As title sponsor for the 2012 series, Mountain Equipment Co-op is once again lending its support to this great winter event and we encourage you to check it out. The series is designed for all ages and provides both a Sport (~5km) and an Eduro (~10km) course so you can choose what level of challenge you are looking for. So get out there and join the excitment! Even if you don’t actually take part, go out and cheer on the participants and see what it’s all about, ‘cuz everyone has loads of fun.  

This is the Yeti’s 11th season, and they are excited to be moving forward with a brand new partner – 5 Peaks Adventures. While 5 Peaks might be new to the Yeti series, they’re definitely not new to the world of trail running or organizing events. So welcome aboard 5 Peaks – it’s going to be a great series. Once again, the venues are stunning; the prizes are awesome; the food, coffee, and other goodies at the finish line are delicious; and the experience and fun times are exhilarating. What’s not to like? 

As per last year, the first event will be held at Mount Washington, this Saturday, January 28. But what’s new for this year is that the second event is heading east – it’s being held high atop the Niagara escarpment at the Scenic Caves Nordic Centre in Blue Mountain, Ontario. Then the final event comes back to BC and the fabulous Whistler Olympic Park at Callaghan Valley.

So what are you waiting for? Get out your snowshoes and go look for a Yeti (hint: they like the snow, not the couch). Registration is available online, by mail, or on race day for those who leave things to the last minute. Have fun!

MEC and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) joined forces back in 2004 with a common goal of protecting our beautiful country’s wild spaces. Not only has this partnership allowed us to fund dozens of conservation initiatives instigated by CPAWS, but it also gave birth to The Big Wild. It was therefore normal for MEC to support Dare to be Deep, CPAWS’ latest campaign.

“With less than 1% of our oceans protected, Canada lags far behind other countries in marine conservation. CPAWS has identified 12 important marine areas that have long been proposed for protection. And we’re just getting started. Our goal is that Canada will become a world leader in marine conservation.”

Sabine Jessen, CPAWS National Marine Program Manager

Long-term, the campaign’s goal is to ensure Canada establishes networks of marine protected areas in all of our oceans and great freshwater lakes. To get there, CPAWS first wants to create 12 new marine protected areas by December 2012. Many of the 12 locations have long been proposed as protected areas and they are critical to conserve for the future of our planet. They are extraordinary places that nurture fish stocks and shelter endangered species, like right and blue whales, tufted puffins and leatherback turtles. They are also amazing destinations for nature lovers to awe at the wonders above and below the ocean’s surface. Unfortunately, because our oceans are threatened by overfishing, trawling, fish farming, oil and gas exploration and development, ocean noise, and climate change, it is essential for us to establish protected areas to ensure biodiversity.

How can you help? Learning about the issue is a good start. That’s why over the next 12 months, we’re going to tell you about the 12 proposed areas and their respective threats. You can also take action by signing the petition and encouraging your family and friends to do the same. Ready? Let’s head out to BC’s Southern Strait of Georgia.

Known as SQELATES (meaning “home”) by the Coast Salish people, this marine treasure lies between Vancouver and Victoria. Its lush kelp forests and sea grass beds, along with plankton and marine life larvae, constitute the foundation of a complex food chain. The various invertebrates and small schooling fish that feed there in turn become food for bigger fish, seabirds, and marine mammals.

According to Parks Canada, “The southern end of the Strait is the most heavily utilized and impacted of all the marine regions on the west coast of Canada. Increasing urbanization and associated economic activity in the region have created stress on the marine environment, and there is visible evidence of significant habitat alteration and loss, deteriorating water quality and declining populations of many species.” This is why the BC Chapter of CPAWS is working with conservation groups, scientists, and various stakeholders to protect the Southern Strait of Georgia.

There’s already some good news to report: last October 13, the Canadian and British Columbian governments announced their commitment to proceed with a National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA), with a boundary that extends from Haro Strait to Gabriola Passage. Discussions are underway with local First Nations to establish an interim management plan.

If you share our belief that these emerald waters need to become a marine protected area, then I urge you to sign the petition and help CPAWS collect the 12,000 signatures it hopes to get before presenting the petition to the government.

To learn more:

• CPAWS’ Dare to be Deep Campaign
• BC Chapter’s work in the Southern Strait of Georgia
• Parks Canada’s proposal for a Marine Conservation Area Reserve
• Wikipedia article on the Strait of Georgia

These bags were the originals, old enough to have been made by the venerable Serratus factory.

Kind of like their owner, they’re now a bit wrinkled, scarred, and balding in places. So this season, I finally replaced them with the current generation of Aqua-Nots.

Ever had the experience of wearing out a product you loved, buying the current version, and finding it’s been “improved” into ruin? I’m totally not having that experience. My new Aqua-Nots are as tough and waterproof as my old ones. The accessory pockets on the back have been upgraded to waterproof fabric, complete with weather tight zippers. Removable inserts in the rack clips let them fit any size rack bars, unlike the old ones where you had to swap out the entire clip system.

I’m looking forward to putting a lot of miles on the new panniers. And my original Aqua-Nots? They’re going into sweet semi-retirement, to be pulled out in summer as front panniers for bike camping trips. There’s life in the old bags yet.

When the dark face of the mountain casts its cold shadow, we huddle together and reflect warm thoughts… Thoughts of her contagious laughter, precious smile, calming energy, and courage.

It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Carlyle Norman, our friend and one of Canada’s best female alpinists. On January 15, 2012, while climbing the route ‘Last Gringo Standing’ on St. Exupéry in Patagonia, she was hit by rockfall and knocked unconscious. Her climbing partner, Cian Brinker, stayed with her on the ledge for two hours, before making the difficult decision to descend alone and seek help. Carlyle and Cian were winners of the 2012 John Lauchlan Memorial Award, and their primary objective in Patagonia was to complete a new route on Aguja Bifida.

Full details of the tragedy can be read in this News Release issued by the John Lauchlan Memorial Award Committee.

Carlyle was a Canmore based climber, yoga instructor, and writer. Her warm spirit and sincerity inspired people both in the mountains and in the soul, and at 29 years young, Carlyle’s passing has left a big hole in the hearts of all that knew her.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to her friends and family for their loss.

Send on, dear friend, send on.

Carlyle’s Career Highlights

Route                           Location                       Grade                  Date

Babel, East Face           Canadian Rockies         V 5.11                  July/11

Twisted                         Canadian Rockies         5.9, WI 5              Jan/11

Polar Circus                  Canadian Rockies         WI 5                     March/11

Mt Combatant              Waddington Range       ED2 M5, 5.9        Aug/09

Sweet By and By (FA)   Bugaboos                      IV, 5.11+              July/09

The Crucifix                  Yosemite                       V, 5.12-                May/08

Moonlight Buttress      Zion                               V, A1, 5.12-         May/08

Film can capture highlights better than digital, and the equipment retains its value longer, but other than that, I can’t think of a reason to still shoot film – unless you are doing large-format art reproductions, using a medium-format camera. Some people claim film has a better “feel” than digital, but most of that can be reproduced digitally in Photoshop. There are even apps for the iPhone that add a film-like feel to images that work quite well.

For almost all applications, even images captured on film need to be digitized, adding a step that generally reduces the quality. Scanning and printing film is very time-consuming, and it can be difficult to get high quality results. Adobe Lightroom allows you to manipulate and output your RAW images to get virtually any desired result.

Environmentally, not using film and the chemicals involved in processing makes a lot of sense. You can shoot hundreds of images, virtually for free, once you have made the initial purchase of the camera and a memory card. Gone are the days of debating if a photo is worth taking or not, and worrying if you captured anything good after a day of shooting. I suppose it could be argued that there is some excitement and anticipation in waiting for the processing to be done, and digital has resulted in billions of poorly-composed photos, but personally, I’m happy to be shooting digital.

MEC Photo Contest Winner

This month’s winner is this climbing shot by Mike Chapman. It was chosen for great composition and subtle lighting, with shallow depth-of-field isolating the right hand, while being nice and sharp.

Congratulations Mike, we’ll be sending you a $50 MEC Gift Card.

MEC is starting to get into new areas, such as road running and yoga, so we need images of those activities, plus the more traditional snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

I encourage MEC members to submit photos. Here’s how you can do that:

Check out our Photo Submissions page – it has all the details.

Go to MEC’s photo submission site on Flickr.

Have a look at this Flickr gallery. The images here represent the type of images we are interested in using – something with a unique perspective, showing people enjoying the outdoors, using the gear we sell at MEC.

If you liked this post, make sure you read more about MEC Photography.

The reason I ask is that the other day I was trolling our Events Calendar to see if anything interesting was happening out there, and I came across an event that caught my interest on a number of levels – the Prince George Iceman event. It takes place in the middle of February (yikes!), consists of four sports (skiing, running, skating, and swimming), and has five sections (you run twice) with a total distance of approximately 28.8km.

Sounds kind of crazy doesn’t it? It also sounds intriguingly interesting for those of us that like a bit of a challenge to get us in a race, especially in February. But what type of event is it?

It could be considered a modern day winter pentathlon. But technically it only consists of four sports, so that might make it a winter quadrathlon. Although some of the other events like the heptathlon and the decathlon base their numbering on the total number of event sections/portions, and not on the number of sports it includes, as they include more than one run portion. So based on that premise… a winter pentathlon it would be. Or would it. Hmmm… thoughts?

As I started looking into this, I became quite amazed at the number of “athlons” there are out there… including some I’d never heard of before, like aquathlon and quadrathlon. What?? So, let’s have a look at what I’ve found so far…

• Marathon (technically an “athon” without the “l” but I’m going to include it anyhow)
• Duathlon – bike/run or ski/run
• Aquathlon – swim/run
• Biathlon – ski/shoot
• Triathlon – swim/bike/run
• Quadrathlon – swim/kayak/run/bike
• Pentathlon – shot put/high jump/hurdles/sprint/long jump
• Modern Pentathlon – fence/swim/show jumping/hurdles/long jump
• Heptathlon (women only) – seven track and field events
• Decathlon – ten track and field events
• Tetradecathlon – fourteen track and field events
• Icosathlon (double decathlon) – twenty track and field events

Do you know all your athlons… did I miss any? Are there any other events out there, like the Iceman, that you think could be athlonized? And if you athlon in any form, we’d love to hear about your experiences.

Take Our Poll

Bouldering’s hot. It sizzles. And with the grand opening of The Hive just around the corner, one might say it even stings. OUCH! Feel the burn? You will when you try it…

If you’re new to the sport, here’s the DL: Gym bouldering is essentially rope-free rock climbing. All you need to play are climbing shoes, chalk, and nail clippers.

Once you’ve trimmed and chalked your digits, scour the kaleidoscopic jutting wall for tape marked V0 (the easiest grade). Then, pretend you’re a little crimp monkey and go pull on some plastic!

You’ll find tackling your first bouldering route – or ‘problem’ as we call them – to be a special blend of brains and brawn. The puzzle is in figuring out what limb to place where and in what sequence. The workout comes from dynamic movements and repetition. When it comes to bouldering, persistence pays off.

And ladies, if you stick with it once or twice a week, your arms and abs will get more toned than any Pilates or yoga class. That’s my personal money-back guarantee. (Some restrictions apply, please read the fine print.)

Watch Canada’s top boulderers crush de bloc in this national circuit competition. One of the best ways to get better at the sport is to learn from the best, so charge up your new camera, and make a day of it.

Where and When

Climber’s Rock, Burlington, ON: Jan. 14

Calgary Climbing Centre, Calgary, AB: Jan. 28

Centre d’Escalade Vertical, Montreal, QC: Jan. 28

Coyote Rock Gym, Ottawa, ON: Feb. 11

The Hive, Vancouver, BC: Feb. 11 buzzz

U of A Climbing Gym, Edmonton, AB: Feb. 18

The Edge, Vancouver, BC: Feb. 25

True North Climbing, Toronto, ON: March 10

Altitude Gym, Hull, QC: March 24

Project Climbing Centre, Abbottsford, BC: March 24

©Photos Bonuel Photography

Can I get some beta from seasoned pump masters? Bouldering in jeans: Cool or Not Cool?

First the caveats: in many times and places, campfires are illegal and unsafe. Unsafe not only to yourself, but to nearby campers. They get no reward from your fire, but run all the risks of it.

Even in places where fires are safe in our selfish, short-term view, they may be unsafe in the bigger scheme of things. Decaying wood is the fertilizer for the next generation of flora. Where recovery times are long – alpine meadows or the edge of treelines – a single campfire can consume enough biomass to alter the landscape for decades.

My wilderness travels are mostly along BC’s sea coast. The sand, shell and stone beaches where I camp have no carpet of duff where a fire can smoulder unseen, to burst out in fatal flame after I’ve left. My fuel is driftwood, renewed twice a day by the tides. I scatter any half-burnt branches into the quenching sea. Rain and waves soon scour away ashes and soot.

I make fires only when it’s cold and damp. (Why would anyone fill the fresh air with smoke on a warm summer evening?) In these conditions, the challenge is not stopping a fire, but starting one.

On the northern BC coast, even in summer, you can get many successive days of icy rain. Paddling long hours in this weather, even in a drysuit, can sink a cold into your bones that the thickest shore clothes and warmest sleeping bag cannot cure. You crave some source of heat that is not self.

On solo trips, a fire is as much a companion as a source of warmth. It’s a lava lamp. The shifting, shimmering flames form an animated inkblot test into which you can project for hours. I’ve read that some African tribes describe floating into this Zen state as “dreaming the fire.”

I make my fires in a folding woodstove. Mine is a cottage-industry product crafted by a local friend. I got it before MEC carried this pocket-sized beauty.

A woodstove creates a chimney effect for hotter, more thorough burning of the wood. That lets me consume a couple of branches rather than a couple of trees to cook supper and warm me for hours.

The woodstove also lets a fire that’s large enough to be self-sustaining be small enough to tuck under a corner of my tarp without melting sparky holes in the roof.  In open-front mode, a woodstove reflects heat back at me rather than wastefully radiating it to the world.

Finally, the woodstove holds my cooking pot. For me, few images are more emblematic of Canadian wilderness camping than a small, cosy fire, with supper boiling on top. So that’s what I’ll leave you with.

Mostly what I love about this stove is what it hasn’t got. It has no pump. It has no valves. What isn’t there can’t break. Having worked at the Service Desk in an MEC retail store, I’m pretty up to speed on maintaining and fixing the more complex stoves. And since I always carry a repair kit for whatever stove I’m using, it’s been decades since I’ve been left flameless in the field.

And yet I still love the simplicity of the Trangia. At the end of an ordinary day’s journey, I just spark it up. No priming. No pumping. No cleaning fuel jets. Only silence in which to admire the beauty around me while the spaghetti boils. On days where my travel goes into unplanned overtime, the Trangia’s even better. Fire it up, rotate the simmer ring to a low setting, and the boiled water finishes reconstituting that night’s freeze-dried delight just as I finish pitching the tent and inflating the sleeping mat.

BTW, if you’re someone who believes we’ve hit peak oil, you’ll also love the fact that the Trangia runs on renewable methyl alcohol.

The Trangia’s secret sauce is the two-part windscreen. It holds the pots and pans at optimum height over the flame, blocks breezes, and makes the set-up super stable. When comparing stoves by weight, bulk, and price, lots of folks are fooled by the fact that the stats for the Trangia cooksets include the windscreen, pots and a frypan. Once you correct for that, the Trangia becomes a real contender in all three categories.

Instead of the carry strap that comes with the cookset, I use a mesh stuff sack. That lets me stack two or more plates at the bottom of the packed set, saving even more space.

The Trangia’s quite capable of frying burgers, or heart-attack-on-a-plate breakfasts for one or two. For more elaborate dishes or larger groups, I find the heat output and burn time a bit on the low side. So, for sustained cooking, like the crowd-pleasing stirfry shown below, I use an adaptor that lets me fit the burner of my Nova white gas stove into the Trangia windscreen. (BTW, you can special order this from MEC – our #5018-777).

Rocking my wok.

This handy LPG gas burner will do the same thing, with the added benefits of no pumping, or priming.

What the Trangia is to stoves, a firesteel is to matches and lighters. Nothing to break off, leak away, or run out. Lighting my Trangia with a couple of sparky strokes has a back-to-basics symmetry that I really like. Old school is in again.