Okanagan Strike

Okanagan Strike, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Spent another Canadian Summer exploring BC and Alberta hunting for great images to add to my folio. With lots of sorting and processing yet to go, this is one of my favourites so far. Witnessed a phenominal sunset and following thunderstorm from the jetty at a friends place in Summerland in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada.

Storm Victim

Storm Victim, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

My third visit to the island was a lot of fun! recent wild weather and even some whilst I was there made for some interesting photographic opportunities. It was hard to believe the amount of downed trees there were from the heavy storms that had been battering the western coastline. Somewhere near Botany bay, Port Renfrew, we found this massive tree stump with what was left of the tree laying beside it. It was fresh, within a few days, based on the colour of the timber and the sawdust still remaining on the trail where the obstructing log had been cut away. Tara stands at the base to give some perspective on the immense size of the tree. She was a great local tour guide, taking me places I never would have otherwise seen. I owe the entire experience to her, so thanks :)

Whistler Blackcomb over Green Lake

Whistler Blackcomb over Green Lake, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

I haven't really had a lot of quiet time this last couple of months to write and post images from my experience living and working in Whistler for the 2010 winter Olympics. Just wanted to post up a couple of pics of just how stunning this place is, there is a lot to tell about what happened here, some very touching moments. Sappy? maybe, but seriously, 2010 is continuing to deliver at unprecedented standards, and it only promises to get better :)

Sunrise on Cougar Mountain from Rainbow Village

Sunrise on Cougar Mountain, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Whistler and Blackcomb from Rainbow Village

The Mighty Whistler Blackcomb, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Hidden Mountain

Hidden Mountain, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Couldn't see much of the mountain from the carpark but I was hoping to get something that looked cool. There was a small break in the clouds, for a minute, so I was able to at least snatch some of the mountain, kind of illustrates the day well i guess.

The days fall

The days fall, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

6 hrs of snowfall accumulated on Keiths Subaru

Ascending

Ascending, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Almost at the car park, heavy snow had us very excited...

Border Bound

Border bound, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Headed for the States on the way to Mt Baker

Above the Clouds

Above the Clouds, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.

Above the clouds on Mt Seymour - xmas day

Mt Baker

Made a little trip with Keith and Nick down to Black Mountain ranch, not far from Mount Baker, Washington state, USA. Headed down in the evening, crossed the border and got dragged in to the building cos I'm an alien. Made it to the cabin and chilled with beers and a long winded game of monopoly. Crashed at about 2 and looked forward to hitting the mountain in the morning.

When I woke at about 7, it had been snowing for some time, it was great to see white everywhere. We had a breakfast burrito at the local cafe and then headed up the mountain. It was snowing quite heavily and the road was quite well covered.

It was the busiest Keith had ever seen it, but lift lines were still just a minute or two. It snowed on the mountain all day, and at the top visibility was quite limited. Depth perception on the first couple of hundred metres was challenging, it was very tough to negotiate how steep the terrain was or how deep the snow was.

It was a totally new environment to me, and I loved every minute of it. My skills improved rapidly and by the end of the day I was zipping along nicely. I stopped up top a couple of times just to admire the view and all the snow. It was just so startling beautiful. I found a few fresh powder spots that hadn't been found in between a couple of runs, and for the first time I glided through "powder". The feeling was sensational, and left me wanting more. I cant wait to board at Whistler :)

we headed home again in the dark after a beer and managed to sneak our way around a 70 min wait at the border back into Canada. Wish we could have stayed longer, the next day on the mountain would have been even better, it was still snowing when we left.

Christmas

So after having a christmas eve party shut down just before midnight, I headed up to Mount Seymour on a beautifully sunny Christmas day. The snow was reasonable considering the conditions, but the highlight of the day was both my ability to stay upright after 3 years since last snowboarding, and the magnificent view of greater Vancouver from the top of the mountain. I layer of broken cloud added to the ambience of the mountain. It was pretty busy for a xmas day, i suspect due to the weather. I was so warm i ended up wearing my jacket open with just a tshirt underneath. Hot shower and beers capped off my first day boarding on the north shore well. Looking forward to Grouse and Cypress at some point soon too.

Snow shots from phone

More xmas Bokeh

More xmas Bokeh, originally uploaded by cleangetaway.