Monday, March 28, 2011

spring is... coming

My eggs told me this was going to be a good weekend. Turns out my eggs were right - 100 km in two days makes for a very good weekend.
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They weren't a quick 100k. It's still very much winter here and the trails are very icy. It even snowed a bit.
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That ice-fast boat suggests wintery conditions will be here for awhile.
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The migrants have begun arriving but I can't image what they're eating. There's still a half meter of snow on the ground.
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This porcupine has it figure out. It wasn't so pleased that I was so close but, judging by the way it just looked at the ground, it wasn't concerned enough to jump. It soon went back to stripping the bark from the tree.
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Destructive buggers.
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Sunday, March 13, 2011

microspikes

Look what I got...
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Look at why I got them...
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Of course, the glare ice became this...
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Then this...
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The winter I first moved to Edmonton I crash my bike on a patch of ice while zipping downhill into the river valley. By the time I saw the ice it was too late to do anything but hold on. Without studded tires I didn't stand a chance. I've got a floating chip of bone in my elbow to remind me that ice deserves a bit more respect.

I bought my first pair of studded tires shortly after that accident and they have performed very well. I wish I could say the same for the various running traction devices I've tried - they're great out of the box but they simply don't last. The microspikes certainly appear durable. Kahtoola must think they've got something pretty special because they come with a one year satisfaction guarantee, which is good because I've got a lot of miles to log and winter isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

ignorance is not bliss

Being the responsible adventurer that I am, I took an introductory avalanche training course (AST1) in 2008 to learn something about skiing safely in the back country. What I learned is that I knew nothing - avalanches are difficult to predict, potentially deadly, and the only safe option is to avoid avalanche terrain. Great. Avalanche terrain is pretty much everywhere in the mountains around here. I felt powerless and too paranoid to go anywhere. Now what.

I decided to join 10 fellow ski patrol members and take an advanced recreational avalanche training course (AST2). If the goal of AST1 was to teach me what I didn't know I hoped that AST2 would fill in some of those blanks.What a great course! I learned so much during four days of classroom and on-slope training. Now I feel empowered and excited to go touring!

The course began with a day of classroom training in Lake Louise. On day 2 we hit the snow at Crowfoot Glades on the Icefields Parkway. Appropriately, a class 2 loose snow avalanche came down Crowfoot Mountain (the now snow free section in the centre of the picture) while we were at the cars putting our gear on.
Crowfoot Mountain
We began the day practicing beacon searches and companion rescues on flat terrain.
Hector Lake, day 2
Honing in on a buried 'victim'.
sara honing in on the victim
From there we moved on to snow pack analysis. That pit is to ground so snow depth is under 2 meters.
sara in the pit
The compression test and subsequent rutschblock did not produce any significant failures.
emily compression test
Day 3 and 4 were in Glacier National Park, aka, Roger's Pass. Our first tour was up Loop Brook to the Bonney Trees.
loop brook
One of the biggest overhead hazards of the day was the outhouse.
overhead hazard, loop brook
Our guide, Mark, discussing overhead avalanche hazards on the up track. Once again, a class 2.5 loose snow avalanche appropriately fell from the slope above as we crossed through the runout zone. 
mark discussing avalanche hazards
Looking back at Loop Brook while gaining elevation in Bonney Trees.
bonney trees
Lunch break on the lateral moraine flanking Bonney Trees on climbers left. Sapphire Col is in the upper left flanked by Mount Swanzy (right) and The Dome (left).
sapphire col from bonney trees
The final ascent to the top of Bonney Trees.
jeff 'can I break trail?' tenove takes the lead
Our final tour was into the Illecillewaet Valley. Although the competition was stiff, today wins for the best weather and skiing. It was hot by the time we left the parking lot mid-morning. The tour begins on an old railway bed.
trail to illecillewaet valley
But the views quickly open up at the top of the valley. Perley Rock is the small feature on the right below Terminal Peak.
perley rock
On the other side of the valley is Lookout Col to the right of the central peak (Youngs Peak).
lookout col
Looking back down the Illecillewaet Valley. Our first set of turns were through the open trees to the left.
looking down the illecillewaet valley
Looking back up the Illecillewaet Valley after our final run and the end of the course. Sweet!
looking back up the illecillewaet valley