The out side out

Novel View of the Selkirks from Mt. Mckirdy (Valemount B.C)

2012-01-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

I have always stared down Kinbasket lake looking at the beautiful Northern Selkirks wondering which peak was which. Art Caron from Mountain Mania has just referenced them with this picture take a look,

Skimountaineering Transitions

2011-12-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

Stano and I got the chance to put together a couple instructional videos on both top and bottom transitions. Next to come are the boot pack and back country transition videos.

Canadian Skimo Calander 2011/2012

2011-11-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

Vert 180 - COP, Calgary, AB
Date: Dec 3rd, 2011
Format: Maximum Vertical
Website: http://vert180.blogspot.com/

ISMF North American Championships - Crested Butte, Colorado, USA
Date: Jan 28th, 2012
Format: Individual
Website: http://www.ussma.org/race/cosmic/2012-01-27/2012-north-american-championships

Dogtooth Dash - Kicking Horse Resort, Golden, BC
Date: Feb 11,12 2012
Format: Individual and Relay
Website: http://www.kickinghorseresort.com/resort/events
http://goldenskimo.wordpress.com/dogtooth-dash/

ROAM Randonee Rally - Whitewater, Nelson, BC
Date: Feb 25th, 2012
Format: Individual
Website: www.coldsmokepowderfest.com

Ken Jones Classic - Lake Louise, AB
Date: March 24th, 2012
Format: Individual
Website: www.skilouise.com/things-to-do/events
http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/ccc/ismc/

Robson Skimo Video (Andreas)

2011-11-07T09:13:00.000-08:00

Andreas was able to salvage up some great footage despite the problems we had with the head cam harness! Take a look, Click full screen. or go to LINK

Robson Skimountaineering

2011-09-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

Some times everything seems to come at once and it gets a bit tricky to find the right balance between conditions and life. With life taking all but one day my brother Andreas and I realized the conditions were in for a ski descent. With our time frame we decided to take a late afternoon bump up to the Robson Resplendent Col. From here we climbed over the ridge and onto the dome where we were able to rest a little and enjoy the full moon before heading up the Kain face. Clouds building we took advantage of the full moon and started out before light climbing the Kain face as the sun started to crest.

Enjoying a solid freeze with no ice we were able to make quick work of the Kain and before long found ourself's floundering on the "roof" in Robson's infamous cloud cap. Working up the ridge and around big serac's we came across the summit at 8:45 a bit earlier then expected.

Waiting an hour and a half for a clearing that never came we decided to ski off the summit in less then ideal conditions.

Taking care not to lose an edge on frozen snow we weaved through the seracs and down the ridge. About half way down we came into some clearing and had a really enjoyable ski to the top of the Kain. Still frozen we waited another hour and a half for it to corn up alittle.

With a good clearing and enough heat to get an edge we decided to make a move before the lower elevations got to warm to ski. Standing 500m above the dome the very top of the Kain is about 45 degrees and then quickly rolls into a very committing 50-55 degree slope which runs out over a respectable size bergschrund.

Back on the Dome we picked up the rest of our gear talked to a guided group from Yamnuska and skied down towards the mouse trap. From here we gained the Robson Resplendent ridge and skied across it until we were above a line that brought us down beside the mouse
trap.

Similar to the Kain face in size and angle there was a sense of excitement as we have never heard of it being skied. With the snow pack finally warm enough to corn up we had some great steep turns down to the bergschrund where Andreas found a jumpable section that brought us to the bottom of the mouse trap.

From here we were faced with some huge rotten snow bridges. Roping up we made our way down the maze of crevasses to the bottom of the extinguisher tower.

Taking off the boots felt amazing and we started our trek back down the berg lake trail to the truck. Meeting our good friend Ross at the pass he offered us some fresh food and was kind enough to help take some of the weight off our packs! Hiking down we were happy with the decisions made during the day and enjoyed the thick air, full moon and most of all the truck..

Caribou's

2011-08-09T18:46:00.001-07:00

Farnham Summer Skiing Video

2011-07-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

April Powder brings May Powder

2011-05-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

April has been an epic month of powder skiing, speed traverses, peak bagging and recon-missions. Exploring in Valemount is like trying to find the edge of the universe. The farther you head out the more there is and before you know it there is just simply to much to comprehend!

To focus in on a "small" part of this world lets look at an accessible peak 25km south of Valemount where you can start skinning right off the highway.

Albreta

With over 2300 meters of climbing it makes for a good day and is worth every ounce of effort as you ski this beautiful north facing slope top to bottom.

Going up the creek it is worth it to pick the right conditions/route as there is a number of threatening paths heading up the creek. Once on the glacier it is pretty straight forward glacier travel until the final peak where there is some broken glacier and a boot pack up the south west face to make the summit. Once on top the common way back is to trace back on the up track but if conditions are in and you don't mind getting a little gnarly the north face makes for some great steep skiing.

With views of Mt. Robson, Clemenceau, Sir Wilfrid, and even the Northern Selkirks it makes for a very ascetic descent back to the car.

So there is one from the Monashee's!

With allot of material to go through I will need to slowly release the rest but for now here is a South Caribou crux tease!

Wapta Speed Traverse-Barfies

2011-04-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

My first Video, coming as soon as it uploads!

HERE IT IS

OR Click on Picture

Dog days are over! The Dogtooth Dash

2011-03-28T21:46:00.001-07:00

Fresh off the most prestigious skimo competition in the world one wouldn't expect to get much of a rise out of a Canadian race.............. Think again,

The Dogtooth dash is truly ahead of its time and sets a bar that is shared with only a very small minority of races across the world. Its during this race year after year where the progression of this sport in Canada becomes very evident.

Its also during this race year after year that I tell my self to take it easy running around the Eagles Eye as its a long technical race ahead. The swarm of racers, the start line on top of a mountain, the big crowd of spectators, the DJ blasting Barbra Streisand one thing is for sure your going anaerobic. Next up is fumbling into your Dynafit bindings and getting ready for a ride!

This year I was battling some gear issues on the first descent and was able to sit my self in a comfortable pack of racers on the first assent. As it turned out it was nice to start a bit slower and I was able to get an eye opening view of unnamed racer catching a tip and tomahawking down the first shoot!
Another short climb and descent brought us to the third and largest climb of the course. Wanting to get a bit of a cushion I knew this was the place to do it and started to pick up the pace. Approaching the top of the first peak it seemed there was enough of a gap to account for any minor mishaps.

Now it was simple just stay efficient and try to not make mistakes. Climbing a couple really aesthetic peaks I could hardly believe we were still in bounds and after two months of skiing in Europe I was watering at the mouth skiing Canadian Powder! The perfect storm of cow bells, the DJ and spectators screaming really helped motivate us up the last climb. Coming across the finish line I was very happy to finish off another Canadian championship and convert into a spectator watching an amazing race come to a finish!

After some time to cool down and refresh we all met back up on top of the mountain to have an amazing dinner and awards at the Eagles Eye restaurant.
It was great to see a very strong junior category this year displaying talent that could very well progress into top notch racers. There was also a number of notable performances with underdogs coming out of the wood work like Brad Schalles, Dave Sutherland and Peter Knight giving members of the national team a run for there money! Andrew Mcnab and Ian Gale both showed they have what it takes to stand on the podium. On the woman's side Melanie Bernier had an amazing performance staying very strong with good form right through to the end. Julie Matteau and Billie Valiesk came across the line in great form both taking a spot on the podium 2nd, 3rd. From light to heavy, from young to old there was accomplishments in every shape and form. This gathering of people who share an ability to brave the elements and push there limits is what makes this such a special event.

Photos Jana Skerlak www.janavisions.com
Podium Photo Ski Theory (Alex Wigley) http://skitheory.blogspot.com/

Video of the Race (Stano)

Pierra Menta

2011-03-16T05:08:00.001-07:00

Calm before the storm!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Busy week!

2011-03-14T09:10:00.001-07:00

A world cup race, traveling half way across Europe and the Haute route made for a very busy week! Now resting in Areche we have time to tend to our beaten down bodies and reflect on the beautiful blur!

The Marmotta Trophy was very well attended and with near perfect conditions it had the ingredients to produce an amazing race. Topping out at 2990 meters twice and funneling down tight couloirs it had the zest to take your mind off the 1800 meters of climbing. Canada was very well represented with James Minifie, Andrew McNab, Melanie Bernier and my self all putting forth great performances. Melanie snagged a top ten finish, Andrew and James both taking a top 30 and I was able to place in the top 20 racing a couple of my skimo "idols". Obviously they were not performing at there best but none the less it was humbling and inspiring to be in the mix!

Saying good bye to Mel and Andrew we found ourselves doing some unconventional "training" where we were speed waddling with way to much luggage trying to catch connections to Chamonix. Arriving some what beat up we were starting to question our sanity as we prepared to do the Haute Route 5 days before the Pierra Menta. None the less we had a perfect weather forecast and we were not about to turn down an opportunity like this!
Taking the tram up to 3300 meters then skiing mogles down to meet the French army we quickly realized this was not going to be your typical traverse!

Passing the army we made quick work of the first climb and ended up meeting a special forces French army squad setting up a ski belay on the first col. They were very courteous and offered us there rope which allowed us to cruse right through the more technical section.

From here on we continued a high traverse over a couple cols trying not trip over our skis as we took in the stunning views.

It wasn't long before we found ourselves skiing down into the next valley where we had lunch and took a shuttle to the next leg of the journey.

Day 2 was our big day and we knew we had to make quick work to get past the avalanche prone lake Dix before things heated up.

Trying to save a little time we cut a corner and skied a beautiful powder line down to lake Dix where we started a long traverse to the bottom of the last climb.

Stopping by the Dix cabin we decided to grab a few things to stock up our energy reserves. The care takers gave us the look of death when we told them that we were planning on continuing to the next hut. Questing our selfs for a moment we recalculated the climb to be only 900 meters and although it goes over a high pass at 3700 meters we knew a hut was always a short ski decent away. Pushing on through a couple bonks we found ourselves standing on the pass watching a beautiful sun set.

A little haggard we skied a short pitch down to the Vignettes hut (3157 meters) and arrived just in time for dinner.

Walking into the boot room was jaw dropping...

Planning to take the train @ 2:30pm to Chamonix we got an early start so that we wouldn't have to rush through the most scenic part of the traverse. Traveling over high glaciers we passed over 3 cols and found ourselves basking in the beauty of the Matterhorn.

From here we had a great ski right down to Zermatt.

Being both of our first times in Zermat we did the tourist thing walking the streets in our dirty stinky Lycra. It was interesting to note that no cars were aloud and all the buses were electric making for a pretty quite and clean town. That's of course until you make it down town and find your self in what seems to be the chain smoking capital of the world!
Looking back I would highly recommend doing it early if conditions permit. Not only were we able to easily get into the huts but we were given our own rooms and with only 8 people in a 50 person hut its pretty relaxed. I guess another benefit is you get a chance to ski some fresh lines! :)

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.

Location:France

2011-03-09T11:45:00.001-08:00

Video of ski rapping the Col du Chardonnet!

YouTube Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Martell

2011-03-05T06:42:00.001-08:00

Dogs in shiny human made puff jackets, men and woman in animal fur coats... Michael Jackson and Aba raging in the caffe's. Cortina has happily integrated the 80's into there culture and unless we walked the streets in our lycria we simply didn't fit in.

We took in the views, tried to contain our laughter, and decided to shorten our stay to a couple hours.
The next day up the Martell valley we found ourselfs checking into a fully catered hut at 2600 meters. Surrounded by a deep snow pack and big peaks we spent the week exploring and on the third day with favorable weather we tagged a couple 3700 meter peaks.

Dropping back down to 1200 meters we are relaxing in the beautiful valley of Martell eating like kings and getting ready for the world cup on Sunday.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Italy

Individual race video

2011-02-28T01:41:00.001-08:00

Some great footage of the individual race with me running after a polish racer on the ridge.Individual race

Same footage on Itialian National TV

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Claut 2011

2011-02-27T02:31:00.001-08:00

Claut, Italy

A 100 pounds of pasta and 5 days of racing has well left us quite strained. We lye here very content to just soak in the views and live at the pace of Italian life.
It was an amazing week of racing and between Canada and our friends from the US there is way to many great results to type out on my iPhone. One thing is for sure, we have continued to close the gap with the Euros.

Throughout the week we have learnt allot with Stano's "functional" but "quality" footage.
We will continue to decode allot of the tricks to take home and share!
Over the next couple weeks we have planned to do another WC race, the haute rout and the Piera Menta. Hopefully we will get some wifi along the way to share some of the views!
This view is for the expresso lovers! ( at a gas station)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

7days pre WC

2011-02-21T05:04:00.001-08:00

3 meters of light fluffy to 1 meter of variable bullet proof snar is hard on the psyche. Luckily with some clear sky and an expresso at 2100 meters life starts to get better as you look around at all the big objectives!!

For the week before worlds we spent an amazing 4 days skinning right from the doors of Gastof Winnebach!

We headed directly up behind the hotel and as we anticipated the conditions were in our favor for hitting some bigger lines. Impossible to ignore a beautiful coular off a 3200 meter peak we spent the rest of the day checking that off our list.
As the week progressed we enjoyed some great expresso assisted touring and finished with a bang skiing a very aesthetic peak topping out at 3500 meters.

Now we find our selfs in Claut Italy racing the world championships. With one race down and a good result (16th in the teams race) we are looking forward to a full week of pushing our limits and continuing to close the gap with the euros!

Results
http://www.skimountaineering.org/RESULTS/2011/2010_02_20_Teams_World_Championships.pdf

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sifton

2011-01-31T20:11:00.000-08:00

Dynafit's Race PRO Randonee Pack Mod "the bikini"

2011-01-23T19:35:00.000-08:00

This mod although maybe "cutting" 20-30 grams was not made for the weight. Dynafit's idea behind this new race pack is genius however like all break through ideas they go through a period of evolution.
After racing with this pack I found it to have many benefits however its defects were enough to stop me from using it. The biggest defects were 1. the front pocket was to small and 2. the vest stopped the user from accessing the inside of the suit and opening the vent on hot days.
So long story short with a little insight I decided to cut out both front panels allowing full access to the suit.
The operation is very simple and only requires cutting out the mesh and leaving the structural bands in place. Once cut away I used some medical tape to prevent fraying and add support to the higher stress areas. After using it I also ended up doing two other mods 1.tying an extra band from the left shoulder strap to the main chest support strap to stop it from slipping 2. replacing the ski hook with a larger one made from bending stiff wire (aka clothes hanger) into shape. Over all I'm really happy with the mods and was able to test it out last weekend at the WhiteFish race in MT with no problems. As far as I know there are no ISMF rules for modifying packs so cut away!
Last years post on Golden Skimo

Turned over rock

2011-01-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

As much as I like snow it really starts to get old when it tries to hog the show... It only takes a few minutes a day to get your adequate vitamin D fix, a few minutes.... Some how I cant even remember a day in the last month where I have been able to get my few minutes in! Luckily today that months worth of cholesterol I have been building up in my skin was finally released into vitamin D.

It started off as one of those days, very spur of the moment, cloudy and windy. Half asleep plodding up abit of a bowling alley I may have really wondered why were were doing this, luckily that part of the brain doesn't operate in the morning. Climbing and climbing things started to change and by the time we got to 2000 meters a life fest of sun started to break through.

Feels great to soak up every last photon of sun and line of pow filling the void and reminding us why life is soooo good!

The day after at Targhee

2011-01-14T21:05:00.000-08:00

It seems that the body has built in ways of saying enough is enough. It also seems more times then not life happens and we have to over ride this natural feed back system. Sunday morning at Grand Targhee was one of those days.

Crested Butte Photography
Off the start the incline was quite respectable and the pace well.. reasonable. "The wall" looming in the distance had every one conserving and bracing for the lactic acid storm ahead.

Over the top we skied a nice pitch transitioned and then climbed a much lower angle track all the way to a boot pack that took us to the peak. Sun ablazing a pack of about 4 stood on top ripping skins getting ready to descend into the cat skiing terrain. Brendon French and my self were the first out of the gates and we had a beautiful fall line of un-tracked powered. Yo-yo'ing off each other we made good time at the expense of allot of leg burn.

Starting up the last assent we were able to fuel up and start out just ahead of a very strong chase pack lead by Bryan Wickenhauser. As we headed up the chase pack was rotating, Luke Nelson and Travis Scheefer popped out for a final attack. Luckily we were able to fend them off just enough and for the last few hundred meters the skin track turned into a groomer and I was able to put in a bit of a kick to top out first.

With a quick shout from the volunteer I headed down towards a gate and skiing fall line I found myself in a couloir missing the traverse to the center of the bowl. Taking a bit of air off a small rib I ended up with tips below the surface leading to a tomahawk and a very half ass recovery. From there I traversed to the center of the bowl where there was tracks that would allow me to gain speed for the flat section ahead. At this point although taking the longer on course route both Travis and Brendon were only seconds behind. Luckily there was enough wax on the skis and I was just able to maintain a 3 second lead across the finish.

Great Rando form..
After the race it dawned on us that Ian needed to get to work and we were 14 hours of driving away. Making a quick exit we hopped back into the Jetta and James powered through getting us home safe and sound. Big thanks to the organizers for putting on two great events and to Nate and Kristeen for taking the Canadians into there beautiful house for the weekend!

Crested Butte Photography

Results

A Thousand words

2011-01-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

Ever since I read "The Short History of Nearly Everything" I have wanted to witness for my self the massive caldera of a supervolcano. Last weekend I found my self standing in spandex with 100 other racers getting ready to race up the southern flanks of Yellowstone's caldera in Jackson Hole Wy. Although scientist's have measured the earths gravitational forces to be weaker in and around Yellowstone it didn't seem to help on the first climb! Greg Ruckman an Olympic rower and top notch Nordic skier set a cracking pace that had us all wondering if this could go on for 8000 feet. Getting a feel for the pace I decided to fall back a little and conserve some energy for the later parts of the race.

After a couple smaller climbs and descents over a couple ridges I found my self in second pacing off Brendon French. He reminds me of a terminator showing no signs of breathing or distress as he powers on ahead. On our way to Corbetts couloir Pete Swenson and Luke Nelson took the lead, Luke with a quick transition and fast pace lead the way up to the top. Once on top all I could think of was how the heck I could get off this mountain as fast as possible! I knew 4 thousand feet of variable skiing was going to take its toll but at this point in the race the first to the last assent was going to have an very valuable edge.

Skiing fast I found myself first to the bottom so I took some extra time to make sure I had good skins for the last technical assent and once again the 4 of us headed up separated by only seconds. Polls punching through and skins slipping it was a tedious technical assent and at times I would look back wondering if the others were having as much trouble. Feeling surprisingly good I just put my head down trying not to think of the terminator hot on my heals. Maybe out of fear of having to race the last descent I found my self with just enough of a cushion to take the win. The awards ceremony was very well done with copious amounts of prizes. Pete Swenson gave a great speech on the future of the sport comparing it to the NORBA in 1982 and then we were all off to get some rest to race the next day in Targhee.

Results
Video 1 - Video 2

Break

2010-12-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

Roger and Golden Alpine Holidays

2010-12-06T21:52:00.000-08:00

Asulkan

2010-11-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

Valemount

2010-10-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

Canoe River

2010-10-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

DH - Swift Traverse

2010-10-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

Exploring the tombstones

2010-09-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

"Beach or Glacier?" (Kiwa , Valemount BC - Scouting Access to Mt Sir Wilfrid Laurier

2010-08-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

Assiniboine

2010-08-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

Scramble in HongKong

2010-08-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

Nice ridge scramble on unnamed mountain up Dave Henry Creek (Valemount)

2010-08-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Some WC action

2010-06-19T16:48:00.000-07:00

Skitheory

The Animal Traverse

2010-02-11T11:17:00.000-08:00

Mt. Feild

2010-02-08T08:59:00.001-08:00

Yoho

2010-01-27T20:26:00.001-08:00

Wapta

2010-01-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

Dog Tooth Range

2010-01-04T12:22:00.000-08:00

Rogers

2009-11-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

Mica Mountain (Caribous) Valemount BC Nov 2009

2009-11-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

A few from Oct

2009-10-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

New Zealand SkiMo

2009-09-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

Some last winter pics

2009-09-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

2009-09-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Climbing Mt. Brown Via Hugh Allen drainage

Red Rivers...

Clemenceau on the Right

.

This blogs focus is on photography but the enviroments captured may come to life...

2009-09-29T08:58:00.000-07:00