January Update

Well well after 20km’s frosty skate skiing. I’m sitting here feeling a need for another adventure wishing I had all my Avalanche and Backcountry travel training so I could have gotten some Alpine Touring days in but I guess that will have to be next year since setting up the new cafe and training is taking up a little of time ; ). As a result of my need for adventure I’m starting to get caught up in the details for my summer trip Kayaking over 100KM’s on the Saguenay Fjord in Quebec and a visit to Nova Scotia for some hiking with Dave and Steph.

But so far I’ve made the best of the year with at about 12 Alpine Ski Days and 15 + Nordic Ski Days but am I ever racking up KM’s quickly on the Jeep. Also in about a week I’ll be taking off for a week of skiing at Kicking Horse and Revelstoke so here’s hoping for some good ski conditions! and some good pics and stories when I get back. Also talking about the  jeep he received a gift this week of some tires so it can handle a little Mud and Snow.

With no big adventures to report on and all my thoughts being raped up in the business instead of anything insightfull I’ll leave things there till I get back from the ski trip!!!

Happy Holidays!

We find ourselves halfway through the holiday season and it’s been a great one. Many evenings have spent with family that is ever so important and I often don’t see enough of as result of how busy i keep my schedule, as well as catching up with many of my best friends through phone calls and e mails who since moving out west I realized have became as close as family from when I lived in southern Ontario and my family was so far away.

But ultimately what is toping off the holiday season is great weather and SNOW! The holidays have all ready seen two blue bird ski days in the Rockies at sunshine and Marmot. 5 Nordic ski days patrolling at the Strathcona Wilderness Centre who’s conditions are prime and I’m logging as many km’s as possible to get in shape for summer race season. And finally 3 more ski days remain over new years with hopefully a day at Lake Louise, Sunshine and a Nordic day at Bragg Creek or the Canmore Nordic Centre.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and I’ll be back in the New Year chasing that road to nowhere which taken a lot of turns in the last year all pointing in the right direction.  Happy Holidays!

Winters Here!!!!

Winters here and in full swing, including having to shovel 4 times in 24 hours on December 4th. I’m trying to get the best out of the season with what seems to have been a ridiculously busy Fall with less time for fun then I would have liked and definitely doesn’t appear to be slowing down over the winter. However, Days like Saturday are sure to keep my sanity with my first Nordic Ski Patrol day at Strathcona Wilderness Center being a welcomed start to my weekend. The days minus 36 was sure to keep most skiers away resulting in a soothing ski on empty loops, that dressed properly seemed warmer then the thermometer suggested. (Well as soothing as a day with poorly waxed skis, soft snow, trying to remember how to glide, and knowing that exposing skiing for more than minutes was going to result in pain can be).  But needless to say it was a great way to start the Nordic Ski Season off, and I must drop a little plug to the SWC for the great work on trails, friendly staff, and great set up that made it obvious why they were voted Alberta’s Top Nordic Ski Center last year.

We’ve been lucky with a quick transition to Winter this year, with opening weekends in the Rockies for Alpine Skiing resulting in powder days, and being heralded by most as the best opening season in recent memory. In November I’ve already managed two weekends of making early season turns at Sunshine and Jasper with conditions rivalling the recent prime seasons. Boot deep powder was easily found in the trees and I’ve already struggled getting up in mid thigh powder, all in November! If this is a sign of the ski season to come it’s going to be a good one. (And no that’s not me in the pic I stole it from Braedon to show you the November snow.)

Finally a little personal update as training for the new cafe is in full swing with all the design done, floor plans received and now training is in process (and working at making art with my lattes lol). I’m must say I’m pretty stoked to get things rolling with an actually opening date sometime in March. This will guarantee a busy 6 months ahead trying to get the new operation going, while keeping up with some commitments to the Canada Ski Patrol and Edmonton Search Rescue all the while trying to get in better shape for next race season.

But  oh well at least I know I won’t be bored!!!

Welcome to the New Home of Dustin’s Road to Nowhere

Thanks for coming to visit the new home of my blog. I’ve decided to move over to WordPress due to the better layout and presentation of their blogs. Below you’ll find my favorite post from my old blog (which is still active if you are looking for some old post www.dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com as I only copied over about 1/3rd of my previous post.) I thought I would start off by Re-Posting the two post that really embody the path I’m on, or in search of depending on the day, as they lay the framework for the vision I hope to convey throughout this blog.

So enjoy, come back often as I will try and continue to keep things fresh with a few post a monthly.

DUSTIN’S ROAD TO NOWHERE

So I’ve been looking back at my life and looking forward to where I want to go and find things are often a blur. So I thought why not do as every other person who seems to have access to the Internet and start a blog so I can one day look back at everything that happened, and if want to, share with others the fun things I’ve done, allow those who are far away to see what’s happened and if I feel insightful one day maybe even share some thoughts with you.

Why Dustin’s Road to Nowhere – Many of you will see this title and immediatly expect this to be sad, dark, or negative but I don’t see the analogy Road to Nowhere as negative, actually it’s quite the opposite. I believe the Road to Nowhere is where I want to be. It’s that place or state of mind you reach when you are exactly where you want to be and you are traveling forward in time but you aren’t trying to go anywhere. OK for those you that are going what hell is he talking about here’s an example

It’s late January or early February, it’s been a stressful week (I can’t remember why?) and I’m out Nordic skiing at Duntroon Highlands, it’s about -5, fresh fluffy snowflakes are falling, I haven’t seen anyone in over a half hour. I’m seemingly alone in the wilderness, I’ve skied about 7 or 8 Km’s nonstop, I have a smile, the stress from the week is a distant memory, my thoughts are void (Similar to the state of mediation that the Buddhist monks try and achieve through mediation and stay in that state for hours, days, months or longer.). All that can be heard are my deep breaths border lining on breathless and the gliding sound of my skis, I still have another 7 or 8 Km’s till I get back to the chalet But I’m not trying to get anywhere, I’m exactly where I want to be and would carry on like this forever. I may be moving forward, covering distance, you could say I’m travelling, but I’ve already reached my destination, my goal. At this point I’m travelling A Road to Nowhere.

These moments can be found anywhere and are found in different places and at different times for different people, it can be when you are surrounded with laughter and the people you love, holding that special someone in the middle of the night, beeing isolated in the wilderness away from reality, tying together curves on a motorcycle down a deserted twisty highway, or scaring the shit out of yourself riding off an unexpected rock drop on a gnarly mountain bike trail. However, I think there’s a lucky a few that follow their dreams, whatever they maybe and reach a point where every moment of their life they are travelling that Road to Nowhere.

THE ART OF LIVING

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labour and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always appears to be doing both.” – Francois Auguste Rene Chateaubriand

I thought I’d share this quote because I feel it really resonates my view on how we should be evaluating our careers and lives. Ask yourself does your current job or direction in life reflect who you really are? Does it reflect what drives you and what you enjoy? Don’t get me wrong and read this thinking that I’m suggesting you all go out, quit your jobs, and just play. You need to find a balance of rewards between self-fulfilling and financial. Personally I think I’ve put myself on the right path with my career move to Yamaha Canada, (now as a Cafe Owner) providing me the opportunity spending everyday around an industry I’m passionate about. Hopefully while working my way through the ranks I also manage to find a position that reflects my personality quite well. However, for the guy who plays Sudoku on his lunch break a career as a financial analysist may the right choice, if they couldn’t pull you away from the building blocks as a kid maybe a career in structural engineering would be a fit, or if you are as compassionate with animals as you are with people, you should end up being a Vet, or maybe an animal trainer. I could go on and on with examples.

The other questions I would ask is why do so many people accept a career that doesn’t reflect who they are and the really don’t enjoy? Social status, expectations put on you by others, to make the big money? Why would I want an exuberant salary? To afford trips, cars, toys, a big house and hobbies, makes sense. However, would someone like myself be better off to give up a big house and new car if you could do what you wanted every day? Maybe being mountain guide in the winter, and a bike/kayak guide in the summer? I wouldn’t need as many holidays if I lived the life I wanted day to day and then would the material things really make me any happier? There’s definitely a line somewhere between the two extremes that is the perfect fit.

Ultimately as the quote above mentions, the focus is to blur the lines between work and play. How much the line is blurred, and what side you stand on will be different for everyone you.

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November Update

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com posted Nov. 20th, 2009

Here I am apologizing for being behind on some post again, with a lot going on in the last month and half I haven’t had time to do much worth writing about nor have time to share any thoughts. So you’re asking what’s made things so busy that I couldn’t come out and entertain you at least once every couple weeks. Mainly my attempts to chase that road to nowhere and taking next step on this adventurous road I’m trying to follow. Actually it feels a little more like I’m trying to build it then follow it. October resulted in giving my notice to Yamaha to follow my next venture which is going to be opening a cafe. Which has resulted in a busy couple of months keeping up with my current positions workload in one of it’s busiest seasons and toughest periods all the while trying get things aligned for the cafe. As the new venture approaches there’s both excitement and a little nervousness in the air. (Check out www.goodearthcafes.com and plan for a visit early February at the corner of 91st and Ellerslie in South Edmonton.)

Aside from that what else new? The gentlemen at Track and Trail (www.trackntrail.ca) helped me finish up my new ski set up. With a set of G3 Onyx AT bindings and Garmont Radium boots, to add the Fisher Watea 94’s which I’m excited to carve some turns on. The only disappointment is with the new venture I’m not sure I’ll be able to get the back-country training I need to start doing some alpine touring this season. However, I’ll  be sure to make the best of the new set up and hopefully next spring I’ll be getting acquainted with the Alpine Club of Canada.

Other things on the go are finishing the arrangements to Nordic Ski Patrol at the Strathcona Wilderness Center this year, working through the application process for the Edmonton Search and Rescues, and also picked up a new car/suv in the form of the Jeep Patriot. Before you get on me for buying an “SUV” it’s based on a compact car and is rated the greenest SUV with a 40MPG hwy rating so it’s the most likely the most efficient option meeting my needs. Finally I’m trying to still enjoy some of the fall mountain biking, which may be my favorite time of the year which being so close to the Rockies has coincided with early season skiing! I’m enjoying making use of both the mountain bike and ski racks at the same time. (I’ll try and get some better pics on the weekend)

Anyways I’ll leave that as my quick personal update.

Missing Ontario?

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com posted on Oct. 28, 2009

Well no not really, but after a recent visit realizing some things I do miss. I haven’t even been in Edmonton a year but it’s been busy and quite the whirlwind, from the move, the new position, spending nearly every weekend traveling to the mountains, and now on the verge of starting a new business venture at the end of the November it’s been exciting to say the least. Anyone who would asked what I thought about if I made the right move always received the same answer of undoubtedly. Usually followed with the only thing I ever miss is the great friends whom still live there. Last weekend one of those great friends brought me back to Ontario to stand in his wedding. (Which on a side note was an amazing wedding, intimate, surrounded by love, and an amazing group of friends and family that reflected how special the bride and groom are). But aside from the opportunity to catch up with many great friends I also had to opportunity to realize some of the beauty of Southern Ontario that many of it’s residence take for granted and obviously I did as well needing to go back to appreciate it.

After flying in on the red eye the first sign I missed some of Ontario was waking up at Dave’s in the morning to one of the most brilliantly red trees I’ve ever seen outside the window. It was nearly glowing every morning with the sun breaking through an over cast sky, which couldn’t help but put a smile on my face every morning while I was there. Falls in Ontario where always my favorite time of the year. I may have fooled my self into thinking it was the start of each mountain bike race season but truly it was the long falls. Firstly Ontario temperatures, and moisture bless it with a beautiful fall colors year after year, brilliant and soothing. Secondly the fall always seemed like such a peaceful time as there was no more pressures of racing or training and it was time to do what love for the reasons you loved it. And if you where brave enough to go out in the -5 t o+ 5 weather you where always rewarded with less people and a feeling of being in nature not taking advantage of it. I’d even argue Mountain Biking through Durham forest with tacky trail and fall colors at the south end and snow covered tracks on the north could fit with any Epic on anyones list.

What really put this into perspective was Sunday, after the wedding on my way to catch up with some university friends in Hamilton I decided to take the backroads through the Halton region and go for a walk around Rattlesnake Point, one of my old running spots. The 10 or 12KM hike we did blew me away with it’s beauty looking over the escarpment into the valley of fall colors dotted by farmland as well as the vibrant colors from the trees, mixed in with the dark colors of the fallen leaves and contrasted again by the bright greens still alive in the moss. I’d have the say beauty and the feeling of calmness rivals what I’ve done in the rockies this summer. Sure the hike was nowhere near as difficult or challenging. Nor is the opportunity to feel like you escaped society as you are lost in the wilderness, but the ease of completing it is one of the things I appreciate on a relaxing fall day. And the region Halton has many more of these areas to explore.

Secondly what I missed is the quaint “heritage” communities. Everyone thinks of Southern Ontario for it’s cookie cutter homes, big box stores and millions upon millions residents. However, the area is also surrounded by some quaint communities dating back 150 to 200 years such as Dundas, Lowville, Waterdown, Flamborough, Guelph and Kingston who have embraced the history and maintained their cores reflecting their history, with their old brick buildings, narrower streets that are pedestrian friendly. Lined with store fronts and cafes creating some genuine oasis from the Southern Ontario we all see on the news and many live daily without realizing the escapes around them. Now if only we could move one of these communities to the border of the Rockies I could have the best of both worlds.

Would I move back, nope what Western Canada has offered me so far is much more in line with my lifestyle, hobbies, and dreams of where I want to be. However I strongly encourage the many Ontarians who don’t take advantage of some of the areas mentioned above or even worst complain about to get out and realize what they do have.

Human Impact – Are We Causing our Own Extinction?

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com posted on Oct. 28th, 2009

Our Inferences about life in the past are based on fossil remains suggesting that species expand in number and complexity and then are suddenly reduced through successive spams of extinction. Scientist have identified 5 major extinctions in the past 550 million years and each has taken approximately 10 million years of natural evolution to restore.

We are fortunate to have evolved when biological diversity has been at the greatest level ever achieved. Succeeding human generations will not be as fortunate: the current extinction crisis is without precedent – never before has a single species been responsible for such a massive loss of diversity. In essence, humans are the catalyst driving the earth’s sixth major extinction event.

I find the following illustration a great example of the unprecedented rate and scale of human activity is graphically illustrated by Alan Thein Durning in his paper “Saving the Forests: What Will It Take?”

Imagine a time-lapse film of the Earth taken from space. Play back the last 10,000 years sped up so that a millennium passes every minute. For more then seven of the ten minutes, the screen displays what looks like a still photograph: the blue planet Earth, its lands swathed in a mantle of trees. Forests cover 34 percent of the land. Aside from the occasional flash of a wildfire, none of the natural changes in hte forest coat are perceptible. The Agricultural Revolution that transforms human existence in the film’s first minute is invisible.

After seven and a half minutes, the lands around Athens and the tiny Islands of the Aegean Sea lose their froest. This is the flowering of Classical Greece. Little else changes. at nine minutes – 1,000 years ago – the mantle grows threadbare in scatered parts of Europ, Central America, China, and India. then 12 Seconds from the end, one century ago Eastern North America is deforested. This is the Industrial Revolution. Little else appears to have changed. Forest covers 32 percent of the land.

In the last three seconds – after 1950 – the change accelerates explosively. Vast tracts of forest vanish from Japan, the Philippines, and the mainland of Southeast Asia, from most of Central America and the horn of Africa, from Western North America and Eastern South America, fron the Indian subcontinent and sub-Saharan Africa. fires rage in the Amazon basin where they never did before, set by ranchers and peasants. Central Europe’s forests die, posoned by the air and rain. Southeast Asia resembles a fod with mange. Malaysian Borneo appears shaved. In the final fractions of a second the clearing spreads to Siberia and the Canadian North. Forest disappear so suddenly from so many places that looks like a plague of locusts has descended on the planet.

The film on the last frame. Trees cover 26 percent of the land. Three-fourths of the original forest area still bears some tree cover. But just 12 percent of the Earth’s surface – one third of the initial total – consists of intact forest ecosystems. the rest holds biologically impoverished stnad of commercial timber and fragmented regrowth. This is the present: a globe profoundly altered by the workings – or failings – of the human economy.

Hiking in Yoho National Park

from dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com posted on Sept. 15th, 2009

Last weekend we booked rooms at the Fireweed Hostel in Field, which has to be the most high end accommodations I’ve stayed at for a hostel and one night an an alpine hostel (the Whiskey Jack up near Tekawa Falls) for another weekend of adventure in the Rockies. This time venturing over the border into BC to visit Yoho National Park. Now in regards to accommodations I would suggest staying at the Fireweed Hostel for the entire stay vs. spending a night at the Whiskey Jack if you where to repeat the trip. There was nothing wrong with the Whiskey Jack but the Fireweed was simply awesome, clean, great mountain feel, great host, earning their self proclaimed boutique feel and I really enjoyed being right in field. The only downfall is the train tracks out back but I don’t think you can get away from the sounds of the trains anywhere in field being the small community it is, that gives it, it’s mountain charm. If you are looking for a quiet mountain getaway consider Field and Yoho national park as the tiny town with a population of 300 or so, set in a gorgeous mountain park without the tourist you get in the main parks such as Banff and Jasper, has amazing food at the Truffle Pigs, and great coffee at the cafe and quiet, quaint atmosphere that was great to relax in.

Day 1 we wanted to take our time getting started so up 7:30 breakfast at the cafe/grocery store and some Oso Negro coffee and we where off to do the Emerald Lake, to Yoho Pass, to Burgess Pass loop with hopes of attempting a scramble to the summit of Mt. Burgess. The hike on it’s own is approx. 18 to 20km and I’d rank it as a slightly above average hike. In comparison to some of the other hikes we’ve done this summer I wouldn’t say it was spectacular with a lot of climbing for what seemed like little time above the treeline with views. However the views you do get are great. Another downfall to hike is that 90% of the views are of the same valley, however if I was to choose between this or one of the hikes bordering the city limits of Jasper or Banff that are a little more “tourist oriented” I’d do this hike again in a heartbeat. Now on the other hand the scramble to Mt. Burgess looks like it would be GREAT! and yield some impressive 360 degree views but unfortunately we started too late. And in all honesty the scramble looked like it would be difficult to find a decent route since we didn’t do any research on common routes, and to top it off we where quite tired from the hike, after Friday mornings hill sprints and the 5 hour drive.

Day 2 our plan was to do the Iceline trail and then head through the Yoho Valley back up onto the Whaleback before dropping back down into the valley and climbing over the Twin Falls and then hiking out the shorter route to twin falls. The Iceline deserves it’s status as the premier hike in Yoho with stunning views, but even more impressive is the imposing nature of the mountains still filled with ice throughout it. I highly suggest the hike across the Iceline. If you are going to complete the extensions we did I suggest only doing so if you
a) want to add KM’s
b) can hike a 30 to 35KM day and explore the glaciers feeding the Twin Falls (which we didn’t have time with the shorter days and tired legs – Who’s idea was it to do Hill Sprints Friday morning before we left?)
c) you do an overnight trip staying at the Twin Falls Campground so you can explore the area more. Most of the hikers we met where doing overnight trips into the valley.

The extension was definitely worth it but it would be better if we could have explored a little more. I’d like to plan to attempt this early season (the trail opens in July) as a backpack trip as the ice and snow would most likely be amazing, the challenge of most likely finding your way over a snow cover trail in part would be an added challenge, and finally I would like some extra time to scramble to the peak of the Whaleback, Possibly scramble a couple of the peaks on the edge of the Yoho Valley and definitely explore the glaciers that feeds the twin falls. With the great vibe in the area and a little more of a secluded feel I’m sure I’ll be back in the near future (a winter Nordic or AT trip may be in order).

Hiking Bow Peak and Valley of Ten Peaks

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com posted August 17th, 2009
Well I have to say August 2009 has turned out to be one of the best months I can remember. I’ve been out in the mountains on some of the most Epic Adventures I’ve ever been on pretty well every weekend in August and to top it all off surrounded by some of the people that mean the most to me in life, with Jess, Dave flying down from Toronto for a bike tour around BC and the hike through the Skyline, as well as Cam and Katie Flying in from Ottawa for the Skyline Hike and staying an extra week for some hiking that proved to be nothing short EPIC!.

My last two post detail my 9 days I took for my Summer Holidays and now I want to give you a little teaser of 2 nights we spent in Banff National Park for a couple of hikes. I’ll be honest I’ve been known to talk down Banff because of it’s touristy nature and as a result stayed in Canmore I like the vibe better with a little more of a community feel. However, the weekends hikes were spectacular enough to forget about all that this weekend.

First off Saturday after some discussion on which hike of the many hike’s to choose from in the area we decided to hike the Valley of Ten Peaks. We where torn between doing this hike or not as it is relatively easy, and in close proximity to Lake Louise, but offers amazing views on par with some much harder hikes meaning it’s traveled by a lot of tourist which I find generally clouds my experiences in the Backcountry. However, with a late start, and less then desirable forecast we figured the crowds would be smaller then usual and decided to give it a go and I’m glad we did. The ascent through the tree line is OK it’s just a lot switchbacks that are heavily traveled making the trail look a lot more like a walking path then a hiking trail. However about 3 or 4 KMs in you come into the Alpine Meadows where the views make you forget about the heavy use and manicured trail. We where warned about a Grizzly that had been spotted earlier in the day after it had caught it’s breakfast (apparently a rabbit or something similar), I feel a little better that the grizzly had a full tummy succeeding at catching breakfast instead of looking for a hiker for lunch. And about 5 minutes later what did we see. Well of the course the Grizzly decided to pop back down into the alpine valley we where in and we got to watch the Grizzly in it’s habitat from about 200 to 300 ft away (Click on the pictures to the left for the full sized picture of the grizzly). Of course we where cautious and watched carefully. It threatened to end our hike as the grizzly started heading towards our trail. However, instead after about 10 minutes it decided to climb back into the hillside allowing us to continue on. This was definitely the highlight of the day. As we raised a little higher in Elevation we where greeted by a dusting of snow that fell the night before and ended up with a picturesque hike up to the pass, and a temptation to return and attempt to summit Temple Mountain as it could be completed with relatively little mountaineering experience or equipment (a helmet for safety from falling rocks and ice pick to arrest your fall in case you slip on the glacier near it’s peak should be all that is needed).

Sunday resulted in one of the most amazing hikes I’ve been on. We contemplated the options along the Ice Field Parkway near Bow Lake and Num-Ti-Jah Lodge of climbing to Helen Lake and attempting to summit Cirque Peak (generally an easy summit from Helen Lake is more of a hike then a scramble or climb) or attempting to summit Bow Peak. Cirque Peak is a well a marked easy hike to Helen Lake and a Moderate Hike if you include the Summit which provides multiple views of the Glaciers in the area, Once again this can be a busy hike on weekends because of it’s relative ease and spectacular views. However, it is apparently mostly above the tree line and is supposed to offer spectacular views and a near guaranteed ascent to the summit unless the weather gets in the way. Bow Peak on the other hand is a much more of an adventure as it is an unmarked unmaintained trail considered challenging, that does not even have a trail head and you will often find your party the only one on the mountain. However the peak is still attainable through a scramble where no mountaineering gear is required. Well I’m sure any of you that know me, can guess where my preference was and after a group discussion we where off to make an attempt at Bow Peak and once again it turned out to be the right choice.

The hike starts with the following directions from the Crowfoot Glacier Parking lot continue approx. a KM till you reach a widening on the shoulder of the highway. Park here and continue on foot approx. 370 paces (240 till you pass a culvert and then approx. another 130) where you will descend the large rocks on the side of the highway and then search for signs of the trails. Well the trail turned out to be relatively easy to find an we where off. About a KM in you cross a glacial river a little more then thigh deep over rocks. It’s cold, painful and undoubtedly INVIGORATING. From hear it’s a pretty straightforward climb (however steeper then most National Park Maintained Trails) crossing multiple streams and providing countless amazing views. Adding to the our adventure where the fresh Black Bear Prints from the morning following nearly the entire trail into the Alpine with a second set of prints that may have been a cubs. So preceding cautiously, making a fair bit a noise we continued are way up the amazing hike up to the pass. I definitely have a preference for these “unmaintained” hikes as the extra challenge of fallen trees, stream, river crossings and usually seeing next to no people make the hike feel much more “authentic”, relaxing, and rewarding (I think you’ll more and more scrambles and unpopular hikes comming across these pages as time goes by.) Once we reached the pass, the views where amazing. I’m interested to figure out what trail continues on from this point as it looked like it had potential to be a beautiful multi-day hike on an unofficial trial, it may be part of the ACC hut systems trails but I’m not sure. However today our goal was to the scramble up to the 9,400 + ft. Bow Peak. The scramble was slightly challenging most likely as a result of our lack of experience scrambling and second guessing the stability of the many rocks that where loose, as well as our route choices. But after an hour and half of scrambling up the mountain side we where walking on top of the mountains ridge alone. I don’t believe I could ever put the feeling into words but standing on a peak nearing with only a few feet on each side of you looking down nearly 10,000 ft on one side and probably 1,500 feet down on the other with 360 degree panoramic was unbelievable. Unfortunately we only had a few minutes on top, as we had given ourselves a turn around time of 4PM to ensure we descend in Daylight, which we didn’t want to risk missing with the bear and possibly cubs in the area, but it was definitely enough time to lead me to understand what drives people to continue striving to reach peaks and tougher routes as I’m quite certain I’ve caught a little of that summer fever and that definitely won’t be my last.

Valley of Ten Peaks

Bow Peak

Wow that turned out longer then I expected, can you tell I had a good time.

Summit Tour 2009 – Part 2 Hiking

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com posted on August 17, 2009

So after the 6 days of biking some of BC’s best trails and destinations (see previous post) me and Dave headed up to Jasper National Park to meet up with Jess, Cam and Katie for a three day backcountry hike along the Skyline Trail. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it it’s considered by many to be the Premier Multi-Day Hike in the Rockies as you spend the large majority of your time in the alpine or sub-alpine resulting in amazing views as long as the weather cooperates. It’s a 45 to 50 KM point to point hike depending on which signs you read and the staff from the national park have made this a great hike for those beginning to venture into multi-day backcountry hikes as it is well marked and has multiple well maintained Campsites (i.e. Facilties, Campsites generally near streams, areas to hang your food to minimizes bear dangers, ect.). Just make sure to book your sites in advances as site are sometimes booked as far out as 2 months in advance. My suggested route to anyone doing the trail is make it an enjoyable three days camping at Snowbowl (12 to 14KM), Tekara (18KM), then another 13 to 14 KM’s out on your last day. However we couldn’t get a site a Tekara which resulted in us camping at signal which was a long (and slightly painfull day with 35 to 50lbs packs) 24KM day as day two, but worked out well in our case as we had to get Dave to the Edmont Airport after the hike was complete and the short day let us relax a little in Japer afterwards and enjoy a well earned Pint and Dinner at Earls. So with that I’ll leave you with a little photo diary of our trip.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Summit Tour 2009 – Part 1 Cycling

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com Poster on August 12th, 2009

As mentioned in my last post last week I took a week off to explore some of BC and the Rockies best Mountain Bike and Hiking Trails. The Trip saw me continue on from the Alberta DH provincials in Blairmore with Dave first off to meet our buddy Andrew in Rossland for the night where the next morning he graciously shuttled us to the Trail Head of the 7 Summits trail. The 7 Summits trail in Rossland has become a must do on many mountain bikers list for it’s Epic route that starts at the bottom of and climbs to the top of a mountain, and then proceeds to roll up down over 7 peaks. It’s definately worth the long climb up (1.5 to 2 hrs) for an amazing ride. And for all you considering to complete this trail I suggest stagging your retrieval vehicle at a the “second” lot. After you exit the official 7 Summits trail if you cross the road there’s a trail called Dewdney to continue descending, and it is probably the funnest section of singletrack on the whole system.

Next we set up camp for a day in Nelson to ride some of the legendary trails there but not before taking an easy morning hanging out in the Town (boy I love that place), laid back vibe, tons of true outdoor and adventure enthusiast, good coffee, and technical riding that will rival anything. In the afternoon we pedaled up Moutain Station and amazing trail network that back’s right onto town with everything from intermediate DH singletrack to shore style stunts and drops to challenge the most advanced riders. We quickly saw why the average locals technical skills is well above average. Then in the evening we took the Dirt Tours Shuttle up what I believe was Svaboda (the mountain with Powerslave, Bulls on Parade, Placenta, Illuminati, ect)for some awesome sustained decent.

The next day was going to be a long one driving from Nelson to Revelstoke to ride Keystone Standard Basin and then drive into Golden that night. It would have been great to have been able to stay in Revy that night but we where on a bit of time constraint and wanted to get a run down Mount 7 before Driving to Jasper to Hike the Skyline Trail. Keystone Basin has to be one of the most scenic Rides in North America, riding through Alpine Meadows that are what I picture riding in the alps to be like. It’s a 22KM out and back trail and contained some of the most amazing buffed singletrack I’ve ever ridden. For anyone making a long trek out to ride 7 Summits in an attempt to ride BC’s best XC trails, this must be added to your itinerary.

Finally the 4th day of riding including trying to find someone to shuttle us up mount 7 and after searching multiple bike shops we found a local willing to drive us to the top for 20 bucks and we made a run down most of the Psychosis course (minus Dead Dog since we where on all mountain bikes.) And what a run that is. I understand why there was some pressure to cancel the race as the trail is rutted and loose, however it was definately one of the best DH tracks I’ve been on in the last couple years.

I’ll leave you there for now and will put up a quick post about hiking the Skyline Trail in the next few days.

AB Cup Provincials – Blairmore

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com Poster on August 11th, 2009

Well the end of the race season has passed with the provincials in Blairmore, AB. I was looking forward to the weekend for a couple of reasons. First and foremost it was the start of my summer holidays which I’ll wright about in a couple more post over the week, and secondly I hope the longer, more traditional DH course would provide me with a chance to get another top 10 and end the season on a high note since I’ve managed to fall in 3 of the 4 last races. Practice had me feeling good on the course and I felt a top 10 in the large field was an attainable goal but after a fun day of practice the skies opened up over night with rain, lightning and hail and we knew a new element was just added to race day where staying on two wheels was going to be a big part of placing well.

After the mornings practice I still felt good having survived the tech sections on every run and felt good on the rest. However come to my race run I tried pushing a little past my limit on the top sections and lost it on some roots bending my brake lever. Trying to salvage my run, knowing the conditions would slow a lot of racers down I pushed hard but lost it on the rock face locking my rear brake not being able to undulate the braking power properly with the bent brake lever leaving my hopes of a good finish out the window. I’ll leave you with a few pics and hopes that next season I manage to keep the bike rubber side down.

AB Cup # 3 – Rabbit Hill

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com Posted on July 23rd, 2009

First to thank the crew from Park Cycle, the ADHRA and the volunteers who made this a great weekend. It was a fun weekend where the best was made of Rabbit Hill. I’ll be the first to admit on it’s own merit Rabbit Hill doesn’t provide a course that is considered a true DH track, and isn’t suited to my riding strengths personally so I didn’t have high expectations for this race. However, living in Alberta it does provide lift access racing, with great a group of riders from Alberta, and you know you are in for a fun weekend regardless of the terrain. The track reminds me more of a slalom style course then a DH run with a long pedally top section in a few trees after that for a couple of turns and then out into the open for a few doubles and step downs before ripping down to the finish. The weekend went on without a hitch till race day. Where rain and high winds shut down the lifts making the race runs a hike bike (only time I was glad rabbit doesn’t have much more vertical). That same wind made the pedal at the finish into the headwind much harder and I’m sure the gust of wind on their own was enough to add a couple seconds to someones time.

The Rage Crew showed strong with 3 of the top 5 pro times and Mark Wolstenholme tearing the field apart the day after his Stag with a 1:24 about 5 seconds ahead of the second fastest time of the day, and 4 podiums with Mark and Derek 1st and 3rd in Pro, Tyler Gregson winning the U15 even with a hard bail just before the finish, and Michelle Wolstenholme taking 2nd in the Masters A Women. Personally I had a bad race run with a few bobbles and almost eating it on the doubles but still managed a 16th out of 27th which looking back isn’t all that bad considering how poorly I did and a course that I new I wouldn’t be particularly strong on. Now I’m off to travel a week in the prairies before making it back for the Provincials in Blaimore next weekend which starts of my weeks holidays in Rockies, mountain biking and hiking.

Alberta Cup # 1 – Grande Prairie

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com Posted on July 7th, 2009

To start this post off I want to give shout out to the Bikehawk Bike Club, Nitehawk Ski Area and the ADHRA for organizing a great weekend of racing. The Bikehawk and Nitehawk volunteers worked hard to make sure this event was fun, they all had tons of enthusiasm and organized a great event. I’ll be honest coming into the event I wasn’t expecting much from the course knowing they had limited vertical and it was a relatively new hill. However, as with all the riders I spoke to, we where pleasantly surprised at how much fun the course was, and how it wasn’t only a great race but a great event with the race, a BBQ, opening the Freestyle Ski Water Ramp , fastest speed with the RCMP on site with a radar gun and camping right near by. The course was approx. 2 minutes long, with some steep sections, well manicured berms, a variety of terrain, multiple little jumps, drops, natural features, and even if the area is a little short on rocks and roots they did a great job at adding some technical bits with some off camber sections, quick shoots and tight corners leaving all the riders stoked about the weekend and the fast course.

From my standpoint the weekend went well and I’m quite happy with the results considering I had a scary spill on Sunday’s practice before the race run. I will say I’m glad I decided to start riding with the Leatt Brace this season though as I felt my helmet hit the brace as I came down hard head first and walked away with minor bumps and bruises. As a result I was a little hesitant on my race run but my times where still respectable with a 10th place finish out of 18 or so riders in my category but more importantly I was only about 2 seconds off the pace I was hoping to be on which would have had me close to the top 5. The Rest of the DHR had a good showing as well with 1st and 2nd in the Elite Class, The fastest the womens time on the day and 4 riders in the top 10 for Senior Sport. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make the Kicking Horse next weekend so the next race update will be sometime after the Rabbit Hill Race in two weeks. (I’ll hopefully add a few more pictures as they surface in the coming week.)

Panorama Mad Trapper

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com Posted on June 29th, 2009

Well well another race weekend in BC, how to sum this one up. Wicked fun course, awesome people, great weather and the snow melt made sure the course was just muddy enough to be a riot to ride. So after an amazing 2 days of riding, and maybe a little drinking I can home stoked as soon as I managed to forget about my race run. Two falls and Dropped chain resulted in my worst finish ever and I guess I’ll be looking to regain a little pride once the Alberta Cups start next weekend. But oh well that’s racing! A quick Shout goes out to Tyler who took a top 10 finishing 7 in his class in his first race after killing it all weekend, look out for him on the Alberta Cups as he has a lot potential for some podium finishes in the near future.

Race the Ranch – Kamloops

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com Posted on June 12th, 2009

We’ll last weekend saw Race the Ranch in Kamloops come and go. It was a fun weekend, as all weekends that include friends, bicycle and a mountain always seem to be. I have to say racing in Kamloops is an entirely different ball game though., and the picture to the left sums it up pretty well. The thick powder of dust on the trail resulted in perpetually changing lines, and multiple riders falling into pillows of Dust. For myself the runs where mixed. In all honesty I only had one practice run where I felt good in this foreign terrain. So I had hoped to just take it relatively easy on my race run in the top portion which seemed to be claiming so many racers and then pedal my @#% off on the bottom to tie in a decent run. Well the top third went well, but trying a slightly different line I got sideways took out flag pole amd in an attempt to make up the lost seconds bailed twice on the bottom sections killing any hopes of a decent finish. However as always it was fun weekend rippin’ on bike, and I can’t wait till the next race to try reclame a little bit of pride ; ).

May Long Weekend in Banff National Park

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com Posted on June 3rd, 2009

May long offered a chance to get out for some early season hiking and we lucked out with the weather as many complained of snow and rain, we saw warm Sun and Clouds all weekend. With the high pass and good hikes still covered in snow we had to do some of the more tourist oriented hikes, however it was a great way to start the season, and get the legs moving. Here’s some pics enjoy!Day 1 – Near Banff – Hoodoo’s – 1/2 way to Johsnton Lake and back – Bow River Trail – Tunnel Mountain; 13 KMs easy hiking). Iwouldn’t suggest the hike unless you are in the early or late season and their aren’t many options, most views are scared by the development around the city of Banff and there’s very little elevation gain except for Tunnel Mountain where the views are over rated.

Day 2 – Bow Glacier Falls – Nice hike, especially at this time of year where the only people we met where skiers coming back from a backcountry trip and the snow added a little adventure. Would be busy in the core season since it’s short, easy and offers great views, which wouldn’t make it appealing to me in the summer months. About 10KM out and back and a couple extra of exploring.

Lake Minnewanka – Spring Bike Ride

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com Posted on May 10th, 2009

Me and Marty drove out to Banff yesterday to ride at Lake Minnewanka for an out and back trip to the Warden Station resulting in a picturesque 22km spring ride. We lucked out with the weather as the forecast was cloudy with sunny breaks, showers and a chance of snow (I offer my thanks to the weather man for that insight). But after driving into what looked to be a day drink pints on a covered patio in Banff instead of riding, we arrived at our destination with break in clouds and they weather stayed that way for most of the ride. The first KM or so was slush and mud but as soon as we turn the corner after the climb the trails where dry and we had a great day of ridding. If you haven’t ridden here before it’s a nice spring ride before the loop has a lot of tourist, dries quickly, doesn’t have too much climbing for the winter legs, and is a nice intermediate skill level ride (nothing to technical a beginner/intermediate rider could probably get through the trail with only some small hike a bikes.) Anyways enough chatting and here’s some pics.

An Endless Ocean of Air?

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com Posted on May 8, 2009

“We look into the sky it seems to us to be endless…. we think without consideration about the boundless ocean of air, and then you sit aboard a spacecraft, you tear away from the Earth and within ten minutes, you have been carried straight out of the layer of air, and beyond there is nothing! Beyond the air there is only emptiness, coldness, darkness. The “boundless” blue sky, the ocean which gives us breath and protects us from the endless black and death, is but an infinitesimally thin film. How dangerous it is to threaten even the smallest part of this gossamer covering, this conserver of life.”

Vladimir Shatalov, The Home Planer

Could Photosynthesis Solve our Energy Woes?

From dustinsroadtonowhere.blogspot.com Poster April 3rd, 2009

Currently the world consumes 15 Terrawatts annually; by 2050 however scientist estimate we will consume 30 Terrawatts annually.

So what would we currently have to do to meet that demand?

• Building a new 1 Billion Watt nuclear plant every 1.6 days till 2050 would yield 8 Terrawatts
• Consuming all the vegetation not used for food to make Biofuels would yield 7 Terrawatts
• Covering every inch of land on the earth with wind turbines would yield 2 Terrawatts

Hhm not much luck with today’s Technologies. However MIT’s Daniel Nocera believes the solution is the Sun. The Sun beams down approximately 800 Terrawatts on the earth daily. However, our current solar technologies have some issues.For one the technology is still quite costly. But first and foremost is the storage of energy for evenings and periods of extended cloud cover. Currently it would take approximately 2000lbs of lead batteries to store enough solar energy to power a household for a whole evening. This is where Professor Norcera pulled from the theory of photosynthesis to essentially recreate the process of electrolysis you experimented with in high school which uses electric currents to break down H2O in to Hydrogen and Oxygen. Using this process you can then store the Hydrogen in a fuell cell. However, this process is also expensive and isn’t the most efficient, which is where photosynthesis inspired them. By infusing Cobalt and Potassium Phosphate into the water the process can now be recreated using only a volt of power bringing the storage cost down from thousands of dollars to tens.

 

So how does it work. Essentially throughout the day Solar panels would power your house and the excess energy would be sent to a small container of water where it would split the oxygen and hydrogen. After the sun goes down the Hydrogen and Oxygen would be re-combined in a fuel cell to power your house, charge your car, etc. There’s obviously still a lot of issues to be ironed out , but this sounds like the first truly promising process in while.

If this process proves to be successful this could

• Solve the storage issue as a gallon of water would replace 2000lbs of batteries.
• It could provide decentralize the solar power.
• Would lower the cost.
• Provide a clean form of energy

I’ll definitely be watching Professor Norcera’s developments closely.