Spring at Woodside, March 19

What a great day for flying yesterday and it even happened on a weekend (not the usual mid-week nice weather window). Smooth thermals, plenty of lift with a somewhat low cloudbase. A special treat this year with winter sticking around for ever. Conditions were suitable for a cross-country stint across the Fraser. Winter wonderland on the Bridal side with the snowline around 1000 meters. Pete and I managed to find a suitable climb there to head back over to Woodside. First Fraser Valley triangles of the year and only the second ever for me, although mine was a bit short ... but Leonardo still gave me FAI triangle points

Still winter on the north side of the mountains above Bridal Falls

Looking back from where I came from (Mt Woodside behind the river on the left)

Pete and Alex with very photogenic wings

More Snow, Lots of it!

This was the best lift skiing day this year. Cypress had 182 cm new snow in one week.
The snow stayed cold and fluffy until I was tired and left after 4 hours. What a treat for March (well, what a treat for lift skiing in general)! I think I'll get a pass again next year.

March Snow Storms!

Even sea level elevation was blanketed by several rounds of snow this March. This was unusual, as was the number of times we had to shovel snow around our house this year. Winter made an impressive appearance 2016/17.

On one of the snowfall days I happened to be in White Rock, a town south of Vancouver. With all the snow falling I thought the ocean side pier would make for a great photo object.

Coquihalla Visit - March 4

We had surprisingly few backcountry ski days this year for several reasons... the Colombia trip, poor snow conditions, nasty weather, sketchy avalanche situation (and general laziness?). But finally a day on the Coquihalla. We stayed in the trees since lots of snow had fallen and despite a 'considerable' destination from AvCanada we wanted to play it extra safe. Turns out it was a good idea as a couple of other groups in the area triggered all kind of slides on more open slopes (on Nak and the steeper west side of Needle ridge) and there were two accidents on the North shore and near Whistler.