All-Girls Weekend Spa

We got a group of girls together this weekend for an outdoor adventure. We celebrated fall in the best possible way by hiking into some natural hot springs outside of Pemberton, BC. It was 10 kilometres in on a slow-going trail, but the destination was absolutely worth the effort. 

An all-star group of girls

We're so lucky to live in BC!

Steam rising from the hot springs

The snow-line dropped as it rained all night, but the sun came out in the morning for an awesome hike out. 

The Bugaboos

Happy Canada Day! 

I finally made it to the Bugaboos with friends old and new. It felt all kinds of right waking up to this view on Canada Day morning. 

Check out more photos on Millie Kuyer Photography's Facebook page: The Bugaboos

First tour of 2014.

My friend Tyler and I packed up and headed up Duffy Lake Road on Friday for a little winter excursion. We were lucky to have open schedules after a small snow storm was followed by clear blue skies. 

Wendy-Thompson Hut

We were an hour or two into our trek when we ran into someone that informed us there was a cabin in the valley. Stoked to check it out, we forged our way to it. However, we were geared up for winter camping, so we didn't get to take full advantage of the shelter. 

Setting up camp before a quick headlamp run. 

A sliver of a moon seen from camp. 

A wind-scoured snow surface and tracks up to the saddle.

Tyler peeling back his skins.

Behind Tyler, to the East, is a view of the valley back to Duffy Lake Road.  

My first powder run of the year.

Tyler coasting through a boulder field. 

A little more snow would have made it an even greater playground.

Millie Kuyer Photography on Facebook

C'est La Plus Belle Saison De Ma Vie

The 2013 tree planting spring/summer season is over and the summer is well underway. I figured it was about time I posted a few pictures. 

On the block

I still remember what it was like to be a rookie. I must have been one of the most awkward, nerdy rookies that ever existed—my first foreman has confirmed this—but I survived. I made friends, I sped up, and I got dirty. 9 years and 8 seasons later, I’m considered a well seasoned vet, not a senior by any means, but an experienced planter at least. I’ve found a home yet again in a tree planting camp where my tent is my private oasis and my co-workers are my second family. They keep me coming back. 

Camp Life

Jetting Up Joffre

The plan was for Sphinx hut outside of Squamish, but I'm learning that plans don't stand for much when you're backcountry skiing. Everything is dependent on the weather and snow stability. So rather than slogging 15km in the rain and wet snow on Saturday to spend the night wet in a hut without heat, we chose to "camp out" in Alex's Whistler abode. We exchanged the cold, wet night for beds, a wood-burning fire, and beer. We would have been happy either way, but it was nice to be dry and warm. 

Sunday we headed to Joffre, past Pemberton, stoked that there were signs of improving weather.  

Alex

Cameron

Once we past Keith's Hut, we aimed for Anniversary Glacier. The Avalanche ratings were considerable, so we had to play conservatively. Since I'm a newbie when it comes to reading snow stability (and skiing for that matter), I had lots of questions for the others. It took a lot of convincing to keep me going. 

But then we all felt it. The famous "Woommff"-ing sound of a large slab of snow settling beneath us. I had just risen my camera to my face to take a photograph when I felt the snow I was on drop an inch or so. My heart dropped an equal distance within my chest. We decided not to go any further, and stripped off our skins for our decent. 

Alex and Maddy, just after we felt the snow settle. 

Alex and Maddy tearing off their skins.

It was a shorter ski down than anticipated, but it was still lovely!

Back down the way we came.

An instance of sunshine in the valley.

All smiles after the first run. 

Cam and Maddy

Alex

Maddy

After refuelling, we started up Vantage. We heard the first sign of other people in the valley, but still made the first tracks on the hill. Nothing beats a blank canvas made of soft snow. 

Looking over the ridge into the next valley.

Maddy and Cam getting blasted by snow and wind on the ridge.

Cam dropping in for a smooth ride down Vantage.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday on BC's coast mountains. 

The hike out was tougher than expected and I swear we had to go up hill to reach the car, but it felt great to wrap up the day safe and sound and exhausted. 

Thanks to Alex, Maddy, and Cam for inviting me out for the weekend!

Alex, Maddy, Cameron, Me

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BC Winter Road Trip! (Part 2/2)

<<< .... CONTINUED

I was really looking forward to getting to Pemberton because it is a town I have spent very little time in. In order to explore it a little more, I decided to camp in my truck over night. I picked a quiet street, set up my bed and played guitar to pass the time. I discovered I could poach internet off of someone nearby so I watched a couple Ted Talks too before calling it a night. I slept for about 4 hours before I woke to tapping on my window. Turned out the cops needed to check in on me. They were friendly and didn't have a problem with me camping out, but they suggested I move to a safer location more central to town since I had chosen a street next to a trailer park that was known for drunk drivers (surprising since I had seen nothing but mansions on the road I was on). The police officers recommended that I park outside of the police station if it would make me feel safer, but since I hadn't felt I was in danger I decided to park near a park instead. I wasn't keen on the idea of having the police watch me as I slept. Creepy. 

I left Pemberton after picking up a coffee the next morning and made my first stop only a couple minutes down the highway at Nairn Falls Park. I went for a short hike to the falls and captured some shots of the forest with its melting snow and misty morning light. Next I drove until I saw a sign for Wedgemont Trail. I slipped on my skis and skinned up a logging road for an hour or two until the trail became unclear and I skied down. It was a good thing I didn't try to keep going because I later discovered I was on the wrong trail, not that I would have made it to the Wedgemont Hut anyway. It was a difficult 7 hour trek to be attempted another day. 

Scenes from around Whistler, Pemberton, and Smithers. 

After the Wedgemont Trail sidetrack I continued on to Whistler where I was meeting another friend. I was incredibly lucky to have a beautiful place to stay that night. There was even a wood burning stove and three tier bunk beds in the cabin-like condo. 

The next day my friend Josh and I headed to Sproatt Mountain for a ski tour. Our goal was to reach the alpine for some fresh tracks. The weather was perfect with a bit of fresh snow and the sun shining most of the day. However, despite our gruelling efforts to navigate up and around cliff benches, we accepted that we had chosen a poor route up and decided to accept our defeat and backtrack. It was unfortunate, but at least we gained a better idea of the route for next time and we definitely got a good work out. 

Playing in the snow below the alpine at Mount Sproatt. 

After nearly two weeks of being on the road, I was nearly home, but not quite. I met up with some close friends for a home-cooked dinner and then we all ended the day with a bouldering session at 

the Hive. Not a bad way to end the trip. Not bad at all.