The new Fall/Winter issue of ML Coast Mountains has dropped.
Time Keeps on Slippin’…
Nothing kicks us around harder than time. Mostly because time, or at least keeping track of time, is a human construct. The human psyche craves order so much that we’ve had to categorize all of existence onto a linear, endless (and purely invented) structure that we convince ourselves we are capable of manipulating.
We’re always either saving time or wasting time or, hopefully more often than not, enjoying some time well spent. But the truth is we aren’t doing anything to time at all, and instead, much like the crocodile in Peter Pan, time is hunting all of us. Tick tock, tick tock…
One thing is for certain though, in the winter 2024 issue of Mountain Life: Coast Mountains we are here for a good time and ready for the season of a lifetime. Of course, only time will tell. –Feet Banks
Highlights
Cleared for Takeoff
Never one to let her time get idle, snowboarder/climber Alenka Mali sets her sights on a new endeavour—a snowboard BASE jump. Assembling a local crew for an attempt on a remote ridge near Squamish, Alenka digs into her past and her family history for the mental strength needed to fly.
Photo Feature: Dawn Patrol
Building off the success of the summer 2024 Sunset Sessions mountain bike feature, we reached out to a few of the photographers and athletes most comfortable amongst the deep blues of pre-dawn and the uncluttered pink silence of a fresh morning atop a powdery white wall. Why do they do it? What drives that hunger? How does it feel out there on the perimeter, meeting each day head-on? What’s life like on the dawn patrol?
Cold Crushin’
Jimmy Martinello assembles the winter avengers for a special mission: take advantage of a sea-level cold snap to deep (cold) water solo the waterfall ice of Mamquam Falls.
Requiem for a Dream
The United Nations has declared 2025 the “Year of Glacier Preservation” in an effort to spur action to protect the world’s remaining icefields (which are a cornerstone of life on this planet). Will real action happen, or is this the start of an eulogy?
Life at the Top
Ever dream of living in the ski lodge, with fresh tracks for the taking every morning and the music cranked all night? In the 1980s that wasn’t just a dream, it was a job. Mountain top caretakers (and their families) reminisce about the old days of Whistler Blackcomb and life at the top.
Good Morning, Canary
When the loss of his mother coincided with the best swell of the year, surf photographer Marcus Paladino found himself dazed, in the water with nature and community helping him to put together the pieces of loss, grief, and the cruelty of time.
Artist: Ben Poechman
After a decade of naturalism, Ben Poechman is leaning into the abstract. And his riding is better than ever.
Reuse, Recycle, Reposition
Rather than tearing down a perfectly good Whistler cabin, Cayoosh Construction loads it onto a custom truck for the commute to Pemberton. But will it fit under that train overpass at Suicide Hill?
Plus: Mountain Mentors uplifts 1000, Susan Musgrave’s Wild Time, handmade dumplings, Jon Turk’s Old Rascal, elder wisdom, ravens, frying pans, a dude with no pants on and more…
Pick up an issue of Mountain Life: Coast Mountains wherever you usually get one, subscribe, or watch this space as all these stories (and more) trickle in over the next few months.
Happy Winter!
