38 pound chinook salmon. I spent all afternoon in the boat with two 11 year old and i am sure i was asked 200 questions in the first hour. The weather had been amazing and we enjoyed the afternoon together catching coho. Just before we ended the day we tried one last spot. We made a couple of passes and had the bait stripped both times which look to be a chinook bite. We made one more pass and as Laila said, "third times a charm," and bang, fish on. She fought the fish the whole time even though she wanted to give the rod to me and her friend Audrey. We both declined and she battled this beauty for 20 minutes. We finally got the fish into the boat. We also talked about the importance of these salmon on the coast and thanked the fish for his life. Laila had her family of 11 down and this one fish will feed the whole family, no need to take more so we came back much to the delight of her family and friends. Incredible fish and an incredible experience on the north coast again.

Great Bear Rainforest Stand Up Paddleboard

2009-07-28T22:55:00.001-07:00

This was an incredible trip to a place that i have worked in for 10 years. This place continues to amaze me but what truly makes it special is the time we spent with the gracious people of Hartley Bay. I have guided in the Great Bear for a long time and it was one of my goals this year to stand up paddle this place with hopes of bringing excited clients up here next year. As Masa, the writer for Explore Magazine, stated at end of this expedition, "the trip exceeded my expectations."

Here it is:

July 15-16th, Jen and I drove the 17 hours to Prince Rupert from Squamish where we met Masa and Taylor. Masa was covering the story for Explore Magazine and Taylor was taking the pictures. Both guys were true professionals and a pleasure to spend 5 days with. Here is what our itinerary looked like.

Day 1: We took the Tshimshian Storm ferry down to the small native community of Hartley Bay to stay with my adopted family the Hills, Cam, Eva, Rachel, Morgan and Brother Max. Cam had just gotten in from sockeye fishing on the Skeena River and that night we had an incredible meal of fresh sockeye salmon, dried seaweed, halibut and coho and oolichan grease.

Day 2: We loaded up Cam's boat early in the morning and got a boat transfer down to a secluded inlet. It was our first chance to test out our gear and see how everything paddled. Jen, Masa and I were on SUP's and Taylor was shooting out of a kayak. I was paddling a custom built Andy Lambrecht Red Cedar Board while Jen and Masa were riding a tricked out Southpoint Kalama. I had attached NorthWater attachment loops on the rails and bonded with contact cement. I then attached our 115 litre dry bags with bundgy cord. The whole system worked really well and it was quite easy. We paddled to the back of this beautiful fiord and spent our first night in a GitGaat Longhouse. We saw a black bear in the estuary and we explored a stunning river at the back of the inlet. Incredible perspective from a stand up board. The weather was typical GBR........wet, rainy and misty. Just how I like it.

Day 3: It was a big day as we headed back out of the inlet and worked our way south to another Gitgaat Watchman Cabin. We found out for the first time on our paddle how difficult it was to paddle against the wind and chop. We managed to grind through and got to our destination. Jen was doing all of the cooking on the trip and she put together a killer menu plan and did an outstanding job with healthy delicious meals, essential on long paddling trips. I could have used more chocolate. We decided we were going to stay two days at the watchman cabin so that we could just go on a day trip the following day.

Day 4: This was our day trip and with an early wake up we were off to explore this magical area. The conditions had changed and we awoke to blue skies and flat calm conditions. Just perfect for SUPing. We took advantage and headed out to see the Stellar Sea Lions on Sea Lion Rock. Up travelling there we also encountered a pod of resident killer whales. They were a little ways off but very impressive. We also saw Humpbacks Whales who are here feeding in their traditional areas. After all of this wildlife we stopped at Hartley Bay's summer camp called Kayel. It is here that they collect and dry seaweed and harvest halibut. We were fortunate to have Brodi Danes accompany us on this paddle. I have worked with Brodi in a student mentor program and recently taught him and a number of the highschool kids their Level 1 Paddle Canada certification. Brodi helped to lead today's excursion and took us on a tour of Kayel. Afterwards we headed back to the watchman cabin for a late lunch. After lunch we headed over to King Pacific Lodge , a place i had worked at for the 7 years and continue to do contract work with, for a tour of the impressive adventure/fishing lodge. We ended the day with a hike into the rainforest to check out some incredible Sitka Trees.

Day 5: We awoke at 5 am to take advantage of flat conditions for our big push north but our trip was stopped cold when Taylor realized the tide had taken his kayak for a long ride. After the Mountain Surf Search and Rescue Team were unsuccessful we headed back for breakfast and waited by the radio. Shortly we got a call as a Seiner had picked up a floating red kayak and another boat was kind enough to drop it off for us. We got going and stopped at Herman and Janey's. They are whale researchers and have been working up for 8 years. I know them quite well and it was great to see Janey again, Herman was out helping a Seiner with his nets. After a short visit we headed west and started to work our way up the west side of an untouched island. Conditions again got choppy and challenging but that was what we got for a late start. When your paddling on the coast you have to get up early and get off early if you really want to go anywhere. Travelling by SUP you have to take advantage of the good conditions when you have them. That night we stayed at another watchman cabin in yet another beautiful inlet.

Day 6: This was our final day. We had yet another incredible day of weather and flat early morning conditions which we spent exploring the vast intertidal life. This last day was spent mostly apart since i had to go back to the cabin to pick up something i had forgotten and by the time i got back my team had left. They were not at the spot we had agreed on to meet so I was way behind and spent the rest of the afternoon searching/catching up. I was finally picked up by Marvin, our boat transfer and taken to meet the group who took advantage of great downwind conditions. All was good and we were stoked to have completed this fantastic trip. Our celebration was again at Cam and Eva's as they put a feast on that I will never forget. We had halibut, crab cakes, sea cucumber, octopus, fried seaweed and Dungeness Crabs. Unreal. I was on a high from the trip and really excited that Masa and Taylor loved the trip so much. I was also very happy to have brought Jen up here for her first time to experience both the rainforest and most importantly the people of Hartley Bay. She said it was a trip of a lifetime.....and she has raced everywhere. Very cool and special for me to be able to share that with someone.

Day 7: We spent the final morning having fried bread(yum,yum) and maple syrup at Lynne and Ernie's house(Cam's parents). From there we packed our gear, headed back onto the ferry and up to Prince Rupert. We said good bye to our friends Masa and Taylor and Jen and I got back into the Jeep for our 17 hour trip back to Squamish.

The article for this trip should come out in Explore this spring. I am looking forward to seeing it and to seeing the pictures that Taylor took. I also want to thank Meg Chun, and Kialoa Paddles for supporting us on this trip. They gave us paddles, tshirts and paddling shirts for this trip and I am very grateful. The Kialoa paddle is the best out there and were amazing to paddle with over 5 days. More to come on the Kialoa paddles. I also would like to thank Ryder Eyewear for there polarized sunglasses which were a huge help on the really sunny days. It was amazing to have a pair of glasses that fit well, stayed on your face, and allowed us to clearly look into the water at the intertidal life and fish. If anyone is interested in this trip for next year we are going up in September when the salmon are in the rivers. It will be even more spectacular than this trip in terms of wildlife including Spirit Bear, Coastal Wolves, Humpback Whales and more. I will only be taking 6. If you have other questions about this trip or if you have a group that would love to see an incredible slide show just let me know.......now.......on to the next adventure.

INCREDIBLE TRIP

2009-07-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

Stand by for the full report on an incredible 5 day expedition to the Great Bear Rainforest.

GREAT BEAR SUP EXPEDITION BEGINS

2009-07-17T22:54:00.000-07:00

After a 20 hour drive to PRince Rupert, a 4 hour ferry ride to Hartley Bay an incredible meal with my adopted family, Jen, Masa, Taylor and I are ready to head out early tomorrow morning for the first ever exploration of the Great Bear Rainforest by SUP. I will be paddling the most beautiful board i have ever seen. Andy Lambrecht from Pemberton custom built me a Red Cedar Stand Up Paddleboard. It is a stunning board and paddles incredibly well. I will be sending pictures and updating the whole trip when i get back to Hartley Bay on the 22nd. It should be amazing. I can't wait to tell you all about it.....stoked.....norm

Stand Up Paddleboarding the Queen Charlotte Islands

2009-07-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

Stand Up Paddleboarding the Queen Charlotte Islands

2009-07-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

For the last two weeks i was up at the Outpost Fishing Lodge guiding salmon fishing tours. Manager and great friend, Ken Beatty had an old Bic Windsurfer that he brought up to train on and explore. The Outpost Fishing Lodge is located on the remote west side of Graham Island. It is a stunning shoreline with vast amounts of power and energy emanating from the ocean. It is a goal of mine to paddle this shoreline and SUP into some of the untouched big reef breaks. Till then Ken and I have been working on our downwind paddling on the very unstable Bic Windsurfer. I have a new line of Imagine SUP's arriving in the next couple of weeks Kenny B already has his name on the Eco 12 foot SUP. Kenny's goal to salmon fish off the SUP is not far away........nor is the goal to explore this shoreline by SUP.

Monster Charlotte Halibut

2009-07-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

Just back from my 2 weeks of Salmon fishing in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Check out these halibut taken a few days ago. These halibut were 198 and 175 pounds. There are a lot of these fish up there but we really need to think about conserving them. Killing these big fish is like chopping down big trees. It's a really old way of thinking and we have to be putting these fish back. All of the big halibut are females and have exponentially larger numbers of eggs as they get bigger. It's all about education.

Paddlefit Explore

2009-07-07T23:19:00.000-07:00

It's time to get back on the SUP and hit the water again. This will be the first PaddleFit Explore class in a series that will run sporadically throughout the summer. Here are the details:

When:    Monday, July 13th
Where:   Edgewater Outdoor Center, Green Lake, Whistler
Time:     7pm - 8:30pm
What:    A combination of on water exploration & on board fitness
Pre-req: Completed a previous PaddleFit or Learn to SUP class. Essentially, you need to be proficient and comfortable on the board!
$25
Pre-Registration Required

To register, please RSVP to this email and we will give your further instruction. If you know of someone who you think would love to try the SUP and especially the PaddleFit Explore class, have them email us about taking a Learn to SUP class prior to Monday. We are around all weekend and will be teaching.

Queen Charlotte Island Chinook- Caught and Released

2009-07-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

Just one of the beauties caught and released this week. These fish are becoming rare.

Back to Haida Gwaii

2009-07-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

I am back up on the west coast of Haida Gwaii salmon fishing again for The Outpost lodge. The past few weeks prior to coming up here were great. I was over on the island with Jen and we did the Kusam Climb. Really tough 23 km race as the first 8km were straight up, 4500 feet. I managed to place 5th out of the 400 racers. Last week i ran Comfortably Numb and thats what my legs felt like in that 25 km trail race. They did not quite seem recovered after the Kusam but it was fun to run anyways. I only race so i can pig out at the junk table afterwards. I placed 11th which was okay since there were some pretty good runners. One of these days i may train for these races but for now they are just fun to compete in.

So this monday i came up to the Charlottes to fish. Fishing has been a little slow but it picked up today. I had some nice fish this afternoon. Yesterday everyone did well on the Halibut. I released a hali that was 6 feet long which puts it at around 180-200 pounds. Another guide brought one to the dock that banged the scale at 225. Unreal. Weather has been pretty good considering its the charlottes. I see a nice sunset right now so tomorrow looks promising. I will try to keep updated on the fishing up here and i will try to send some pictures.

GET STOKED ON SUP/PADDLEFIT WHISTLER

2009-06-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Paddlefit and Get Stoked on S.U.P is coming to Whistler. We will be running classes starting this Friday at the Edgewater Outdoor Center located on Green Lake. Check out the dates and times below.

PaddleFit and “Get Stoked” on S.U.P.

This is a unique fun new way to get in the best shape of your life. Paddle Fit combines the traditional Hawaiian sport of stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) with cutting edge strength and conditioning fitness to give you a total mind body workout. Develop the core, train the body, relax the mind! Experience the future of functional fitness training!

PaddleFit concentrates on developing proper paddling technique to engage your entire body and to paddle with maximum power and efficiency. Dry land conditioning exercises will be integrated into each session, providing a total body, high calorie burning fitness class. PaddleFit redefines total body fitness.

Get Stoked On SUP: See what the hype is all about. This is an introduction to stand up paddleboarding, the fasted growing watersport in the world and you need to take this class before starting Paddlefit. Gain confidence and learn to paddle correctly for maximum efficiency and fitness.

Edgewater @ Green Lake Get Stoked SUP Class & PaddleFit

Friday 19^th

^{Get Stoked –7:30am, 9am, 10:30am}

Mon 22^nd

PaddleFit – 7pm

Get Stoked SUP Class – 5:30pm

Tues 23^rd

PaddleFit – 9am, 7pm

Get Stoked SUP Class – 7:30am, 10:30am, 5:30pm

Wed 24^th

PaddleFit – 7am

Get Stoked SUP Class – 9:00am, 10:30am

Thurs 25^th – Sat 27^th

Get Stoked SUP Class – 7:30am, 9am, 7pm

*$25/class for PaddleFit

*$45 for a Get Stoked SUP Class & PaddleFit combo

*all classes are 1hr

*everyone must take a Get Stoked SUP class before taking a PaddleFit

*more PaddleFits to be offered in July

*Get Stoked SUP classes available upon demand at other times

*to register, email norm@mountainsurfadventures.com and we will confirm

*minimum of 6 people needed for a PaddleFit Class

*contact us for custom groups & times

What to Bring:

No equipment is necessary from you. Just come dressed for the weather and for a workout. We suggest you put a spare pair of clothes in the car, just in case. This is not a swimming class and we don't expect you to get wet but, well, just play it safe J Please wear running shoes (they may get wet though.)

o Registration Form (completed for 1^st class only)

o Par Q Form (completed for 1^st class only.

o Water bottle

o Running Shoes & workout Clothes

o Extra set of clothes (just in case)

Get Stoked on SUP

2009-06-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday the weather was hot and it was a great day to be out on the water showing people how to S.U.P. My first class of the day was at 9 am. Colleen, Jaime, Jason and Malini all came up from the city for their first SUP class. They did an outstanding job and I was really excited to have them out. At 10 am Jen brought a couple of her circuit class ladies, Krista and Julie out for a Paddlefit workout. We paddled hard for an hour and you could really see the work they had done in Jen's circuit class. They both paddled strong and with great technique and core strength. Nice job ladies. Our last class of the day was with local Scott Graham and my sister Shannon. The weather was just getting hotter and both Scott and Shannon picked the paddling up really quickly. They even started to work on their footwork and surf stance. A few swims later and both were ready for Tofino. We had so much fun we ended up hanging out on the boards for most of the afternoon. It was a great day, i had a lot of fun teaching. I am really stoked to see people enjoying themselves so much and learning a new sport. See you on the water. Thanks to Jenn Dickie for all of the great photographs.

SUP....This weekend and next week.

2009-06-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

There is still space in next week's Paddlefit Classes. Inquire about Monday and Thursday evening at 6:00pm or Wednesday morning at 7am. I will be up at Alice Lake on Saturday running Learn to SUP classes. Contact me if your interested in a lesson. Sunday I will be up at Seton Lake renting S.U.P's with Tim of Whistler Outdoor Experiences.

DOMINANT DART NUUN SWEEP

2009-06-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was in Monterey California nursing my shoulder and running support for Jen Segger, Cyril and Sylvia, all team Dart Nuun members at the 24 hours of Adrenalin Mountain Bike Race. Jen had an outstanding race and completed 19 laps(16km) laps in 24 hours easily winning the women's solo. She road strong and had to battle through some early cramping to get the job done. Very impressive racing and endurance. Cyril was equally as strong completing 23 laps and leading from start to finish to win the men's solo. Cyril's partner Sylvie won the solo women's 8 hour race. It was great working support with Jackie and although it was hard watching from the sidelines I knew that my work was just important for the team's success. We had an incredible full moon rise and the morning sunrise was spectacular. I really enjoyed the experience and I was very proud of Jen, Cyril and Sylvie. I went through my fair share of Bean Around the World coffee to keep me up and functioning. Good times.

This week we have more Paddlefit Classes. Weather looks good, not as hot as last week but lots of sun in the forecast.

ITS A HEATER

2009-06-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

Finally some incredible weather the past week. The last couple of days it's been 30 degrees. Which has made for some awesome Paddlefit Classes. We had new class start on Monday night and another one this morning at 6:00am. Alice Lake is stunning in the morning with the rising sun and flat conditions. Paddlefit is back at the lake tonight for class 3 of the Wednesday group. All athletes are experiencing huge improvments in paddling technique which is allowing them to paddle "Stronger for Longer." Personally I am really enjoying teaching the class and seeing everyone having such a great time. The weather is hot.....get out there for some adventure.

I also drove up to Pemberton to talk to a surfboard board shaper about a very cool project I have in mind for the summer. You will have to stay posted......norm

NEW PADDLEFIT CLASSES OFFERED

2009-05-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

Check out the new listing of classes below for the month of June. If interested contact me at norm@mountainsurfadventures.com

PaddleFit

This is a unique fun new way to get in the best shape of your life. PaddleFit combines

the traditional Hawaiian sport of stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) with cutting edge

strength and conditioning fitness to give you a total mind body workout. Develop the

core, train the body, relax the mind! Experience the future of functional fitness training!

PaddleFit conditioning classes introduce you to the new sport of Stand Up

Paddleboarding (SUP). You will learn how to paddle with proper technique, engage your

core and utilize your entire body to power the board through the water. Dry land

conditioning and circuit exercises will be integrated into each session, providing a

dynamic workout. PaddleFit redefines total body fitness.

PaddleFit @ Alice Lake

MONDAY’S June 1st, 8th, 15th 6-7:30pm

WEDNESDAY’S June 3rd, 10th, 17th 6-7:15am

THURSDAY’S June 4th, 11th, 18th 7-8:30pm

$25/class

Pre Registration Required.

Learn to Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) highly recommended before taking PaddleFit!

One-hour intro lessons offered. Learn to paddle, gain confidence and have fun!

Learn to SUP – Intro Class @ Alice Lake

MONDAY’S 5 - 6pm

TUESDAY’S 6 - 7pm

THURSDAY’S 6-7am

$25/class

Pre Registration Required.

PaddleFit Whistler

Living in Whistler? Have some friends who would like to try this Hawaiian sport? Give

us a call and we can arrange the same class for you at Rainbow Park. Minimum of 4

people needed.

What to Bring:

No equipment is necessary from you. Just come dressed for the weather and for a

workout. We suggest you put a spare pair of clothes in the car, just in case. This is not a

swimming class and we don't expect you to get wet but, well, just play it safe Please

wear running shoes for the dryland training. Bare feet works great when on the boards.

Registration Form (completed for 1st class only)
Par Q Form (completed for 1st class only)
Cash or Cheque (made payable to Jen Segger)
Water bottle
Towel
Running Shoes & workout clothes
Extra set of clothes (kept in the car, just in case)

TO REGISTER & RESERVE YOUR PLACE

EMAIL: jen@challengebychoice.ca

VISIT: www.mountainsurfadventures.com

Instructors: Norm Hann & Jen Segger

PADDLEFIT- Class 2

2009-05-28T18:53:00.001-07:00

Wednesday night we had our second Paddlefit class under a beautiful sunset at Alice Lake. We had a few new members tonight including Mandy, Jen and Meghan. It was incredible to see the improvement in Stand Up Paddling technique from last weeks class to this weeks class. All the girls had an outstanding workout and are really starting to catch on to the new sport of S.U.P. while complementing their fitness with tough circuit and conditioning routines. Jen and I are already looking forward to next weeks class. Nice job everyone!! If your interested in signing up for a Paddlefit Class contact me a norm@mountainsurfadventures.com

MOMAR 2009- D.N.F.

2009-05-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

This year's Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race did not go as planned. We had an outstanding day of weather for this race and i was excited to be racing with a couple of friends from the states Aaron Rinn, one of the top adventurer racers in the world who races for Dart Nuun and Chris Matze from Oregon. Jen had set up an incredible race that really showcased the best biking, trekking and rapeling Squamish has to offer. The race started well and I got out of the blocks pretty quick as it was 4 k sprint around Alice Lake. From there we headed onto our bikes for a bunch of climbing and sweet single track. It wouldn't be a momar without losing something so I decided to lose my checkpoint card. (pretty important) I knew i had lost it when i took out my map so i backtracked but in the confusion a friend of mine had picked it up, went by me, but since we were in race mode we did not communicate that well and anyways he brought it to the next checkpoint. A lot of racers went by me at this point and I was pretty frustrated. I managed to regroup and got through the navigation course okay. Then it was back onto the bike for more climbing and I had really started to push the pace on the downhills trying to make up time and thats where my race ended. Going too fast over a little rise and on a steep loose section of the course Jen had warned us about, I went head over heels and catapulted myself into a big boulder. Someone behind me thought I flew a good 10 feet. My arm went numb and I thought for sure bones were sticking out but I was really lucky i guess. I managed to bike, crawl, cry, whimper to the next check point but once there I was in a lot of pain and my race was done. I was super disappointed because we had more biking and the best part of the course, a hike up the Chief and a world class rappel off the chief. While competitors were doing that I was in emergency. Xrays were okay, nothing broken but the doctor thought I might have a slight separation, with badly bruised shoulders and ribs. The last couple of days have been pretty painful and it has been tough not getting out for some exercise but i will try to be patient and take my time. We had a good time at the after party and I am already looking forward to MOMAR Cumberland, where hopefully i will have my partner, Jen, back and she can look after me. Thanks to Jen for setting up and incredible course and to Bryan Tasaka for hosting another outstanding event. Now I have to get better quick for our Paddlefit class on Wednesday.

PADDLEFIT

2009-05-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

Mountain Surf Adventures and Challenge By Choice teamed up last night for our first Paddlefit Class. Paddlefit is a new concept combining on land circuit training and stand up paddleboarding, which in combination delivers a functional complete body workout. Tonight was our first of six classes held at Alice Lake. Kathy, Shannon, Greg, Sally, Inis, and Lee all did an outstanding job for their first time on the S.U.P and really pushed hard through the workout. Outstanding weather coming up this weekend so I hope to see you out having fun.

For more information or to sign up for Paddlefit, rent S.U.P's or have a lesson visit Mountain Surf Adventures.......or email me at norm@mountainsurfadventures.com.

BACK TO HARTLEY BAY

2009-05-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

Right after my two week California road trip I then got back in the car with my friend Jen Dickie and dr0ve up to Prince Rupert. From there we took a ferry down to the native community of Hartley Bay. I have worked with this community and the youth now for a number of years. Last year i did some kayak training for the high school kids and Jen and I came back up this year to deliver the next level in the Paddle Canada Kayak certifications.

I had really missed being back in the community and it was awesome to see all of the kids. We had 13 students that we put through a three day course. They were trained in paddle strokes, rescues and decision making.

It was incredible to see how quickly the confidence in these kids grew over the three days. We were very proud to present the students with their certifications. We are now looking forward to heading back up to take the kids on a multiday kayaking expedition in their territory to help develop their decision making skills, expedition planning and to help them gain more experience. Thanks to Cam and Eva Hill, my adopted family for looking after us while we were up there and sharing their amazing hospitality with us.

TABLE TOPS BEACH BREAK, SOLANA BEACH, CA

2009-05-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP

2009-05-18T11:51:00.001-07:00

The last week of April and first week of May we headed down to California for an epic two week road trip. Our first stop was LA for an 8 hour mountain bike race. The day after that we went up to Malibu to do our first stand up paddleboard race. It was a 7 mile downwinder and it was a blast paddling with Chuck Patterson, one of the best stand up paddlers in the world. From there we carried on to Newport beach for an amazing workout with Bob at Crossfit Newport, I was sore for three days. We stayed at our friend Cat's place. Thanks Cat for the great hospitality. Then it was down to Solana Beach just north of San Diego to stay at TR's place. I was in heaven as it was a 2 minute walk to the beach with the stand up paddleboard. We were down there for 5 days and I spent most of my time in the water SUPing Tabletops. I was so tired i could barely lift my arms. It is such an incredible surf culture in California and I think I made jen stop at every surf shop from Squamish to San Diego. I was like a little kid in a candy store. My favorite place was the Patagonia first surf inspired store in Cardiff.

I didn't really want to leave Solana Beach but we had to make our way back up north. We stopped in places like Ventura, Rincon, Santa Barbara, Big Sur, Monterrey, Morro Bay and Santa Cruz. The Big Sur shoreline was one of the most incredible shorelines I have ever seen and if you ever get a chance to drive it you will never forget it. Our last night was spent in northern california at an incredible spot in the Redwood forest called Patricks Point. Beautiful campsite with booming surf.

The final day we stopped at Cresent City to see if Greg Noll was around but not even his son's surf shop was open and the surf itself was terrible so we cruised all the way home to Squamish. I think we stopped at every coffee shop between Squmaish and San Diego too. It was an amazing trip and I can't wait to get back there.......a lot longer next time.

A FEW MORE HAIDA GWAII PICTURES

2009-04-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

A great view from the top of Tow Hill. Check out the weather. I was so surprised that it was sunny out. Everytime i have been up there, even in the summer it was windy and rainy. Also check out the amazing sets coming into the beach. The surf was really incredible. I was freakin out at this point looking down on the waves.

This was Kelly, the owner of the trout house where we had an amazing dinner. It was really busy and Kelly said in the summer its nuts. Well worth the wait though.

SURFING HAIDA GWAII

2009-04-24T22:23:00.001-07:00

What a weekend. April 3rd Jen and I finally headed up to north beach on the Queen Charlotte Islands. I had been up to Masset a number of times to fly into the Outpost Lodge where I have been working as a salmon fishing guide but Jen had never been up there. We arrived to amazing weather on Friday and we took advantage of this by doing a 25 km run out to Rose Spit from Tow Hill. Incredible thing was we ran for 2 hours and never saw anyone on the beach. North Beach is a stunning place and we could actually see the mountains of Alaska. There was also an amazingly clean swell hitting the shores so after the run I was in my wetsuit and headed out for some incredible rides just west of Tow Hill. Surfing North Beach had been on the list for awhile so it felt incredible to be out here all by myself surfing some beautiful waves. The water was freakin cold though. Coldest I have been in and after 10 minutes my hand were pretty much frozen but I couldn't bring myself to come back to the beach. Shortly before hypothermia set in I managed to stumble back to the beach.

That night we had the best halibut and chips on the island at this cool little spot at the trailer park. I mean it.....awesome halibut. Saturday we awoke to 30-40 knot winds, typical charlotte weather and we decided to take our rental and go and explore the North Island. We headed down to Port Clements to check out the Haida Canoe, then it was west to Rennell Sound. I wanted to surf the west side but our progress was stopped short with too much snow on the crazy road down that connected us to the sound. Glad we decided not to push it, i am sure it would have turned into an epic. Instead we went south to Queen Charlotte City, then to Skidegate, up to Tlell and back up to Port Clements where we went on the Golden Spruce Trail. If you have not read the book Golden Spruce check it out. Great read, especially if you have ever been to the charlottes or plan on going there. Then it was back to our accommodations at the Beach House, owned by West Coast Fishing Club. Dinner that night was at one of the best restaurants I have ever been too, no kidding. Its called the Trouthouse, a super funky place owned by Kelly and Jonathon. If you are ever up around Masset you have to stop here to eat. Incredible organic food. I had a buffalo burger 2 feet high and Jen had a really good salad. I think I won though and for desert we both won because we had home made apple pie with icecream. What a day.

Sunday we woke up and I had a really amazing surf session at a riverbreak with a few locals. It was so much fun. Jen had a great time too and was really comfortable in the peeling beach break waves. I really did not want to leave but we had a flight to catch. Next year I would like to bring a crew of people up there to surf north beach for a least a week. I highly recommend the trip, we scored on the waves, had some great adventures and met some really cool people. We can't wait to get back.

MORNING COFFEE IN LANGDALE

2009-03-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

Well I had been looking at doing the crossing from Lion's Bay to Langdale on the Sunshine Coast for awhile now and on March 14th I decided to go for it. This can be a tricky crossing because unless conditions are flat you are either dealing with an inflow wind or an outflow wind, either of them will be pushing wind and swell on the side of your board making you really work on your balance and your core strength. The Sound can be a really nasty place with the wrong conditions. It can blow up pretty quick. The crossing was about 9 nautical miles and I left at 8:30am from the marina in Lion's Bay. I wore a full wetsuit, and I carried a cell phone and VHF radio for safety. I also had leash on my board just in case I fell with a backpack of water and snacks. I did also let people know my route plan. Conditions for the first hour were pretty flat as I bee lined it to the bottom end of Gambier. About half way across the winds really started to pick up and a good chop was starting to build. I was pretty stoked though as I had my hip hop going on my Ipod. After the initial nervousness wore off I got into a great rhythm and found paddling in the building swell pretty fun. I had a few funny looks from a few boaters that cruised by. The bottom end of Gambier was scenic with the odd Bald Eagle monitoring my progress. I planned on trying to get the 12:30 ferry back from Langdale and my paced seemed pretty good. As I made my last little crossing to the ferry terminal the conditions calmed down and I got into port 3hrs after leaving Lion's Bay. It felt great to finally make it across and once there i dropped my board and ran to the coffee shop for my morning americano.......mmmmmm that was well worth the paddle(had to get a cookie too). The best part of it all was I did not have to pay for the ferry back to Horseshoe Bay.

Used Stand Up Paddleboard and Paddle- $900

Ipod- $50 bucks

Wetsuit- $300 bucks

Backpack and Gear- $100

Not having to pay for an $11 BC Ferry.........PRICELESS

Well not really. I thought the epic would happen when making the crossing but that was smooth. The epic happened when i got back to land. I had to hitchhike from Horseshoe Bay back up to Lions Bay. A great guy and logger from Bowen Island, Chris, picked me up. Upon arriving at Lions Bay i found my truck had been towed. I left my keys on top of the car and thought they would have been lost so i went to Squamish with Chris to get another set of keys which I didnt have. He had a few errands to do there and then he drove me all the way back to North Van to pick up my Jeep at Payless.

The fee for getting my truck..........NOT PRICELESS.

My keys luckily were there and back up to Squamish I went. I had to leave my board at Sewell's marina at Horseshoe Bay which I had to pick up later in the week because it was closed by the time I came back through. Thanks to Sewell's for storage and thanks so much to Chris, what a saviour.

It was a great adventure and I look forward to more big crossing in the future. Crossing the straight of Georgia is now in my sights along with a bunch of other cools trips and expeditions.

1st Stand Up Paddleboard Race

2009-03-27T15:48:00.001-07:00

Well not really but March 8th Jen and I headed to Qualicum Beach in hopes of competing in our first stand up paddleboard race. We awoke to a heavy snowfall and strong Northerly outflow winds in Nanaimo. I thought it was perfect conditions for the BC race. I was pretty excited and when we got to Qualicum Beach, well, it was really cold with choppy conditions and strong onshore winds. There was about 15 of us and the group consensus was that the conditions were a little tough for the first race. Most people had trouble standing on their boards but I had been training in some solid conditions in Howe Sound and it looked pretty fun to me. They decided to have the race at a later date when conditions were better for the general public. I decided to do the course anyways and it took me about 30 minutes. It was pretty wavy but I loved it. Instead the group all headed out and practiced some surfing right off the beach. Jen managed to catch some of her first waves and she had a huge smile on her face all day. She might be ready for Jaws now but we have to get to Hawaii first. It was fun playing around in the wind swell and always great practice for balance and the core. Such an incredible workout. I guess we will just have to wait for the next race, hopefully in California where the normal people are paddling without wetsuits and toque's. It was great though to be with other SUPers and I know this sport will be taking off up here. Canadian SUPing at it's best.......cold, windy, wavy, numb fingers and other parts........and snow. Thanks a lot to Island Longboards and Todd for trying to se this up for us.

Stand Up on the Sunshine Coast

2009-03-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

Jen and I had a change of plans this weekend. The Big Mountain Battle in Kamloops was traded in for a day on the Sunshine Coast. We headed over Friday night after missing the ferry and being the last car to NOT get on. We found a campsite, sort of, and woke to a beautiful morning where we began the day with a run to Skookumchuk Narrows with Big Sea. It wasn't really ripping nor was it big enough to stand up paddleboard on (kidding, at least for now). After our run we found some coffee and headed to Half Moon bay for a great two hour stand up. Conditions were perfect as you can see. We googled at all the amazing homes in the bay and then headed for yet another coffee afterwards. It was a great little get away and i am looking forward to going back for more stand up and some mountain biking. I am pumped about next weekend too, my first stand up paddleboard race in Qualicum Beach. Should be lots of fun so this week I am heading back onto the Sound for some more training.

Happiness

2009-03-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

A fool is "happy" when his/her cravings are satisfied. A warrior is happy without reason. That's what makes happiness the ultimate discipline. Happiness is not just something you feel- IT IS WHO YOU ARE. - from the book, Way of the Peaceful Warrior.

MMMMMM.........Banana Bread

2009-02-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

Yup, thats me eating again at the top of Mt. Baldwin. The only reason I go to the top is for Jen's Banana Bread. Its been a great month of multiventure here in Squamish. The weather has been awesome, clear skies, cool temperatures but not a lot of precipitation until this week. Here's a Recapadamonth.

Beginning of Feb had a great 25km ski tour into Callaghan Lodge, nordic site of the 2010 Olympics. Beautiful lodge in a beautiful location with great touring possibilities. It was just a quick in and out on this day. Managed to get up Mount Mulligan which is just north of where I was eating this banana bread. I took Big Sea, my dog, up and it turned into an epic with her. Reminder to myself to not take her touring off trail.

I was also back on my stand up paddle board and did a short tour out to Anvil Island in Howe Sound. Back on the skis with friends, Michelle and Michael, to have some of the best turns of the year off of Round Mountain in Garibaldi Park. Mt. Baldwin was another great tour and day with Jen. Started hiking the Chief this month, snow covered in areas but great training none the less. Managed to get on the bike as well a little bit of cross training, combined with some runs on the Cheekeye Trails(trails not quite ready yet). One of my best days was on the SUP again as I paddled from Furry Creek to Britannia Beach and back. I paddled back in a 20 knot wind that came up quickly and managed to surf a few downwind waves. I was also thrown from the board for the first time in the Sound on a particularly knarly section rounding a point. I was wearing my wetsuit so all was good and i had a big smile on my face. Finally I went back up to Paul Ridge for some deep powder turns after receiving 40-50cms of snow this week.

This weekend I am looking at doing the Big Mountain Battle at Sun Peaks in Kamloops. It is basically a backcountry ski randonee race where you have to grab a bunch of checkpoints on the mountain. This should be a lot of fun and quite the challenge and would be my first ski race this year. The following weekend I am really excited to race in my first Stand Up paddleboard race in Qualicum Beach.

For me, my season of coaching the women's basketball team is complete. This will now open up some weekends for more great adventures and fun in the outdoors.

THE WHALE

2009-02-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

This excerpt was taken from Peter Legge's book called The Power to Soar Higher in the Chapter called Living with Gratitude.

I read a front-page story in one of San Francisco's local newspapers, the SF Chronicle , about a female humpback whale that became entangled in a spider web of crab traps adn lines. She was weighed down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped all around her body including her tail and a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that the whale was in such dire straights that the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. It was a very dangerous proposition considering that one slap of her tail could kill a rescuer.

The team worked together for hours with curved knives and eventually freed the whale.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them gently, as it to say "Thank you for helping me."

Some of the team members said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time and he will never be the same.

This story really touched me. I have had experiences somewhat like this in the Great Bear Rainforest with bears, wolves and whales and understand what they guys were feeling. I have never had the incredible experience though of being touched and watched. They are so incredible, so much we need to learn. We hunted these incredible, smart mammals almost to extinction. They are making a great comeback now on the north coast. Can't wait to go back and see them this summer.

GIVE YOURSELF FULLY

2009-01-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

"Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Therefore give yourself fully to your endeavours. Decide to construct your character through excellent actions and determine to pay the price of a worthy goal. Remain steadfast....and one day you will build something that endures; something worthy of your potential."- Epictetus, Roman Teacher and Philosopher.

TRIBUTE TO A FALLEN TEAMMATE AND FRIEND

2009-01-23T10:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, 9 years ago my friend and university basketball teammate, Dwayne Rivard passed away. I am fortunate enough to know his family well and I am very close with his sister Paula. I was blessed when Paula gave me a special rock that belonged to Dwayno. This rock I take with me on all my adventures. I kept it in my pocket all day yesterday and i had an amazing day. I felt incredible and inspired. My day ended with a ski tour up Blackcomb Mountain on a night with countless stars. This rock goes with me to the top's of mountains, along pristine rivers, in deep valleys and rainforests and on the boundless energy of the ocean. It also reminds me of how fortunate I am. Fortunate for the amazing life I have and for the amazing people in my life. Don't forget to tell someone how much you love them.

"Every year that I live I am more convinced that the waste of life lies in the love we have not given, the powers we have not used, the selfish prudence which will risk nothing, and which, shirking pain, misses happiness as well." - Mary Cholmondeley

Eagle Viewing by Stand Up Paddleboard

2009-01-18T13:59:00.000-08:00

We have had some amazing weather lately, sunny and clear blue skies. The skiing hasn't been great so I took my paddleboard out yesterday and paddle up the Squamish River to check out some bald eagles. Our eagle count was down again this year, lower than last. Last year was a very low year and they are attributing that to the diminishing runs of chum salmon. After the river paddle i headed out into the sound for another hour or so. It was great being out on such an amazing day. The outflow winds started to kick up so I headed back in.

I also got some new touring gear from Mark up in Williams Lake. He owns the Red Shreds Ski Shop up there and sent down a pair of Mt. Baker Superlights with a pair of TLT vertical's on them. Incredible set up. I have been touring on pair of Black Diamond Havocs with Diamir Freeride binding. That set up has been pretty good too, the bindings are beefy and the Havocs rip but they do not compare to the lightness going uphill of the Baker's and TLT's. Wow. Feels like you have nothing on, ski's i mean, in comparison. I also got a pair of used Garmont Megarides. They are a 4 buckle boot and I can already notice the power. I am really looking forward to some big days on them.......they should work really well for the big volcano's this spring. Tonight I am heading up Blackcomb for a starlight training tour.

Stand Up Paddle Board Sesh over the new years.

2009-01-18T13:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFzaSphipOg

THINK 20 YEARS AHEAD

2009-01-13T11:27:00.000-08:00

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore.

Dream.

Discover.

-Mark Twain

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2009-01-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you have set your goals and dreams for 2009. I had an amazing break with lots of adventures. I spent lots of time in the mountains and on the ocean. Many days were spent touring up in Garibaldi Park with the great snow we have been getting. One of the days I toured in waist deep powder then rushed down to the Squamish Spit in a snowstorm to do some stand up paddle boarding.

The holidays also have been about family and friends. My family came out west this year for Christmas and we celebrated West Coast Style with lots of adventures including snowshoeing and nordic skiing in the Callaghan. New Years was spent in one of the best places on earth, Tofino. We had incredible weather and great surf. I spent a lot of time surfing the waves on my stand up which is one of my favorite things to do. I will try to post some video of one of my surfs.

I am really looking forward to an epic new year with lots of great adventures and time spent with close friends, family and partners.

FIRST SKI TOUR OF THE SEASON

2008-12-12T17:28:00.000-08:00

Up at 5:30am today to get out for the first ski tour of the season. It has been a late season for the snow but we finally got some overnight and it was snowing heavily this morning. Today I headed up for a quick blast to Red Heather. We were able to ski right from the parking lot and the snow was pretty good up by the hut and on the ridge. It felt great to be back on the skis and I am looking forward to a great season. Tomorrow I am thinking about Baker backcountry or Duffy Lake, leaning towards Baker since they might have gotten more snow from this last storm system. It will be another early rise and Big Sea will be along for the ride. I will have to tell her to get some good rest tonight.

MILEAGE ON THE SUP

2008-12-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

Well my first ski tour last winter was November 12 and with the late arrival of the snow here on the coast i have been putting in a lot of time on my stand up paddleboard. It has been awesome. In the last month I have paddled from Porteau Cove to Lion's Bay here on Howe sound. I made it out to Tofino and had an incredible surf session with it. It is a pretty amazing feeling picking up the waves long before anyone else is able to get onto them. I was the only SUPer out there as well which felt pretty cool to be doing something not a lot of people are doing yet. I also got a taste of the open coast paddling from North Chestermans to Mackenzie Beach in decent swell and current. It is very energizing paddling the outer coast and it fuels me to want to do more and bigger trips. The alone time is great and the focus on the now is the way we should be living. After Tofino I made a trip down to Washington and paddled some great lakes down there as you can see from the picture. My paddling power is developing and the body is becoming adapted to moving this board efficiently. Last week I paddled the Sound again and headed over to Woodfibre, a wood processing plant that has recently shut down. The plant opened in 1912 and provided years of work for the people of Squamish and area. It was an interesting historical paddled. At the height of the plant there was 500 plus people and now there is nobody, pretty much a ghost town with a few companies dismantling the plant. I did realize how there is zero sea life around there due to the heavy contaminants that have been dumped into the sound for decades. After a bunch of training paddles on Alice Lake and a few more in the sound i was getting ready for some ski touring to balance out the lower body with the upper. The stand up paddle boarding is a ton of fun, a great workout and gives you the chance to explore and feel the freedom that being on the water can provide.

STAND PADDLE SURFING PORT RENFREW

2008-11-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

I couldn't wait any longer so I got up at 4:30am to catch the 6:30am ferry out of Horseshoe bay with plans to stand up paddle surf Port Renfew. Up to now i have just been flatwater paddling on Howe Sound, the Squamish River and Alice Lake. Now it was time to try the Southpoint Kalama in the surf. I drove down to Duncan and cut across the island via logging roads to Port Renfew. When i got there the waves were a decent size, the swell had been dropping from a big system that just went through. A guy on the beach of course said, "shoulda been here yesterday, swell was huge." For what my plans were today the waves were perfect. It was high tide and most of the waves were dumping onshore but some of the bigger ones were breaking outside. It was a shifty peak so it took me a while to get my timing and get comfortable standing up in the surf. I finally picked one off, pretty big smile on my face and once I caught my first one I started getting a lot more. Incredible feeling getting into waves standing up rockin an 11'6" board. I had to bail out before the wave slammed onto the shore but I was able to ride a few down the line. I was the only one out and I surfed until fatigue had me falling off the board for no reason. I was out for 3 hours and came in superstoked. It was pretty hard getting in as the shorebreak threw me and my telephone pole all over the place. I somehow ended up with leaves, dirt, gravel and various debris on the inside of my suit. I was happy to get out of the water before my board became a scud missile. Since then I have not stopped thinking about getting back in the water again for another surf. My next trip will be to Tofino in the next couple of weekends for more SUPing. I got a lot of funny looks, people wondering what the heck I was doing but it was really cool doing something no one else was doing. Sorry no pictures or proof but it was a solo mission today and you will just have to trust me. Laird would have been proud........no not really.

MORE SUP

2008-10-27T20:30:00.001-07:00

This weekend I was back on the SUP. We had some spectacular weather here in Sea to Sky country so we had to take advantage of it. I picked Jen up and we headed to the Squamish River, me on my Kalama and Jen on her Sitka Longboard. We took turns paddling down the river, thank goodness for the wetsuits because the river was pretty cold. It took us a couple of hours to get down to the spit from our launch at the Mamquam River. We did not time things right because we were paddling into a strong inflow wind by the time we got close to the ocean and a flooding tide as well. Great workout though and the scenery was spectacular.

Sunday we had to head up to Whistler to meet some friends so we had another workout on Alta Lake. Jen paddled her kayak to get ready for the world adventure championships in Brazil and I paddled my SUP to get ready for the World SUP Championships(no such thing.....yet) It was a really cold morning with a stiff northerly outflow wind. I did manage to paddle up a short river where i ran into a family of otters and a lone coyote. That was pretty cool. The weather here has been really amazing so I am hoping to get back out for some more SUP training. Soon i will head to Tofino to try to surf this thing. We had post adventure breaky at the Function Junction Wild Wood(the best) and it was great to see my old guiding buddy Tankers with his better Swedish half, Laura.

Bigger day on the SUP

2008-10-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

Last sunday I went for a longer paddle on the SUP. My roomate Cindy dropped me off at Porteau Cove on the Sea to Sky Hiway. There was a little bit of a northerly outflow which made the paddling a little slower as I started but I enjoyed the challenge. It was a beautiful day to paddle and as I hit Brittania Beach the northerly stopped as the sun warmed the Squamish Valley and a light southerly inflow began to push me along. It was great paddling, no one out in the sound aside from a couple of pleasure boats. I was pretty hot in the wetsuit but it was nice to have it for safety incase I hit the drink. Things again slowed down as I hit the outflow of the Squamish River. Pretty incredible view though of the Chief, Mt. Garibaldi and the surrounding peaks. I think the distance was close to 16-17km's which took me 3.5 hours to complete. I am hoping to get out again this week and soon I will head out to Tofino to try surfing this thing. Should be a lot of fun.

Morning Coffee on the Squamish River

2008-10-15T21:12:00.001-07:00

Yup, coffee on my standup paddle board. Spectacular morning and day in Squamish. I did not have a lot of time but I managed to launch my SUP off the dyke and onto the Squamish River to begin to get comfortable in moving water standing up. If you are not familiar with Stand Up paddle boarding its an ancient Hawaiian Sport where you stand on big longboards and use a long paddle to propel yourself forward. The sport is huge in the states and Hawaii but has yet to take off up here. Guys like Laird Hamilton are dropping into 40-50 foot faces at Jaws on Maui and tackling one of the heaviest waves in the world, Teahupoo, in Tahiti on these things. Guys are paddling down class 4 and 5 rivers on them and guys including myself are looking at doing overnight expeditions up on the north coast with them.I am looking at some big epics since so much of this coast has never been seen by stand up paddle boarders. Something about this sport has really got me excited and all I want to do right now is paddle since there are tons of things that have never been done on a Stand Up Paddle Board.

Today I was paddling with Harbour Seals who were chasing salmon up the river and with Mergansers and Blue Herons. It was really an amazing morning and I am looking forward to getting into the Sound for some Fjiord paddling. We are coming into the rainy and stormy season on the coast here but there are going to be some amazing adventures to be had over the winter. Combine that with another heavy schedule of ski touring and I'm set up for a good one.......

STAND UP PADDLE BOARD CAREER BEGINS

2008-10-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhhh I am so excited, after a month of searching I finally found a used stand up paddle board. Its actually the first SUP i had ever been on. I rented this board from Neil at Second Wave in North Vancouver and after a couple of weeks of bugging him he finally sold it to me and now a whole world awaits. Its really all I have been thinking about lately so my first paddle was of course with my love, Big Sea on Alice Lake. I really thought it was going to take me awhile before she got comfortable on this thing but she stood on it for a second, got off, realized I was going to go and hopped on and sat down on my feet. So there I was for my first paddle with Big Sea happy as a clam. (not sure where that slogan came, do clams get happy and sad??) So we paddled around the lake as I got used to the board. Its a sweet board, an 11'6" Southpoint Timpone Kalama Edition. Pretty sick ride. Stable yet moves well. It's an awesome workout and I have just been dreamin as to all of the places I will go. For starters I will be heading into Howe Sound to put a few miles on in the upcoming weeks with hopes of heading to the west coast to try my hand at surfing this thing and tackling a few overnight expeditions with it. It is so much fun, I just love trying and getting good at a new sport, especially when it includes paddling, surfboards, surfing and the ocean. Awesome.......stay posted for Adventures of a Brackendale SUPer

5 Days of Island Multiventure

2008-10-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

End of September I was on the island for a wicked weekend of multiventure and celebration of my friend Jen's birthday. Thursday we ran the Juan De Fuca Trail with Jen's friend Don. The conditions were horrible, heavy rain and muddy trails. I couldn't think of better conditions for the west coast, actually I can but whatever, its the west coast. We ran the 47km trail in a cruisy pace of 8 hours. Friday we recovered in Duncan and sampled the various coffee shops in the area. This was our recovery day as we had to race the Cumberland Momar on Saturday. We raced in the 4 team division and I was fortunate enough to race with half of the Dart Nuun team, Jen Segger and her teammate Ryan Van Gorder. His wife Jen fell ill right before the race and we found a great replacement in a strong competitor, Tom Roozenvald. I realized why Ryan is on one of the top adventure racers as he towed Jen uphill during one of the steep hills of the mountain bike section while I blew my quads out about 3/4 way up. Very impressive show of power and teamwork. It was a very enjoyable race and the training i have been doing chasing Jen around Squamish really paid off for me as I felt pretty strong throughout. We ended up winning our division and placing 5th overall. It was great to compete in this last Momar. I completed all three with varying degrees of success throughout. Momar Squamish I lost my map and my mind in the solo category unhappy with the way things worked out but happy i didn't walk off the course. We learn through experience and I made a great decision for Momar Lake Cowichan, I teamed up with Jen and we won the co-ed division and place 4th overall. These races are a lot of fun, Bryan Tasaka does and outstanding job and I am looking forward to next years races. I now have three really cool Tshirts too.

We spent post race in Tofino surfing incredible conditions. Sun and beautiful glassy swells. Jen got a chance to ride her new Sitka Longboard and made the most of it with sweet rides and thoughts of heading towards the nose for some hang ten action. Happy Birthday to Jen and thanks for such and amazing weekend.

Lately I have been coaching a ton with the Quest Women's basketball team. We played our first game against Douglas College last Friday and this weekend we are in Capilano for a 3 game tournament. You can check out our results on questuwomensbasketball.blogspot.com.

Still searching for a Stand Up Paddleboard.........

BACK TO BANFF

2008-09-24T12:13:00.001-07:00

Finally i was back in Banff. It had been two years since i was back but that was only for a night. Banff is close to my heart as I have family that lives there, Kevin, Sharon, Jonah and Avril and I had spent two summers living there and working for Kevin at Abominable Sports. During these two summers I explored, climbed, biked, skied and scrambled up everything I could on my time off. I had a great partner back then, Johnny " Eye Spy" Stewart and if i wasn't with him I was off on my own. So it was good to get back. It was a short weekend and I went with a friend of mine from Squamish. We had the chance to blast up Tunnel Mountain on Friday beneath a great sunset and then spent the evening at Guido'. Saturday I got into an area that I had never explored before due to Grizzly problems. It was Larch Valley, Sentinel Pass and Paradise Valley. We ran this route, about 25 kms under incredible conditions, sunny and warm. This run was fantastic. We passed along Moraine Lake in the Valley of the 10 Peaks looking at a sick ski line Kevy poached years ago. The Larches were turning colors and the backdrop was stunning. As we dropped into Paradise Valley we left the crowds behind and had most of the valley to ourself stopping at Annette Lake underneath the massive north face of Mt. Temple first climbed in 1966. I have always wanted to scramble up Temple but have not had the chance since you needed a group of 6 for the grizzlies and usually i was by myself. I stared at Miss Temple for most of the run, hoping that she was reading my mind understanding I would be back to climb her at some point in the near future. That night we had dinner at St. James gate. I have fond memories of the gate as I had spent a New Years there happy to be in the warmth and safety not thinking I was ever going to get out of a bad backcountry situation just hours before. That was when i was new to the mountains and very inexperienced. It is those Ontario guys who come out west with no experience and a lack of awareness that get themselves into trouble and worse in the mountains. You see it a lot every year in Whistler. I was lucky that time and trust me, the Guinness tasted good that night. I think I slept for the next two days. Sunday's activity took us up Sulphur as the weather started to change which was okay since we were leaving that afternoon to head back to Squamish. It was really good to see Kev and Sharon. Jonah has lengthened out and has the Hann body type passed on from Grampa Hann. He is turning into a fine athlete and skier. Avril, is a special young woman with amazing artistic talents and a beautiful way about her. The last time spent with her was in my arms as a baby. That was a long time ago. Thanks to Kevin and Sharon for the great hospitality. It was also great seeing my cousin Greg and Shirley Anne. I will be back in March for my Avalanche Level 1 course and I hope the boys will show me some old backcountry stashes.

Surfer/Fisherman/Adventurer/Athlete in Training

2008-09-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

And I am not talking about my old washed up bro. I am talking about my little man in the Storm Tshirt, Samuel Craig Hann. K little man, your days of sitting around stuffing your face with food, crawling around like a little mechanical gorilla, sleeping your life away, and just generally being the cutest little man i have ever seen are over. Its time to start training soon. Dawn patrols with fishing rod in hand searching out the hiding places of Mister Big Bass, headlamp patrols up the Chief, morning surf checks with Uncle Storm, left hand lay ups till it becomes part of your daily movement, and post storm backcountry ski tours searching out the White Pow. As well don't worry about wasting your time on music lessons, or french classes. If you start training now you will not even have to go to school or get an education and you can make more money than all of us..........kidding Mom, Tara, little man could be an astronaut if he wants. Anywho Sam, thats my pep talk for today, you can go back to wearing your diapers, eating ridiculous amounts of food, looking like your 2 instead of 10 months, being carried around and having to deal with your new teeth(which may get knocked out if you want to be an Ultimate Fighter). Talk to you soon little man.....love uncle storm.

Just the Boys- Killarney 2008

2008-09-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

August I was back in Northern Ontario for a sea kayaking trip and right after that Dad, my brother Brad and Big Sea went into one of my all time favorite places, Killarney Provincial Park. Dad was one of the first surveyors there back in the early sixties and for the past 3 summers we have headed back into the park for some outstanding paddling and even better fishing. I am a huge fisherman since I grew up on Wahnapitae River at Grampa Stacey's camp in the summers and fished all day everyday. The fishing in the lakes in Killarney not affected by acid rain is incredible. I was really excited for this trip. We only had a short time, 2 days, 1 night. We rented some canoes at Bell Lake from Killarney Kanoes and our first day took us through Bell Lake and into 3 mile Lake. I of course was always way behind since I was fishing all the way and couldn't pass up ideallyic casting spots. We managed to find the last campsite on 3 Mile. It was a beautiful spot and the evening was turning into one of those special Northern Ontario August evenings. After setting camp we headed out for some fishing. Of course Brad was getting outfished badly by the pro but he managed to make a late run with some sweet topwater action. He landed a beauty smallmouth that was released while I landed a hard fighting largemouth and one nice smallmouth bass. We kept both for supper. Dad was happy to just paddle around smoking cigars. The sunset was awesome to say the least and as it got dark we headed back to camp where i filleted the fish and then cooked them

over an open fire while enjoying tasty cold ones and a couple of Don Tomas. The following day brought sunny and warm conditions. From 3 mile lake we portaged into Balsam Lake and ended up having lunch at a great spot. It was here that I had to show my little bro how pull the hogs in. Brad actually had this beauty largemouth pictured below hammer his topwater bait but could not coax him back for another strike. After repairing Brads rod from his breakage the night before i tested it out and casted the same Zara Spook topwater bait and must have landed it on the fishes head as he thumped it and after a solid battle landed this beauty and then released him. We then headed into Deacon Lake for some more exploration and were surprised to run into friends Dave and Laura Bertrim on day two of their paddle through the park. We then made our way back through the chain of lakes and back to the truck after more fishing and relaxed paddling. I was really in heaven being with Dad and my brother and big Sea. We all had a really good time and we are excited about going back next year. We are trying to coax my sisters into coming as well. Mom, no problem, she grew up catching snakes, fishing and beating up the boys so I know she is in. Shansy has been know to fish beside her big brother the odd time but stacey, well, we may have to work on her.

PADDLING PHILIP EDWARD ISLAND

2008-09-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

I headed back to Ontario at the beginning of August to visit my family and to paddle with the ladies on Georgian Bay. Originally being from the area and growing up on the lakes and rivers of Northern Ontario I was stoked to paddle Georgian Bay. Paula Rivard, a very close friend of mine, got a group of girls together for the trip, Maureen, Kelly and Judy. I had numerous warnings from Paula's mom that I was basically risking my life taking these women on a trip. I am sure most guys would agree with me that I was okay taking that risk. Plus there was more booze to sink a ship(or kayak) so i knew if everything went south I had a contingency plan.

Our day started at the Chikinishing Creek launch point later in the afternoon since Judy was at the walk in clinic all morning with stomach ailments forced to go by group members. The delay was great since it allowed the strong winds to calm down and we launched in stunning conditions. The evening was just how a paddling trip in August should be, sunny, hot with flat water. I was really excited to be out here and the girls really seemed to be enjoying themselves. We set camp that night on a warm rock outcrop. Saturday we awoke to mixed weather conditions yet we were able to explore the various islands and inlets and even had time to climb a small island, Silver Fox, to check out the cool Inukshuk. We had lunch under a storm cloud(yes I am sure I brought the weather) blasting lightning bolts and looking very close to a tornado. I gave the option of heading back to camp and I have never seen a double kayak paddled that fast before. Kelly's arms were moving so quick i didn't think it was possible to move a boat like that. After our retreat to the campsite we had some dinner, pasta, with the Rivard family secret sauce and then all of a sudden the S#$% hit the fan with the weather. The winds increased dramatically and it was almost impossible to keep our tarp up. We did manage to keep the fire going but by 11 that night it was time to hit the tents. Now i have worked on the west coast for 9 years and I have seen some incredible weather but the storm that hammered us all night would have to rank right up there. Very impressive. The storm went unabated for 12 hours, blasting our tent like we were on the top of Everest. It was impossible to stay dry and all of the girls decided to stay in one tent. I had to check the kayaks a couple of times throughout the night to make sure they had not been blow into orbit.

The girls went to bed laughing and woke up laughing. Incredible. The last morning we broke camp, did some more exploring and then headed back to the Chik Creek. Well by the time we got back to the creek it was swollen to spring time conditions, conditions not even seen by locals in the summer. As I was assessing taking out at the original launch point which had now become a raging rapid, Maureen thought she would test her white water skills(none), and try to get across. I chuckled and mumbled something about going over knowing I was now mentally getting ready to do a rescue. Yup, she crossed the distinct eddy line and wham, she was over, boat, paddle and various gear now floating down river. I was able manage the group and get them to shore while i gathered Maureen and made sure she was safely onshore. I then had to paddle back down river to pick up the kayak and various gear. It was not the easiest tow up river. Maureen thought she would assist and left the group to float down the river to "help" me. She met me down river and I had no option but to put her back in the boat. After another capsize we got back to the launch and got all gear back onto shore. We then had some ice cold bevys and had a great laugh about whole event. Of course Paula was terrified but I think she quickly realized that it was more just of an inconvience than a full on crisis. We finished the trip up at Herbert's, the World Class fish and chips spot in Killarney on the docks.

It was an outstanding trip and more impressive than the storm we had was the attitude of the girls. Most groups would have paled in such conditions. The girls were always having fun, always laughing(maybe they had something i didn't) and really valued the experience. They were one of the best groups i have ever guided and i am really excited that they want to do another trip next year.......thanks a lot to Paula for putting this trip together. Both of us thought a lot about her brother Dwayne, a close friend and teammate of mine, an outstanding brother and son, who passed away in a car accident a few years ago. Dwayno was one of those great guys who would do anything for you and who just made your life better being around him. Cheers to you Dwayno.

I'M BACK

2008-09-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well i have to apologize for not being on the blog since June. The summer is my season for guiding and i just recently got back from my last stint guiding salmon fishing on the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii. July I was busy driving through the states ending up in Badwater(-181 feet) Death Valley for a friends epic ultra marathon race. End of July was back in the Charlottes fishing and then August was awesome as I headed back home to Sudbury for a couple of weeks to visit family and friends and to run a sea kayak trip with clients and a canoe trip with dad and bro.

I have to say that fishing the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands was outstanding, the fishing amazing when you could get out to the spots to fish. I was up there for about 40 days working for the Outpost Lodge. The weather was absolutely terrible. Many days we had driving rain and gale to storm force winds. I learned to drive a boat in huge seas and to be calm when facing epic water conditions. I can remember two nice days. The rest were like the movie Groundhog Day where every day you wake up is the same.........gray, rain and freakin windy. I saw some incredible fish come in. Kenny B hammered a 62 pound Chinook, you just don't see fish like that anymore. It was massive. I saw a halibut come in that was 206 pounds and guides up there released halibut in the 300 pound range. Unreal hali fishing. These fish when they hit will almost pull you out of the boat if your not ready. It feels like your battling the bottom of the ocean for the majority of the hour. I fished with some real characters up there........Tiny aka LOG, Kermode, KB, Babu, Picasso, Pacino and I can't forget the best handle on the coast......Boat 4. Of course I am the Storm and was reminded every time I came up because I always brought bad weather with me. No doubt i was in my element enjoying the highest energy coastline in the world. The west side of the Charlottes is the most spectacular shoreline I have ever seen. Everyone at some point in their life has to get up there. More adventures to come.

Sechelt Inlet

2008-06-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

I recently got back from 4 days of sea kayaking work in Sechelt Inlet. Myself and Jen McGuinness were guiding a large group from Pemberton High School lead by Boyd Hargit. The trip went really well and we had outstanding weather. Our paddle out on the last day was a little tough as we battled really strong head winds to get back. Sechelt Inlet is a great place to paddle especially if you are new to the sport or looking to get some experience on the ocean before heading off to the big water of the west coast. Boats can be rented through Ian at Pedals and Paddles. This week I leave for 3 weeks of guiding salmon fishing on the west coast of the Queen Charlottes/Haida Gwaii at the Outpost Lodge. I am really looking forward to this adventure. Big water, big fish, big times. I hope to be able to post blogs from the lodge. Happy June everyone.

Harvesting Dungeness Crabs with the Dundas Family

2008-05-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

Check out this vid below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeIHqu-6H8

"Ya Rookie" MOMAR 2008

2008-05-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

The day I had been waiting for finally arrived, May 10th, MOMAR 2008. I was to race this one solo since my partner Frenchy was sick and couldn't make it up. After a vote of confidence from a close friend and training partner I was to run this one solo. I figured that would be great since I could only blame myself and I could go as fast as I wanted. There was light rain at the start of the race but overall it looked to be a good day. The race started well for me as I took off with the lead group and felt solid. Minutes into the race we hit the first transition and most of the experienced guys dusted me while i played with my shoelaces and packed my bag just right. These guys were quick in the transitions while i looked like a disorganized kid. Onto the bike where i managed to catch a few guys on the next part of the course which headed uphill to the orienteering section. In the orienteering section I managed to do pretty well collecting most of the checkpoints pretty quickly and catching glimpses of the leaders running through the woods leaving me wondering what the hell I was doing and where I was going. I hooked up with Money and we collected a few check points together. I had two checkpoints to go and when I went to punch my second last check point I reached deep into my pockets and to my horror realized I had lost my map and check cards. I checked even deeper in my pockets hoping to find the map with that long lost quarter and that 20 dollar bill I lost in 89' but nope, noway, nohow, no nothing. It was gone. Pulled out by some crafty tree. "Teach you a lesson you little punk," the tree smirked. F#@$. S#$@. You have to be f@#$%^& kidding me. The crux of the race was in my hands. Money said to just forget it and keep running with him but I choose door number #2(no deal loser), and went to look for my map. Of course I couldn't find it. I wasn't on any trail prior to that and knew that we had bushwhacked to get to the second last check point. After what seemed like an hour of searching( i think it was only 15 minutes) I gave up looking and was ready to give up the race. I was so upset, so disappointed in myself. I was looking for someone to blame, I have always been on team, there was always someone to blame, not my fault, hahahahahahahahahahaha.......oohhhh I realized quickly how much I love solo racing. Crux decision #2. Quit or keep going and change my focus. Lots of thoughts went through my mind as I walked on a trail by myself as the reality of being done my "race," set in. I felt that that was the toughest part of the whole thing, going from competing and being up there to not competing and being down there. Man I was upset at myself. My decision was to carry on and new that i had a ways to go when I came out of the orienteering and saw most of the bikes gone, with competitors that did not look like competitors. It was as soon as I got on the bike that i left my disgust behind and realized I was going to have to crank for 3 hours. The biking was fast and I was pretty happy with my performance since I had not heard anyone this year calling me Napoleon Dynamite on my bike. I felt really good blowing by people on the uphills and even downhills on my new Specialized Stumpjumper. I was laying waste to trails like Recycle, Pseudo Pseuga, and the Powerhouse Plunge.(not really but I was going fast and I was reckless). I realized I had finally made it into no mans land where I was ahead of the mass but behind the guys and groups who had not lost their maps. I had a pretty good trekking section and rappel and ended that section in the transition back onto the bike. Not realizing I had just stood on and ripped the nozzle off to my Platypus I put my backpack on and proceeded to pour the remaining contents of my energy drink all over myself. Deron, one of the volunteers, was kind enough to tell me my pack was leaking. Thanks. Insult to injury. The last leg was a bike back up to Quest for the run up to the cafeteria where the race ended for me at 5 hours and 30 minutes. I was greeted by my brother and sister which made me really happy. It felt great to finish and although I was upset, i left most of my grief on the course. I spent the next half hour, one of the best half hours of my life eating a massive amount of cookies and chocolate. Wicked day, wicked race, wicked learning experience. This has now motivated me even more to train, compete and win. WHAT'S NEXT?

Thanks so much to Jen for all of her amazing support and training expertise. She designed an amazing tough course and helped me with all of my gear problems. Thanks to Adrian for giving me my second map and thanks to my brother Brad, sister Shannon, and Brad's wife Tara for being there for me. Special thanks goes to my nephew Sam. Thanks for coming out west little man. It was great to see you and thanks for being at my race and coming to visit me. You rule. Congratulations to Toran and Jo for winning the Co-ed doubles section.

Frenchy........next year you can hold the map. Missed up here and I look forward to racing with you soon.

Student Mentor Program

2008-05-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

At the end of April I headed up north to Hartley Bay as part of King Pacific Lodge's Student Mentor program which I had been doing for the last 4 years. In this program all of the students at the school are interviewed and then take part in a tourism program which I develop and deliver to them. From there four students are chosen to work at King Pacific Lodge. There they will work in areas of their interest and will be matched up with a mentor at the lodge. The program has been very successful and has created employment for the youth of the village. This year I created a small adventure leadership course for the grade 10-12 students at the school. Within this program they received their Flatwater Kayaking Skill certification with Paddle Canada. The 11 students did an outstanding job. They learned new strokes, practiced wet exits and performed rescues on each other. I was very proud of them as they battled through their fears and gained confidence by the minute. The last part of our course was a boat ride up into a stunning inlet north of the village which is a place of strong tradition and an area of food gathering. On the trip we saw mountain goats feeding up high on the ridges and bears wandering the estuaries feeding on sedge grass below. The course was a big success and I will be heading up in the fall to deliver the Level 1 certification to the grade 10-12s and the Flatwater course to the grade 7-9's. Congratulations to all of the students and thanks to Cam and Eva for having me at their house and to Marvin for help with the kayaks and the fantastic boat tour.

MISSON COMPLETE

2008-04-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

I just successfully finished my 10 day Advanced Wilderness First Aid course and my reward was a 5 am wake up to get down to the airport so I could travel up to Prince Rupert. Tomorrow I will be heading down to Hartley Bay to delivery a week long Intro to Sea Kayaking Course for the students at the high school as part of the student mentor program that I work in with King Pacific Lodge. My fitness took a hit the past 10 days so I am looking forward to getting back into it. The Momar adventure race is only a couple of weeks away. I have my new used Specialized Stumpjumper now and I am looking forward to getting on it when i get back. Next update will be sometime this week from Hartley Bay.

Grumble Grumble

2008-04-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Well these days in am knee deep in a 10 Day Advanced Wilderness First Aid Course. Not high on my priority list but something I need to get done so for now it is keeping to a low level workout schedule. I am looking forward to it being finished this Wednesday. I am getting new mountain bike tommorrow and I will be excited to rip the trails with it real soon. I have to get some mileage in for the Momar Adventure Race in May anyways. My next adventure takes me up to Hartley Bay on the 24th for a Guide Training Program for the youth in the village. I am looking forward to getting back to my adopted home. Reports from there to follow

GARIBALDI NEVE TRAVERSE

2008-04-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Finally, this trip lined up. I have been wanting to do this trip since I showed up to Squamish four years ago. Well I finally got the peeps, and the weather and after a season of ski touring we were all in shape to do it in a day. We had Michelle Boender, a nordic patrol at Cypress, her friend Mark, my buddy and Ski Guide/Patrol Martin Fitchl and his young German friend Rafi. After pounding back a cup of coffee at 5:30 am and picking up the crew we were at the Diamond Head trailhead and leaving at 6:15 am. We absolutely nailed the weather as it was a clear bluebird day without a cloud in the sky. By the time we got to Paul Ridge the sun was beginning to come up and it was spectacular. I have probably toured up here 25 times this year but everytime I come up I am amazed with the scenery. The majestic Tantalus Range sprawls to the west, the big Massif of Garibaldi was beckoning to the north, Mamquam Mountain northeast and the Squamish and Cheakamus valleys far below blazing a path through the various ranges. We stopped at Elfin Lakes for some foot repair and then headed back out into the sunshine for 5 hours of climbing up Ring Creek. The further we got into this trip the more dramatic the scenery became. I had never seen the views of Mt. Garibaldi as was laid before me now. It was also getting hot and I was dropping a lot of water. We stopped for one of our lunches on the neve, stuffing our faces with food and crushing bottles of water with Nuun tablets. I sat in amazement with the scene laid out in front of me. Hard to believe we were only 5 hours out of Squamish but in a place so remote and stunning, our backyard. After our first lunch we carried on higher and higher with a bit of frustration occurring due to sticky snow on the skins and hot spring like conditions. We certainly didn't need anymore weight on our skis. We were going light though since we were knocking this off in a day. Our high point of the trip was 1000 feet below the summit of Garibaldi. It was in fine shape and tantalizingly close. We all agreed to come back to knock on the summit next time. I am sure we would have bagged it if we had an overnight plan but our "mish" today was door to door so we needed to save some energy. After our second lunch at our high point it was backcountry skiing heaven on the north facing aspects. We shredded some incredible April snow, zippering lines into the Warren Glacier, one of the best runs I have had all year. I couldn't keep the smile off my face or the hurt out of my quads. This is what it is all about. Another bit of uphill touring lead us to the top of the Sphinx Glacier. I had a visit from my raven brother along this section, he flew overhead sqwalking about hoping spring would arrive soon. Skins back off we crushed another line right down to the Sphinx hut just above Garibaldi Lake. I was really happy to see an open creek since I had gotten very quiet over the last two hours since I had gone through all of my water. Water is the best thing in the world eh? Especially cold Sphinx Glacier water......not that crap in plastic water bottles labelled "glacier." Now it was time for the long trek across the frozen lake. An hour into the flat traverse I felt like Mr. Roboto, in rhythm, mindless touring with awesome mountains jutting out of the lake and great views of Black Tusk. It was also at this time that my feet started aching, my boots and feet not used to the duration of this tour. As J.S.G would say, "stop whining and just put it in your pain box", course I think I left my pain box in the car or I had trouble opening it. Once we completed our traverse across the lake it was all downhill to Mark's truck. The ski out to Rubble Creek was pretty good except for the last KM where we had to take our skis off and walk the rest. The bag of chips Michelle had strategically placed in the truck for our arrival were demolished in minutes......as was the Flask of vodky......seconds though for that. What a day. I was stoked. 14 hours truck to truck and 42 kms. Thanks a lot to my teammates Michelle, Mark, Martin and Rafi, for such a great day. Now I am motivated to find more big day traverses in our backyard of Squampton.

REV HEADS

2008-04-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

Over the Easter weekend one of my oldest friends from Coniston, Derek Nixon, came out to visit me. We have know each other since we were three, when we used to cruise our old mining town looking for trouble. Our big plan for the weekend was to go snowmobiling and since the week prior we had a fresh 80cms of snow we were pretty excited to get up there. We signed up for the Backcountry X tour with Canadian Snowmobile and we were joined by Jaime Reid, a good friend and guide who I worked with at King Pacific Lodge. I hadn't been snowmobiling since I was really young and never have I ripped it up in alpine powder. Nix was really excited. He is a very competent snowmobiler but he had never ridden in the mountains and this had been something that had been on his tick list for awhile. After a great trail ride up we hit the powder and we all realized quickly that sledding in powder is a really tough thing to do. We all got stuck a number of times and quickly depleted most of our energy digging ourselves out. I managed to disappear from the group and ended up scaring our guide, Brad in the process as I got stuck way out on the outskirts of the sledding terrain. I think the helicopters were on the way but Brad managed to find me and I received a well deserved scolding. After about three hours we had all been significantly "worked" and we were ready for apres at the Sled Head Pub of Squamish......The Shady Tree. Thanks a lot to Derek for coming out to visit. I look forward to returning the favor this summer when he can take me out for some central ontario bass fishing. I am also looking forward to getting back on the sled next year to shred some more pow.

SURFING THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

2008-04-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Petey and I managed to get off resort and check out a few local breaks. The first one we went to was close to the resort Punta Cana Excellence. It was a gentle reef break but if felt so good to get into the warm water and catch a few rollers after many sessions in Tofino. The break was about 40 minutes away from the resort and there was no one except us out there. The best spot though was the second spot we went to called Macao. This was a stunning long cresent beach with great beach break on one end and some heavier waves breaking off the headlands on the south side of the beach. It only took us 25 minutes to get here. This is a spot I could camp out at for weeks.....morning and evenings here would be incredible but on this day we got there just as the winds were starting to pick up for the day. I highly recommend getting down to the Dominican for some surf. I am looking forward to getting back there.

CONGRATULATIONS PETER AND RENEE

2008-04-06T22:06:00.001-07:00

Hello there. I am back, I have had a great March and it started off with my trip to the Dominican Replublic at the beginning of March for Peter Bouillion and Renee Paquette's wedding. We had an outstanding time down there. We were at the Ocean Blue resort in Punta Cana. The resort was fantastic and the service was excellent. The Presidente beers were always cold and the nightly Dominican Cigars, La Aurora Belicos, were really tasty. Petey and I managed to get off resort for a couple of days to go surfing at a local beach break. The beach was beautiful and we had some great times together. I had a really good time getting to know Peter and Renee's family and friends. I enjoyed the Dominican and I would love to head back to Cabarete on the north shore for a week of surf but this week was all about Petey and Renee. Congratulations to you both....looking forward to seeing you this summer back in Sudbury.

Ignorance is Bliss, My First 25KM Run

2008-03-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I entered my first 25 km Trail Run, the Dirty Duo in North Vancouver. After a winter of ski touring, basketball training, and a few trail runs I had decided that I was ready for this challenge. It was sort of good not knowing what I was getting myself into. Jen Segger Gigg has been overseeing my training and listening to her talk about 50km, 100km, 100mile races that she is always in, 25k seemed very ho hum. Plus I like the physical challenge. I have a tendency to run quick out of the blocks and move quickly up hills so her advice was to "pace myself," not quite sure what that meant since I had never run past an hour. After throwing a few gel packs at me and a couple of Nuun tablets I guess i was ready to go. Well we all took off, I was surrounded by a lot of runner types in spandex and cool looking shoes. So much for the pacing as I took off with the lead group and blasted by everyone out of the blocks and hammered up all the early hills. A half hour into the race I found myself right behind the leader thinking this is pretty cool and feeling pretty good. As the race progressed the front runner seemed to have enough of me and took off. I was then passed by another guy who really looked like the runner type(he had really short shorts) and then I spent the rest of the race battling it out with this guy who ran downhill very quickly and would pass me but I seemed to make up time going uphill and not stopping at the aid stations. I was breathing way to heavy to try to drink Gatorade since at the first station I tried drinking out of the small cups and due to the massive amounts of oxygen I was trying to get into my body there was no room for liquids and I ended up spilling it all over me. I didn't even bother at the other stations. Well I figured if I could just keep this guy(who I now know is Aaron Pitt) in my sights then I should be pretty good for the duration of the race, it felt good to chase someone. After an hour and 15 minutes I was now in unchartered waters and wasn't sure how my body was going to react. My only fear was after taking off so quickly I didn't want to bonk or have my legs just decide to call it a day and head for the nearest pub. Overall I felt pretty good although there were times when my legs did feel like newly set concrete. There were a couple of times on some of the downhills that they didn't move at all like the should have. Even during some of the uphills I was not sure how I was going to coax a few more myofibrils to fire......but they did. Aaron and I flipflopped positions a few times and I could never get rid of the guy and he ended up passing me for good on one of the downhills in the last part of the race. I was just happy that no one was coming up behind me. I was stoked when a few of the race volunteers told me I was almost done(little did they know I WAS DONE). I ended up running strong by myself in the glorious sunshine that led to the finish line. Finishing felt amazing. I wound up placing 4th and running 25kms in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Fairly solid i guess for my first 25 and not training specifically for this sport. Most importantly I was happy with my performance and felt that I was the best I could be at this moment. I tell you, it felt really good to compete, competition has always been a huge part of my life and I realize I need it to be at my best. A quote I look at everyday is this.

"Every champion knows that true greatness doesn't lie in the completion of a goal, it lies in the desire to chase the next one." What's next?? Thanks to Jen for all of her support and motivation. Thanks as well to all of those people who went ski touring with me, Quest basketball players who I play against weekly, beep tests, and others who have joined me on fun adventures and "training." Congrats to Jen for her 3rd overall placing in the 50km and to Aaron Pitt for beating me and showing me how to run downhill.

LIFE IS ABOUT TIMING

2008-02-27T20:37:00.000-08:00

Last sunday I headed down to the coffee shop for my regular Americano.....they should be called Canadiano's by the way, and I ran into a friend of mine, Jack Noesgaard from Whistler. I met Jack up at the lodge and he worked for us as a fly fishing guide. He also owns The Loft Hair Salon in Whister and has trained me in boxing. He is a renaissance man and was down to take his Cessna 172 for a flight. He asked what i was doing and I had to say nothing so he said get your stuff ready we are heading to Tofino for the day. You couldn't get a better day for flying. It was clear blue skies, no wind and warm. We stuffed my Santa Cruz into the plane and away we went. The flight was absolutely spectacular as we took off from Squamish, flew out the sound, over the Straight of Georgia and crossed Vancouver Island. The mountains of the island were incredible and the views stunning. As we got closer to the coast I could see the swells were lined up perfectly and it was glassy. Perfect conditions. We landed at the airport and walked across the street to Long Beach. Jack also brought his employee, Florian over and as they cruised the beach and lounged in the sun I headed out for some surf. I managed to catch a number of great waves and couldn't believe that I was sitting in the lineup after being in the coffee shop in Squamish a couple of hours earlier. After my session i headed back to the beach, got changed and enjoyed a Cohiba Robusto as you can see in the picture. We then headed back to the plane and Jack let me fly most of the way back home confirming my thought that one day I would like to get my pilots license. Awesome day with awesome people. We had apres at the Watershed Grill in Squamish by the river. What a wicked day......life is about timing. Thanks a lot to Jack for such and amazing day and flight.

Back to my Adopted Family

2008-02-24T00:45:00.000-08:00

Well this past week I was back in Hartley Bay. It felt great since the last two winters I had been up there training the teams for the All Native Basketball tournament and since I was coaching at Quest this year I wasn't able to be up there and I was missing it. I was up there representing King Pacific Lodge for our student mentor program and we spent a couple of days interviewing all the students and community for positions at the lodge this year. The students did a great job in the interviews. Our timing was incredible as we arrived on the day that the community fishing vessel, The Qitonsta, was sent to its final resting place. The Qitonsta was owned by Ernie Hill Sr. and sank in the harbour after a very heavy snowfall. This boat ran the waters north to Alaska, west to Haida Gwaii and south to Namu. The boat was towed from the harbour and sank in 900 feet of water in the bay in front of Hartley Bay after a miraculous recovery from the bottom of the harbour. This boat had been in operation for 40 years. It was a very emotional day for the community. Commercial fishing boats in a native community are like family members. The boats provide food for the whole community, they provide transportation, and they provide real education for the youth as they work on the boats under the leadership of elders of the community. I thank the community of Hartley Bay for allowing the staff of KPL to be a part of this special and intimate moment in the history of the village. As Ernie Hill Jr, Eagle Chief, said " the demise of the salmon runs mirrors the demise of the fishing boats of our community." Cam Hill, the grandson of Ernie Hill Sr. and close friend, felt the loss deeply and I felt privileged to be there with him. The picture above is of Eva, Cam's wife, on the day she told me I was going to be adopted into the Raven Clan. My name is T'aam Laan, Steerman of the Canoe, and I am part of the community and the loss of the the Qitonsta affected me as well. Thank you to the community of Hartley Bay for allowing us to be part of this special day. I am looking forward to going back up in April to run an Outdoor Leadership Program for the youth. Thanks to Cam and Eva, Mr. H and Lynn for their amazing hospitality as usual while we were up there.

Weekend Update

2008-02-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

Well the snow conditions were not so great this weekend but I still managed to get out a few times. Friday after work I had a quick workout and managed to get up to Red Heather and back to Seabus pretty quick. Saturday, Jen and I, after a late start, changed scenery and headed to Mount Seymour. Again the conditions were very poor, zero visibility and very mild conditions. We managed to get up to the 1st Peak. Big Sea was really happy as you can tell. She seems to be getting into better shape and her leg seems to be getting stronger, especially after the full throttle sprint down the ski run and back to the truck. Yesterday I had a great guide and went out on a wicked trail run in the snow and ice. It was a cruisy 10km through some great forest north of Valley Cliff. Today was rain again but I managed another ski tour with Michelle up to, you guessed it, Red Heather and afterwards a basketball scrimmage with the guys team. Bryce and I were on the same team so we couldnt fight and get kicked out. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Beautiful Humpbacks

2008-02-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rpl-fX0m8Yc&mode=related&search=

Thought everyone would enjoy this video. These are the Humpbacks that we see feeding in their traditional waters of the Pacific Northwest. At this time of the year they are down south in Hawaii and Mexico mating and giving birth. This video was sent to me by my friends Herman and Janey. They are whale researchers on the North Coast and lead a very unique life in the heart of the GreatBear Rainforest. Enjoy.

FINALLY MY FIRST SKI TOUR

2008-02-05T23:28:00.000-08:00

Well finally today I went on my first ski tour with the big guy. As you can tell by the picture i was all ready to go. Now if you think I look a little embarrassed its because I am. The WWI Fighter Pilot Retro Toque was not my idea. I am a distinguished Rottweiller. Dont let this picture fool you....i can be vicious and sever arms on command. I figured if this is what it took to hit the backcountry then fine, I can deal with it. Anywho, Boss and I went into the city which gave me most of the day to rest. We headed up to Mt. Seymour where they allow puppies like me to get into the backcountry. Well we headed up the trail and it felt amazing to be in the snow. I was so excited that i didnt know which way to run so i just ran as fast i could in any direction I felt like. I rolled around in the snow numerous times and i couldn't keep the smile off my face. Little did I know I should have saved my energy. We headed up the well packed trail. Anytime I got off trail I could barely move because the snow was so deep. As we got higher up the mountain the winds became ferocious, blowing upwards of 90kms an hour, some gusts i am sure were more. There was a storm force wind warning on the coast and it was hitting pretty hard up here. It was snowing heavily and the visibility as we got higher became almost nil. I thought this was cool for awhile but as we got higher the trail became covered and i found myself wallowing in the deep stuff. The big guy kept laughing, I think it was at me. I looked pretty funny i guess since i was snowblasted and covered white except for two black eye holes, thank goodness for the toque(kidding, i left it at home when Norm turned his back). Anyways we went for about an hour and finally I started just sitting in the snow and not wanting to go on. When Norm stopped I would run to him and sit on his skis. I was concerned for Norms safety which is why I stopped. It had nothing to do with me being out of shape and fresh off the couch. Anyways Norm kept on going higher and I had to follow. Soon we could barely make out the winter safety poles. I couldn't believe how windy it was. Thank goodness Norm finally turned around, I was more than happy to head down. My bad ankle was holding up pretty well and I know Norm wanted to get me out here for some training to build my muscles back up. On our way down we linked up with the ski hill. Norm took off his skins which gave me time to build a nest in the snow and act like a husky or wolf. Snow is an insulator you know. Norm didn't waste anytime going down. I almost got run over by two snowmachines going up the hill and then had to dangle down the hill to keep up the big guy. The hill was hardpacked so it was easy to hammer down. We got back to the car and went to Deep Cove for Apres.....course I had to stay in the car where I took a little cat nap. It was an awesome tour, mother nature was full on and it was great to be in the middle of it. Now I am on "my" bed resting and waiting for our next adventure. Thanks for reading......talk to you later......Big Sea(Sea Puppy).

This moment.

2008-02-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

"On the surface; I am an average person, but to my heart I am not an average person. To my heart, I am a great moment. The challenge I face is how to dedicate everything I have inside me to fullfilling this moment."

Red Heather Magic

2008-02-03T18:14:00.000-08:00

Well after a two day recruiting trip to Kelowna and spending a bunch of time in the car and on gym bleachers I had to get up for a little workout today. So it was back to Paul Ridge and Red Heather. I was not super excited about the tour because I have done it close to 15 times this year and i just wasn't expecting much. I blasted up to the hut with not much traffic for a sunday. From there it was Red Heather magic. The subalpine there has been incredible all year and today was no different. The place energized me again. It was sunny with a high cloud cover. The views were incredible and inspiring as usual. Every time I have been up here it has been awesome. I got to the high point and took it all in. From there I crushed a few lines and cruised back down to the parking lot to see my third parking warning of the year. I made my donation and left. I managed to catch the second half of the Superbowl. Wow, what a game. Man do i love sports. Nothing compares to winning(well a few things but different). Looking forward to the Haida Gwaii at the end of the month.

Winter 2007/2008 Adventure Theme Song

2008-01-31T01:10:00.000-08:00

Rhymefest featuring Citizen Cope-Bullet

Hope you enjoy this one.......we have been cranking this all year.......7 am workouts, apres ski vids, basketball warmups....you name it and we go hard to Citizen Cope.......Bullet and a Target. Bullet is us......target is adventure and fun.

Cerise Creek Ski Tour Video

2008-01-31T01:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCnYViQSWxI

Cerise Creek Ski Tour

2008-01-31T00:30:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday after a smooth Americano in Brackendale, Jen, Matt and I headed up to "The Duffy," for a tour of the Cerise Creek area. Matt is an adventure racing teammate of Jen's from Seattle and was up in BC for some adventure exploration and general fun. Jen and I were excited to show him some backcountry stashes. Of course prior to burning energy we had to stop for some body fuel in Pemberton. We all demolished a wicked breaky and then had to have another coffee at our favorite spot in Pemberton before making our final approach to the Duffy. After gearing up we blasted up the Cerise powering through 20 cms of fresh light powder on our way up to our first descent. We had a beautiful decsent off the lower shoulder of Mt. Matier. It was so fun that we had to do another one but we picked another line that was sitting in the golden sunshine of a beautiful mountain day. Back up we skinned. Our final run of the day ended with knee deep, fresh light powder. Matt lead the way with some beautiful turns as Jen and I found our own clean lines down into the valley behind him. From there we blasted back out to the parking lot and ended our day with yet another coffee in Pemby. Apres was at the Cottonwoods Mountain and Ocean Resort for nacho's, a fire and some well earned beverages. Thanks goes to Matt for coming up and hanging with the Brack pack. We are already looking forward to the next adventure.

Thanks goes to Matt for coming up and hanging with the Brack Pack. We are already looking forward to the next backcountry adventure.

Here is Matt after our skin up for our first run. Joffre Mountain is looming behind him.

2008-01-25T23:34:00.000-08:00

Well, had a fun day today. Today was Rory's birthday(pictured here). He got a custom skateboard from Slow Motion Longboards. I already have one that he really enjoyed using so he was really excited to have his own. We went skate boarding together as you can see. That is a rootbeer in my hand, honestly, you can ask Jo. I do not drink and drive. After the party we had a couple of basketball games. Our Quest girls played the All Star team in Squamish here and we played very well and came out with a very good win. The girls were pretty happy and gained a lot of confidence from the game. Thanks to all of the girls who came out to play, especially the hot little shooter they had. Afterwards a mens team that I play on played against the Quest guys. We got beat by close to 20. The guys played pretty well. I on the other hand was kicked out in the first quarter as a result of not dialing back my intensity and being so excited to play in my first real university game in 8 years. It was not fun watching from the bench and i and I apologize for letting the guys down and letting my coach down. I have another chance at redemption tommorrow. I will keep my mouth shut. Hope everyone is well and enjoying their weekend.

Big Sea Here

2008-01-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. Well its been a tough couple of months for me as I have had an injury for awhile. Chipped bone in my ankle but i am getting better. Big Norm says that the reason he hasnt been taking me for so many walks is because he wants me to rest but i think thats garbage. I know he is busy teaching and coaching and having fun but my days get a little boring. I move from the couch, to the bed upstairs, to looking out the window for cats and various movements that excite me. I guess the rest is good though because I am moving a lot better now. My left quad is huge as I have been using three legs most of the time. I will have to talk to the park people at Garibaldi because i know Norm is up there everyday touring and they dont allow dogs up there, discrimination. Kills me to see him leave all the time with his ski's and a smile on his face. Glad he is happy though. Here i am at one of my favorite spots, the Squamish River. I checked out a few salmon carcasses today. I didnt roll in any though, Norm hates that, and I hate the showers i have to get afterwards. I think I smell pretty good actually. I heard norm talk about Cerise Creek again this weekend so i am hoping I get to go. Well, talk to you soon. I am heading back to the bed for more "rest." I think Norm is building a fire so I will head down there soon. Oh ya, I have been really good too. I havent bitten anyones hands off lately and I havent been terrorizing the neighborhood. Tough to be a Rotty sometimes.......love Big Sea

Full Moon Ski Tour

2008-01-23T23:07:00.000-08:00

Well tonight I headed up to Red Heather and Paul Ridge for a full moon ski tour. It took us just under and hour to get to Red Heather. The sun had just set behind the Tantalus Range on the other side of the valley and was lighting up the sky in colors that would motivate Roy Vickers(prominent native BC artist). We were all by ourselves at the top of Paul Ridge as the moon was rising above Mamquam Mountian and lighting up the slopes and terrain of Garibaldi Provincial Park.I even saw a falling star that was almost green, which flashed for seconds and left. I did make a wish. Incredible moonlight, like someone turned on a massive spotlight. After some hot chocolate we skied the illuminated slopes back down to Red Heather. The ski out to the lot was fun as we passed others who were beginning to make there trek up for night of the full moon. Our backyard is an incredible place. Thanks to Jen and Ty for being with me.