2007 - Nickel Plate, Battery Mountain, Golden Ears, Baffin Island

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Nickel Plate - Penticton
Location of Nickel Plate Nordic Centre

The lodge

My good friend Alan Lizee and I headed up to Penticton on spring break to do some cross country skiing with Bob Cuthbert. Nickel Plate is a little less than an hour from down town Penticton and is close to 6000 ft. above sea level, so it is a lot colder than down in the valley. 

Alan and Bob

The weather was wonderful. It was well below zero, and the sun was out. The tracks were set, and there was lots of snow. The wood stove was burning in the hut waiting for our return. What more could I wish for? I wished I was in shape! Oh, well, we had a good couple of days and it was thoroughly enjoyable. After our second day of skiing Alan and I drove down to Oliver to see Lanny and Julie Martiniuk and enjoyed their company for the night. (Keep an eye out for Stoneboat wines)

Battery Mountain via Viking Creek
Location of Battery and Evan's Peak trail

Alan and Chris

"I always thought only a masochist would dare wander up the bushy, bluffy flank of Evans Peak, in Golden Ears Park, until I read a bivouac.com report by Fred Douglas. He and Alice climbed Evans Peak, accessing it from a gully rising out of Evans canyon. On their descent they noticed flagging in the col between Evans and Alouette, and being adventurers, they decided to find out where the tapes would lead them. They headed down a prow between Viking creek and its neighbor creek to the North, and they ended up on the Viking Creek lookout trail. It took 90 minutes to descend from the col to the West Canyon hikers' parking lot."
- Alan Lizee

Lots of snow

"I decided to set my prejudices aside and try to get up Alouette from this access. It turned out to be a quite enjoyable snow hike, winding around a few bluffs and trending generally Westward to gain Alouette's South West ridge. Here we found the snow hiking to be more pleasurable by staying to the East of the summer trail, closer to the actual ridge crest. Chris Cooper and I summited first, then I repeated the hike twice more In April with members of the Ridge Meadows Outdoor Club.

This being the year of the big Fraser River flood threat, I thought a picture of the mid-April snow profile at 1150 meters would be appropriate."
- Alan Lizee

Chris Cooper hiking across the top of  Alouette (Battery) Mt. summit

Blanchard Peak (Needle Point), Chris Cooper, Edge Peak

Golden Ears - Golden Ears Park

Location of the Golden Ears

Looking north from the summit of the Golden Ears

Alan made a solo trip up to the summit of the Golden Ears May 31. Here is what he had to say:

"Hi Gang, I had to go back to the Ears today, Wednesday, because the weather was irresistible, and because there was unfinished business to get done. I hiked without a break to reach the summit before noon. I planned to just take 2 shots from the top and head right back down before the snow softened too much and maybe start sluffing. I ended up spending 20 minutes on top, and did run into a bit of a glitch coming down. The solution worked very well and I was down in no time. It was a wonderful day!
Happy Trails...Alan"

Blanchard Peak (Needle Point) looking south from the top.

In the picture above, Mt. Edge is off the left edge of the photo. Needle Point is the tooth like peak hiding Battery Mtn behind it. The southern part of the Golden Ears is on the right side.

Baffin Island Ski Expedition - May 08 to June 05 2007
Location of Baffin Island
The following article was written by Chris Cooper:

"A very typical camp with great views all the time"

"One more excuse to visit the Canadian Arctic, this time it is Gibbs Fiord on Baffin Island, at 70 degrees Latitude, the team composed of two fellows Chris Cooper, Manrico Scremin and three gals Liz Scremin, Linda Bily and Julia Keenliside.

Liz and Manrico and I had discussed a few years ago to do something in the Arctic on skis but it took a few years to finally pull it off together. Most of my Arctic journeys have been with John Dunn, Sandy Briggs and Mike Sharp so this will be a more modest trip and not too ambitious, having said that it’s great just being out their with new comarades.

This was the first Arctic ski trip for the others so they learned a lot from the old boy!!

Anyway, one must plan on at least a weeks travel time both going and returning on these types of journeys and also one must plan on having some complicated logistics to sort out including using points to your advantage!! It's the only way to get there!"

The group.

"We arrive in Iqaluit on the 9th May and met with Mary Potyrala who just happened to know Mike Sharp, Mary put us up for two nights then onto Clyde River to meet outfitter Levi Palituq who arranged Komatik and Snow machines for our group and moved us and gear to Gibbs Fiord.

A 10 hr journey by Komatik ( sled ) is cold, rough and quite adventurous but we managed to get there with some incredible scenery to say the least."

A sense of scale

"Our three week ski traverse starts here at Gibbs Fiord with walls as high as 5000ft.inplaces, very impressive.

The ski traverse took us through Gibbs Fiord, Stewart Valley, Sail Peaks, Walker Arm, Sam Ford Fiord, Polar Sun Spire,Swiss Bay, Revoir Pass and finally Eglinton Fiord. Levi arranged our pickup near Eglinton Tower which was about 60km from Clyde River."

Family in mind.

"In all I calculated 200km on skis including side trips, which was considerably less than most ski journeys up there and was considerably easier than the marches with John Dunn who we met heading North to Pond Inlet over a 6 week journey. It was great to see John, Sandy and Paul there."

"My last day trip on Baffin."

A Word About Global Warming as of January 1st 2008

"I have just picked up the phone just thinking of our dear friends in Clyde River, I spoke with Levi Palituq and he mentioned to me that there is no evidence of Global warming at present and that it has been consistantly cold temperatures of -40C and will be colder in January and February, It was completely dark December 18, 19, and 20th 2007.

They and the community have celebrated Christmas over a two week period starting in mid December, they came together with lots of music and dancing.

So there we are, another great journey on skis to a marvelous place in Canada’s Arctic."

Submitted on behalf of the group.      Chris G. Cooper

2006 - AGM, Sun Peaks, Mountain Biking in the Rockies, Mt. McQuire

My Flickr site for more pictures - 
Location of the AGM 
The Annual General Meeting - February 10-12 -

Keith Akenhead and Bob Cuthbert

Never before has trail breaking been so challenging. I started out dragging a sled thinking that would make things easy, only to find out that the thick fresh snow made us dig a deep trench breaking trail, so the sled simply tilted onto its side and soon flipped over. I never have liked dragging a bulldozer!
We ended up having to dump our packs, break trail for a ways, then come back for our packs and essentially break trail again with the increased weight on our backs. It was horribly slow.
Finally Keith Akenhead, Bob Cuthbert, and myself made camp only about a third as far as we hoped to get that day. The weather stayed just below freezing for the next two nights, making staying dry a challenge.

Chuck and Ken

Ken Willis and Chuck McCafferty came up the second day and we had our usual fun "annual general meeting" in the big tent. 

Spring Break - Sun Peaks
Alan Lizee and I drove up to Sun Peaks and stayed in his sister and brother in law's condo at Sun Peaks. The first day we cross country skied and the second day we down hilled. I was please that with shaped skies I could down hill quite well after not having done it for so long, but boy did I get tired quickly!

Alan Lizee

Canmore Mountain Biking - July 2006

Lynn and I drove up to Canmore with our bikes and stayed in the Bow Valley Motel again and we did some biking up at the nordic center on the Banff Trail and on the Canalside to Quarry Lake trails. It was unfortunate that they had done a lot of work on the nordic trails making some of them a mud pit, but we had a great time anyway. Oh yes, the restaurants in Canmore are great and the liquor store has a great selection of wines and scotch! :-)

Lynn just above Canmore

Jasper Mountain Biking - July 2006

After three nights in Canmore, Lynn and I drove up to Jasper and stayed in a small cabin at the "Pine Bungalows". Starting out at Old Fort Point, we did the Valley of the Five Lakes trail . It is an intermediate trail with many great fun sections, but it also has steep sections that turned it into a "bike and hike". It was well worth doing, and quite long. We came out on theIceFields Parkway and rode the ten kilometers back to Jasper on the smooth pavement. :-)

Lynn on the Valley of the Five Lakes Trail.

The view from our cabin out over the Athabasca River and on to Mt. Edith Cavell made for an idyllic scene. If we have anything to do with it, the Pine Bungalows will see us again.

Lynn ponders Edith Cavell.

Mt. McQuire - July 2006
Alan Lizee and I tried to hike up Mt. McQuire but because I only drove up a couple of kilometers on the Borden Creek road, we had a long hike up the road before we even got to the trail. There was a ditch across the road which I was uncomfortable with, and we parked the car and walked. It was too bad as it was a great day and it would have been nice to get to the top.
The picture below is of the American and Canadian border peaks on the right, and the Pleiades on the left.

The Pleiades and the border peaks looking up Slesse Creek.

2003 - AGM, Ski in Jasper, Biking with Lynn

The January AGM
Location of the AGM 
My Flickr site for more pictures - 

Dave Dixon

The Red Lobster Annual General Meeting - January 2003 - We induct a new member.Bob Cuthbert, Ken Willis, Chuck McCafferty, Randy Wheating, Ryan Shellborn, Keith Rajala, and the new Lobster, Dave Dixon survived another AGM up on the western flanks of the Three Brothers. When has there been so much laughing, other than the last AGM? Thanks to the people and culture of Scotland, Red Green, and Christmas leftovers, but most of all, good friends. :-) Enjoy the writing of Lobster Chuck...

Bob Cuthbert, Ryan Shellborn, Randy Wheating, Chuck McCafferty, Ken Willis, Dave Dixon

The "con" list. Dave knew a couple of lobsters. He had not climbed anything higher than the ladder with which he cleaned gutters (and that has not yet been verified). He had to walk to get to the tents for the winter camping (a much tougher task, some might suggest). In the final analysis, (and perhaps sadly) the fact that he drank scotch won out. (Those who still question Dale's membership on that qualification will lift an eyebrow here.) 
Conditions, while not ideal, were much better than on many of the trips to the Cambie Creek ski area. The snow allowed for easy ascent to the tent sites. Randy and Ryan had been in for a day or two and we knew as we slogged along that there would be a warm drink and friendly greeting.
As bodies drifted into the rhythm of each skier's comfort level and thoughts turned inward, we spread along the trail in pairs. Chuck and Ken moved slowly ahead as Keith lingered to be sure that Dave's bearpaw snowshoes held up as he dragged the sled containing his home for the night. It can be a very peaceful and introspective time skiing along a wintry trail with the knowledge that friends are not far off. It can be the nicest time of a trip into the mountains in the winter.
At the usual lunch spot we reassembled and munched on sandwiches, trail mix and drinks. As Ken and Chuck had been there for a time before the others arrived, they started off for the final ski up to the tenting spot. They worked up the trail and before long heard the familiar "Koo Loo Ku Ku" a-la Bob and Doug McKenzie as they arrived at camp to a waiting cup of hot coffee. 
Randy, Ryan and Bob (we weren't sure if Bob would be able to attend ... being from the frozen east and all) had set up their tents and had flattened a couple of spots for our two tents as well.

Many rituals filled the AGM

After a while, Dave and Keith arrived. Dave looked somewhat like a deer in the headlights as this was his first winter camping trip. However he had been well outfitted by his friends and was in for an fun-filled evening of wondrous foods, entertaining games like Tequila Pigs, and tall tales. As well, there were bad jokes and readings from Red Green, which, when added to the ubiquitous sips of scotch, had us in stitches for much of the evening. We had long ago realized that the pipe and cigar smoking needed to be in the fresh air outside the tents and so as the night wore on, Lobsters aglow with good times (and did I mention scotch?) quietly slipped off to their tents one by one for a good night's sleep.
It is said that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts". Each year that truism is validated by the Red Lobster AGM --- a bunch of aging gentlemen out to play in the woods in the winter. It was a beer company that made the phrase "it doesn't get any better than this" famous. They haven't been on a Red Lobster AGM. - Chuck McCafferty


A Spring Break Ski Trip to Jasper
Location of the Bald Hills trail we used.

Good times.

On spring break, Ken Willis, Chris Cooper, and I travelled up to Jasper for a ski. In the previous weeks, it had been very cold. Bob Cuthbert had skied into the Amethyst Lake area a few weeks earlier, and had found it extremely cold. By the time we got to Jasper, it was spring like in the valley bottoms, so we went up to the Bald Hills area just west of Maligne Lake. the picture above are four frames out of the video I made of the trip.

At the Columbia Icefields

With stops at the Willis cabin on Sheridan Lake, and a drive down to the icefields, and a hot tub at the Tonquin Inn, it was a trip worth repeating :-)

Mountain Biking in the Rockies With Lynn
Location of Peter Lougheed Park

Lynn with Upper Kananaskis Lake behind her

After a computer conference in Seattle, Lynn and I packed up the van and headed for the Rockies for some R & R. We headed first to Peter Lougheed Park in Kananaskis Country and spent three days cycling some of the trails there, ending with a loop which included the Terrace Trail. This included a fairly long section of single track and we were rewarded at the end of it by the ice cream store at Kananaskis Village!

We then moved on to Lake Louise where we did the Pipestone trail: a friendly double track through the trees and a fun downhill run back to the highway.

Jasper was our next stop. We did trail number 7: a long loop starting at Old Fort Point and going along the Athabaska River. It then climbs up Maligne Canyon to the restaurant :-) and then goes back on a single track, skirting the southern edge of the golf course and ending back where you started. It was about 25 km in all. Some of it was challenging , but most of it was quite easy and friendly.

2002 - Diamond Head Ski, Biking Golden Ears, Biking Rockies, Harrison Hot Springs Bike, Chilko Lake, Battery Mt., Manning Park

Diamond Head Ski

Location of Round Mountain - high point of the ski
My Flickr site for more pictures - 

Mamquam Mtn.

I skied up the old road to Diamond Head with my overnight pack another time. I have done it so often the route feels as familiar as a well worn hat. Sandy Briggs, Chris Cooper and I spent the first night in the Elfin Lake shelter, and the second night on the very top of high point.

Sunrise at high point.

The weather had been cloudy, but as we started the second night on the ridge top the clouds parted to expose a wondrous landscape. The morning dawned with a spectacular sky.
And some people ask why we do these things!

Mountain Biking in Golden Ears Park
Starting point of the ride at Gold Creek

Keith Akenhead

In this picture Keith Akenhead stands on an old east canyon road very close to the rocky beach on Gold Creek that provides a view of the backside of the Golden Ears. It is a good workout as you do a fair amount of climbing on the way up to the high point of the old road. You can also continue up Gold Creek on a trail and do some "rugged biking".


Cycling in The Rockies - July
Location of the old highway

Lynn Rajala

After I finished with my Simon Fraser University Tlite course in early July, Lynn and I packed up the van with camping supplies and our mountain bikes and headed for the Rockies. We spent some time in Kannanaskis Park and then went on to Lake Louise where we spent a couple of days. In the picture to the left, we rode the old road between Lake Louise and the access road to Lake O'hara. It was only about a kilometer to the West Lake Louise Lodge from there for lunch. It was a very enjoyable round trip.
From there we drove to the West Edmonton Mall. We made the drive home in one very long day.

Harrison Hot Springs Bike Tour
Location of Harrison Hot Springs

Chuck, Randy, Dave

Our campsite at Harrison Hot Springs.

Chilko Lake
Location of Chilco Lake

Denise and Robbie Needham

I went on a week long canoe trip organized by Chris Cooper to Chilko Lake, a high alpine area between Williams Lake and the coast. The canoe was thirty-seven feet long and was even rigged with a sail for the trip back from the southern end of the lake.

Chris Cooper

A beautiful area with ten thousand foot peaks all around the southern end of the lake. It's also grizzly bear country, but we didn't see any. The lake is about eighty kilometers long. The southern end is in typical wet west coast mountains that are heavily glaciated, with the northern end in the much flatter and drier interior region. A big change in a fairly short distance. An area not often visited due to its remote nature and the serious storms and associated waves that can build up on the lake.

Chris Cooper at the rear returning us to Tsilos Park. Turtle Island in the background.

- Part 1 video of our trip.

- Part 2 video of our trip

Battery Mountain (Alouette Mt.) - August
Location of Alouette Mtn. (Battery Mtn.)

Eric Rajala

Eric and I did a day hike up to the top of Battery in early August. It's a great view point for the Fraser Valley.
Edge Peak is on the right hand side of the picture, Needle Point is just off the picture to the left, and the top of the Golden Ears is in the distance, just to the left of Eric's right shoulder.
The cairn was originally erected quite a few years ago and has recently been repaired and a new plaque has been cemented in on the north side of it.
A long hike from Mike Lake with no running water in the summer.

Manning Park - September
Location of Cascade Lookout

Windy Joe in the background.

After dropping Dale MacQuarrie and Chuck McCafferty off with their bikes just east of Hope for their ride home, I drove on to Manning Park by myself in the van for a very relaxing weekend in the high alpine.  I spent the night at the Cascade Lookout.
The picture above shows Windy Joe just above the yellow grass.

Looking west.

I did some marking, photograhy, and watching both a sunset and sunrise. Most enjoyable.