New Years at Roger's Pass

What a treat to come home to... After the balmy temperatures in Ontario it was pretty exciting to hear about the conditions in Roger's Pass. Nick, Lindsay, and I were pleasantly surprised to find untracked snow in and around Balu Pass. We spend a couple of days skiing and Lindsay got her first taste of backcountry pow!

On the way up through Urses trees. The peak in the background is Sir Donald.

On this day we made our way up to 8812 bowl at the end of the Conaught Creek drainage. It's quite a hike to get up there (about 4 hrs) but well worth the views and long run down to the valley bottom.

This is the ski run that awaited us... Stupid poachers...

The last ascent up a pretty steep ridge.

Almost there...

Finally at the top of Bruin's Pass where we could access the bowl.

Lindsay meet pow...

Nice New Year's treat!

Baja - Part 1

Six months in the making, a sea kayaking trip in the Sea of Cortez off the coast of Baja was what we all needed to cure the transition season blues! Heather and I have visited some beautiful places, but never with 6 of our friends on an isloated island. The group of us (Heather, Jen, Aric, Jay, Sharon, Steph and Shawn) spent 7 fantastic days travelling around Isla Espiritu Santo. It was an unforgetable time and Baja2 is in the works for next year.

This is a satelite photo of the island. We travelled counter-clockwise and our campsites are marked in red. The entire trip was about 70 kms.

Fearless paddlers on the first day. We took a boat (skiff) ride out to the island from La Paz.
The weather for the first few days was a little cloudy, but still offered some amazing sights.



Not a bad way to wake up.

Gathering the troops before breakfast.

I am a rockstar!

The island was much more mountanous that we had anticipated. Despite being in the desert, the landscape was really diverse.

Our guides, Manuelito and Fransisco.

Some cool caves along the coast.

The one-armed-amputee crab didn't stand a chance!

It was pretty easy to feel separated from work, cities, people, you name it!

Baja - Part 2

The majority of these pictures are from the east side of the island. It is much more exposed on this coast, but the weather co-operated and the winds calmed down. However, we did start one day with 2 m swells! Stark contrast to the pictures below.

The view from behind our beach site.

Isolation on the beach...

The water was crystal clear.

Yaj, Norahs, Dowling and Paco.

See what I mean about the isolation.

Dowling in fine form.

A rare picture of the photographer.

Storky along the coast. This side of the island was really rugged and we had cliffs towering overhead.

Steph paddling in to our last beach.

2.5 miles of white sand beach, all to ourselves!

Sunrise on our last morning.

Our last shot on the island. None of us wanted to leave...

Anniversary Photoshoot

Our friend Al made me look like a hero! As an anniversary gift for Heather, he agreed to take some pictures of the two of us. As you can see, Al is incredibly talented and we are so thankful for his generousity. If anyone is interested in a phenomenal photographer for weddings, anniversaries, family portraits, he's your man. Check out his work at www.alanmaudie.com.

Ptarmigan Cirque

In hopes of catching some of the last hiking days of the season, Heady and I spent our anniversary at Ptarmigan Cirque with Aric, Jen and Steph. The larches were in their prime and the day was spectacular.

On the way up...

Aric and Jen watching Skoki have a snowball fit.

Three Sisters Pass

Heather and Jen were able to sneak away mid-week up to Three Sister's Pass just outside Canmore.