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,...
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...
Instameet at the Sea to Sky Gondola
I am getting very excited, in less than two weeks I’ll be hosting my first Instameet. There are already some fantastic folks from Instagram signed up ready to have fun on the trails. Everyone is welcome! Come hit the trails with us, have some laughs and take some photos along the way. If you want to join in the fun please make sure to email me at [email protected] so that I can make sure to keep in touch and update everyone on possible changes. I am also stoked to announce that the Instameet is being supported by Hammer Nutrtion Canada, Ra Energy, Arc’teryx and the Sea to Sky Gondola!! Come hang out! When: 9:00am May 2, 2026 (rain or shine) Where: Sea to Sky Gondola, Squamish, BC (Basecamp). We will be hiking the Sea to Summit trail to the lodge at the top to take in the views. Don’t forget to bring your $10 download fee for the Gondola ride down. Why: To spend time on the beautiful local trails and have some fun! How: Run, Hike, Skip….it doesn’t matter, let’s all get moving together on the trails! Who: Everyone is welcome! Special Info: The Sea to Sky Gondola has offered a bag drop for our group, so bring a change of clothes and they will deliver it to the top for you! Once at the top we will be able to enjoy a complimentary beverage from the cafe in the lodge or on the balcony and take in the views over the Howe Sound. See you all out...
The Cap Crusher Race Report
Recently we ran in and completed a trail race called the “Cap Crusher“, the first running event of the year in the Coast Mountain Trail Series. This would also be our personal first race of the year and for Leigh likely his 5th total time running this year. It starts and ends in Capilano Regional Park, right near the immense Cleveland Dam. It’s name is very appropriate; “Cap” for Capilano and “Crusher” for the fact that this course will crush your quads. It climbs ~800m’s (2600ft) over a short 13km’s. There is an 8km variant to the course (named the toughest 8k in Canada) but we both chose to run the longer distance. Here is our individual experiences with this race: Leigh: So I’ve raced very little in the past. The Cap Crusher would be my 4th time running in any sort of organized race, ever. But, in 2015 I’d like to increase my base running fitness. Off the couch I’d like to be able to do +30km trail runs in the mountains easily. To help motivate myself this year I’ve signed up to run a bunch of races. So, we arrived at the starting line for the Cap Crusher early and picked up our bib numbers. There was a slight chill in the air coming across Capilano lake. In the distance I could see the snow capped summits of the Lions. Immediately we started recognizing faces and saying hello to the people we knew. The energy in the crowd waiting to start running was palpable. Gary Robbins, the Race Director, gave his speech about the course and then the countdown began. If you’ve raced before you likely know the energy in the crowd at this point, but if you haven’t I can only explain it this The energy is electric. It’s almost like you can feel everyones heart-rates start to increase as the countdown reaches zero. The main challenge at this point is controlling the urge to just sprint when you hear them shout “Go!”. Inevitably, there’s always a few in the pack that sprint out ahead, riding a wave of stoke that they hope will carry them to the finish line. Within 500m’s these early starters have usually slowed right down and begin to get passed. For myself, I tried to maintain a slow starting pace, but I knew I didn’t want to get caught up in the back 70% which would choke up and stall as the course narrowed to uphill, single-track trails. I ran harder at first to stay with the front pack until everyone started spreading out and then settled in to a slower...
