A very large number of our friends were off to Whistler for the weekend. Lav and I decided to frolick locally. Having learned from the previous week, I picked Lavina up at 9:30am. There were no delays driving up, and we even got directed to the part of the parking lot closest to the trailhead. We snowshoed up to First Pump; it was surprisingly uneffortful, especially given how out of breath I was just getting to Dinky Peak the week before.
A dam! |
Fork to Dinky Peak |
Snowy |
Steep terrain |
Summit |
Heed the warning, Lavina! |
Stanley Park, UBC |
Fromme, Grouse |
Lavina |
Snow sliding |
View from beside Brockton Point |
Looking south east |
Lav |
Snowy slope |
This is a panorama from First Pump.
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Lav brought bagel sandwiches for lunch, and we ate atop First Pump. It got pretty chilly with the cold wind, but she also had a thermos of hot chocolate to warm us up a bit.
Lav on First Pump |
Balcarra, SFU, Burnaby |
Frozen Platypus tube |
I was a bit skeptical at first, but Lavina demonstrated that it was quite safe to slide down some rather steep slopes on her butt. The copius quantities of fresh powder provided a very soft cloud of snow on which to land comfortably. (The Whistler crew were not as lucky as there was no fresh snowfall there at all.) We slid down every slope we could find, including some sheer verticals.
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We passed an avalanche search and rescue course on our way back. Nearby, a crew had groomed a snowboard run that led to a large ramp. They were taking turns dropping (after clearly communicating with each other to ensure the run was clear), catching big air, and repairing the run.
Avalanche course, snowboarders |
Boarder in the air |
You know Lav, there are these things you can get to strap onto your feet so that you don't sink into the snow.
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Afternoon sun over Vancouver |
Wheeeee |
Rice puffs |
We stopped in Crystal Mall for some fresh made chicken and chive wontons on the way back to Lav's. Yum yum!
McDull |