Fraser Valley, British Columbia

Jun 22, 2010

Summer here has officially started, although the weather still hasn't apparently gotten the message. I was hiking on Mt. Seymour with an Englishman from Devonshire who'd been here five months on Sunday, and he says that he'd have gotten better spring weather back home. I was up on Seymour with the BCMC to practice some mountaineering skills, notably crevasse rescue. The forests were still a snowy winter wonderland, and some of the party we...

Fraser Valley, British Columbia

Jun 17, 2010

Today I finally got into the Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) in Vancouver. The store is legendary among hikers and mountaineers both here and in Washington State, and I can see why – good-quality gear, made in Canada, a massive range, and cheaper than at other outlets. Having the right clothes is critically important for outdoor sports here, with the cool, wet climate, mercurial weather and high mountains, and everyone on the BCMC trips talks...

Fraser Valley, British Columbia

Jun 1, 2010

I’ve now been in Canada for a year – I arrived on the 29th of May. That anniversary has been buried by other events, though. Chris stayed in hospital, and around Wednesday it looked like he might be picking up. But on Thursday his condition deteriorated fast, and it seemed that the cancer had overcome all the treatments and was now spreading through his entire body. The mood on the farm was extremely grim on Friday morning, and even the ...

Fraser Valley, British Columbia

May 25, 2010

Today was Victoria Day, a national holiday in Canada and the equivalent of the Queen’s Birthday back in Australia. The Victoria Day long weekend marks the unofficial beginning of summer and the time tk put winter clothes away once and for all, and people here traditionally celebrate by going to the beach, going boating or camping beside one of the many lakes that lead into the mountains north of the valley. They would have been a bit disappo...

Fraser Valley, British Columbia

May 19, 2010

The last bit of cold, wet weather we had seemed to dump a lot of snow on the mountains – they’re the snowiest I’ve ever seen them. Even from fifty kilometres away Mt. Baker looks much visible fatter. Now, though, we’ve had a run of sunny days, and a couple over twenty-five degrees. When the clouds and rain do roll back in, though, it can be a lot cooler. Summer isn’t quite here yet. And speaking of things getting visibly fatter, th...