First Ski Day - November 20

Great first ski day with very nice boot-top powder turns at Paul Ridge. Went up there with Alex. Could ski all the way down to the parking lot without hitting rocks. Only a few people out, but reportedly 25 cars in the parking lot on the next day (a Thursday). Unfortunately it warmed up before the weekend. What we didn't know... that was the last we would see of nice fluffy snow for a long, long time!

Bears and Birds

This fall I had time for several trips out to Boundary Bay and to a small stream in Port Coquitlam for bird and bear photography.

Got to see an impressive murmuration of dunlins (wading birds) at Boundary Bay and shot a short video. Unfortunately I didn't have a tripod at hand and the video is rather shaky. I just didn't expect this. Always be prepared! Mental note: always bring tripod, wait for sunny weather, high tide and avoid south and east wind (thats when the kite boarders are out).


Also watched several great herons stalk and catch their prey (voles, I think). Pretty amazing when these birds have that intent and focused stare, ever so slowly get closer and then lightening fast move in for the catch.

Without noticing all involved I took this photo of a short eared owl and a northern harrier getting into a brawl. Only at home I realized that there was a third participant. The birds were fighting over a vole.

Watching the bears feed on salmon was probably my best 'wild life adventure' of the year. At different times I observed a couple of smaller bears, probably second year, and one very big mum with two cubs. Amazing how much they can eat, but really not that much of a surprise - that's all they get for several months!

New Mushrooms

Each fall I turn into a cautious mushroom-hunter. 'Hunting' sounds much more exciting than the German 'Sammeln' which means 'collecting'. Not much interested in experimenting with questionable foods I collect only half a dozen species I know well.

This year I added a new one to my list of collectibles: pine mushrooms. Apparently Pines are valued much by Japanese and exported in great quantities. Most distinguishing feature of these mushrooms is their smell described as cinnamony/spicy/fruity). But beware there are (somewhat) similar shrooms out there that are extremely poisonous.

Everybody agreed: 2013 was a stellar year for mushrooms.

!

Dolomiti - Climb and Fly Trip

We went back to the Dolomites (our second time there after a guided tour with BlueSky in 2010, http://bcwetcoast.blogspot.ca/2010/10/dolomiti-italy-oct-4-9.html). A stunning area to fly with its tall limestone towers and snow covered peaks. But due to the huge crowds and strong conditions its also a risky area. Anybody who wants to fly there should be on their game and do some homework before the trip. There are amazing videos and pictures of flying in the Dolomites on the internet, but it takes special conditions for a flight like this and they are as rare as a powder day on the ski slopes.

It took us two trips to hit one of the stellar days. Too much north wind the day we arrived. We did a couple of short flights from Belvedere at Pordoi Pass (last day for the lift there to be open). Stronger north wind was forecast for the next day so we headed to Bassano for more relaxed flying (2h drive on narrow windy/winding roads over passes and through spectacular limestone gorges). Third day was one of the ‘powder days’. Pete launched from Belvedere, worked hard to get up and scored a sweet flight over Marmolada, Langkofel and Sella http://www.paraglidingforum.com/leonardo/flight/830365. Due to driving logistics, I launched later from Col Rodella, where the air was crowded as usual. I also ran into another Canadian (he was wearing a 2012 Pembi Nationals T).

The next day the conditions changed again. Southwest wind this time. The inversion took a long time to resolve. We managed to launch earlier than most from the afternoon (south) take-off at Col Rodella, but were soon thermalling with about 200 of our ‘best friends’. Wind on launch increased and got gustier. Clouds were forming and lowering below the peaks of the Langkofel Group. After an hour in the air and seeing one pilot take a big frontal in the lee of Col Rodella and rapidly disappear behind it and another wing spread over the rocks at the bottom of the Langkofel I had enough and landed in strong valley wind. Pete soon followed. After we had packed up and walked out, another pilot crashed in town, behind a house just meters from where we walked. Thankfully ambulance and advanced medical services arrived quick and in full force. In total there were 5 or 6 serious accidents on this one day (more about this day on Paragliding Forum http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=59504).

Strong north wind the next couple of days, so we left our wings in the bags and explored some of the hiking trails and via ferratas. The latter are climbing routes equipped with cables, ladders and metal rungs originally built during WW1 for soldiers to move safely in steep terrain. They have become very popular all over the Alps and allow access to spectacular and exposed terrain (with some minimal climbing skills, a climbing harness and a couple of special slings). Despite the strong wind there were still several pilots in the air and we watched more close calls in the LZ where a strong wind gradient set up in the afternoon (one 70% collapse 50 meters above ground, one very bad tandem landing, and other less spectacular mishaps). Just 15 minutes later the wind died and another group of pilots landed in smooth conditions not knowing what they missed while the guy with the collapse was still pale (and hadn’t even had time to change his underwear).

End of the trip report, but since it’s been raining ever since we got back I had some time for more musings & ramblings. Hopefully more info about the conditions will reduce the strain on local ambulance and rescue teams… and on the local flying community … just imagine our sites would be invaded by 300-400 pilots for a couple of weeks each year!

Prerequisites for flying the Dolomites:

- Being comfortable in strong thermal conditions (think Pembi or even Golden).
- Good crowds flying skills (talking about >100 pilots in the house thermal) and solid nerves to fly with others who are in over their head and react unpredictably. IMO crowding is the biggest safety concern.
- Ability to identify wind directions in complex valley system and avoid associated lee/rotor areas.
- Healthy resistance to lemming effect. Others launching and flying does not mean it is ‘fly-able’. Bring along several plan Bs: there are tons of spectacular hiking trails, via ferratas of various difficulty, mountain biking. Most days flying is possible in Bassano. Lots of cultural activities too; museums, old houses, delicious grappa and cheeses to sample.

Observations/condition at Col Rodella (disclaimer: this is from a two-time visitor, no warranties on completeness or accuracy):

- Generally two competing wind systems, one over the Sella Pass from northern Val Gardena/Grödner Tal (north wind at Col Rodella) and the Val di Fassa/Fassa Tal wind (generally builds after noon, south/west wind at Col Rodella launch). Depending on general wind conditions these winds may compete during the day and can lead to variable and unpredictable conditions.
- Use the east launch in the morning then move over to the south launch in the afternoon as the Fassa Valley (southwest) wind takes over and the bowl in front of the east launch is in rotor. Famous videos of dust devils twisting up wings are from the east launch in lee conditions.
- North wind is bad (anything more than light wind) and creates big lee/rotor zones or problems lower down, even if the south launch is not affected. On the evening of one of our plan B days there was a strong shear layer 50-100 meters above the main LZ with strong N-N/W above and strong S below (our hypothesis was that it was generated by the north wind dropping down over Sella Pass, hitting the high ridge south of the LZ and being redirected just above ground level).
- West/Southwest wind can also be dangerous as it increases the already strong afternoon Fassa valley wind. This wind funnels up into the side valley west of Col Rodella and makes for bad rotor in the lee (behind lower canyon ridges, the Col Rodella cliffs, etc). This can also produce strong and gusty wind in the main LZ which thankfully is very large. These were the conditions on the ‘carnage’ day.
- Although the meadows near launch look inviting, top landings can be hard and cause severe injuries due to lee/rotor areas (a couple of days after our first visit a German champion pilot top-landed behind the south launch and broke his back).
- Worst days are the ones with some lift but strong inversions when nobody gets away and most bumble around at the top of lift. It may be possible to fly in relative solitude by staying below the crowds.
- Last but not least, this should be a no-brainer, get out of the way of rescue helicopters, even if other pilots don’t.

More from PG forum
http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=42284
Info from the local club (in German)
http://www.parapendio-gardena.com/colrodella.html

Kyuquot – August 2013

Finally got around to do a sea kayaking trip again, this time to Kyuqout Sound. It’s a great area to explore and of course we didn’t have enough time to see all the interesting spots – a good reason for putting it on the list to go back to for more exploring.

We started in Fair Harbor, which isn't much more than a camp ground and a dock, and paddled out Kyuqout Sound to the Mission group. This is best done early in the morning or late afternoon as strong inflow winds are common on sunny days. We encountered said winds and stopped for a longish lunch break. Even though it was already late afternoon when we went over to the Mission group, there still was a dense fog bank and we made the crossing by compass bearing. Less than 2 km, but the many power boats made me feel rather uneasy.

Our new favored island is Spring Island in the Mission group. It has many sea arches, sea stacks and tide pools to explore and a rugged trail leads to huge old growth Sitka and Red-cedar inside the island. From the Mission group we made a downwind dash via Thomas Island to the Bunsby’s. Thomas Island apparently has the largest sea arch on the west coast, which we checked out on our lunch stop.

At the Bunsby’s we camped on ‘Cautious Point’ island where a small black bear patrolled the beach but ignored our (and other) tents. Good on everyone for practicing bear-safe camping. Interesting wave clouds were rolling in from Brooks peninsula. On the next morning we packed up despite fog and explored some around the Bunsby islands until it lifted. On the way back to the Mission group we took a route further out and made a cool 13 km crossing up to 4 km off shore. Despite being so far out, swell is kept to reasonable size by offshore reefs. A puffin cruised by and we saw numerous dolphins. Near kelp patches and reefs there were lots of sea otters including some curious ones swimming up to us near Kyuqout (maybe used to handouts from fishermen?).

We were lucky with the weather, with lots of sunshine throughout the week after the morning fog dissolved. But the sunny weather made for strong winds and a short window for long distance paddling between the foggy and the windy time of the day. On all islands debris with Japanese lettering, including a fridge, building lumber and crates, was a somber reminder of the tsunami two years ago.

Have to put Rugged Point, Acous peninsula and south Brooks on the list for our next visit in the area, hopefully for a bit longer than this time.

Leaving Fair Harbor

Spring Island sea stacks

Big Red Cedar

Campsite on Spring Island

Sunset over Brooks peninsula

Foggy morning

Surprise!

Yoho and Golden: July/August

In August we went for a week to the Canadian Rockies. There are so many mountain ranges to explore closer to Vancouver that we haven’t made the long trip to the Rockies for over 10 years. 

But the Canada Parks pass I have won in a photo competition two years in a row begged to be used. There are only very few National Parks on the Westcoast, so we had to venture further east. And the spectacular flying in Golden was tempting too. Pete competed in the Willi Mueller XC Challenge and I joined for flying along. We had some fantastic flights over the long jagged ridge of mountains, but also plenty of parawaiting. 

The last weekend of the competition looked un-flyable so we left with Pete in 2^nd place. After checking out stunning Blaeberry Valley north of Golden, we drove on to join friends from the Vancouver Kayak Club for a couple of runs on the Clearwater under spectacularly overdeveloped Cumulonimbus clouds and car-denting cherry-sized hail. Good we were wearing helmets on the river! 

Turns out that in Golden despite thunderstorms everywhere else some pilots managed to get another flight in between big dark clouds, leaving Pete behind in place 5. Shows again that it can be rather challenging to maintain ones safety standards during competitions.

Hiking Lost River Range, ID

From the road less traveled we take a side gravel road up to Two Springs Pass at 2300 meters through the Lost River Range just north of Mt Borah (Idahos highest peak). An earthquake in the 80s caused the valley bottom to drop 9 ft and the sheer line is still clearly visible for 20 miles. From the pass we hike through low forests to an alpine ridge with big gnarly whitebark pine trees.

A big landscape with an even bigger sky. And no other human being around. Except on the next day when paraglider pilot Gavin McGlurg crossed this range on a 387 km record flight to Montana. http://www.xcmag.com/2013/07/footlaunch-paragliding-record-falls-in-the-usa/

Wildlife Viewing Salmon River, ID

On the way back from Utah we found a nice camp spot at one of the river access sites to the Salmon River, up the side road to the Middle Fork take-out. After we finished dinner and settled in the camping chairs beer in hand Wildlife viewing program was on for evening entertainment. It started with a gaggle of nearly 20 mergansers. Never seen so many of these birds in one spot! The mergansers scurried away when a beaver surfaced splashing its tail. Meanwhile a little downstream a deer stepped into view. Its two fawns did some crazy jumps to get rid of annoying bugs. The program was completed by the appearance of two elk cows just upstream contently grazing and lifting heads occasionally to check their environs.

Gates of Lodore: July 7-11

Back from the Gates of Lodore run. The first time on this part of the Green River for us. A float and no whitewater to speak of at the current low water level, but excellent scenery. We float from one canyon to the next, every single one with different looks, different layers, dotted by trees. Cool rock faces, steep and thin rock fins at Steamboat Rock and Split Mountain. Nice being on a river again with old and new friends. But it was super hot down there, up to 38oC. Good thing the water temperature of the Green River was very pleasant (and not the icy temperature of the Colorado in Grand Canyon) so we could hang out in the river until it cooled down.

Our river trip ends near Dinosaur National Monument visitor center and we stopped by to check it out. This is the femur of a 150 million year old Camarasaurus. Pretty amazing - it roamed the earth when Pangea was drifting apart. Another 100 million years before the Rockies started forming. And very considerate of the kids (in us) … its allowed to touch some of the exhibits.

Wenatchee - June 22/23

Surf is up on the Wenatchee! Its the second time in my whitewater kayak this year... glad I still remember how to paddle. I only have some pictures of Pete (on Gorilla or whatever its called) but I got plenty of wave time too. We had Turkey shoot wave all to ourselves for an hour. Too bad the yellow Balsamroot flowers have come and gone already but Saskatoon berries are ripe and deliciously sweet.

Surf is up on the Wenatchee!

Bears!

When I first came to Canada I kept a list of yearly bear sightings, with numbers around 12 or 15 each year. I haven’t kept record lately, but this year it seems worth starting up again.

On a drive up to Pemberton in spring I saw four bears grazing on the fresh grass along the highway. That’s where the snow melts first and the grass grows early, so the hungry bears come to the table. There were several more road-side sightings over the next few weeks.

But I had the best (and longest) bear watch experience while para-waiting (for better flying conditions) on launch in Pemberton. First one and then a second bear showed up, doing their best to keep the grass short. Elsewhere people have goats to do this. The second, smaller bear was rather skittish and kept its distance. Pretty cool to watch them feed and interact. At one point Pete came in on his paraglider for a top landing. He didn’t want to spook the bears and yelled. The yelling didn’t faze the bears, but when the fabric thing flew close over their heads they scrambled off.

A few days later while retrieving the car after a Rainbow Mountain hike&fly in Whistler we watched a bear mum and her three cups inspecting driveways in search of food. We even ‘rescued’ a woman who was walking her dog in the neighborhood. The two had just run into yet another bear. The dog got rather excited and the woman thought it wise to avoid another bear encounter, especially with a mum and her cups, and we loaded dog and lady in the car and drove them to safety.

Vegetarian Bear

Supervising the lawn mowing crew

Bear on landing strip

Whistler bear family

Walking Among Giants

I was looking for new hiking destinations at low elevation (in early summer there is still lots of snow up high in the mountains). Since I always wanted to check out the remainder of old growth forest around Vancouver I made finding the BIG trees my objective. Here are a few photos of my explorations.

There are spots close to Vancouver where big old growth trees still stand. They have escaped logging and wildfires and matured into century-old giants, providing a glimpse of what this world looked like before western civilization arrived. Some of the trees are celebrities, like ‘Grandfather Capilano’, an 800 year-old, +60 meter high Douglas fir in Capilano River Regional Park. Others are tugged away deep in the temperate rain forest and faint, hidden trails lead to them. It is an awe-inspiring moment to catch first sight of one of the giants among their smaller cousins, to walk up closer and let the eyes travel along the tall trunk up to big branches and crown high above.

Hollyburn Fir, 1100 years old

Big Red Cedar with some regular trees for size comparison

Nurse Log

Skid roads - left over from the logging days

Another big Red Cedar near Mosquito Creek

Capricorn Slide

A couple of pictures from the site of the 2010 Capricorn slide (possibly the biggest slide recorded in Canada). Prior to the slide we had been in the area several times, checking out the hot springs and hiking. I have also seen the slide from the distance, but to stand on the huge debris field where before there was a forest of tall trees and see how the mud flow had scrubbed everything off hillsides up Meager Creek was, well… mind boggling.

Looking down the Lillooet Valley. This was covered by forest 3 years ago.

Looking upstream Lillooet River (comes from the right). Meager Creek joins from left of center. The hillsides scrubbed by the slide are visible up into Capricorn creek valley.

Wetcoast Week without the ‘Wet’

Awesome week with lots of sunshine and record breaking temperatures. We got into the air in Pemberton where the temps climbed into the high twenties. Although conditions were rough with strong NE and NW winds I managed to do a +20 km out and return flight to Owl peak and then across to Miller Ridge. I arrived high enough for a great view of the snow covered peaks and ice fields behind the front ridge. During the week I enjoyed various evening activities: skiing up Mt Strachan (with après-ski de-gooping of the bases), hiking to an outlook over Indian Arm and a bike ride through the green forest on Sumas Mt.

Last but not least we got our sea kayaks wet again and explored Widgeon Slough. It was pretty cool paddling along the channels of cold and clear Widgeon Creek through marshlands with steep mountains in the backdrop.

So there was paragliding, skiing, mountain biking, hiking and paddling in one gorgeous week! Hard to beat life on the wetcoast...

Bridal Awesomeness

Awesome flight at Bridal in light NE outflow wind. My favored flight of the year so far! We went to Woodside first but after a launch-able window it started blowing over the back for the next hour. We did our duty with some patient parawaiting and sunbathing before deciding that moving over to Bridal would be a better bet. Peter had gone directly to Bridal but waited there for almost an hour for conditions to improve. Just as we arrived he was working hard to stay up in a flush cycle. Luckily he found a thermal out front and east of launch. Just as Bridal guru Alan says… on NE days look for lift to the east of launch.

By the time I got in the air things were working much better. I found the thermal elevator immediately and got up to 1700 meter right from launch. Found a second nice climb and flew over to the west ridge of Mt Cheam and then along the snow covered north face. Following Nicole I made it over the first spur coming of the main peak to the northwest and passed around the outside of the rock pyramid on the second spur. Thermals went even higher over the Lakes and Butterfly where I got to 2300 meter, higher than Mt Cheam by good 200 meters.

First time for me to get so high in the Fraser Valley. Views of Tomihoy and Baker through the Cheam/Lady gap were stunning and I had to take some pictures, but lost over 100 meters getting the camera out with my gloved hands and frozen fingers. What a very different perspective looking over to the other side of the valley (and down to the tops of Bear, Agassiz and Harrison Lake). On the way back from Ludwig thermals were often further out and not too close to the mountain.

For a while I thermalled with a curious juvenile Bald Eagle. S/he flew with me for a few minutes, cocking her head one way and then the other maybe to figure what this weird contraption of fabric and strings was. Later she came straight at me until I yelled and she turned away (maybe playing chicken the eagle-way).

Coming down to land was like being in a time lapse video from winter at 2000 meters to spring in a field yellow with dandelion flowers.


 

Easter 2013

What a difference compared to the same weekend last year which was our best powder weekend of the season (http://bcwetcoast.blogspot.ca/2012/04/april-powder-april-1st.html). Same location as last year, Duffey Lake Road, but the weather was almost summer-like. Temperatures were in the high teens in Pemberton. We still decided on a ski trip and toured up Anniversary Glacier. Gorgeous weather, fantastic views of the high peaks and glaciers around us and on the way down corn snow. Not sure I’m into this kind of snow too much; powder is still my preferred skiing ‘substrate’. But the scenery was definitely worth the effort!

Enjoying the view on top of Anniversary Glacier while our friend Alex bags Matier

Mt Spetch and Slalok Mt

After skiing down Anniversary Glacier (we were up in the snowy col between Matier and Joffre) AR photo.

Happy Easter

Hemlock Lady's Day

I lucked out on my latest visit to Hemlock, a small ski resort near Harrison Hot Springs. The North Shore Mountains got rained on, but Hemlock had +30 cm fresh snow. I took my sweet time to contemplate if the conditions warranted the longish drive. But when I drove up the last bit of steep and windy road to increasing amounts of fresh snow I regretted not coming earlier. To my relief the lifts were not moving. And one of them didn’t run all day. So with a little walk over to the side of the closed lift I enjoyed powder turns and face shots all day. On my last two runs just before 6pm I only crossed a couple of other tracks. Almost too good to be true!

A shame to leave all this untracked pow behind, but it was 6pm! My tracks are the two wiggly lines ;-)

All Pow(d)er to March

So this Pineapple express finally cooled down enough to turn the wetness into snow. Up to 80 cm of it dropped on the Coquihalla (Whistler only received a meager 10 cm). After much studying of snow/weather/temperature reports I (reluctantly) joined friends for a day at Needle Peak. My resistance against inertia was rewarded! It wasn't quite effortless hero powder and skiing required a bit of work but there were deep turns and plenty of face shots and lots of smiles. Welcome back, winter!

Yours truly stirring up some pow (BW picture)

More Pineapples - March 12

We are in the middle of another pineapple express, or atmospheric river, as Cliff Mass calls the warm air masses laden with high water vapor that originate near Hawaii. For us in the Pacific Northwest it means days of heavy rain. Next glimpse of sun is forecast in 7 days. Oh well, its called Wetcoast for a reason. But couldn't the temperatures be just a little colder so it would snow on the local hills?

Atmospheric river