Down and Dirty: Inside the Most Punishing Sport of All
In the run-up to the OCR World Championships at Blue Mountain, we look at the history of the world’s most punishing sport. by Nelson Phillips Fitness fads tend…
Share
In This Issue
82 posts
Mountain Biking in the Andes: The Turquoise Waters of Lake Paron
“You know, it’s the mountain in the Paramount Pictures logo, and many say it’s the most beautiful peak in South America,” says our Mexican friend, a hardcore road cyclist training…
Share
Solo-Cycling Manitoulin Island
Are you a cyclist commuter or weekend rider looking for a bit of adventure? Perhaps you’ve considered bicycle touring but have been unable to find the right group of people to…
Share
Effin’ A: The Cathedrals of Ski Bum Culture
The loudest house party in Whistler history took place in one, the first Chapel was housed in one, and local ski legend Rob Boyd grew up in another. Whistler’s A-frame…
Share
People of a Feather: Mapping a Remote Community to Help Save the Arctic Eider
The Arctic Eider isn’t just any duck. The feather of this sea-ice dweller is the warmest in the world—a marvel of nature that allows the Eider duck to spend its…
Share
Just Good to Get Out: Optimism, Denial and the Powder Miracle
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…
Share
Buried Cabin Escape: Whistler Business Wants You To Experience a Backcountry Nightmare
Life in a mountain town has its perks—pow slashes in your backyard, magical moments of freedom, and all the little pulses of adventure that come from a life lived within…
Share
Skim or Swim: 6 Tips to Ace Your Local Pond Skim
Words: Colin Field There are a lot of great ski traditions in the world; the shotski, the ski burn, the bra tree. They’re cornerstones of ski/snowboard culture. And along with…
Share
Squamish Exposed: Notes on Coastal Steep Skiing
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” —Albert Einstein Exposure is an arena for the mind. Mentally, skiing above a 500-foot cliff is scarier than a one-hundred-foot…
Share
Requiem For a Future North
For several years I have made regular trips to Canada’s north, spending months at a time above the 60th parallel—the invisible border where the land changes from boreal forest to…
Share
Dodging the Bulldozer: The Resurrection of The Whistler Lodge
Falling out of fashion like the long, skinny skis that once lined its patio, The Whistler Lodge was on its deathbed last season. Having tumbled into disrepair, the lodge, one…
Share
Skiing and Surviving in One of the World’s Most Isolated Places
Ba ffin Island in Canada’s eastern Arctic is a maze of blue ice, chalky snow, hungry polar bears and soaring rock cathedrals. Photographer Jordan Manley sheds some light on what it’s…
Share
Cliff Jennings: 50 Years of Whistler Gold
If you see a bit of extra smoke wafting through the Whistler Valley this winter, it’s probably not a sit-in at Rebagliati Park, but rather the aftermath of all the…
Share
A Dunk a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
It’s 5:00 a.m. on a cold, winter morning in Whistler. Most hardy souls up at this hour are just creeping out from under a warm duvet and checking the snow…
Share
Buried Treasure: Digging Deep in Western Newfoundland
There are few places better suited to “social distancing” than the mountains (yes, they have mountains) of Western Newfoundland. The only problem is the people there are so warm and friendly you don’t want to distance yourself from them at all. This is a story about digging into the unexpected and finding adventure where every you end up, but it’s really about a group of BC kids discovering just how similar mountain culture is on the other end of our great nation.
Share
Shredding La Vieille Capitale: Québec City & its Nearby Mountains
words :: Nelson Phillips. The trip gets off to an unorthodox start. Ontario is in the midst of a detrimental February cold snap. We miss our flight to Québec City…
Share
The Pioneers of Hollyburn Ridge
At the height of the Great Depression, as the storm clouds of war gathered over the world, Gordon Knight, my father, and some fellow Kitsilano High School students (and…
Share
Mountain Biking B.C.’s South Coast Part 4: The Sunshine Coast
Since we started Mountain Life: Coast Mountains almost a decade ago, mountain biking has essentially taken over the world. So it made sense that the first 13-page SuperFeature we’ve ever…
Share
Mountain Biking B.C.’s South Coast Part 3: Squamish
Since we started Mountain Life: Coast Mountains almost a decade ago, mountain biking has essentially taken over the world. So it made sense that the first 13-page SuperFeature we’ve ever…
Share
A Window into the Wild: Cape Scott by SUP
One of the best things of working with Mountain Life is the built-in excuse, the necessity even, to get out and find new adventures. For our Summer 2015 “Wheels &…
Share