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Just Good to Get Out: Optimism, Denial and the Powder Miracle

  • February 16, 2016
  • Ben Osborne
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The winter of 2014-15 was moody. After the early season smashed us with pineapples, a high pressure locked down on the region and put us into an endless stretch of warm, sunny days. It was hard on morale. My friends and I spent the majority of the winter repeating the optimistic mantra, “It’s just good to get out,” which of course it always is, but in some ways it felt like I was being fueled by denial.

 

Pemby3
Brad Slack photo.

By Joe Lax

Without pow, you get back to the basics – it becomes more about just getting exercise and breathing mountain air. There was enough snow to ride on – it could have been a lot worse – and while many pow-snob locals rode their mountain bikes or got out of town completely, we were determined to find winter.

An aggressive 4×4 recon to the top of one of the highest logging roads in the area barely got us to the point where we could unload snowmobiles. Each shady, snow-filled section of road was like a mirage; as soon as we rounded a corner to anywhere sun-exposed, the road returned to dirt.

Beyond the forest service road, desperate sledding through wide open creeks and grassy marshes already abuzz with Mosquitos and swamp bugs. Open aqua-blue water was just beginning to show on an alpine lake that we would need to cross. This type of scene would be normal for June in the Coast Mountains, but not in March, typically the peak of winter. It was good to get out, but also kind of grim.

 

Pemby2
Brad Slack photo.

 

But then, a well-timed miracle happened – it started to snow. March and April storms delivered in a more usual fashion and the alpine actually began filling in. Even as everything lower than treeline transformed into instant summer, far above the valley, there existed a semblance of winter. A short, late-season window opened and the usual rules for getting it done still applied – wake up early and be there when its cracks blue.

Photographer and friend, Brad Slack, and I decided to escape the valley and get away from the “worst season ever” negativity that had been festering all winter long. We battled our way past tree-line and set-up camp – armed with splitboards and a will to not let winter pass us by.

 

Pemby1
Joe Lax photo.

 

We drank beer by campfire and scoped lines by starlight. A 3:30 a.m. alarm sounded and we rolled out of our sleeping bags, excited to still see stars. We pushed to the alpine, and like Brad and I have done before, we parted ways once we hit the ridgeline. A solo, pre-sunrise ridge walk gave me ample time to reflect on the season that almost wasn’t, and the sun crested the ridge as I stood on top of my line. After radioing Brad, I dropped into soft, powdery snow – leaving any sour taste from a frustrating winter behind.

At the bottom, I took a moment to look back up in the early morning light and admire the track coming down the mountain. I quickly switched my gear over and started hiking up for more. I had no excuses. The day was still early and even though it was now April, the winter I had been impatiently waiting for had finally arrived. It felt good to get out.

 


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THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN: GRIT, DEDICATION AND DOUBT IN THE HEART OF THE COAST MOUNTAINS
Like most adventures in BC’s Coast Mountains, this one starts at the end of a long, dusty logging road. We unload the trucks and pack our snowmobiles and toboggans full of sled gas, food, skis, camping gear and enough supplies to ski and survive for five days in rugged, isolated terrain. The plan is to sled 90 kilometres north of Pemberton to the Tchaikazan headwaters and ski Mount Monmouth, one of the ten highest peaks in the Coast Range… Read more

 

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A road sign along the side of Highway 99, just south of the Pemberton Valley advises, “Adventure begins here.” While it’s tough to imagine the genesis of adventure residing in a ditch beside a set of high voltage power lines — I believe the sign was meant to invoke a broader scope. The reality is that a certain type of adventure really does begin here. The Pemberton Valley is the epicentre of big mountain riding in southwest British Columbia… Read more

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Just your average day on the trails…nothing to see here. #mountainlifer #onewheel 23 4
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Just your average day on the trails…nothing to see here. #mountainlifer #onewheel 23 4
How many turns did you earn last winter? Most skiers and boarders would be proud to say they logged a week with no chairlifts and zero auxiliary help to the top—or toured exclusively for a month. 43 2
onekwe didn’t set out to become an artist. She first became a welder with the intention of establishing herself in the trade. But, as good welding jobs are few and far between where she lives on Manitoulin Island, she began doing commissions for architectural pieces and modern furniture. “From there, I found the opportunities and the abilities in myself to create art,” she says. 74 1
ML and partners offer a gear list curated for spring-summer stoke, including the latest sunnies, trail shoes, sun shirts, e-bikes, headlamps, racerback tanks, Rollerblades and sun hats. In alpha order. #linkinbio to check out all picks! 21 0
"Alright—where to begin? Between the months of July and November 2022, I walked about 2500 kilometres from British Columbia to San Francisco. Yes—I walked." 46 4
🚫The sweet sound of the wilderness at Devil’s Glen… 76 5
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