It’s all over the news, in many parts of the world, but especially in British Columbia. People are dying in avalanches.

Karl Woll at Outdoor Vancouver has done a fantastic job of summing up all the mishaps from over the ski and snowboard holiday season. I also ran across this article by Ian Haysom at the Times Colonist which is also the quoted title of my post today. It also looks like there is talk about potentially fining or not allowing people to access the backcountry by the government.

I can’t help but feel like my rights and freedoms are on the verge of being threatened. Not just as a citizen of Canada, but as an adventurer… an explorer… a girl who remains in this city she loves because it is an outdoor playground.

I’m glad I took my AST-1 Avalanche Training course recently. This early season has had particularly unstable snowpack conditions leading to a bout of avalanches and casualties both in-bounds and in the backcountry.  This has resulted in a backlash of anger and concern from folks who want backcountry access to be closed, people to be fined for jumping ropes at ski resorts, and for people to pay for their own search and rescue costs.

Here’s where I stand:

I believe that if something happens to me in the backcountry, I can pay for my own search and rescue costs. I am fine with this. There is a great risk to each person involved in rescuing me, and I also don’t want other people having to shoulder costs for my mistakes. Contrary to popular opinion (and grossly mis-reported “facts” in the news), the North Shore Search and Rescue does NOT charge for their services. They are volunteers. They specifically say why they do not charge on their website. Still, I would have no problem paying for my mistakes if that is the way it ends up swinging.

I believe that if I have the appropriate backcountry gear (transceiver, probe, shovel etc) and some training that I should not be fined or banned for going out-of-bounds on ski resort. I also believe that I should lose all rights to be able to sue or mar the name of that resort in the case of an accident.

I believe that if others go out-of-bounds on ski resorts without proper equipment that being fined is an appropriate penalty. I do not believe a lifetime ban is appropriate.

I believe that people should not be stopped from using backcountry access on public land (not private).

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Where do you draw the line?

Should we ban Halloween because of needles in a handful of candy amongst millions? Should we ban surfers and fisherman from using the waters because of the many search and rescue missions that need to happen each year because of them? Should we stop people from hiking because of rockslides? Should we close sidewalks to prevent people from being hit by cars?

This issue stands very close to my heart. I believe in the freedom to access the mountains, the ocean, the world around me… I believe that is a fundamental right.

I believe in being prepared, being educated, and respecting nature before venturing out on an adventure.

I believe in taking risks.

I would much rather die out living my life, exploring the world than in my bed at home.

What do you think?

Well, I’m back from Apex Mountain and we all had a great time there snowboarding for New Years!

I can’t believe it is 2009 already. 2008 was a year full of ups and downs, surprises, excitement, and many happy moments.

In 2008 I…

… rang in the New Year’s at Disneyland, finishing up an amazing one-month-long surfing, snowboarding, and scuba diving road trip throughout the States to Portland, San Francisco, Tahoe, Death Valley, Mammoth Mountain, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Catalina Island, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Snowbird Mountain, Idaho, Mission Ridge Mountain, and Washington…

… went snowboarding at Big White, Whistler, Cypress, Mt. Washington and Apex…

… parted ways with the first video game company I worked for… and moved to a new, dynamic video game company…

… took a three week trip to Costa Rica for some warm water surfing and travelling…

… went camping, partying, and surfing in Tofino dozens of times…

… caught some seriously large Halibut going deep ocean fishing…

… enjoyed grocery shopping at Granville Island every week…

… traveled to Korea for business…

… and Japan…

… started to learn to skate and play hockey…

… sold my Nikon D80 and got my grubby little hands on a new camera set up with the Nikon D90…

… started working on an HD snowboarding movie project…

… went to Trevor Linden’s retirement night…

… completed my AST-1 Avalanche Training course…

… went to Apex to finish 2008 and welcome 2009!

I couldn’t be happier with how this past year has gone. I feel like I’ve learned a lot, tried new activities, grown as a person, realized how wonderful my friends are, made some new friends, and saw lots of new places.

Plans for 2009:

• Take more photographs of people, improving my fashion and portrait photography
• Grab better, more steady footage for HD snowboarding movie project
• Travel somewhere warm
• Travel somewhere cold
• Keep apartment clean and tidy
• Cook even more
• Do something active at least once a day
• Not worry about what anyone thinks of me!
• Finally finish Gears of War 2 because I’ve been a complete slacker

Thank you to my friends, family, loved ones, and coworkers who have filled the past year with so many laughs, hugs, discussions, activities, and happy moments! I hope you all have an amazing 2009.