Exploring the Whistler Via Ferrata
If you haven’t already, check out our previous post about Via Ferratas and our experience on the Squamish Via Ferrata at the Sea to Sky Gondola. You can read that here: An Adventure on the Squamish Via Ferrata Well, after our morning out with the Mountain Skills Academy on the Squamish Via Ferrata we were psyched to check out the Whistler Via Ferrata next. The Whistler Via Ferrata was one of the first of it’s kind in Canada and we were told that it was a few grades harder than the newer one recently opened in Squamish. Fresh off our experience in Squamish we were excited to see for ourselves what it was like! It’s longer than the Squamish Via Ferrata being a 4 hour return trip from the Roundhouse on Whistler Mountain. Myself and Spring met up with our Guide and group at the base of the gondola in Whistler. From there we took the gondola up and got to know each other on the scenic ride up the mountain. At the top we went to a little cabin near the Roundhouse to get our harnesses, helmets and lanyards. Coming straight off our Squamish trip we felt like seasoned pros with the equipment. Weather couldn’t slow us down. We headed out promptly and got the day underway. Clouds were building overhead and weather looked to be rolling in but it didn’t slow us down. Right away we got that big mountain feel. From the Roundhouse you will be starting above the trees in the Alpine. We were surrounded by rock, ice and snow. After hiking for a bit towards Whistler Mountain we gained the base of our route and the fun of climbing the “Iron Road” began. We clipped into the security of the metal cable running along the length of the route and started moving upwards steadily. We could definitely feel that this Via Ferrata was different to the Squamish one. The rungs were further apart and in places you needed to hold onto rock to move upwards. It was varied and interesting but never too hard. A girl in our group had never done anything remotely like this before and she found it a lot of fun. We always had the reassurance that we were protected as we were clipped into the metal cable. Bringing back the High 5 on Whistler Mountain! The route had an awesome mountaineering feel. We traversed ledges, moved around blocky features, ascended steep cliffs, all while working our way towards the summit. If you want that feeling like you are aiming for an objective in the mountains and working to achieve it...
An Adventure on the Squamish Via Ferrata
“What is a Via Ferrata?”, it’s understandable if you’re asking that question right now. Being honest, up until a few years ago I didn’t exactly know what it was myself. I’m going to explain what it is below but let me first say this, if you’re a hiker and living in or thinking about visiting the Southwest of British Columbia you should get stoked right about now because having access to a Via Ferrata in Squamish is going to be a game changer for many of you. “Via Ferrata” is an Italian word that translates to “Iron Road”. They’ve been used for centuries but were popularized during WWI as a means of safely moving troops and equipment through the Alps. They are now found extensively throughout Italy and Austria as attractions for people to be able to move in the mountains and on cliffs with the security of protection bolted into the rock. It’s common for individuals in that region to have experience on Via Ferratas. Growing up hikers there progress from being on steep trails, to using Via Ferratas in the Mountains, to learning to climb rock and use ropes. It’s a part of the process of learning to move in the mountains. Squamish needed a Via Ferrata. It’s awesome now that Squamish, a world renowned Mountain and Climbing town has got its own Via Ferrata for people to experience. If you’ve hiked on trails and want to experience something a little bit more adventurous, then this Via Ferrata is definitely for you. When I first moved to Squamish I hadn’t really ever been in the mountains before. I learned to hike and backpack but I found it hard to make the next step to learning to climb. It felt like a leap to go from hiking on trails to suddenly climbing rock faces. I hadn’t developed a trust in the ropes that I would hang my life on. Eventually I pushed through and started climbing but I couldn’t help but feel like there was a step between hiking and climbing that I was missing. That step is Via Ferratas. Myself and Spring had the opportunity to get guided by the Mountain Skills Academy on the Squamish Via Ferrata at the Sea to Sky Gondola. This would be both of our first times on one of these “Iron Roads” along cliff faces. We met up with our guide near the Summit Lodge of the Sea to Sky Gondola and received a tutorial about the gear we would be using. The Mountain Skills Academy provided the harness and helmet for us as well as the Y-shaped lanyard that we’d...
Mountain Hardwear SuperMegaUL 2 Tent Review
Bottom Line: An Ultralight, 2 person, 3 season tent that’s perfect for those fast and light missions when saving a bit of extra weight is going to make all the difference. First Impressions and Observations: The SuperMegaUL 2 is a beautiful tent, sexy even! It’s light (minimum weight: 2lb 2oz), sets up easily and accommodates two individuals on mummy sleeping pads with room in the vestibule for packs and boots. To make this tent as light as it is the designers at Mountain Hardwear have clearly gone over every feature in this tent and shaved grams wherever possibly. It’s this precise attention to detail that gives this tent its beauty. The space inside is at a minimum, but this was expected with an ultralight tent. I’ve slept in it with another person and had no issues. I’m used to sleeping in small Winter tents so I am accustomed to tents with an interior space of this size. Some might say it’s cramped, I’d say it’s cozy. If you want more space then be prepared for your back and shoulders to have to haul more weight uphill. Those are the tradeoffs. Some of the features that I appreciated are: The toggles on the fly attachment points: They make connecting the fly to the tent body extremely easy and the design is so simple, light and functional that I don’t know why every tent doesn’t use this method. The pole design: This tent utilizes a pole design that I hadn’t seen before. It allows the tent to be freestanding while also simplifying setup and reducing pitching time. It has two main poles that are permanently joined together via a soft rubber joint that is positioned at the apex of the tent. Reflective points on the tent: The tent utilizes quite a few reflective points so that you can spot it easily with your headlamp and also avoid tripping over the guy lines around the tent. Pros: Weight: If you aren’t familiar with Ultralight tents then picking this one up will shock you. At 2 lb. 2 oz. (0.98 kg) this is the lightest tent I’ve ever owned. My back is going to thank me! Design: It’s incredibly well designed. You can tell that every inch of this tent has been discussed and altered to have only the essential features included. I also find the aerodynamic profile of this tent appealing to the eye. Vestibule: Not only does the vestibule aid in ventilation it adds extra space outside for storing my pack and boots. Cons: Durability: The materials used in this tent are ultralight which means they need to be managed more than heavier,...
Mountain Hardwear Shifter 3 Tent Review
Bottom Line: A medium weight 3-season, 3-person tent for the budget conscious backpacker that needs a tent that is as good for car-camping at the lake, camping out during a music festival or used as a multi-day backpacking tent. All the bells and whistles are included as standard, including the footprint to protect the base of the tent and a mesh gear loft inside the tent. First Impressions and Observations: This tent weighs in at 6lb 9oz (2.96kg) but that weight is likely going to be lower depending on your needs. It comes with some extra pegs, a mesh gear loft and a tent footprint which, if you wanted to go light, could be left at home without reducing the functionality of the tent. Without these the tent would be <5lb 9oz, which, when you consider splitting the weight between 3 people would come in just under 2lbs each. Not bad for a reasonably priced tent that doesn’t scrimp on space or features! When I first pitched it I could tell that Mountain Hardwear did a lot of work to utilize the vestibule space. This tent has 2 vestibules and depending on how you “shift” (see, this is were the name Shifter comes from) the fly over the main tent body you can have either a wide open vestibule with a mesh door or a more private vestibule and a solid canopy door. I feel this incorporation of a 50/50 mix of mesh and solid canopy will also allow this tent to be used in early Spring and late Fall when the temperatures are lower. I’d definitely have no issue using it in sub-zero temperatures but then I’m crazy like that. The only concern I’d have is if this tent would hold up in strong winds as it only utilizes two crossed poles. There are extra guy line points so if strong winds were expected they could be used to add increased stability. One of my only gripes with this tent is the added shoulder vestibule. This allows for greatly increased storage space in one of the vestibules but, the shouldered area of the vestibule has two small poles inserted into it that can’t be removed, they are sewn into the fly. I’m not a tent roller, I like to stuff my tent into a stuff sack and compress it. I’ve done this with all my tents and I find it is a quicker, more space efficient way of carrying my tent. With these poles inserted into the fly I can’t compress the fly in a stuff sack. I worked around this by just stuffing everything but the section...
Canadian Wilderness Adventures: Canoe Tour
< Part 1: ATV Tour with Canadian Wilderness Adventures After getting back to Whistler and cleaning the dust off ourselves from ATV’ing we met up with our guide Gavin to go Canoe the River of Golden Dreams. We joined a group of others that were stoked to have this experience also. Truth be told we’ve been meaning to do this river for quite a while after first hearing about it years ago. We’ve just never had the equipment or knowledge to go for it. In late Summer, when the water level is pretty low, it’s common for a lot of people to just float this river in inflatable dingys and inner tubes. Even though we’d be tackling it earlier in the year I expected a similar experience. Will Lightning strike the lake? We started this adventure by getting geared up on the shores of Alta Lake. After a quick tutorial we hopped into the canoes and paddled out. Once out on the water Gavin got us to run through some drills practicing some paddling techniques to turn and control our canoe. The weather also looked to be changing for the worst so Gavin made us aware that if thunder and lightning did start we’d be ending our tour early. The prospect of being caught out in a thunderstorm definitely added to the adventurous feel of this trip. We paddled in a tight knit group, chatting amongst ourselves and getting to know each other. At the far end of the lake we began our journey down into and along the River of Golden Dreams. The Best Thing To Do in Whistler! It’s exceptionally picturesque. I now understand why this outing is considered the #1 thing to do in Whistler by locals and tourists alike. We floated by lilies, under bridges, through narrow sections were we could see grass growing along the bottom of the river through the crystal clear water. After a section of paddling along a narrow stream we entered 21-Mile Creek, a wider, faster flowing river. The flow rate was surprising at first as I wasn’t expecting it. During the Spring and early Summer snow melt the river level is higher and flowing quicker. We began to move quicker and the paddling drills we had practiced earlier at Alta Lake came into use. Not only did we need to avoid low hanging trees, sand bars and sharp bends in the river but there was also loads of people floating in the river in small, cheap, inflatable dingys. It was exciting and our guides did an excellent job of instructing us as to how to handle the upcoming challenges and...
Canadian Wilderness Adventures: ATV Tour
Recently myself and Spring had the opportunity to go on a day of adventures with “Canadian Wilderness Adventures” out of Whistler, BC. It was scheduled to be a jam packed day with ATV’ing on rugged trails in the Callaghan Valley in the morning followed by Canoeing the River of Golden Dreams in the afternoon. When asked if I had previous ATV experience I replied “yes”, but that experience was gained about 8 years ago in a field somewhere in Alberta. I was pretty overweight back then, not athletic in anyway and I basically just drove around in circles for an hour. Learning to properly handle a Quad has been on the To Do list for a while. In the future if we travel to more remote locations ATV’s might be the only way to get around. Plus, it’s serious fun! We have a secret! It’s also been a secret shame of ours that we don’t really know how to Canoe well. Canoeing is quintessentially Canadian and having now lived in Canada for 5 years myself and Spring should really know how to do it already. Spring grew up in Canada, in Alberta, so her shame runs deep, haha! We arrived in Whistler bright and early to begin our day. I was curiously nervous. I knew I’d be with a guide but I guess I always feel nervous right before I do something I’ve never done before. It’s always a guessing game to see how I will react when challenged with something new. We checked in at the Canadian Wilderness Adventures desk at the Carleton Lodge, signed our waivers and quickly headed out with Lewy, our ATV guide for the day to do the “Wild Wild West ATV Tour“. It was a quick drive to the Callaghan Valley and Lewy did an excellent job of getting us geared up and instructed to control our Quads. Let the Adventure Begin! Before we knew it our goggles were down and we were ripping along a rough gravel road. Our ATV adventure had begun! On the gravel road we had some time to get used to how the ATV’s handled. They rolled over potholes with ease and accelerated quickly, cornering well. Lewy told us to remember our past experience with Mountain Biking which really helped. The key was to always keep looking ahead and into the turns where I wanted to go, not where I wanted to avoid. Things started to get steep and technical. Eventually we started getting on to more technical trail, which got rougher and steeper. Making the conscious effort to keep my eyes up scanning ahead helped me to...
