Perhaps I'm being unfair. How about "British Columbians"?  "Vancouverites"? Anyway – you guys!  If you have a sales tax that nearly everyone has to pay, on nearly everything, could you make an effort to show it somewhere on the price tag? Why not stop saying "$4.99!" when with tax it's going to cost me $5.21? … Continue reading →

I've spent nearly the last week with the most awful cold, keeping me indoors (boo!) – so I thought I'd take the chance to update something we did a little while ago.   Lynn Canyon, British Columbia Lynn Valley is a temperate rainforest park covering over 600 acres, approximately one hour north of Vancouver city … Continue reading →

Last year in the Alps, I went snowshoeing with the wonderful Pip (www.pipofthealps.com); it gave me a chance to see the alpine world at slightly slower speed, and appreciate the landscape and wildlife without simply rushing past.  I was hooked – I came home and started looking at snowshoes on the internet, plotting when I … Continue reading →

I've recently had my first taste of Canadian Olympic officiousness.  I say Canadian – I'm assuming the culprit was Canadian, although the Olympic uniform hides many nationalities. I went to cross a road while the red hand was showing.  This is the symbol that tells me not to cross, in case I get run over. … Continue reading →

Dave took quite a few videos of us on the slopes, while he boarded and I skied.  In return, I stood really still and worried about him hurting himself when he went into the terrain park. We went over the small jumps (believe me, they still feel like an achievement) and then, on the last … Continue reading →

Whistler's skiing experience is a bit different for a European; for a start, the paucity of cafes on the hill means that opportunities to start the apres ski early are a bit limited (and there is something of an unwritten rule to not get too stuck into the lunchtime beers, particularly if you're planning on … Continue reading →

During our last day in Whistler, we were lucky enough to experience two of the undoubted highlights of the area.  We'd spent the previous days exploring the two mountains of Whistler and Blackcomb, and had made the most of the "Fresh Tracks" breakfast experience the previous day (of which more later).  On our final day, … Continue reading →

Back in the immediate aftermath of the New Year, Britain was gripped by a "big freeze", which equated to a number of inches of snow on the areas of the UK easily accessible by the media.  Scotland, particularly in the Borders, had a number of feet of snow, but seemed strangely to be able to … Continue reading →

During the space between Boxing Day and New Year, we travelled up to visit Dave's family, and I took the opportunity to check out Rock City, the climbing gym in Hull.  The converted industrial building houses a great combination of top-roping, lead climbs and even a trad wall (although I didn't have a chance to … Continue reading →

During the Christmas break, Dave, Mum and I decided to head up to Sherwood Forest; slightly shamefully, I've lived in Nottingham over seven years, and yet I've never been to the most famous tourist site in the area.  The weather cooperated and we had a really nice crunchy, snowy walk up to the Major Oak, … Continue reading →