Big downhill longboard race at Britannia Beach yesterday. Here's some shots.




Longboard races (races of any kind, really) serve as a great opportunity to practice your tracking skills. Here's my best tracking shot from yesterday.

Okay. So, I've been pretty busy these past few days, which is why I haven't been online to post anything in a while, but I've finally decided to stop procrastinating and start uploading some photos! This first series is from last weekend, May Long Weekend, when everybody decided it was time to go to Squamish for the reunion of the year...



Gordy, Chris, Val, Thomas, Jeremy and Robby all made it out for the May Long Boulder Bash in the forest! It's been about 2 months since I've seen Gord, Chris, Val and Thomas, and double that for Jeremy and Robby, but now the families back together, minus Marcy from Ottawa, Bama Dave, who's currently being represented by Bama Joseph, and two brits (Adam & Michelle) who are just a mere 55 kilometers up the road, but still couldn't find their way down to Squamish for the weekend. Maybe one day those brits will feel like being a part of something again, but until then, I'm just going to keep slandering them on the internet until I get a response. Where are you, Adam & Michelle?!?! Your family misses you!!!

Here's some photo's of the weekend in the forest...






And here's some shots from a rainy day spent slacklining at Nexem Beach followed by a birthday dinner for Israel.

On May 11th, I took a trip into Vancouver to see if I could navigate my way through the downtown metropolis and to the bus station, where my buddy Joseph would be arriving promptly at 5:00 pm. Previous knowledge of the cities layout, matched with an uncanny sense of direction assured that there would be no issues in arriving on time for my appointment. It didn't matter that I still hadn't borrowed a car by 3:30 pm, because I was still rolling out of the driveway by 3:50, thanks to a stressful yet successful episode of procrastination. By 4:00, I was several kilometers down the 'sea to sky' highway, and well ahead of schedule.


Two and a half hours later, I pulled into the bus station. It's been 2 years since I mastered the cityscape from the driver seat, and it would appear that in my absence, the direction of every road has been changed. Quite odd, indeed! I just don't understand how anybody could organize, much less, complete a project of this magnitude in such a short amount of time, but stranger things have happened. My internal navigator was on vacation with his family, and his relief called in with quite the nasty cough, otherwise there would've been several alarms going off to inform me that east will not take me west. The traffic I forgot to account for made it possible for me to safely tap into the worldwide web for directions via my cell phone, but the metro police were quick to inform me that cell phones have recently been pronounced illegal while on the road, even while calmly waiting your turn to drive through the traffic light you've been sitting at for 3 cycles, now.

These are not excuses as to why I was late, more a list of factors that led to an executive decision being made, changing my expected arrival time from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, making me 30 minutes ahead of schedule, therefore keeping my flawless record, unblemished.

The rest of the week has been equally adventurous. Unexpected dips into the river proved that glacier runoff is just to cold to enjoy, as well as furthered the studies on the effects of electronics when introduced with water. The results, yet again, concluded unfavorable for the electronics. Final thought: I need to invest in a waterproof cellphone.

Another one of the many weekly projects was to arbor some of the higher limbs on one of the trees behind the house so my neighbor, whom also happens to be my landlord, could finally watch the hockey games in HD, like they were meant to be watched. The thought of putting on spikes and climbing higher up in a tree than I ever would on a boulder didn't exactly exite me, and the 2 stroke Stihl MS 170 chainsaw that would have to follow me up the soft cedar made the otherwise frightening situation just plain petrifying, but half off of rent and a case of beer was enough for me to don a harness and rope, and proceed to amputate the signal intrusive appendages.

Item 295 on 'life's to do list'- Top a tree in the wind. Check.

The week hasn't been all work and no play though. With 15 hours of sunlight a day, there's always an opportunity to get outside and do something you enjoy. Here's some more classic boulder problems from Squamish.






















Paul on Tims Sloper Problem















Brad on Anubis






















Joseph on It's About Time


(Thanks to Joseph for the shot of me on the tree)

Almost forgot about this awesome pan I got of the Howe Sound today while driving into Vancouver to go pick up Joseph. This is the view you get to enjoy for 45 minutes while driving the Sea to Sky Highway from Squamish to Vancouver.

Sorry for the hiatus, the nice weather we've been having lately seems to keep me fairly busy, which leaves just about no time for blogging. Not a complaint (on my end) though!

So, catching up. Let's see... Yesterday was my birthday! I'm currently on my 30th revolution around the sun, and it's been off to a great start with more sunshine! Nice relaxing morning, drinking coffee on my back deck with my roommate, Michelle, (psyched to be buying a new car), and her Boyfriend, Joel (not so psyched about the paperwork), followed by some intense bouldering in the forest, then an enthralling game of poker, high up in the Garibaldi mountains. I didn't win, but second place get's their money back, so I didn't really lose, either.






Also, in recent news, I just picked up Joseph from the Amtrak station in Vancouver, now we're just hanging out at the house, drinking some midnight coffee, anticipating an amazing day of bouldering in the forest at the base of the Chief. 4 climbing days in a row... this is the Squamish summer I remember! Now, to the climbing shots.






Bedtime... Big day tomorrow!

So, I'm out of the woods and back in society, which means that I'm going to have to start bathing everyday. Shouldn't be to hard, seeing as the bathroom is a mere 14 paces from my bed! Here's my new kitchen and living room in Squamish.

Here's the story of the past week... I've been working everyday at the construction site, earning a fairly healthy paycheck, as well as doing some siding and roofing with Doug, earning a healthier chunk of cash. The construction company wants me exclusively, and they're willing to match the pay I'm making with Doug, but I've decided to turn down their offer and continue the work with Doug, as he has guaranteed me a summer's worth of work, flexible hours for climbing on overly nice days, and will possibly be sponsoring me in the future, making Canadian residency the obvious next step. With the money earned in the past 2 weeks of work, I should be able to make a cash offer on the camper van next Friday... Finally, after a few stressful weeks and a couple bear encounters, everything seems to be coming together, as it always does!

Since the bear completely destroyed my home of the past 7 months, I moved into a room with a climbing buddy of mine, Ernesto. $200 a month didn't seem bad, but the living situation has gotten a bit ridiculous, with 5 adults residing in a 3 bedroom apartment. Just as I started questioning my decision for the next months housing, another option landed in my lap. A buddy of mine, Dan, is leaving Squamish for the summer to go plant trees in Alberta, but seeing as he doesn't want to give up his pristine location, he opted to sub-let his room for the summer, and guess who the first person called was... I move into a house tomorrow, and will live there through May, and might stay through June, depending on how much cash I'm making per week, and wether Paige decides to accept my cash offer for the van, which I'm pretty certain she will.

Yup, it's starting to look like it's going to be yet another fantastic summer in British Columbia! Here's some shots from today's session in the forest.