snowboard withdrawal

Yes, that's right. I am suffering from snowboard withdrawal this year. This is the first year in 12 years that I do not have a snowboard seasons pass.... reason being, of course, the little upcoming Bun. My mother gave me the great advise at the beginning of winter: "don't go snowboarding when you are pregnant... it is too dangerous"... hmm... well, that seems to be stating the obvious... I am surprised she didn't add in tackle football and sword fighting to the list of "don't's" as well. So, alas, I am a little jealous and envious when Roger comes home from his days of boarding and shows me pics like this. Until next year sweet snowy slopes!

collage: casting a spell on the bear

Now that it is spring time here in Vancouver, there will be more black bears waking from hibernation and roaming around our local mountain trails. A few years ago we had gone for a summer nature hike uphill on Mount Seymour when we heard a distant warning from another hiker, who was quite a bit ahead and above us. Hearing someone shout, "Hikers! There are three bears up and to your left!" is not the phrase you want to hear whilst enjoying a promenade. (Three bears can only mean a mama and two babies). Anyways, we quickly clapped, hooted and hollered (to scare the bears away) and made a quick detour, thus avoiding any bear encounter and ending our hike. I wish I had a magic wand that day to cast a spell on the bears to let us pass, just like in the fairytales.

snowshoe day

Yesterday morning we went snowshoeing up on one of the trails at Mount Seymour in North Vancouver. After some huffing and puffing and a little bit of grumbling and a few curse words, we were rewarded with some awesome views of the local north shore mountains. Apparently there are several more peaks further on (as in further up), but we'll have to save that longer trek for next time!

a tad foggy

We hit the local slopes of Mount Seymour again yesterday for some snowboarding and were greeted with dense fog. Since there were no visual cues around, it was hard to tell how fast we were going or which way to go. This is a photo we took while we were on the chair-lift – we could only see as far as the set of people in front of us. At times, it felt like we were all traveling through a big void. Since it was pretty surreal and disorientating, we didn't actually stay very long... hopefully, the coming weekend will be better.

we have snow!

There is snow in Vancouver! I am quite used to the seasonal rainfall, so when it does snow here, it is a real big treat. Yesterday, Roger and I decided to get a little outdoorsy and Canadiana, so we went snowshoeing up at one of the local mountains. The hike up the Dog Mountain Trail at Mount Seymour is about 2.5 hours round trip, but you're then rewarded with this spectacular view of the local mountain range at the top... it's enough to make you cry, although I don't recommend it, since the tears might freeze to your face. Looking at our pic makes me want to go get some hot chocolate now!