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.

This weekend we took the AST-1 Avalanche Training course from Canada West Mountain School. It was a humbling experience. There are times when I think I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. This weekend was not one of those times. I was cold, tired, exhausted, and definitely not in good enough shape for the course. Somehow, I managed to complete both days and get the piece of paper that said I did it… but I wasn’t proud of how I performed. Anyway, I had a great time, met some great people and learned a heck of a lot. And had some nice powder lines

Check out this HD video I put together of the full 2-day experience on Seymour and Whistler Blackcomb. I think it’ll give you a good idea of how fun the course was and all the different activities that we did… including snowboarding Again, above is a link to the HD Quality Video on Vimeo. If you’d like to download the full movie, you can find it here by right-clicking and save-as to download. Song is “The Adventure” by Angels & Airwaves.

The first day was up at Mount Seymour. We were given an assortment of equipment such as shovels, avalanche transceivers, probes, and snowshoes.

It was a gorgeous morning… freezing cold but we really lucked out with the early morning sun.

There were 8 of us in the group (only 5 pictured here)… a mix of snowboarders and skiers. A really nice group… everyone was really kind and patient.

My backpack was freaking heavy! I took all my camera equipment, plus the shovels/snowshoes/probe, plus a litre of water and with my board on it… wow! Too heavy for me. Allan took all the food and drinks so his was even heavier.

I was super stoked to get going, even though I didn’t really know what to expect!

My new friends on the mountain… also super stoked!

The snowshoes were easy enough to use but it was reaaaally tiring hiking with them for hours. I wasn’t in good enough shape and I was huffing and puffing up those hills.

We learned a lot about snow… from how terrain, wind, precipitation, and solar energy all affect the way the snow accumulates and behaves.

Lots of hiking. The skiers were much faster than us snowboarders! I loved Andrea and Michael’s boards!

We learned to interpret avalanche bulletins and signs, and find the optimal conditions for us to go out on backcountry trips.

We spent a lot of time working with transceivers… doing individual and group rescues with the beacons. We also spent time looking at different snow formations and terrain features, talking about avalanche safety and awareness.

The backcountry at Seymour was beautiful! Despite it being -19 degrees Celsius + wind it was incredible. Fresh snow, sun, and clear skies!

The Whiskey Jacks came out to join us, hopping on our heads, equipment, and various other things they could dig their claws into

One Whiskey Jack in flight while his friend looks on.

Whiskey Jack on the top of a ski. (The orange tab is part of the skins used for climbing)

Day 2 we went to Whistler Blackcomb. We ended up taking the Jersey Cream chair up to Blackcomb and snowshoeing the rest of the way.

Blackcomb backcountry was really neat. We spent an hour or so digging profile pits, analyzing the layers and doing various stability tests.

I was really thankful for our guide, Bruce, from Canada West Mountain school who was extremely patient with me. Despite slowing down the group, I had a really amazing time and learned a ton. I’m really excited to get my own gear and head out into the backcountry! I hope you enjoyed the photos and the video and it gave you a good idea about what it would be like to take your own AST-1 Avalanche Training course

Now, we just have to recover. Both of us got a bad chill and cold from the weekend but Allan is really, really sick. Sucks.. so much snow and no snowboarding in the near future That’s okay though… Christmas is approaching!

It’s SNOWING! Yes. Finally.

I knew it was coming, but I woke up this morning to fresh, thick snowflakes falling from the sky, covering the streets… cars… trees… bushes. Snow! What a beautiful sight for sore eyes.

I snapped a couple pics while running out the door… I apologize for the blurriness and haste but being late for work because of snow (well cars driving in snow) is no fun. The great news, is that this is falling on our local mountains and finally building up the pitiful snowpack we’ve been having to deal with. I think this weekend I’m going to hit up Baker if it opens on Sunday. Otherwise, probably another Whistler trip for the weekend. This is a great opportunity to shoot some additional footage for the snowboarding movie. Maybe some time-lapse snow accumulation footage on Saturday if it is still snowing.

The AST-1 Avalanche Training Course classroom session last night was fantastic! We learned a lot about snow layers… how wind, weather and elevation affect snowpack stability, and where to look for cornices and other signs. We also got some handy mental checklists to go through when snowboarding so we can quickly evaluate conditions, and pick the best, safest route. It was really interesting. I can’t wait for the practical “on-mountain” two-day training sessions next weekend.

Immediately after the course we went home and looked up the cost of snowshoes at MEC. I decided against going for a splitboard because apparently it’s not a great idea for someone who is a photographer since there is a lot you have to fiddle with. Maybe one day, but I think snowshoes are a great place to start. We already started looking at some backcountry day trips that we want to take. It’s going to make for some excellent footage!

In other news, it looks like Electronic Arts isn’t going to open their new Yaletown studio as planned. In fact, is it possible that we’d see EA Black Box move into the Burnaby office as well? Big shifts in the video game industry.

Tonight, is two Christmas parties in one night. And only one dress! We’ll see how it works out. It’s going to be fun tromping around in the snow in high-heeled shoes. Wish me luck