The season and this whole year of exchange has come to an end. A season consisting of some of the deepest powder, steepest lines and best skiing moments of my life. So, after over 40 days in the area, how is Whistler as a ski resort, what does Whistler have that Ã…re or any other Swedish resort doesn’t? There’s one short and simple answer to that – snow. The snowfalls are both more frequent and more intense. The snow stays dry and powdery for a longer time, due to less wind it gets less hard-packed. Whether this particular season was a good season snow-wise is hard to tell, some seasoned skiers says it’s better than usual, others says it’s worse and yet others says it’s average.

For me it was more snow than I’ve ever had but as my expectations were sky-high I might’ve expected even more. At least everyone agreed that there were surprisingly many sunny days this season; great for the visibility, provides exceptional views and comfortable skiing but the sun makes no powder. The ski area is huge, maybe not as big as the giant systems in the Alps with several connected ski areas but over twice the size of Ã…re. With two big mountains to choose from and with several bowls to ski on each side you can never say you’ve fully explored the area.

The potential and popularity of Whistler and the fact that it is the only major resort within two hours from Vancouver comes with a downside. It attracts massive crowds, especially on a powder day. On the morning after a big dump sea-to-sky highway becomes busy (even on a weekday) and the lift-queues are long despite the high-speed lifts and efficient queuing systems. Already at lunch time it’s hard to find anything that isn’t skied out except for some occasional patches of untouched snow. I’ve neither seen so many good skiers in one place before, even the lines where I have to think twice before dropping in gets tracked out quickly. That is also the charm of the ski resort; many professional skiers and film teams are drawn to the area when the conditions are right, seeing them ride and do crazy stuff is like watching a ski movie – live. All in all it’s been an epic season and I’d love to revisit one day in the future.

As for Vancouver and Canada it’s been a great year abroad. I’ve met so many amazing people and experiencing the city, the university and its surroundings has been a blast. Canada is the land of signs, they have literarily signs and flyers for everything. It’s also a land of awareness (maybe this was particularly the people I met but there was a feeling of a high general awareness), everyone is aware of everything. From risk awareness to environmental awareness, people do their research before they act. And their actions for the environment are visible; they have people friendly recycling (all recyclables are put in the same bin, to later be sorted), electric car pools, great commuting system (electrical buses and sky train) and bike-lanes throughout the city are some examples. Maybe sometimes they are too aware, they want to build a clean and sustainable future but implications are met on the way. Today British Columbia gets its energy mostly from hydro power, natural gas and diesel generators. Despite their huge amount of forest, biomass plants becomes controversial because it might ruin forests and lead to nasty pollutions. Many wishes pulls in many different directions. In the end the oil is the fuel for the Canadian economy and ironically the docks for the oil tankers are the most adapted docks to a future sea level rise.

Vancouver is beautifully located where the ocean meets the mountains, it’s filled with friendly, outgoing people and the surroundings provides opportunities for every outdoor activity you can imagine. Is this the most livable city on earth as it’s said to be? I can’t say for sure but if you’re into recreational activities it’s definitely a top candidate

Related album

2 May, 2017

British Columbia IV

First day in Revelstoke. We spotted two lonely tracks going down into Greely Bowl from the top of the ridge. We couldn’t really see where they started but we knew the hike to get up there and decided to give it a go. After a 30 minutes climb we found the spot and at first sight looking down the first part of it, it looked un-skiable. It was incredibly steep with rocks down below making it pretty much a no-fall zone. However someone had made it which meant it was possible even though the tracks indicated they were sliding slowly with the skis aligned horizontally. The open, almost untracked, field of deep snow below looked too amazing to pass on. The first few meters were really steep and narrow, followed by a slight convexity making it even steeper. Below the convexity was an exposed rock. The path was too narrow to be able to get around the rock so I ended up sliding straight over it. Luckily the rock was softer than the ski edges and tiny bits of rock tumbled down the slope while my skis stayed fairly intact. That was one of the scariest moments I’ve had skiing, but the reward made of powder below was just magical. The combination of fear and excitement made it a truly memorable moment and it was a great start of the week to come.

Peter Kjellander came all the way from Sweden to visit during reading break. Our plans was to do a road trip to Rocky Mountains. We wanted to explore the skiing and boarding opportunities at the interior of BC and our first stop was Revelstoke. After a delayed flight and almost seven hours of driving we made it to the hut in Revelstoke at 3.30 am. A very service minded host welcomed us and went through all the procedures despite the inconvenient hour. The hut itself wasn’t much more than just a hut though, with minimalistic interior, mattresses taken from a gymnastics hall and only heated by a remote radiator placed in the middle of the room. Most of the heat leaked straight out through a large gap between the door and the doorstep, the builder might have taken too much door swelling into account when building it. Looking on the bright side, we were already half dressed the next morning ready to hit the slopes.

Looking at the trail map Revelstoke seems rather small with only one gondola and two chairlifts, but once you get up there you realize there are huge areas to explore. Compared to Whistler it’s not even close to as big but it’s much less crowded and there are fewer really dedicated skiers, which means it’s a lot easier to find some good untracked lines. It hadn’t been snowing for a while when we got there but some short hikes and long traverses made our two first days remarkable.

Next up on the list was Nelson and Whitewater. While Revelstoke was well developed and commercialized Whitewater had a more old-fashioned nature. It consists of three slow but charming chairlifts gaining a lot less elevation than in Revelstoke. The chairs don’t slow down at the bottom station so the lifty needs to give them a swing before sitting down to avoid having your legs cut off. We were consumed from hiking previous days and decided to make a chill day, building a BC-jump and take some photos. The next day we considered going to Red Mountain but we hadn’t explored all of Whitewater yet and the drive to Red Mountain was significantly longer, so we decided to make another day in Whitewater. With fresh legs we went for some tougher climbs and it really paid off. Deep chutes, smooth cliff jumps and perfect pillows were the themes of the day.

With only one day left and over 20 cm on the forecast we drove back to Revelstoke to finish where we started. A windy and snowy last day forced us to stay further down the mountain but it offered some great tree runs in the fresh powder.

On the way back to Vancouver we got stuck in traffic because of an avalanche covering the road ahead of us. After a two hour delay we could finally keep going but we couldn’t complain too much. All in all it was an amazing trip and we definitely got what we came for; some big and sketchy skiing/boarding and tons of pow.

Related album

2 May, 2017

British Columbia IV

After one day, one weekend and one week of skiing I’ve truly seen the potential of the North Shore Mountains. First off I joined a VOC trip for backcountry skiing at Mt Baker, Washington. Crossing the border to the states went relatively smooth whereafter we headed down to the lodge where we would spend the night. Early the next morning we left the lodge hoping to lay the first tracks. With clear blue sky we put the skins on the skis and started to climb. As we started close to the ski area we took the first elevation following the cat track until we reached a gate to the backcountry area.

At the boundary we were met by this informative sign explaining the danger of leaving the area. After ignoring the sign we entered the backcountry area which consisted of a small lake in the center surrounded by several peaks and ridges. The vertical drop from the lake to the peaks was about 300 meters. That meant each ascend took no longer than an hour and we had time for several runs this day. Doing several smaller ascends seemed common in Canada, maybe especially during pre-season when the snow hasn’t reached the lower altitudes. This is different to Europe where most of the climbs last for hours which only allows one run each day. As mentioned the weather was amazing but the snow conditions could’ve been better. Rain the evening before we arrived had formed a crusty surface which was rather hard to ski, especially the steeper parts. In the afternoon the warm sun had softened the snow and the last run was like spring-skiing in the snow slush. The lack of powder didn’t prevent us from having a great day, the runs were okay for being season premiere and the sun cast an incredible light in the valley allowing some neat pics to be taken.

The first weekend in Whistler was truly amazing, being introduced to the ski area together with tons of other exchange students. Some heavy snowfall the days before we arrived made excellent conditions on Saturday, and it just kept snowing, we ended the day with beers in the hot tub, some nice dinner and a great party.

During the night between Saturday and Sunday an extra 30 cm fell and I’ve never experienced as deep powder as that Sunday. Unfortunately we were unfamiliar with the area and pretty late to the lift so we couldn’t make the most out of it. We kept to the more popular areas which get tracked-out really fast but in the tighter woods you could still find some untouched snow which meant face-shots every second turn! The base wasn’t that reliable and my brand new skis got some brand new scratches but overall the weekend was great and gave appetite for the rest of the season.

After a week of final exams and assignments I returned to Whistler for another six awesome days. The days included skiing from opening to closing, going back to the hostel for dinner and some beers in the hot tub after which you are so tired that you instantly fall asleep. Life doesn’t get better than that! Together with other mostly Scandinavian ski-enthusiastic exchange students I explored the area searching for powder. There was no heavier snowfall during the week but if you’re willing to put some extra effort into it by traversing a bit longer or go boot packing/skinning there was no problem to find the good stuff. We even had two sunny days with blue sky, an awesome pow-sun combo that almost never occurs in Sweden.

Related album

2 May, 2017

British Columbia III

It’s been a while since I last wrote, mostly because it’s off season for almost everything. However we’ve been trying to do a hike each weekend and haven’t been sitting inside despite the cold, rainy days.

First off we went the Wedgemount Lake trail which is a rather tough and steep hike with an elevation of 1100 meters. The weather conditions didn’t make it easier; it was close to zero when we started the hike and already a few hundred meters after we left the parking lot the first snowflakes were falling. I was really excited to see the snow thinking the ski season isn’t far away now, and better snow than rain. But we weren’t really prepared for the low temperature in mid-October and should’ve brought some more appropriate clothes. At higher altitudes more snow remained on the ground and up at the lake it was probably 20-30 cm. The last section was more scrambling than hiking, scrambling is somewhere between climbing and hiking, it’s steep enough that you have to use your hands to get up but you don’t need any ropes. Because of the deep snow and steep trail not all of us made it to the lake but it was an amazing view with the turquoise lake and the white surrounding mountains.

The weekend after that we headed to Bowen Island, one of the larger islands outside Horseshoe Bay. This was the rainiest hike so far and the low clouds were limiting the view. We climbed to the top of Mt Gardner, a hike which was supposed to take 7 hours but we made it in half that time. The trail was surrounded by beautiful nature, but unfortunately, as you can see to the left, we couldn’t enjoy the view when we reached the top.

This past weekend we returned to Whistler again, this time for some snowshoeing at Joffre Lakes an hour north of Whistler. It wasn’t the longest and toughest hike but it was definitely the most spectacular one so far. This time we were lucky with the weather, it was cold but this time we were prepared and the sky was clear all day. The trail was well used and the snow was packed so (un)fortunately we didn’t need to use our rental snowshoes. Along the trail there are three lakes, one at the start, one in the middle and one at the end. Reaching the lakes feels rewarding and makes you want to keep going. Close to the second lake there’s an amazing waterfall with the shape of a staircase in a gigantic format. As we started the hike quite late it became dark before we reached the parking lot on our way back but thanks to our cellphone flashlights it wasn’t any bigger problem. When we reached the car it was the most amazing starry sky. I have never seen that many stars in my life; you could even see the shapes of Milky Way.

Now the ski season is really close, Whistler opens up on Saturday and next time I will definitely write about some (hopefully awesome) ski trips.

Related album

1 May, 2017

British Columbia II

At the end of September I joined the Varsity Outdoor Club (VOC) to a trip called “The Longhike”. It wasn’t much of a hike – actually no hike at all. It was a full day of climbing, including climbing instructions from great instructors, and the day ended with a huge party at the camping site. VOC is a student-led club arranging everything from climbing trips, bike trips and hikes in the summer to ski touring trips, snow-shoe hikes and ice climbing during the winter. All together the perfect club!

Squamish is one of the best climbing areas in Canada. As we were a big group we had to split up and my part of the group headed to Area 44 while the others went to Smoke Bluffs which is the more popular site. The climbing was great with routes of all difficulties and it was a nice view down the valley below along with the North Shore Mountains at the horizon. We didn’t get a lot of time climbing, most of the time was spent on instructions and on-ground training. Although I’ve been lead climbing before I got a whole bunch of new useful tips. We even learned how to fall by climbing a meter above the last clipped bolt and intentionally jump off. The fall itself wasn’t too bad but while standing there perfectly safe holding on to some nice jugs there was quite a psychological barrier to just throw yourself off the cliff.

That night at the dance floor in the party tent the DJ suddenly lowered the volume and called out “Johan Naslund”. Totally unaware of the fact that it was a lottery going on I suddenly stood there with a new set of quickdraws in my hand – a nice surprise!

The weekend after that it was Canadian thanksgiving, apparently the Canadian and American thanksgiving are at different dates. On the Sunday we revisited Grouse Mountain with the aim to continue after Grouse Grind and climb Crown Mountain with its spectacular peak. Unfortunately we started out a bit late and had to turn around before we reached it to get back in time for a thanksgiving dinner.

About a week ago it started to rain. Ever since I got here people has constantly reminded me that “the rain is coming”. When it finally starts there will be 8 months of rain and you won’t see the sun for the whole winter. There is a feeling of being in the Game of Thrones series where the phrase “winter is coming” is stated countless of times. We’ve already had three days of good weather since the first days of rain so hopefully it isn’t as bad as they say.

This last weekend we hiked the Rainbow Trail in Whistler. Unfortunately it was on one of the rainier days so it ended up being a very wet hike. However it was nice to see the area in autumn colors and the temperature was quite ideal for a hike. When we reached the lake after about 2.5 hours of hiking the rain stopped, pretty good timing. The lake had this turquoise color, typical for lakes at higher altitudes, with very colorful surroundings so it was well worth the effort.

Related album

1 May, 2017

British Columbia II