Vantage Climbing Accident

Here are a few photos of the accident and Vantage this last weekend.  It looks like the person who was involved is going to be ok, but probably has quite a bit of recovery ahead of him.  Injuries included a broken hip and ribs.  The accident was most likely caused by the failure of a piece of gear.  I inspected and photographed the gear that broke and also shot photos of the accident location, but have refrained from posting them for now.  Cheers to the rescue folks out there, and everyone else who was willing to help out.  Best wishes for a speedy recovery to the victim.

Snowy Owls

After hearing all the reports of Snowy Owls wintering much further south that usual, I decided it was time to go find some.  Working on some good advice from a friend who saw some last weekend, I drove to see what I could find.  The weather was less than perfect with strong winds and heavy rain, but it made for good photos.

Avalanche Course at Mt. Baker.

I just completed two field days with an AAI avalanche course in the Mt. Baker back country. Overall we had a great course despite some pretty challenging weather. We did get a few turns in down Swift Creek which always makes for a great day. Here are a few photos...

Tofino, BC

We just got back from a trip to Tofino,  British Columbia, where we spent the week between Christmas and New Years day.  Most of the time was spent relaxing, and for me that means at least some time shooting photos.

The first few days were exceptionally rainy an windy.  The sheet of paper taped to the door of the lodge upon our arrival read

"Vancouver Island's Pacific Rim National Park are warning visitors about massive waves, gale force winds and hazardous surf conditions this holiday season."

Prefect for me who does not really enjoy the warm and sunny beaches of the world.  The forecast turned out to be fairly accurate...

Chesterman Beach in a driving rain storm.

With the amount of time I spend in the mountains, I get the chance to see a lot of very interesting cloud formations.  My early morning walk to watch the sunrise from the beach produced one of the more interesting cloud photos I have ever shot.

What would a trip be without some bird photos.

Not a good photo, but apparently eagles enjoy seagull snacks.

Fox Sparrow

Yet another bad photo of an oyster catcher.  I will get a good photo one day.

Driftwood on the beach.

What would a family trip be without some family photos.

The last night of the trip I shot a couple black and whites.

AIARE Avalanche 1 Course with American Alpine Institute.

I just got done teaching my third AIARE Avalanche 1 course of the season.  these courses have one classroom day in Bellingham followed by two days in the Mt. Baker ski area backcountry.  For the most part the weather has been pretty cooperative, and despite the low snow pack, we have managed to get in a few good turns.

Route finding in the backcountry.

Terrain trap.

Navigation in poor weather.

Skinning uphill

Rimmed trees.

Rimed trees at Herman saddle

Not the best skinning conditions.

The weather for this last class was forecast to be awful (mid 30's and raining).  Saturday turned out pretty nice.  Sunday had such a bad forecast I made the decision to not take my camera out.  Turns out it was a pretty nice day also.  All these photos are from near Artist Point on Saturday.  

Skinning toward Artist Point.

Erin's Group on the ridge getting ready to head down.

Erin, showing us how its done.

Kurt

Nice turn!

Skiing off Artist Point.