Looking around the valley you wouldn’t guess that there’s much, if any, cross country skiing to be had. Winter’s cold reach has been advancing and receding from the mountains this fall like the ebbing and flowing of the tides on a flat sandy beach. The alpine...
Many people would like to forget about the year 2020 altogether, or at least put it well behind us. From a skier’s perspective, here in the Fraser Valley, it wasn’t the greatest of years, nor was it the worst. Snows in the fall were not unusually early, late, large or...
2020 may not have been the greatest of years in so many ways, but at least from one nordic skier’s perspective, it wasn’t all bad. The year started fairly well enough, with decent winter snow making for a fine winter. Just as things were beginning to transition to...
After a bit of a slow start, the 2020-21 ski season has established itself through most of December with some consistently seasonable temperatures, and enough moisture to assure us of having a white Christmas. The drought of this past summer and fall is not completely...
Trying times test the mettle of our character. For those of us living in a mountain town, where we don’t have the distractions and entertainment available to those living in larger metropolitan environs, getting outdoors to rejuvenate ourselves is a key cornerstone to...
One of the things that has become most evident as a result of the ‘Shelter in place’ and ‘get exercise close to home’ orders has been that exercise is considered by many to be on the list of high priorities. And well it should be. Getting out for an hour or so of...
March has been rather meek compared to the rest of the past season. The past week brought us a brief reminder of winter with a passing storm that left a couple of inches on the valley floor, and closer to 4-6 inches further up the tributaries, and higher in elevation,...
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… seems appropriately applied to our current situation. We’ve had two good snow seasons in a row, and now we have closed ski hills statewide. We’ve had a prolonged Bull market, and now, there is uncertainty plaguing...
It feels like a switch has been flipped. Someone, namely, a microscopic multicellular microbe we call the Corona virus pushed the fast forward button to the end of the Alpine ski season and the lifts have stopped turning. The ‘big shrink’ of the snowpack has rapidly...
Crust season is upon us, though the ability to stay on the surface depends greatly on aspect, or degree of exposure to the sun. South facing and flat, open aspects have gotten plenty saturated during the warmth of these past sunny days, so that with the firming chill...
