The Year in Photos

As we put the wraps on 2019, I cobbled together a set of photos that sums up my previous 365. Similar to the year before, I spent almost all of my non-work hours chasing summits in the mountains and adventures in foreign countries. I even managed to top my 2018 total elevation gained in the mountains with a new personal best of 88,563 ft. Who needs leg day, when you have mountains for your gym.

A few highlights of my 2019 include:

-Getting Netflix (this is how unexciting my life is, when this is a highlight)
-Scratching 6 more countries off the list
-Ascending 25 peaks in the Canadian Rockies
-Getting a YYC craft brewery to give me free beer just for hiking
-Mentoring another cohort of the Urban Exposure Project for United Way
-Lugging a Calgary craft beer over 10,000km, to drink it atop a mountain in Tajikistan
-Traversing a glacier in Kyrgyzstan sans guide, with minimal gear or training (dumb!)
-Bribing a police officer in Uzbekistan (for novelty)
-Giving myself diabetes from 48 hours of eating & drinking to excess in Vancouver

If there's two things I could wish for you all in the coming year, they'd be:

1) May you chase those adventures that set your soul on fire.
2) May you focus on the little things that make your world a little bit better, rather than all the larger negatives which you have no influence over anyways.

Wishing you and yours all the best in 2020!!



Previous annual mosaics: 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009

Trip Report - Little Lougheed

Before heading out to trek up Little Lougheed yesterday, we grabbed breakfast from McDonalds in the morning. Our order number was 911, which didn't entirely feel auspicious for a mountain adventure. Nothing bad happened to us, but we would encounter a couple of dudes on the slick road back home who had just rolled their truck into a copse of trees, and had to call 911 for help. They were incredibly fortunate to escape with no major injuries. Yet right after confirming that they didn't need any further help from us, we would continue speeding down the road because apparently we don't learn so good. :\

The photos make this look like a freezing ass day in Siberia, but in fact the outing was super mild and pleasant.






Captain!




She was mildly steep near the top.




Summit Beers and Fireball.








The steep descent.


Shenanigans.






Completely candid photo of Andre pondering life. Totally not posed.




Post hike beers at Sheepdog Brewing in Canmore.


Hot Gin & Tonic from Wildlife Distillery.


Drift Away Tiki Cocktail: Gin, Rum, Lime, Pineapple, Grapefruit, Coconut, Yogurt, Orgeat, Bitters.

Dear Stomach: I'm Sorry (Vancouver Edition)

In this latest edition of Dear Stomach: I'm Sorry, I'd like to start with a conversation from last week, which went like this... My friends: "Hey, why are you going to Vancouver?" Me: "To DRINK ALL THE BEERS and EAT ALL THE FOODS."

Trip report: Mission Accomplished! In just over two days, I consumed an amount of calories that most people would consider excessive, stupid, or possibly even unholy. My liver and stomach are gonna need a vacation for the next few days.

Final tally: 54 hours on the ground, five breweries, a pourhouse, an oyster bar, a ramen joint, a dessert house, a Lebanese brunch spot, a sushi joint, a Hong Kong style noodle house, two hotel lounge breakfasts, and a cheese tart cafe. Sometimes, my stomach impresses even me.

The following photos may induce hunger, or possibly horror. :)


Beer flight from House of Funk Brewing.


Beer flight from Green Leaf Brewing.


Tokyo Iced Milk Tea in a ziploc bag.


Mazesoba. So delicious.


Beers from Beere Brewing Co.




Beer from House of Funk Brewing.




Beer flight from Brassneck Brewing.


Pint from Chewies Oyster Bar.


Happy Hour east and west coast oysters.


Beers from Pourhouse.


Scotch Eggs.


Cocktail to cap off the first 12 hours.


Beer for brunch.


Turkish tea.


Lebanese brunch at JamJar.




Beer flight at Brewhall.






Beer with sushi dinner at Minami.


Aburi sushi.






Duo of uni from Japan and BC.


About the only healthy thing I ate this weekend.


Japanese style cheese tarts.

Trip Report - Mt. Hector, South Ridge

I'd been a bit of a lazy potato since getting back from the 'Stans a month ago, so it felt good to get out to the mountains this past weekend. We hit the Icefields Parkway for a snowshoe adventure up the south ridge of Mt. Hector. Unfortunately, on the way up, every step was a punishing bit of trailbreaking, as your snowshoes acted like shovels clearing a foot deep driveway. We gained about 550m of elevation before giving up at a high point, exhausted, and still a bit away from the summit. And on the way down, it was just puking snow on us, while I fell or tumbled down slopes more times than I could count. But hey, we didn't die in an avalanche, so there's that, right?