Walking in the Rockies

A grouse's egg unfortunately cold.

Wilma and the peaks of Peter Lougheed.


Mount Allan and Collembola


Crocuses galore up there and shooting stars.

French Robertson Circuit

Chris all set for an adventure.

Not many bridges left at this time of May.

Father and son slog upward in the sun.


Grand country

Marg near the top of the French Glacier



Lunch time - weather's changed.


Clive with feet problems on the Haig Glacier

Cliffton and I at the top of the Col - it's downhill from here.

Mother's Day in the Bow Valley

Clive, Shona and I went walking in BowValley Provincial Park. Chris is up on the Freshfields Glacier in BC and we have no idea when he will show up. So we had breakfast at a local resturant and then headed to the wilderness to photograph signs of spring. And then come and each is to decide which is our best two photos and print them out. I thought if I put them on my blog I will be able to decide which two I like best. So here is Shona in the bush.

Mountain Reflections
Focused concentration.
Prarie Crocus with bug that I didn't even see until I got home! That tells you how bad my eyes are!

Brand new gooseberry leaves
Newly emerging pussy willows

Slip Sliding Away

Winter is slowly slip sliding away to spring. Ski season is almost finished. Shona's ski racing careerr has officially been retired - by her choice.

Time for different activities and new directions. Hiking season is back Clive is getting fit for an 8 week light weight walking trip across Ellesmere Island.

Shona has purchased a 1984 Westfalia voltswagon and after a short trip to Shark Mountain is determined to drive it to Alaska and then argentina.

After a week of house repairs in Revelstoke, Chris is up on the Freshfield back country sking and filming. He is coming here next week.

I am keeping the home fires burning and re-visioning my memoir! We are a family with big dreams.



A stunning spring morning at Lake Minnewanka.


This is Mount Inglismaldie nearly 10,000 feet.


What a handsome couple standing up on Aylmer Lookout.



We walked from away down at the end of the lake and guess what we have to walk back. Round trip 22 km. A pretty good get fit trip for Clive carrying about 30 pounds.



That's Mount Alymer in the background behind the windswept trees.



Looking north the lake is still frozen. And we are lucky to have all this in our backyard.

My creativity flower

The large salmon flowers of my Amaryllis have a short shelf life. Their beauty held in transient fragility.

It last flowered three years ago around Christmas and filled my life with its delicate perfection for two weeks then faded and withered. Carefully I repotted, watered, and kept it in the light until joy of joys last month I saw the green bulbous tips of not one, but three new buds appear, just like magic. Again the loveliness of the flowers was breathtaking.

Once more the flowers discoloured and shrunk, dictated by the plants inner rhythms. The lush green leaves produced nutrients and the food it needed. In time these too will wilt and fade. The bulb will sit in its ceramic pot for a few months as if dead. In time I anticipate the miracle of its flowering will be repeated.



Seasonal cycles, blooming and dying like the monthly cycles of the moon are so natural yet not what I expect for my creativity. I want my creativity to bloom and dazzle all year round. My weekly, monthly and yearly cycles demand to be honoured. The roots of my writing life ask for patience with the dull times when nothing much seems to happen and tell me the darkness is necessary for gestation. I have learned, my inner artist needs to be tenderly nurtured with friendship, encouragement, stimulation, and laughter. My creative dream will blossom in its own time.

Backcountry ski trip to Peyto Hut on Sunday 28th March

South and North Rhonda rise above the Peyto Glacier. The only time in two days that they were visible.

After a fast icy ski down from the car park to the Lake it was time to put on skins.

The route up to the hut took us up that knife edge moraine and onto the shoulder. On the shoulder we were battered by the wind and frequently had to knee down to avoid being blown back to the lake or worse. The visiblity had totally socked in by the time we reached the glacier.

Lunch in the trees before we were hammered by the wind and blowing snow

One of our objectives Mount Baker but not this weekend.

Another party on the glacier below the hut.

Sucker hole?

Horizontal snowflakes at the hut. Honestly this looks quite pleasant but believe me the wind shrieked around the hut most of our stay there. The hut was full with 16 others. The weather had not improved by Monday so we decided to retreat to the cars. After crossing the lake in a complete white out, we found lots of fresh POWDER on the Icefields Parkway. Oh well better safe than sorry as my old mother always said!

Spectacular Saturday at Canada Olympic Park

Alexander Bilodeau, Canada's first Olympic Gold medalist on home soil focuses at the start of the Aerial National Finals at COP. I was so close I could have touched him. Where was security?

Skier Cross heats with Daniel Poleschuk in the lead. What a roller coaster!