THE BACKYARD ISSUE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Backyard Issue

UPFRONTS FEATURES

EDITOR’S MESSAGE WHAT’SUP GARIBALDI Feet First Two Lakes, Six Mountains, Heavy Packs p. 17 p. 28

JUST THE TIP EPIC TRIP Brett Tippie’s Home Sweet Home The Summer of Heights—Baffin Island p. 18 p. 54

HEROES OF THE DEEP VALLEY OF REDISCOVERED DREAMS Cleaning The Lakes, Again Back in the Saddle in the Squamish Valley p. 21 p. 64

SEARCH & RESCUE Shifting Culture Or Numbers Game? p. 22

12 DEPARTMENTS

BACKYARD BEYOND Grip It & Rip It Leave No Trace… p. 37 p. 49

CULTURE ARTIST First Journey Trails Levi Nelson p. 43 p. 73

ON THIS PAGE Stu Smith on 'Pool of Death' 12+(FA), Mamquam Canyon. KIERAN BROWNIE ON THE COVER Mia Noblet, Stawamus Chief 3rd Peak. JEREMY ALLEN

13 PUBLISHERS JON BURAK [email protected] TODD LAWSON [email protected] GLEN HARRIS [email protected]

EDITOR FEET BANKS [email protected]

CREATIVE & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR, DESIGNER AMÉLIE LÉGARÉ [email protected]

WEB DEVELOPER KEVIN CRAWFORD [email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR SUSAN BUTLER [email protected]

1066 Millar Creek Road, Function WEB EDITOR www.camplifestyle.ca NED MORGAN [email protected]

DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA

SARAH BULFORD [email protected]

FINANCIAL CONTROLLER KRISTA CURRIE [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORS Jeremy Allen, Dave Barnes, Kieran Brownie, Chris Christie, Jim Martinello, Clint Trahan, Jon Turk, Justa Jeskova, Taylor Godber, Mason Mashon, Dan Ashton, Erik Boomer, Sarah Bulford, Tim Emmett, Mason Mashon, Anne Price, Andre McCurdy, Pierre Melion, Ben Haggar, Andrea Huberdeau, Josh McGareal, Sarah McNair-Landry, Pearce Mundy, Neve Petersen, Mack Rankin, Levi Nelson, Matthew Sylvestre, Brett Tippie, Anatole Tuzlak, Shawn Watson.

SALES & MARKETING JON BURAK [email protected] 604 815 1900 TODD LAWSON [email protected] 604 907 1074 GLEN HARRIS [email protected] 705 441 6334

Published by Mountain Life Media, Copyright ©2021. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40026703. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Mountain Life Magazine, PO Box 2433 Garibaldi Highlands BC, V0N 1T0. Tel: 604 815 1900. To send feedback or for contributors guidelines email [email protected]. Mountain Life Coast Mountains is published every February, June and November by Mountain Life Media Inc. and circulated throughout Whistler and the Sea to Sky corridor from Pemberton to Vancouver. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. Views expressed herein are those of the author exclusively. To learn more about Mountain Life, visit mountainlifemedia.ca. To distribute Mountain Life in your store please call 604 815 1900.

OUR COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT Mountain Life is printed on paper that is Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified. FSC® is an international, membership-based, non-profit organization that supports environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. By printing on post-consumer waste paper instead of virgin fibre, this issue of Mountain Life preserves 2.3 tons of wood for the future, saves 3,000 gallons of wastewater flow, and conserves 6,000,000 BTUs of energy. Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Paper Network Paper Calculator Version 3.2. For more information visit www.papercalculator.org. POC KORTAL_DEVOUR NEW

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FEET FIRST

Let's keep the backyard fresh and clean. Watersprite Lake. ANATOLE TUZLAK

Let’s not kid ourselves, pretty much every issue of Mountain Life is “The breed in BC. This region is also home to 67% of the province’s fish species, and Backyard Issue,” that’s kind of the point of it all—we love the Coast Mountains 69% of the reptiles (nice). Don’t even get me started on lichens, mosses, fungi, and the people who live, work, play, and adventure here. It’s not always easy to and old growth forest (or the current provincial government’s keen desire to create a sustainable life in this part of the country, but the chaos of the past year destroy them). Pound for pound, the forests in our backyard are among the most has definitely driven home just how lucky we are to be able to escape into these (if not the most) ecologically diverse places on the planet. mountains, drift away on the waterways, get lost in these incredible forests, and And yet, for all the hive knowledge/community building of the internet soak in that fresh air and pure mountain freedom. and the proliferation of eco-conscious everything, our backyard is seeing more But let’s get one thing straight—freedom isn’t free. It comes with a abandoned campfires, more tire tracks in riparian zones, more beer cans in the responsibility to the places we love. Because the Coast Mountains are not local lakes, and more garbage piled at the trailhead than any other time in the my backyard nor are they your backyard—if anything, they’re a communal history of life itself. Are we collectively “funning” our favourite place to death place that have been here long before us and will be here long after. Take under a faux “unplug-to-reconnect” ideology that’s really just an ego-driven Skwxwu7mesh (you know that word from the highway signs in Squamish), Instagram photo op? as my friend (and ML contributor) Keiran Brownie recently pointed out to me, It certainly seems that way. So this summer, as we delve even deeper Skwxwu7mesh is the name of a people, not a place. More than that, it’s a name into “our” backyard, let’s pledge to leave it in better shape than we found it given to a people BY a place—specifically by the river that provides the people (which may require picking up after others, some volunteer work, or donations with the water they depend on. As human beings, we belong to these lands, not to organizations fighting the good fight), and vow not to sit idly by while the other way around. someone else disrespects the land. If we leave any trace this summer, let’s Let’s also remember, we not only share this ridiculously amazing part of make it the shared understanding that these Coast Mountains, our backyard, the planet with each other, but with the future as well. Which means it’s on all are an incredible paradise of beauty and adventure, but also a complex and of us to take the best possible care of it, and as more people begin realizing the interconnected matrix of life. I guess the take-home message here is one as old value of getting outside, it’s our job to ensure everyone understands how that as civilization itself: don’t shit where you eat (or breathe, or play, or raise your value extends far beyond themselves. children) and if the winds of progress blow someone else’s trash over the fence British Columbia is home to one quarter of all the temperate rainforest IN and into the backyard, it’s up to all of us to clean it up. –Feet Banks THE ENTIRE WORLD, and most of that is along the Pacific Coast. Think of it this way: if the planet had lungs, our backyard would be half of one of them. Ever Footnote: I need to give a big shout out to friend (and ML contributor) Keiran Brownie for his input and excellent discussion on the link between people and place. As well, to Heather Paul at seen someone puncture a lung? That’s the earth without temperate rainforests. the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre in Whistler and Chepximiya Siyam (Chief Janice George) of As well, coastal BC is home to 78% of the variety of mammals in the the Squamish Nation. These conversations are essential to creating a magazine that holds true province (and 66% live only on the coast), plus 64% of all bird species that to this area. Thank you!

17 JUST THE TIP

If you don't see the transition that's because it's not there. (But at least it's close to home). MARGUS RIGA

18 SIZE DOESN’T MATTER When it comes to backyards, it’s what’s outside that counts

The nice thing about backyards is that they are never indoors. For the most part, the backyard is where our first outdoor adventures begin—out the back door, past the patio, into the grass (and hopefully trees)... and beyond. The backyard is the gateway to nature, the elements, and the feeling of getting rad and sporty. I grew up in a house on the city limits of Kamloops, British Columbia that had no fence and the hills rolled away for hundreds of kilometres from the back door. I could play frisbee in the grass or I could take my bike and pedal far into the vast, magical world searching for adventure, fortune and fame… as long as I was home for dinner. Not everyone has a backyard, but your backyard can also be the front yard, a park, or the street itself (that’s where most of the best 1980s plywood ramps were built). According to at least one dictionary, the backyard can also be “anywhere in your area of interest or activity.” My backyard got huge when “I’d like a map of the world… life size.” – Steven Wright I bought my first 4x4 after tree planting all summer. Harper Mountain, Sun Peaks, Whistler… anywhere I could walk, pedal or drive to—chasing down my interests and expanding my universe. Technically, the entire province of BC could be your backyard if you wanted, the whole country even—why not the entire planet? If you were travelling to Mars in search of perfect big mountain slopes and you met some shredding aliens you could brag about the trails and freeride lines in your backyard; the third planet from the sun. Then you could send them postcards with a picture of Earth taken from space and on the back it could read, “Wish you were here.” That reminds me of a joke from Mitch Hedberg. He said, “If you get lost in the woods, just build a house! I was lost, but now I live here. I’ve seriously improved my predicament!” That reminds me of another joke by Steven Wright, who said, “I’d like a map of the world… life size.” Which reminds me of another joke by Mitch Hedberg. He said, “I’d like to stick a thumbtack in a map of the world of every place I’ve ever visited. But first, I’d have to travel to the upper two corners of the map... so it wouldn’t fall off the wall.” It’s all relative I guess, but that’s the fun—every season we get to decide how big our backyard is gonna be (well, almost every season). Just remember, it’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to have to paint it. – Brett Tippie

19 Fall for To no

Tofi no is magic year-round. But fall? Fall might just be our favourite. Starting in September, the crowds disperse a bit; the fog lifts. We often see blue skies and pleasant temperatures, and south swell that produces the nicest waves for surfi ng. If you ask us, it’s also the coziest time of year for camping. And we’ve got some great off-season discounts for you. Book your fall stay today. surfgrove.com

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@galileocoffeeco ENVIRO

THE UNSUNG HEROES OF THE DEEP Meet Henry Wang and his merry band of divers on a mission

Not all heroes wear capes. Some of them, like Vancouverite Henry Wang, wear scuba gear. As co-founder of Divers for Cleaner Lakes and Oceans, Wang dedicates a minimum of six weekends every spring and summer cleaning up trash from the bottom of Sea to Sky lakes and ocean sites around Vancouver. “It’s a collective effort,” Wang says of his volunteer crew of scuba and free divers. “If everyone can pitch in and do a little bit, it all helps. We do this for Mother Nature, but it also keeps me diving, and I like hanging out with all the divers—some have become great friends. We usually make a camping weekend out of it.” Wang founded the group with Jonathan Martin in 2013 after heading under for his first-ever lake dive. “We saw some trash and wanted to take it out, but there was so much we needed more divers.” The strangest thing they’ve ever pulled from a lake? Probably a computer hard drive, discovered in the Finding more divers proved easy enough, but the trash kept re-appearing lake at Murrin Park south of Squamish. “The rumours are that lake is really deep,” Wang says (pictured each season. Everything from parking street signs to park benches, from laptops, right, shirtless, with numerous bags of trash gleaned from Squamish's Cat Lake). “It isn’t. I just recycled the drive, whatever information someone probably thought they were getting rid of forever, I’m sure I cell phones and GoPros, to old tires and shopping carts—all of it picked up by don’t want to know.” COURTESY OF @CLEANERLAKES an underwater army now numbering more than 20 volunteer divers who come from Squamish to Abbotsford and everywhere in between. (They also cover their own costs for equipment and air fills.) the bottom of the marina at Deep Bay on Bowen Island, including metal bed frames, filing cabinet, La-Z-Boy, and a heavy mass of five anchors all stuck together in an “anchor ball.” The number one culprit is beer cans. Wang says they But the number one culprit is beer cans. Wang says they have recovered have recovered more than 45,000 beer cans over the more than 45,000 beer cans over the years. “Cat Lake in Squamish is beer can years. “Cat Lake in Squamish is beer can city, it’s city, it’s probably the most contaminated lake we clean.” When Divers for Cleaner Lakes and Oceans organize an official lake clean- probably the most contaminated lake we clean.” up, they generally include presentation and education components, set up on the docks and beaches, so passersby and the public can actually see how Even after a number of years cleaning local waterways, litter seems to be much garbage accumulates under the surface. With any luck, that first-person increasing. Wang has heard of people justifying their actions by using the ‘out of connection will inspire changes in personal behaviour, as well as help spread sight, out of mind’ excuse when throwing stuff into the water, but that doesn’t the message via social media or word of mouth to encourage everyone keep our sit well with him. lakes and waterways clean. “When you see all the trash that we pull... it’s annoying. We pulled a “Don’t think that beer can that you quietly try to submerge under the barbecue out of the water the other day, and you know that just didn’t end up water will never be found again,” Wang says. “It’s not cool man. Pack it in, pack there by accident. This stuff doesn’t belong here. All the plastics and batteries it out... it’s not that hard.” and foreign things, they’re just leaching into the water table and eventually into No, it isn’t. Just crash those cans and put them in your pocket, or tie a the food chain.” mesh bag to your floatie. Real superheroes leave no trace. – Todd Lawson Since 2013, Divers for Cleaner Lakes and Oceans have picked up approximately 35,000 pounds of trash over their 133 local ocean and lake To support Wang and the rest of the Divers for Cleaner Lakes and Oceans, please clean-up dives. Their biggest haul? 1,700 pounds of boat-renovation junk near visit patreon.com/Northshorehenry or check their social @cleanerlakes

21 Long-line rescue—one of the few times a free heli ride is not awesome. CLINT TRAHAN

22 UPFRONT

THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF SEARCH AND RESCUE A shifting culture or purely a numbers game?

As the old song goes: “When the shit goes dooooowwwn, ya can cut their teeth. With parks closed, outdoor recreationalists better be ready.” And if you’re not, British Columbia’s Search were pushed to areas with less development and infrastructure and Rescue (SAR) teams will be. In 2020, BC SAR organizations such as trail markings, which creates challenges for users were deployed 2,099 times—more than all other provinces in and rescuers alike, says Tom Zajac of Coquitlam SAR. “We’ve Canada combined. performed rescues where inexperienced planning contributed BC’s SAR forces consist of approximately 2,500 volunteers to the need for rescue. Now that these remote spots are being working in 79 community groups across six defined regions. The ‘discovered,’ we’re expecting people to keep going.” Sea to Sky Corridor benefits from eight different SAR groups The lack of outdoor courses and classes during COVID-19 overseeing an area that stretches from the southwest Fraser limited peoples’ ability to gain skills before they headed out Valley up past Pemberton and out to the Sunshine Coast. alone. Similarly, directives to only socialize in small, family Despite border closures, stay-at-home advisories, and bubbles likely prevented people from venturing out with more a lack of international tourism, 2020 was the busiest year on experienced friends, possibly adding to the rescues attributed to record for Sea to Sky SAR groups, and one of the most complex. lack of experience. The early spring COVID-19 lockdown reminded BC residents that nature nurtures sanity, and when restrictions The spring 2020 closure of BC’s Provincial were eventually lifted, people dispersed into the backcountry Parks catalyzed the public’s quest for new like a shotgun blast. Every logging road, pull-out, and hydro cut suddenly filled with parked cars as people searched out any areas to explore. Parks generally offer a safer scrap of green space to enjoy away from others. According to and more functional space where wilderness David Mackenzie of Pemberton SAR, 2020 also pushed people newcomers can cut their teeth. deeper into the wilderness. “We usually see a lot of calls coming from Joffre Lakes,” An overconfident reliance on technology can give a false Mackenzie says, “but when that closed, places like the upper sense of security, with people holding the mindset that carrying Hurley, Tenquille, and Semaphore Lakes became hotspots.” an InReach (or similar GPS tracking device) compensates for This trend carried throughout the corridor as Watersprite their lack of experience. This attitude places SAR as the primary Lake, the Squamish Valley, and the Tantalus Range became the backup plan if things go wrong—although SAR members are fastest growing rescue areas in Squamish. As outdoor recreation hesitant to pin the blame solely on new backcountry users. becomes hipper and more popular, people will venture further I’ve never been able to determine a primary user group for that #secretselfiespot. for our services” says Raz Peel, VP of Squamish SAR. “Accidents “Social media plays a big role,” says Squamish SAR’s Anne happen, and they can happen to anybody.” Price. “Spots that were relatively unknown a few years ago are Peel adds that of the 120 calls received by Squamish SAR pumping now. And it’s not just Instagram and Facebook feeding in 2020, 79 resulted in physical rescues. Improvements in cell the frenzy. Apps like Gaia, Trail Forks, and Strava make it easier phone technology and coverage is helpful, but users still need to to share information. ” know how to find their location and describe their surroundings The spring 2020 closure of BC’s Provincial Parks catalyzed accurately. The time SAR call takers spend teaching people how the public’s quest for new areas to explore. Parks generally offer to find their GPS location on their phone is time that could be a safer and more functional space where wilderness newcomers better spent on safe rescues.

23 Rope rescue on the Stawamus Chief by Squamish SAR. ANNE PRICE

It’s amazing to realize that SAR is a life-saving service However, Campbell couldn’t see his life any other way. As staffed entirely by volunteers who operate at a high level to volunteer since 2008, SAR has given him lifelong friendships accommodate the varied demands of rescue situations. As part and made him an integral part of the community. “I love the of each one of Squamish’s seven specialty units, Squamish SAR altruistic aspect of SAR. I have a passion for first response and member Shawn Campbell is something of a Swiss army knife of enjoy the fact that I can use my wilderness skills to help others. volunteering. He could be dispatched as a level two avalanche It’s my dream job, I just don’t get paid for it!” This community-minded motivation preserves the culture, dynamics, and magic of SAR. Despite the fact that volunteers “I love the altruistic aspect of SAR. I have are often pulled away from family dinners, evenings, weekends, a passion for first response and enjoy the fact work, sleep, ski days and personal adventures when called into that I can use my wilderness skills to help action, people are lining up to join the SAR teams. “The whole system is built around giving back to the community,” Peel says. others. It’s my dream job, I just don’t get “Just being able to volunteer is, in itself, a great privilege.” paid for it!” –Shawn Campbell Accidents can happen in the wilderness, regardless of one’s level of skill or experience. By first supporting ourselves (and other members of the outdoor community) with proper technician or a swift water rescuer; he could be piloting jet boats training, equipment, and good decision making, we are also or dangling out of a helicopter. With each rescue task averaging supporting our local SAR. We know SAR is trained to be ready about four hours, Campbell commits roughly 650-900 hours per when the proverbial shit goes down, but that doesn’t mean we year to SAR—not including training time and administrative shouldn’t be ready as well. –Ben Haggar hours (conservatively, an additional 10-15 hours per week).

*Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the participants and do not represent those of the Search and Rescue organization.

24 MORE SEA, MORE SKY, MORE TIME! MORE MORE SEA, MORE SKY, OUR BACKYARD BECKONS... OUR BACKYARD

Photos: Tara O’Grady Tara & Paul O’GradyBride | SEATOSKYGONDOLA.COM OPEN DAILY X

Welcome, Free Radicals

We’re stoked to have Mark Taylor and Will Cadham, a mountain-biking duo known as the Free Radicals, join us as evo ambassadors. These two not only ride hard, they also work hard - digging trail and building the Whistler bike community.

If you’d like to hit the trails while you’re at Whistler, come check out our bike rentals. We offer a wide range of downhill and trail bikes from Specialized and other top brands. With a little luck, you might even cross paths with Mark and Will while you’re out there.

evo Village Sports David Kenworthy 4341 Village Lane #110 @evowhistler Whistler, BC V8E1M9 @the.free.radicals 604-932-3327 X

Welcome, Free Radicals

We’re stoked to have Mark Taylor and Will Cadham, a mountain-biking duo known as the Free Radicals, join us as evo ambassadors. These two not only ride hard, they also work hard - digging trail and building the Whistler bike community.

If you’d like to hit the trails while you’re at Whistler, come check out our bike rentals. We offer a wide range of downhill and trail bikes from Specialized and other top brands. With a little luck, you might even cross paths with Mark and Will while you’re out there.

evo Village Sports David Kenworthy 4341 Village Lane #110 @evowhistler Whistler, BC V8E1M9 @the.free.radicals 604-932-3327 Social distancing on the Sphinx Ridgeline, Garibaldi Park.

28 Two lakes, six mountains, and a homegrown pack ‘n’ paddle mission words :: Tim Emmett photos :: Jim Martinello

29 A morning crossing on Garibaldi Lake.

Many moons ago, I was flying south from Whitehorse to Vancouver. For more than two hours, I stared out the airplane window, amazed and inspired by the vast expanse of snow-covered mountains and peaks below. The wilderness seemed endless, and I knew few humans had set foot across much of this vista. It was the first of many times I’ve been absolutely mesmerized by the Coast Mountains of British Columbia.

Slightly larger in size than the European Alps, which having lived here for a dozen years, I’m still impressed border eight countries and are home to more than 8,000 with all its unsullied wilderness, although accessing it can ski lifts, BC’s Coast Mountains contain fewer than 200 be challenging. ski lifts (and Whistler has 32 of them) and much more As always, Jimmy Martinello had a plan … wild country. The first time I looked at a map of BC, “I had taken my SUP board up to Garibaldi Lake months before I saw or ever set foot in this magical land, years back with a couple friends, paddled across the lake I’d scanned my finger all over the province trying to find and climbed Guard Peak,” says Jimmy, a lifelong Sea this fabled “Whistler”. Prince George… Bella Coola… to Sky resident. “Looking from the summit that day, I Williams Lake… my fingers danced over these strange realized the SUP potential for accessing other peaks and names. I finally found it just an inch and a half north of wondered about linking Garibaldi to Cheakamus Lake by Vancouver and quickly realized my British sense of scale way of this horseshoe of magnificent peaks and glaciers. I was dwarfed by the hugeness of this province. Even now, dreamed about it, studied and researched the maps, and

30 ADVENTURES POWERED BY

Coolest Experience we’ve had! We scheduled the Picnic and Paddleboarding. The ight to the lake was beautiful and after landing, the guide let us hike around while he set up our lunch. After that we took out the paddleboards, which was an unreal experience. 10 out of 10

would recommend this tour! - Austin – Vancouver, Canada

Carbon Neutral tourism ights since 2017

BH Whistler Mag Full Page Ad May 2021.indd 1 2021-05-24 2:02 PM assembled a super crew of amazing people to take a shot.” remainder of the day carries us safely across the ice and up I set the alarm for midnight as instructed—a true to our bivy spot below the Sphinx. Unlike my previous alpine start—but the clock read 2:30 a.m. by the time alpine SUP mission with Justin and Jimmy, I bring a Jimmy, Justin Sweeney and I actually leave Squamish sleeping bag, albeit the lightest one I could find, with a (shout out to Mountain Life publisher Jon Burak for the lofty plus 4-degree Celcius rating—with a fully-inflated midnight shuttle). We hit the trailhead in the dark, with SUP as a sleeping pad, it’s good enough. (Pro tip: On cold my 115-litre backpack bursting at the seams. Struggling to alpine nights, melt a pot of snow and place a warm-water get that monster on my back, I’m reminded that Jimmy’s Nalgene between your legs. It can save the night!) enthusiasm for manifesting huge objectives is sometimes Day two brings one of the most memorable parts built on misguided optimism—in any case, we’re staring of the expedition—an immaculate knife-edge ridge with down a long, hard day. heaps of exposure. Creeping along footholds the thickness Several hours and 900 metres of ascent (by of an iPhone, we put our trust in the edges of our boots headlamp) later, we arrive at Garibaldi Lake. The pure and focus on keeping things balanced. Then it’s a blast bliss of taking off my pack compliments the beautiful past The Bookworms, a collection of spires rarely seen

We came walking over the brow of a hill to discover one of the most beautiful meadows I had ever seen. The sheer brilliance and myriad of colours of the flowers. I couldn’t believe it, a true garden of Eden shimmering before the barren and lifeless peaks of rock, snow, and ice towering above.

blue hues of pre-dawn morning light. Time to pump up at close quarters with stunning vistas all around us. It’s a the SUPs and give our aching shoulders a rest. We launch special feeling to be amongst these giants, far away from a and paddle across water like liquid crystal, the reflections human footprint or trail. We continue beneath towering mesmerizing us into silence for almost the entire two- walls of granite towards the summit of Mount Carr and hour lake crossing (which I thought would take far less on to the bivy spot below Mount Davidson. We choose time, my Brit eyes still not accustomed to the supersized a bivy equidistant between two crevasses, and fall asleep BC landscape). staring up at the peak we hope to summit come morning. We hit the far shore at 9:00 a.m., having covered Halfway up the north face of Davidson, the climbing 14 kilometres from our starting point. AeroPress time— gets steep and technical. I look down to see determined fresh coffee to accompany breakfast as the heat of the faces protruding from giant backpacks. Justin had taken sun chases the morning chill back down the mountain. first lead, navigating a series of corners and grooves. Smearing suncream onto exposed skin, we deflate the Jimmy pitches in with some great climbing—no need to boards, then repack and deadlift our giant packs onto our break out the ropes and rock shoes just yet. Knocking backs before slogging off. Across the meadows, up over rocks onto my mates below would be disastrous, but I a ridge into true alpine—no plant life; just rocks, snow, power through a few spicy moves and soon enough, we’re ice, towering peaks and views that instantly make all that at the top. Whistler’s ski hills seem close, yet the terrain hiking in the dark worthwhile. to get there is the toughest yet. In front of us is a thin With Mount Garibaldi, Atwell Peak, and rarely seen ridge with walls dropping off steep enough to BASE jump Table Mountain behind us, we scurry down loose rock and from, and to our left is Cheakamus Glacier, renowned for unstable terrain and onto Sphinx Glacier. Roped up, the its vast array of crevasses.

32 33 Adventure is often adverse to a good plan and there’s I always appreciate the end of a mission, taking off no possible way to descend via the route we wanted—loose the hiking boots, high fives, and sometimes even a frosty rock and major consequences: too serious. So we inch beverage. We’re an hour from home, less than that from back down the way we came and out onto Cheakamus Whistler Village, and aside from the final descent trail Glacier, which we now must cross. I take the lead… and from Cheakamus Lake, we haven’t seen another person fall into a crevasse, thankfully only up to my waist. in four days. There’s no doubt our backyards are getting It feels pretty out there to be crossing glaciers with busier, and the close-to-the-beaten-path natural world inflatable watercraft on our backs. Carefully, we soldier is feeling the pressure of increased usage, and especially on; avoiding future mishaps and eventually finding a spot increased usage by people who have never learned how to to camp with perfect views, flat ground and snow so we travel through and enjoy the outdoors responsibly. But can make water. The bivy of champions! for those willing to venture a bit further, to get up a bit The morning sunrise brings warmth—of body earlier or push on a bit longer, the Coast Mountains can and spirit. All that remains is a descent to treeline, a bit still possess that vast magical emptiness that impressed of bushwhacking (following bear trails is great if you me all those years ago—my nose pushed against the don’t run into the bear) and voila—the eastern shores of window, jaw agape and mind churning. All that space, Cheakamus Lake. Relieved of the pack weight, it’s a joyous all that adventure waiting to happen. Best backyard on paddle to the main trail followed by one of those million- the planet. shades-of-green rainforest hikes back to the vehicles.

With an over-stuffed 115-pound backpack on, you feel every step. "How far to the next lake fellas?"

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Scrolling through Instagram, I roll over several photos of dudes—covered head to toe in sponsor logos—hitting jumps on a dirt bike. A trail of positive comments flood in below. A few clicks on the sponsored tags reveal more images of men living it up in all their moto glory. Throughout the brand profiles I do see splashes of female faces, usually portraits where the woman’s face is clearly visible, hair down to the side, smiling. I get the feeling I am looking at two different representations of a dirt bike athlete. Before the summer of 2020, it’d been more than ten years since I’d twisted a throttle. Messing around on a dirt bike was routine in my younger years: crashes, stitches, a lack of protective equipment—standard childhood fun. Moving to Squamish thrust me into the world of human-powered adventure and, after a decade of climbing, ski touring and hiking, I began to long for the smell, the power, and the flow of a two-stroke engine. Getting back on the bike as an adult has been an eye-opening experience. Not only do the crashes hurt more, but here in Squamish the enduro riding is much like the other sports in the area: hard. grip it & rip it But not as hard as trying to find anything to do with women and dirt biking on the internet. My Instagram explore page is loaded with shots of men riding gnarly hill climbs up sand dunes or intimidating granite features. I watch several race clips from events like the Erzberg Rodeo (an annual Austrian motorcycle enduro event— the largest of its kind in Europe), races where legends like Graham Jarvis, Tadeusz Błażusiak and Manuel Lettenbichler hold incredible victories in the sport. I become completely obsessed with watching these races. But that feeling comes back—out of the 500 riders in the Erzberg Rodeo, about 31 are women. Digging deeper, the first Google-suggested search is “Are there any female motocross racers?”

TOP Pembertonian Lison Boilard practices her wheelies DAN ASHTON BOTTOM Biker gang. A cold, wet spring day but smiles all around. ANDREA HUBERDEAU

37 M-C manoeuvring a technical climb in Squamish. SHAWN WATSON

Finally, I find a poorly written article from flowy freedom back. Dirt biking gives her the has been great to help clear her head and focus 2019 about South African enduro rider Kirsten same sense of speed and satisfaction she once on progression and skill. It’s also helped her build Landman, who made history as the first female received from snowboarding. Going out for a a ton of self-esteem. “Looking at something that to finish several extreme events. 2019 is not that ride with Borrelli, you instantly feel the stoke. seems impossible to ride and making it over is long ago and races like Erzberg have been around However, standing barely 5-feet tall, she has to such a rewarding experience”. since the ‘90s. Why haven’t more women made the cut? It’s only when I shut off the internet that “It can be intimidating to start riding bikes. From loading it, to I hit paydirt. The Coast Mountains is home to a doing maintenance, with a little help from some friends it’s not community of women absolutely crushing it on their motos. as hard to get started as people think.” – M-C Vanasse “I think women are underrepresented in motor sports,” says Crystal Borrelli. “There are ride what is essentially a modified child’s bike, While Vanasse agrees there are far more old mindsets out there that will take time to there are no full-size (ie: full power) options. men than women dirt biking, she’s starting to reprogram.” Regardless, she’s determined to progress and see many more women on the trails. “For some Crystal Borrelli is no stranger to crushing not let any limitations slow her down. women, it can be intimidating to start riding bikes. stereotypes: She’s a dedicated yogi of eight years “The focus is not on female riders but to From loading the bike into a truck, a hitch rack and founder of Mythic Mantras (an immersion on get more of our presence known” she says. “We or a trailer, to doing maintenance—or even riding stories of the gods and goddesses of yoga) but can use social media as a tool to spread the the trails themselves and fearing crashes and also covered head to toe in tattoos, and excited word that women are killing it and need support, struggles—with a little help from some friends it’s to talk about how she loves mixing gas and apparel and equipment that empowers them. We not as hard to get started as people think.” kicking ass on her bike. definitely have some strong females around here There is a culture of support and mentoring Growing up on Lasqueti Island, a small, who are paving the way for the next generation.” on local trails—and also online. Angelise remote community off the eastern coast of M-C Vanasse has been riding trails in the Edwards started the Braap Babes Instagram Vancouver Island, Borelli spent most of her Sea to Sky Corridor for about a decade. “As a kid, account (@braapbabes_official) back in 2018, “At childhood outdoors but didn’t buy her own dirt I always wanted to ride. But my family wasn’t the time, I was a new mom who lost my identity bike until she turned 40. Snowboarding occupied that interested in having motorsports around the and was trying to find myself again. Being a most of her early life (she competed professionally house,” says Vanasse, who bought her first dirt mom is beautiful and rewarding, but I wanted to into the early 2000s) but after seven concussions, bike for 2009 and became immediately hooked. continue learning and expanding my skills in my Borelli decided to find another way to get that She says the sport forces her to be present and sports as well.”

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FIRST JOURNEY TRAILS In Indigenous communities around BC, the benefits of biking go beyond economic

words :: Josh McGarel & Mack Rankin Originally from Germany, Thomas Schoen literally fell from the sky and photography :: Josh McGarel landed in Soda Creek in the early 1990s. A paragliding pioneer, Schoen had been sampling thermals on a road trip from Seattle to Alaska when he took Most off-road cycling associations in British Columbia can trace their a liking to the open rolling hills of BC’s Cariboo region and returned to make beginnings to battling to legitimize rogue trail builds, but Indigenous it his new home. communities have been fighting over land rights for much, much longer— Foreseeing the fascination European tourists would have with North and on a far greater scale. For most rural Indigenous groups around the American Indigenous cultures, and needing some way to convince the globe, natural resource extraction has long been the only value given to Government of Canada to let him stay in the country, Schoen pitched the their lands by colonialism. local First Nations on the idea of building a traditional heritage village to In Soda Creek, a tiny farming and First Nations community on the banks promote cultural tourism, an industry in its infancy at the time. of the Fraser River just north of Williams Lake, mountain biking offered a Schoen was unable to convince the first few Nations he approached, but fork in that road. It wasn’t an obvious path however, and the local nations when he approached the Xat’sull with his pitch, he was suddenly interrupted needed a trailblazer. Luckily, they already had one in Thomas Schoen. by a man sitting quietly in the corner. “I’ve been waiting 15 years for you to

TOP LEFT Fine tuning the final few turns of the Canim Lake connector. TOP RIGHT Dylan Onikamo follows James Doerlfing as the trail crew tests the rhythm section on a Friday afternoon ride. BOTTOM LEFT Vince Ready floats off 'The Separator,' one of the biggest features of the Xat'sull Nation trail network at Soda Creek. MACK RANKIN BOTTOM RIGHT Visionary Thomas Shcoen at the Xat'sull Heritage Village.

43 From the beginning, the Soda Creek trails were designed to traverse the village, offering a mix of adrenaline-fueled fun and the opportunity to interact with the rich history that the Xat’sull people still champion today.

arrive!” exclaimed Ralph Phillips, a community elder. Phillips explained that pig’ the jumps he and his friends would build in the forest, and the he’d experienced a vision of Schoen during a sweat lodge ceremony years freedom and thrill of the ride never went away. In 2016, he joined the before—and a partnership was forged. With Schoen’s leadership, grant- First Journey Trails crew, a Schoen-led and community-driven project to writing skills and a sizable volunteer work team, the Xat’sull Heritage Village develop a public campground and more than 32 kilometres of bike trails began to take form on reserve land just off Highway 97. Completed in 2012, on traditional Xat’sull land. With an aim to extend the successes of the pre- the project was the first of its kind in the Cariboo region, and quickly gained existing Xat’sull Heritage Village, Schoen, Sellars and a group of local trail national recognition. In addition to attracting (and educating) visitors, the builders got to work crafting technical downhill singletrack flowing through village fuelled economic growth through workshops and demonstrations of fir forests into an open burn, punctuated with berms and jumps before traditional cultural practices. dropping into a rocky, wooded bridge and stunts section through tight But there was more to come. After buying his first downhill mountain aspen groves. The trails loop around and through the reserve before ending bike in 2007, Schoen had another idea. at the shuttle pick-up zone beside the heritage village. From the beginning, “It sure beats flipping burgers or paperwork,” says mountain biker the Soda Creek trails were designed to traverse the village, offering a mix of and Xat’sull Nation member Kyle Sellars. As a child, Sellars would ‘guinea adrenaline-fueled fun and the opportunity to interact with the rich history

TOP LEFT Dylan Onikamo, mid-build at Canim Lake. TOP RIGHT Xat'sull Heritage Village on the shores of the Fraser River. BOTTOM LEFT Airing into the spruce leading to the Heritage Village. MACK RANKIN BOTTOM RIGHT The final few corners come together quickly.

44 Your national local bike shop owned & operated by riders Schoen pitched the local First Nations on the idea of building a traditional heritage village to promote cultural tourism, an industry in its infancy at the time.

that the Xat’sull people still champion today. It’s an experience many riders would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the province. As Soda Creek welcomes mountain bikers into their community, Schoen says it’s important to remember that mountain bikers are “only a small part of society. We have to be able to self-reflect as riders, as trail users, as builders and as recreational land users. While we love our sport and take trails as serious business, let’s be respectful and honour the reconciliation process by listening to what the Indigenous community is asking for. I deeply believe in my company motto ‘All Trails Are Indigenous’.” The crown jewel of the Soda Creek build is the recently-completed, flowy XC trail connecting the Xat’sull-operated campground and the main community down the road. Planned as an economic driver—an easy way for visiting tourists to access the community and heritage village from their accommodation—the benefits of the trail extend far beyond tourism. “We get the most satisfaction by watching others use our trails,” Schoen said in the summer of 2020. “Elders walking to berry picking grounds, new riders having a blast, band office staff out on a lunch walk… the trail has a profound impact on peoples’ lives.” Sellars now has kids of his own. He recently moved just a few hours down the highway from Soda Creek to to Canim Lake, where he’s rejoined Schoen and the First Journey Trails on a new project: the development of a multi-use connector linking regions of the Tsq’escenemc community. While the Soda Creek trail network was developed with primarily economic benefits in mind, the Canim trails are decidedly community based. The Tsq’escenemc have obtained bikes for local youth and established riding and repair workshops to ensure people can continue the sport and maintain their own trails. While trail builders gather additional skills in forestry, first aid, and fire-fighting, the local youth gets something much deeper—a new way to connect to the wilderness and their traditional territories. While there is no silver bullet solution to help small, rural communities and First Nations in BC diversify their economies or reduce reliance on resource extraction methods that often leave scars on both the landscape and communities, mountain biking and recreation are proving beneficial in a number of important ways. And the biggest impact isn’t strictly economic. The act of building and sharing time out on the trails, across generations and user groups has proven crucial to establishing a strong sense of community. For Sellars, that comes with riding with his friends on a Friday after work. And, when his kids are old enough, he’ll bring them out on the same trails he spends all day building. “Mountain biking has been a thing for me since I was able to ride two wheels,” says Sellars. “Now watch this, I’m going for it!” He launches himself down the trail, pedalling hard all the way to the lip of a roller and takes to the air, weightless once again. For the Xat’sull, the Tsq’escenemc, and for many other Indigenous communities in BC, mountain biking is providing new opportunities for future generations. Maybe for those few moments on a bike, growing up is optional.

TOP A fast singletrack through the remains of a charred forest. Soda Creek. BOTTOM Big views of the Fraser River from the Soda Creek trail network.

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words :: Jon Turk illustration :: Dave Barnes weeks earlier than normal. So we abandoned our ambitious plans to travel from random point A to random point B—a route only relevant to some Tiny spring leaves formed an iridescent green sheath around the ocotillo arbitrary story in my head anyhow—and instead began wandering willy- stalks that swayed gently in the breeze. As we pulled into camp, the setting nilly, like an Russian puteshevstinek* in the olden days, with no agenda, no sun refracted through the cholla spines, embracing those branches with an plan, no place to go, and nothing to prove. orange halo. Nearby, a giant grandmother saguaro—with its gnarled, twisted, During Stalinist times, the Soviets organized everything into structure chaotic branches wrapped around each other—looked so unlike those collectives—from tractor factories in the industrial heartland, to fruit perfectly symmetrical, trident-shaped cacti in Arizona Highways magazine. growers near the Black Sea, and they did the same with the indigenous A long string of half-shredded, brown-streaked toilet paper draped over the Koryak reindeer herders. As part of this system, the Russians built strings desert scrub and fluttered in the same breeze that moved the ocotillo. of wooden houses along the old Koryak migration routes. Constructed with What kind of a brain-dead jackass would leave used toilet paper dimensional lumber, the structures stood out conspicuously against the icy strewn around an otherwise idyllic desert campsite? Even if this person had sky, in a vast and otherwise featureless tundra. Misha and I stumbled across no appreciation for the beauty of nature, didn’t he or she remember the one by chance, and met an old woman, in her mid-80s, who had lived basic lessons learned in kindergarten: Be considerate of others, clean up alone in this isolated windswept house, staying put after the collapse of your mess, flush the toilet after you poop? the Soviet Union, after rogue bandito tax collectors absconded with nearly I shouldn’t need to ink up the pages of this magazine with a tired, old, all the reindeer, and after the other members of her collective gave up and and obvious lecture: Leave no trace. moved to town. But wait a minute—what is a trace? We gathered firewood and hauled water for the grandmother, then Let’s jump as far away—ecologically, climate-wise, and culturally— relaxed by a warm fire drinking that uniquely bitter Russian tea. With a hot from southern Arizona as we can, but still remain on planet Earth…. steaming cup pressed against her wrinkled, weathered face, the old woman Misha and I had planned to kite-ski across a segment of Kamchatka, told us about one small band of reindeer herders remaining on the tundra, eastern Siberia. But the wind had blown so strongly that it essentially led by a man named Alexei. She asked if we would like to visit them. When cleared all the snow off the tundra, so we struggled to man-haul our sleds we replied that we would love to visit, she told us to travel upriver for about over bare ground, rock, moss, and occasional hills of rock hard strastugi. a day, until the Magic Mountain spoke to us, and then follow the small Then we had a warm anomaly, and the river ice began to break up six tributary creek toward the east.

49 She gave no description of the Magic Mountain, no X marked on a map, Alexei replied, “There is a big world out there. Many cities. People from and certainly no GPS coordinates. The implication was that if we were tuned faraway countries, like you, who speak languages we don’t understand. We in enough to recognize Koryak magic and to speak with rocks and mountains, know those people exist, but none of those people know that we exist. we would find Alexei—and if not, we would get lost in this roadless tundra Yes, write about us. Please do. Tell all those people in those faraway cities that stretched nine time zones from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. and countries that we are out here, talking with the stones and the Magic I can’t tell you what happened. There were many mountains on the Mountain, herding our deer.” landscape and many rock outcrops rising above the river valley. Misha and So why do I write about Alexei in the same article that I describe I would stop periodically and ask each other, “Is that the Magic Mountain?” brown, stained toilet paper strewn across the Arizona-Sonoran landscape? And then one or the other of us would shake our head slowly and reply, You see, a trace is something we leave behind. Given that definition, a “No, I don’t think so.” trace can be either a concrete thing or an abstract idea. Alexei had few After a day and a morning, this exercise started to feel silly. We weren’t things, but he wanted his idea—his perception that survival is achieved Koryak and this wasn’t going to work. Then, just as we were about to give by nurturing a loving, spiritual, reciprocal communication with nature—to up, I turned toward Misha and saw him turning toward me. We looked at be left behind. Somehow, he knew that, “those people in the cities who each other in astonishment because we both heard, or felt, or recognized, speak languages we don’t understand” had lost their deep love of nature the Magic Mountain. It’s not like it spoke to us in a booming voice in Russian and, consequently, were altering the planet in ways that would reverberate (or English, or in any other audible language). I can’t explain it in words, negatively for everyone—including the reindeer, including the rocks. but we both knew, with absolute certainty, that it was time to turn east and These traces—these ancient but still relevant ideas—exist in the great follow a small tributary creek, assured that we were on the right route. backyards we play in every day in North America. Telling the world there is That evening, around dinner time, we saw smoke rising from another way to live. Telling the world to treat every tree, rock and crystal a weathered skin tent and found Alexei with a few comrades and 300 of snow as a living, communicating, sentient being. Telling the world to reindeer. We spent a week there, sitting on snowbanks, watching the deer. accumulate and exchange ideas—not stuff—and to leave behind a personal There were fish in the nearby river. I had some line and a few hooks, so the legacy of thoughts, love and inspiration… not garbage and toilet paper. group could catch and eat fish for the first time in many years—amazing “Please, Jon. Tell this to the world.” how a few ounces of stuff can change peoples’ lives for the better. We drank *A puteshevstinek is a perpetual traveller. In the old days, these people tea, cut firewood, and shared stories. At the end of that time, I explained carried the news and hence had a diplomatic immunity. xsBecause they to Alexei that I was a writer and asked permission to write about his small accumulated no possessions, bandits and tax collectors left them alone. tribe. “Could I write about the Magic Mountain,” I asked, “or is that a special little secret to be shared with just a few visitors?”

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The Summer of Heights

Baffin Island backyard adventures

words :: Sarah McNair-Landry photography :: Erik Boomer & Sarah McNair-Landry

re you sure you want to be left here for a month?” My friend Jeremy asks one last time, his aluminum hunting boat loaded and ready for the 200+ kilometre journey back to Iqaluit. “A I look around. Our red tent is pitched on a small grassy bank just above the ocean, surrounded by 1,000-to-1,500-foot unclimbed granite cliffs. Yes, I’m excited to call this little base camp home for the next month, but the thought of Boomer and I putting up new routes in a completely unclimbed zone definitely makes me nervous. Boomer’s world is whitewater kayaking and first descents of big rivers. Mine is long, cold, Arctic expeditions travelling by kite ski, dog sled or ski. We’ve only recently started climbing. We don’t have a boat pickup organized, but we’re hopeful that in a month a couple of our friends will make the 200-kilometre trip from Iqaluit to retrieve us before we run out of food. Of course, that depends on the weather co-operating, and the Arctic Ocean ice not blocking access to the fjord. A bit of a loose plan, but if all goes well, we’ll enjoy a great month of climbing and have just enough time to get home, repack, and head out on a two-week whitewater kayaking adventure, exploring four unpaddled rivers on the Meta Incognita Peninsula. Amidst COVID-19 lockdowns, travel restrictions and a cancelled expedition—this summer is all about exploring our backyard. Lucky for us, our backyard is Baffin Island, the fifth largest island in the world, and home to some of Canada’s most impressive (and most isolated) landscapes. “Yup, we’re sure,” I finally say to Jeremy. He smiles, fires up the boat, and motors away. Here we go…

54 The Sedna Wall is only accessible by boat. Boomer hauls his kayak above the high tide zone, and secures it to the wall, before starting the 1,500-foot climb.

55 Following a crack system running up the solid granite wall, Boomer climbs one of the harder routes. This climb took three separate days to find a good route to the top.

Climb On! There is confidence in his voice, but we both love pushing long days and I mentally prepare myself. Stepping awkwardly out of my kayak onto a small ledge at the base of the cliff, taking extra care not to slip into the frigid ocean water, I Since COVID-19 closed Auyuittuq National Park-home to most of Baffin’s haul my boat up out of the tidal zone and pass it to Boomer so he can secure both developed climbing areas—Boomer and I spent the spring searching for granite our kayaks to the wall. Climb on. cliffs a little closer to home. After weeks of scouting via satellite images, Boomer Following the crack system we’d spotted from our kayaks, we jam our spotted Anijaaq Fjord—inspiring the purchase of a rock drill and the beefing up hands and feet into the fissure and move up the wall. As we advance, the crack of our climbing rack. Training was limited to short 20-metre single pitch climbs becomes narrow and less featured. Boomer, the much stronger climber, leads around my hometown of Iqaluit, but we climbed them often when it wasn’t what turns out to be the steep crux of the climb—a long, 70-metre pitch of 5.10 snowing or raining. We also scoured the surrounding area for new cliffs, learning climbing. I follow with the heavy pack. how to problem solve and put up new routes. Watching the sea ice melt, we eagerly anticipated the start of our climbing adventure. The only information we did gather from people who Aside from satellite images, we had little information on Anijaaq Fjord. have travelled this coastline is that this area is infested No guidebook or climbing topos. In fact, we couldn’t even find a photo of the with polar bears and is always windy. But to our cliffs. Of course, we are by no means the first people here. Inuit have extensively travelled and hunted this land for centuries, as evidenced by an old tent ring knowledge, the cliffs remain unclimbed. made of rocks adjacent to our camp. The only information we did gather from people who have travelled this coastline is that this area is infested with polar We move steadily upwards until we reach a section of loose rock too bears and is always windy. dangerous to climb. Avoiding the loose blocks requires almost a full rope-length But to our knowledge, the cliffs remain unclimbed. traverse to the left. Boomer starts off while I slowly feed out rope. He moves We kayak around the corner and get a better look at what we eventually horizontally across the rock—carefully, deliberately—and eventually reaches a decide to call Sedna Wall—the tallest formation in the fjord, the 1,500-foot small ledge where he sets up a belay station and yells, “off belay, climb when ready”. granite face juts straight out of the Arctic Ocean. I break down the anchor and yell back, “climbing”. “I think I see a line.” Boomer points and passes me our cheap, twenty- I hesitate and take a deep breath. I focus on my feet and hand placements, dollar monocular to get a closer, better(ish) look at the system of cracks that run slowly moving across the wall, stopping to remove the pieces of protection up the wall. “Should we try it and see how far we get?” Boomer placed. The traverse is easy—probably one of the easiest pitches we’ve “I thought today was a scout day,” I reply, still sore from the previous done today. But, while placing my left foot, I accidentally dislodge a rock. day’s route, the first of our trip, which ended up being 1,200 feet of grade 5.7 Watching it tumble down the side of the cliff and plunge into the ocean below crack climbing. drives home the sheer size of the void below me. I try to play it cool, but my heart “Yeah, we can scout from the wall,” he replies. “And we can always retreat is racing. This is a good time to be honest: I’m scared of heights. Or maybe I’m at any point and come back to the boats.” scared of falling from heights. Either way, the effect is the same.

56 Located at the base of the Whistler Village Gondola Open Late! 604 932 4100 I know I’m safe. If I fall, the rope will catch me. Maybe I’ll swing and get Ten pitches later, we reach the top of Sedna Wall just in time to watch the banged up, but I’ll be fine. I tell myself my fear is irrational. I take another step, sun disappear. After a celebratory high-five, Boomer hands me half of his granola then another. Inches give way to feet, I make it. bar, and I dig out the last of my gummy sharks to share. I’ll need the boost of It’s now close to 7:00 p.m. and the sun is getting low. We need to get off this energy, and my headlamp, for the trail-less hike back to camp (we’ll use our cliff before darkness falls. More than halfway up the wall, our quickest exit option inflatable pack raft to retrieve the kayaks tomorrow). is to simply keep climbing rather than retreat back to our boats. I feel like this “That was a nice relaxing rest day” I say, massaging my shore shoulder. was Boomer’s plan all along, and I am just as keen to get to the top. Neither “What should we climb next?” of us brings up the idea of retreating. • • •

We don’t have a boat pickup organized, but we’re Low clouds conceal the mountain tops, and a light drizzle patters the roof of our hopeful that in a month a couple of our friends will tent. I keep an eye on the pot of water. As soon as it boils, I turn off our stove and pour myself a cup of mint tea. I pull my sleeping bag over my legs and pull make the 200-kilometre trip from Iqaluit to retrieve us out my book. Boomer strums his small travel guitar. These small tasks are all we before we run out of food. have, tent-bound as the weather forces us to take a much-needed rest day. At dusk, Boomer heads out to pee and check that the electric bear fence encircling our small camp is turned on before we retire for the night. Trying to ignore what’s below and how much rock is above; I focus on my “Sarah, there is a bear outside the tent,” he says calmly, but with urgency in next step and hold. Suddenly, I hear Boomer’s voice, “Is that a bear swimming in his voice. the ocean?” I grab our gun from the vestibule and tear open the tent door to get a I brave a glance downward and see a white blob. It disappears into the visual. I spot a large polar bear on the beach. ocean and reappears. “It’s a beluga whale,” I shout back, and pause for a moment “That is the fattest bear I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t look hungry.” to watch the whale pass by. A thousand feet up, the views are endless and the Convinced, Boomer returns to the shelter of the tent and we keep an eye Arctic Ocean extends as far as my eye can see to the east. To the southwest, the on the bear. Very slowly he wanders past camp, stopping often to dig up the ice cap glistens, surrounded by another entire range of unclimbed peaks. Pausing tundra or rest. Then, he hikes up the valley, takes a sharp left-hand turn and and taking in the panorama, I’m reminded of the beauty and vastness of Baffin begins climbing the steep scree slope—our descent route off the Sedna Wall. Island. In this moment there is no place I’d rather be. “Where is he going?” Boomer asks, “There are no seals or food up there.”

Home for 25 days, surrounded by an electric bear fence with amazing views of all the potential climbing.

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P: Reuben Krabbe ABOVE The final river dropped quickly as it neared the Arctic Ocean, creating four massive waterfalls. Boomer and Sarah scouting one of the drops at sunset. RIGHT Boomer running a juicy falls with a powerful hydraulic at the bottom.

“Maybe he wants to enjoy the view,” I reply, “And he must not be afraid I rejoin Boomer below the rapids, and we casually float along as the of heights.” river meanders through the lush tundra valley and past several curious caribou For three more weeks, we climb and explore the Anijaaq Fjord, soaking grazing on the shoreline. in the solitude of our own private playground. When we are not climbing or “You hear that?” Boomer asks, suddenly excited. “Sounds like a big resting, we hike and kayak the fjord to explore our temporary home. In the end, rapid ahead.” our friends’ boats do arrive (slightly delayed due to the ice blocking the entrance It’s not a rapid, it’s a waterfall. I stand at the lip watching the clear blue of the fjord), and we pack up and ship out with five new routes behind us. Ahead water tumble and freefall 20 feet into a pool below. “I’m going to run it” lies the Meta Incognita Peninsula—where the next adventure awaits. Boomer says, handing me the camera. Through the distance of a viewfinder, I watch him steer his yellow kayak into position, take a final stroke, and brace for the impact of the landing, tucking his body forward onto the bow of his River Time boat. He comes up grinning, gives a hoot and looks expectantly at me. “You ready?” Boomer yells back at me as his kayak plunges into the rapid. I Nervous, I stare at the waterfall, my mind churning: do I run this drop, follow, paddling hard to compensate for the strong current and keeping an eye or hike around? It’s the biggest waterfall I’ve even contemplated running— on the path he choses to navigate the turbulent water. The rapid is long, and I big enough for potential injury on impact. Excuses come easily: it’s remote, a zig zag back and forth avoiding rocks. rescue would be difficult, I’m cold and tired, it’s the end of the day. Standing Soon, a horizon line appears ahead of us on the river and we quickly pull at the lip, I feel a splash of vertigo and take a couple steps back. over to shore. I scramble down the steep bank to get a better look at the rapid This waterfall scares me, but I also want to paddle it. ahead. The river funnels into a tight rocky canyon and drops steeply, creating I hike back to my boat. I get in and stretch my neoprene spray skirt over an impressive slide before disappearing out of sight. The short canyon has the cockpit, running my fingers along the edge to double check everything is steep, committing walls, and the next waterfall is impossible to see. properly secured. I splash my face with cold water, take a deep breath, and force “I’m going to hike around this one,” I tell Boomer. But first, I take up a a smile—this is why we’re here. I’m doing this for fun. In the moment, my fears position on shore with my throw-line bag in hand to ensure Boomer makes it are uncomfortable—but all the planning and preparation, the training, that through the tight canyon safely. He does, so I hike back to my boat, awkwardly exposed feeling climbing and clinging to a 1,500-foot cliff, the brutal hikes with balancing it onto its nose before lowering it onto my shoulder. our loaded kayaks—these are moments I will remember forever. This waterfall Now that we’re halfway through our trip—carrying less food and fuel— is exactly what we came for, to explore the hidden corners of our backyard. the weight of my boat is somewhat manageable. We started at the ocean a I push my boat into the flow and the current carries me quickly week ago, and spent the first two days hiking ten kilometres, hauling gear and downstream—there is no turning back. I focus on entering the rapid just left of boats up 2,000 feet of elevation to the source of our first river. The expedition the visible rock and keep my kayak pointed down river. As I approach the falls, I route—with lots more hiking to come—will lead us across the Meta Incognita plant my paddle to set my angle, so I don’t injure myself on impact. The current Peninsula and link together four never-before-run rivers. If these waterways pushes my boat over the lip and I spot my landing in the pool of water below. have names—in English or Inuktitut —we haven’t been able to find anyone “F**k that is a long way down.” I can feel myself start to freefall… who knows what they are. Did I mention I’m scared of heights?

60 CLIMBS BY THE NUMBERS RIVERS BY THE NUMBERS “The Line” on Raven Rock Wall / grade: 5.7 / 1,200 feet / 6 pitches Rivers paddled: 4 “Sedna” on Sedna Wall / grade 5.10 / 1,500 feet / 10 pitches Kilometres hiked: 40 “Beluga” on Sedna Wall / grade 5.8 / 1,500 feet / 10 pitches River kilometres paddled: 85 “Taqriaqsuit” on Shadow Wall / grade 5.9 / 600 feet / 4 pitches Waterfalls run: 32 waterfalls / slides “Shape Shifter” on Ijiraat Wall / grade 5.10 / 1,100 feet / 8 pitches

61 RIDERS: Lucas Cruz, Henry Fitzgerald PHOTO: Bruno Long

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THE VALLEY OF REDISCOVERED DREAMS Time travel on the Upper Squamish words :: Feet Banks & photography :: Neve Petersen

The spirit of the forest—untamed, untouched, painted with life, and teeming Which is why, 39 years after being bucked off and kicked by one, I find with both the promise of adventure and the sense of insignificance that myself sitting atop another living, sighing, snorting, shitting, grass-and-leaf- comes from simply existing within one of the most complex and biodiverse chewing, 1,200-pound animal about to forge off into the unknown. Well, the areas on planet Earth. unknown to me; Whiskey, my trusty (I hope) quarter horse, is well versed Time can stand still in the giant temperate rainforests of the Coast on where we’re going and what we intend to do. Mountains. It can also shift and flicker like the light filtering through the “He is a pro,” says Stacey Paradine as we meander through a fenced canopy of mossy cedar, towering fir, or big-leafed maple. In the forest, our pace field on private land deep in the Upper Squamish Valley. “All these horses slows—a lifetime here can last hundreds, even thousands of years, yet there literally helped build these trails so anything they may encounter on the are also hundreds of lifecycles that renew each season. Through this alchemy trail, they’ve already seen it before.” of permanence and impermanence, the rainforest lures our consciousness Paradine, who recently started Squamish River Horse Adventures with towards a simpler era, where life can be lived on its own schedule. friend Vincent Pennarun (he’s taking up the rear of our four-horse pack train, And there’s no better time machine than a horse. atop a horse named Nero), has been riding as long as she can remember

64 “I’m the queen of countless canyons, king of a million peaks; Nymph of my timbered valleys green, and lord of my swollen creeks; Ruler of flowing glaciers, God of Eternal Snows; Mother of giant conifers and every shrub that grows; Spawn of the swamp-loving Cedar, seed of the long-needled Pine, Crown of the stately Douglas Fir; but the Human is not mine…

—Robert E. Swanson, excerpt from The Spirit of the Forest 1942

LEFT Dusty (and Stacey) lead the path into the spirit of the rainforest. RIGHT 'We don't need no canoe!' Nero and Vincent forge into the mighty Squamish River.

and guiding horse trips in the Sea to Sky Corridor for the past decade. My here is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.” nervousness, she claims, is her favourite part of the job. As we push through the edge of the forest and out onto one of those “I love the vulnerability and how people immediately feel humbled,” she big sandy beaches, the mighty Squamish River comes into view. Born from says. “They realize pretty quick that this is not like riding a bike. We’ll take a snowmelt at the toe of the legendary (and massive) Pemberton Icecap, big tough-acting guy, put him on a horse and his hands start shaking. Then the Squamish is joined by the Elaho, Ashlu, Cheakamus and Mamquam we teach him how to work out a partnership with this 1,000-pound animal, rivers over the course of its 80-kilometre (50-mile) run to the headwaters and that partnership allows us to go explore the most beautiful places.” of Howe Sound. The mountains on the western bank rise sharp and steep Paradine first came to the Squamish Valley in 2016, and immediately still holding lots of snow, and as our horses pause to drink the glacier-fed connected with the landscape. “This valley is so sacred, wild, and waters, I count no fewer than four separate waterfalls cascading down the beautiful,” she says. “It’s completely different from anything I’ve ridden far side of the valley. before—even compared to Whistler and Pemberton. I saw these huge ‘The river is a lot higher than yesterday,” Stacey notices. “We’ll cross sandy beaches and immediately wanted to ride them. The freedom out over to the sandbar up ahead.” She knows the terrain intimately, and it

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whistlerair.com | 1.800.665.0212 | 250.932.6615 makes me realize how seeing the world from the back of a horse offers the opportunity to connect with the landscape without having to think about where to place your feet, or which way the trail turns. The mind is free to wander, to observe—and I find myself watching dragonflies mating on the tip of a cottonwood branch or noticing how the silty river water eddies around a massive, upturned cedar stump like time itself washing past the tree of life. For generations, the Upper Squamish Valley held incredible value as a rich fishing and hunting area for the Indigenous Skwxwú7mesh stelmexw (Squamish Peoples). The river teemed with salmon runs and the shores, ridgelines, and forests were home to mountain goats, deer, moose, elk, grizzly and black bears, wolves, cougars, bobcats, beaver, mink, wolverine, ducks, grouse, and more. Even in the early 1900s, it wasn’t unusual to see more than 200 mountain goats in one area. In those early days, nearly all of the hunting—and general travel—in the Squamish Valley was done by canoe. In his book I Remember, Clarence “Hank” Tatlow writes about legendary Squamish Chief Jimmy Jimmy (Swahsh in the local language), the best canoe- man to ever ride the river. After an early snowstorm interrupted a trout fishing and hunting trip, Tatlow—who was given the name Ta Kaya (Lone Wolf)— THE COWBOY HAT recalls paddling 30 miles downriver in the pitch black night with Jimmy Jimmy and his wife. Tradition meets function “He said his wife had good ears,” Tatlow writes, “and warned me about Mongolian horseback riders are said to have worn wide-brimmed hats keeping quiet and not to touch the canoe with my paddle as his wife wanted since at least the 13th century. And while early American pioneers wore to catch every sound the river made. We took off and every few minutes she a variety of different hats while pushing west across the country (the would shout and we would really dig the paddles in and we could hear the bowler was popular) the archetypical cowboy hat seems to have evolved water roaring under a log jam as we went by.” in the 1800s from the sombreros Mexican vaqueros (horsemen and cattle herders) had been wearing for at least 100 years. Dusty and Stacey let loose in the sand. “A good hat is everything on the trail,” says Squamish River Horse Adventures’ Stacey Paradine. “It’s a sun protector, a rain protector and it also shields your face from branches or cobwebs on the trail. Out here, your hat is a part of who you are.” Which means you want one that looks badass. For Paradine, that meant turning to Braeden Paterson for a custom build at his Paterson Hat Company workshop in Victoria, BC. “For the leader of a trail adventure company,” Paterson says, “I wanted to make sure Stacey’s stood out above the rest, literally. It’s real tall and wide but that’s made with intention to keep her head protected from the elements. The silverbelly felt matches her horse Dusty and I don’t think there will be any mistaking who the boss of the trail is.” Hand-crafting his first hat in 2015, Paterson apprenticed under a milliner in Montreal before studying with a number of masters across the western United States. He says the key to a good hat is quality materials (in this case: beaver fur felt, shaped by hand on a vintage hat block and garnished with a horsehair band). “I pull inspiration from hats made over the last century and bring them into a modern day shape. If I’ve made a hat that looks good now, would look good 50 years ago, and has the quality of build to last another 50 years, I’ve done my job.” One more thing about cowboy hats, Paterson explains, is that a ‘ten-gallon hat’, isn’t called that because of its size, nor does it mean the hat can hold ten gallons of water for your horse. The name comes from the Spanish word galón, which means braid. Some Spanish hats were fashioned with braids on them—ones that had ten braids on them were referred to as a ‘ten-galón hat.’ “I don’t recommend using your hat as a water bucket, but if you’ve got to do it, my hats will get the job done, I’ve tried.” patersonhatcompany.com

67 Jimmy Jimmy also used to transport colonial hunters and logging while the rest of us prepare a fire for smokies, laughs, and the timeless surveyors up the Squamish River, and there are records of horse logging in ritual of cowboy coffee. (Legitimately, real cowboys and ranchers will drink the valley as far back as the 1890s, with a pack trail following the riverbank 15 cups of coffee after dinner and still fall asleep within minutes. The gift of all the way back to the farms of Brackendale and the port town of Newport. an outdoor lifestyle, I suppose.) Time slips by as a sliver of moon follows a These days, a paved road runs deep into the valley and the wildlife is less steep ridgeline towards the valley. plentiful, but out amongst the timeless murmur of the river, a horse can follow Then, after the embers have burned down and the first stars have paths on the riverbanks that have been used for more than a century. Whiskey poked through the deep blue fabric of dusk, we remount the horses and is less concerned about all that and more interested in straying from the group head for the barn. With no moon, headlamps, or light sources of any kind, to forage on the fresh leaves of early summer. “Whiskey was the first horse I our trust is 100 per cent with the horses. Perhaps they have far superior ever bought,” says Pennarun, expertly maneuvering Nero up beside me. “He’d night vision or can navigate by sound and instinct like Jimmy Jimmy’s wife, never been ridden—didn’t have gears or steering, nothing. But I worked with or maybe they just know the way back to the barn, but the partnership him and trained him to be who he is, now he’s our top horse.” Paradine mentioned just hours ago feels complete—I trust this animal like For Pennarun and Paradine, rescuing and rehabilitating horses is both a a friend. passion and a way to build their herd—seven of their 14 horses have been “That connection only gets deeper,” explains Pennarun, as Nero takes cast aside by previous owners. “A lot of people buy a horse impulsively,” the lead. “And I feel like it’s in all of us. One hundred and fifty years Paradine explains. “It’s not a lawn ornament or an accessory. It’s a full-on ago, our great grandparents rode horses, and so did theirs for generations lifestyle—you need land, proper tack, food and resources. You have to be before that—that’s all still in us. And then if you take that connection and devoted to that animal for the rest of its life, which can easily be 30 years.” layer it with good experience on top of good experience… once that trust Paradine’s white gelding, Dusty, was considered a problem horse who develops just about everyone starts to fall in love.” was showing aggression and hadn’t been ridden in over seven years when “The person that got on the horse is not the same one that gets off,” Paradine adopted him. “He hated putting on a bridle so the first thing I did Paradine adds. “And it’s because of the horses, that’s the coolest part. It all was swap in a bit-less bridle, then I went back to the basics and rode him comes from these beautiful animals.” consistently, worked on gaining his trust. No one wanted to go near him And so, riding blind and happy up a dry river channel in a valley when I first met him, now he’s the sweetest guy. I’d put my grandma on him.” carved by thousands of feet of glacial ice several millennia ago, I think The Squamish Valley has a number of horse rescue operations and about the spirit of the forest and the history of the horse. They’re both here, both Paradine and Pennarun say that local culture inspires them. “The horse surrounding us with a connection unburdened by time and space. A bond community in this area is incredible and really steps up,” Paradine says. that is coded into our human DNA but also continually subverted—beaten “There are always horses that need to be rescued—a couple of auctions a out of us by the noise and lists and throat-clutching ego of contemporary month with hundreds of horses. The more horses that can be rescued and life. But that connection is why we search for these wild places and, I’m rehabilitated, the better.” discovering, why we ride these animals… because they know the way to get As the sun dips behind the mountains, our guides tie off the horses us back home. squamishriverhorseadventures.com

Another fine night in the Squamish Valley.

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@SLCCWhistler #SLCCWhistler Images: MASON MASHON Saddle Lake Cree Boarder X has been organized and Handcarved red cedar circulated by the Winnipeg Art Gallery, powder surfboard & curated by Jaimie Isaac snowboard photography MICHAEL LANGAN with KENT MONKMAN Salteaux, Cote First Nation Colonialism skateboards ARTIST PROFILE LEVI NELSON

Raven and the Last Meal. Oil on canvas, 2019.

words :: Feet Banks Arts degree from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver (after winning the prestigious IDEA Art Award there in 2018). There’s an interesting photo on Levi Nelson’s Instagram feed, dated August One of the most celebrated contemporary Indigenous artists in the 21, 2019. Sandwiched in amongst shots of his paintings or images of life in country (Nelson is a member of the Lil’wat Nation) he’s recently been his hometown of Mount Currie, there’s a simple photo of a clear plastic cup accepted to do his master’s degree at Columbia University in New York City. with the words “urine only” scrawled on it in thick blue ink. And perhaps best of all, his modest studio now has a beautiful window “One of these days I’ll be able to afford to install plumbing and a overlooking a grassy field and the eastern flank of Mount Currie… shit could window in my modest studio,” Nelson writes in the caption. “Today I meet be worse. with the head curator of the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, and tomorrow And it has been. The old saying is that the darkest hour is just before a curation visit from the Maury Young Arts Centre. Ever grateful! My dreams dawn, and Nelson says his path to painting full-time started during an are set to come true.” alcohol-and-depression-fueled mental breakdown at work in the kitchen of It’s safe to say those dreams are working overtime, and so is Levi a pizza parlour in Salmo, British Columbia. Nelson. Since that post, he has sold a painting to the Audain Art Museum “I’d let alcohol take control of my life,” he says. “And I hit a point (one of the world’s most celebrated collections of art from Coastal British where I felt, ‘I can’t be doing this with my life. I need to be doing more.’” Columbia), and had multiple pieces featured in the Bill Reid Gallery in Thirty-two years old at the time, Nelson had already established and Vancouver. His solo show at Maury Young Arts Centre was among the most let go of careers as a fashion designer and actor, as well as worked a celebrated they’ve ever had, and he just graduated with a Bachelor of Fine plethora of service industry jobs. Painting and visual arts had always been

73 ABOVE Gender Performativity. Acrylic on canvas 2019. BELOW Nelson and The Messengers, 2021.

Over the next half decade, through the alchemy of more of a hobby, but in that rock-bottom moment he wondered if art school might offer a way forward. A search for the best art schools in Canada led hard work, raw talent, sobriety, and wild ambition, him to Emily Carr University; but they needed a portfolio submitted. Nelson catapulted himself into the upper echelon “I didn’t have any art supplies, so I grabbed an old pizza box and a of contemporary Canadian artists. piece of charcoal and sketched out this Indian chief with a gas mask on. I dug up another small painting I’d done and filled out the application— drunk—and sent it off. I got accepted. I had to defer until the January intake [at the school] but that gave me a path, a goal to work on getting healthy. It was a battle. It was a battle the whole way, but art saved my life.” Over the next half decade, through the alchemy of hard work, raw talent, sobriety, and wild ambition, Nelson has catapulted himself into the upper echelon of contemporary Canadian artists. And while his works definitely speak to and incorporate traditional West Coast Indigenous form, style and subject matter, he is not afraid to stir things up by mixing pop culture icons, European influences, or biting social commentary into his work. “When I was in high school, my paintings were heavily influenced by surrealism and Salvador Dali, and of course cubism and Picasso, and even the ‘60s psychedelic type of artwork. I didn’t even really start exploring Indigenous art until eight years ago when I worked at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler. But wow—that art influenced me and speaks to who I am as a person. I guess I relate to the world mostly through an Indigenous lens, so I create Indigenous art, but with a contemporary aesthetic. So, Sitting Bull could be on the same painting as Snow White, which is something I did in a piece called Hunter Gatherer. I guess that sort of thing is an attempt not to be pigeon-holed as simply Indigenous. Plus, I’m an oil painter, and that’s a European tradition so I think about that every time I do work.” Nelson says a lot of his work is influenced by the writing and art of Marcia Crosby, who speaks a lot about the First Nations peoples living in

74 WHISTLER IS CALLING... COME OUT AND PLAY

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*Mutual funds distributed by Sun Life Financial Investment Services (Canada) Inc. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is a member of the Sun Life group of companies. © Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2021. urban landscapes outside of their traditional territories. The piece he sold to the Audain Art Museum is titled Nations in an Urban Landscape, and imagines an urban street scene of Indigenous people wearing traditional masks and using artifacts like bent-wood baskets. Trade Blankets features a person sleeping on the sidewalk beneath a classic Hudson’s Bay Company blanket. While having his work in museums has always been a goal, Nelson says he’s grateful to have pieces hanging in his hometown as well, and that connecting to regular people—selling canvasses for people’s homes, or even seeing his work on a newspaper cover sitting on the back of a public toilet—is still something he values incredibly. “Absolutely. It’s an honour to have somebody want to live with your art on their wall. Like a piece I did called Gender Performativity for a group show at the Bill Reid Gallery called ‘Resurgence: Indigiqueer Identities’— the show was about two-spiritedness and a lady who has a transgender daughter saw my piece and we’ve been emailing back and forth because they want to commission something similar that speaks to what it’s like for their child’s experience going through life. It is incredibly touching that people want to have a relationship with something that, I’d like to think, comes from my soul. I open myself up when I do work. Otherwise, it’s not worth it.” Check out Levi’s work on his Instagram @levi.nelson.artiste and listen for a full hour long conversation on the new “Live it up with Mountain Life” podcast. Watch for it in July.

ABOVE Two-Spirited Medicine Man Named Old Doctor. Acrylic, silkscreen, and collage on canvas, 2020. BELOW Nations in an Urban Landscape. Oil on canvas, 2019.

76 Sandals to live in. Sandals to lounge in.

With an insanely comfortable footbed, Chaco sandals will take you from campfires to street corners.

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7233 FITZSIMMONS RD. SOUTH White Gold SOLD $3,099,000

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Island Paradise. Whisper Creek Retreat and Howe Sound.

A LEGACY OF GATHERING Honouring decades of family tradition in the heart of Howe Sound

words :: Todd Lawson The Higgins joined three other young couples and purchased the photography :: Eric Berger seven-acre property for $6,000. “At the time it was quite a bit of money for us,” says Barry. “It was a big deal.” In May of 1969, North Vancouverites Barry and Margaret Higgins wrapped After diplomatically ‘evicting’ the members of the Church Camp, the four their newborn daughter Keeley in a blanket and brought her, in an apple couples moved into a large and airy four-bedroom cabin, built in the 1920s box, across Howe Sound to their newly-purchased island hideaway on to house workers in a logging camp, while the families’ kids all slept in a Gambier Island. smaller cabin behind the main house. Each weekend throughout the summer Arriving at the government dock in West Bay, the Higgins, both in their months, the new owners would cross the sound to cut and split wood, fix 20s, placed their tiny bundle in a wheelbarrow and wheeled her up a gravel things that had rotted over the winter, build an outhouse, or clear new land. road to a plot of land known as The West Bay Church Camp, ‘discovered’ by “Whatever we needed, we did ourselves,” Barry says. “With that many accident when Barry found an old for sale sign overgrown by the bush that people you could get a lot of work done in four hours. The rest of the time had, by his telling, “probably been there for ten years.” And so, underneath was for recreation.” a towering stand of hemlock, cedar and Douglas fir trees, a lifetime of As a kid, Keeley remembers collecting water from the creek and memories began. mowing the lawn, then going fishing and playing horseshoes for fun.

79 LEFT Berger preparing some seaside cocktails on nearby Keats Island. RIGHT Keeley with another homegrown haul.

“The place at the time was pretty rustic,” she says. “It didn’t have any Sharing the island vibe is exactly what the couple hopes to continue power, and we used oil lamps and candles at night. Growing up, life was into the future, a vibe that comes from not only from the impeccable pretty simple. We’d all come together in a shared boat to the island to relax.” hosting and culinary skills of Keeley and Berger, but from the decades of Jump ahead 20 years to a less relaxing locale—Buffalo Bill’s Bar & Grill, hard work put in to make the place what it is today: an amazing patch a Whistler nightclub where Keeley met Eric Berger, a transplanted Quebecer of West Coast life. Canvas tents and yurts punctuate the clearings, while on his way to becoming one of the ski and mountain bike industry’s most a wood-fired hot tub, clawfoot cold bath, and a fireside nook made from prolific photographers. salvaged wood, offer pure relaxation after a long day on the water. The

What brings all of the elements of Whispering Creek together is the tiki bar—a rustic, open-air bar and kitchen space where guests can prepare their own food, or have Keeley and Berger craft unique cocktail-and-culinary magic that all (except for the Tequila of course) comes from the island’s bounty.

At the same time, Keeley carved herself a niche in the Whistler fine campfire hosts conversation and laughter all night long, while mornings are dining scene, serving and managing at establishments like Il Caminetto, best for barefoot walks in the grass and visits to the waterfall at the bottom Trattoria, and the Red Door Bistro. of “Fern Gully,” before heading out on a boat or a board to experience West In 2001, Keeley and Berger (with Keeley’s brother Jamie) bought out Bay and Gambier’s marine life from the water. the other partners and family members and took over the island compound, The Skwxwu7mesh (Squamish Peoples) call Gambier Island Cha7élkwnech, rechristening it Whispering Creek Retreat. in reference to its deep protected bays, and used the island for resource- “Eric borrowed every jack on the island and jacked up the house gathering, a tradition that Eric and Keeley have continued to this day. to replace all of the termite-infested beams and posts,” Keeley recalls, What brings all of the elements of Whispering Creek together is the tiki adding that she wants to keep the old structure around. ”We’ll probably bar—a rustic, open-air bar and kitchen space where guests can prepare their create an indoor gathering space, and revive the old fireplace and its big own food, or have Keeley and Berger craft unique cocktail-and-culinary magic square hearth, maybe funk it up with some lights. We don’t really want to that all (except for the Tequila of course) comes from the island’s bounty. just knock it down. I feel like the place has a good vibration... It’s really Berger sets his own crab and spot-prawn traps, and Keeley maintains a energizing to share that.” flourishing garden that supplies fresh produce eight months of the year.

80 THIS COULD BE YOU!

IN YOUR BACKARD

Mike Crane Photo

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FURNITURE THAT WON’T GO OUT OF STYLE

Showroom located in Pemberton, available by appointment. Free local deliveries. retromoderndesigns.com 604-868-0117 “It’s her biggest passion,” says Berger, putting the final touches on his signature agave-smoked margarita. “She spends a lot of time there and she can zen out, gardening barefoot and getting her hands and feet dirty. It’s all a very organic process, right down to the compost.” Over the course of a season, Keeley will harvest and serve everything from spinach, asparagus, carrots, radishes, leeks, beets, scallions, garlic, dill, chives, cilantro, green beans, onions, peppers, and blueberries (transplanted from Hare’s Farm in Pemberton). “What I love most about this place is escaping to another world so close to home,” says Berger, who is more likely to be checking his crab traps these days than he is shooting skiers on Whistler Blackcomb. “We’d really like to keep sharing it with others,” Keeley adds. “Keep it rustic as possible with the idea of doing retreats so people can come and enjoy the space and what we’ve created there.” What they’ve created is a well-thought-out collection of coastal character—a place where you can be yourself and escape from reality for a few days. Whispering Creek’s rich history lives on as a destination for wellness, yoga and SUP retreats, weddings and small corporate getaways, as well as nightly Airbnb rentals. “All walks of life are welcome here,” Keeley says. “The place just has great energy... and I feel like people really kind of need that.” As another summer dawns, Barry Higgins says he still loves coming to the island to reminisce, relax, and to “get my fingers dirty in the garden with my daughter. There’s a lot of memories for me there that’s for sure” he says. “Keeley and Eric have put so much sweat and love into that place. I’m happy to see it flourishing.” Instagram: @whisperingcreekretreat

TOP LEFT Yurt life is the right life. LEFT Extra-curricular activities include blowing your mind. BELOW The legendary Tiki-Bar.

82 LIVE WHERE YOU

LOVE Photo: Tourism Whistler / John Henebry

www.lgwhistlerrealestate.com • [email protected] • 604-935-9533 • 1-800-667-2993

“DANNNNG, THAT’S NICE” Move to the Mountains

KRISTEN DILLON The DANA FRIESEN SMITH Squamish Whistler DREAM TEAM SQUAMISH • WHISTLER • PEMBERTON

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GALLERY

86 Paul Genovese, Kamloops, BC. MASON MASHON

87 Wrangler, Rainbow Park, Whistler. JUSTA JESKOVA

88 Andrew Santos, Logger's Lake, Whistler. MATTHEW SYLVESTRE

89 ABOVE Ucluelet, BC. ANDREW McCURDY. BELOW Sunshine Coast, BC. PIERRE MELION

90 90 It began with an idea To never compromise

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1. “Born in the world’s raddest and baddest backyard, the NORCO SHORE 2 channels the spirit of Vancouver’s legendary North Shore using the exclusive Ride Aligned™ Design System and the latest in suspension and ride engineering to be the ultimate freeride and big mountain rig. This bike will handle all the roots, rocks and reggae you can throw at it, with no shortage of eye- popping style. Drop in, launch away.” norco.com // 2. “The war between style and technology is over. Built on the foundation of one of SPY’s most iconic designs, the adventure-ready SPY+ HELM TECH provides ultimate functionality and generation- defining style that only SPY+ can deliver. Featuring easily removable side shields that stay secured to the frame even when folded, you can now block out the sun and the haters all at once.” mccooswhistler.ca // 3. “Make good food and share it ‘round. BARTER SHARING BOWLS are lovingly handmade in a small two-person facility on the Sunshine Coast, BC. Utilizing high- fire stoneware, each bowl is individually crafted, durable, heat-safe, and will not stain. Available in small (5”) or medium (7”). camplifestyle.ca // 4. “YETI first transitioned from their famous coolers into rugged drybags a few years ago, and this summer they’re dropping another doozy! The YETI CROSSROADS 60L DUFFEL is YETI’s answer to a do-anything, go-anywhere bag that keeps your stuff organized and accessible. Featuring TuffSkin™ Nylon and a rugged, water-resistant fabric that’s as bomber as it gets, these bags are meant for serious adventuring in any part of the world. yeti.com

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5. “After hitting the scene last summer, the OSPREY SERAL 7 LUMBAR HYDRATION PACK has become a runaway hit with riders because it takes the weight off your back and redistributes it to lower on your body. This allows for free range of movement while still performing the ultimate function of keeping you hydrated. Key features include a 1.5-litre reservoir and magnetic bite valve that attaches to the hip belt for easy access.” osprey.com // 6. “Sustainable eco-responsible performance! Whether you are a weekend walker or a seasoned hiker, the RAB DOWNPOUR ECO JACKET is a solid raincoat choice. Made from recycled fabrics and without perfluorinated compounds, this is RAB’s very first mono polymer waterproof coat; and it can be fully recycled at the end of its life. A must-have for hikers who demand high-performance and eco-responsible products.” rab.equipment/ca // 7. “Take the edge to infinity! Pair the new POC KORTAL RACE HELMET AND DEVOUR SUNGLASSES together for the ultimate in protection and performance. The seamless fit works in perfect harmony to open up the world, and let you take it all in. Infinity may feel like a long way away, but you won’t know until you get there.” mccooswhistler.ca and na.pocsports.com // 8. “Marcus Paladino is a longtime contributor and friend of Mountain Life, so we’re extra pumped on this beautiful book of his favourite and most kick-ass surf photos from the chilly waters of BC’s West Coast. Marcus’ passion for the water, the coastline, and the culture of surfing shouts from every stunning page. Put our Editor's pick COLD COMFORT BY MARCUS PALADINO on your coffee table and let the daydreams begin.” rmbooks.com/book/cold-comfort/

94 Natural comfort since 1993. Step into a Danish tradition and let nature warm your feet. Glerups no-itch wool traps heat and wicks moisture away for dry comfort. Choose suede leather or natural rubber soles. Glerups let you turn down the heat!

Boot Leather Sole in Denim. $119.95. Also available in Slip-on and Shoe in 7 colours. 9→

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9. “These ECOLOGYST TENCEL SHORTS are lightweight (yet surprisingly durable) and will easily take you from exploring forest trails to backyard barbecues. Soft and breathable, Tencel is environmentally responsible and provides optimum comfort that keeps you feeling fresh. Available in men’s and women’s styles, and made in Vancouver in limited runs. They sell out every year!" ecologyst.com // 10. Reach new peaks and propel yourself past any terrain with THE NORTH FACE VECTIVE EXPLORIS MID FUTURELIGHT™ This waterproof, breathable hiking boot is designed with innovative features that maximize stability, minimize fatigue, and add speed. The mid-height also ups your cool factor. thenorthface.com // 11. “It’s easy to fall for mountain biking and when you do, the POC JOINT VPD SYSTEM KNEE PADS are an essential part of the kit to protect against actual falls. They’re light, flexible and move with you as you ride, but the comfort does not sacrifice protection—with three-layered VPD technology that hardens and absorbs the force of impact during a fall. The elastic slips on and stays up super well, even on a big hot climb, but they do take a ride or two to wear in. See you on the trails, my new fave is ‘Hey Bud.’” evo.com // 12. "The RED VOYAGER MSL PADDLE BOARD 12'6" is a board that gives extra stability and rigidity. This beauty is ideal for longer outings or taller, larger paddlers. The extra size also offers the opportunity to toss a dog or small child on the nose or load up the extra cargo areas for camping gear. RED's patented RSS system makes the board stiffer at lower pressures, which you'll appreciate when it's loaded up." escaperoute.ca

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Rad Ron wants everyone to know this photo was right taken after a big rain and the crew had fire suppression equipment on hand. He's rad, but responsible. MASON MASHON

Summer 2021—Comin' in Hot!

Next issue drops November 2021

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THE S F AS O Q E U

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® ~ W H ISTLER ~

Your »adventure open-air awaits Ziptrek Ecotours hosts a selection of breathtaking zipline tours. Our wilderness adventure area is located directly above Whistler Village, in the spectacular temperate rainforest valley between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. Discover eco-exhilaration® ziptrek.com 604.935.0001