North Face of the Eiger

Ok. I could not resist posting this photo that Sara took of me approaching the North Face of the Eiger. A couple more centimeters and I would be standing on top.

Skiing at Wildhorse Catskiing

The winter was a little late in coming and our first day of catskiing was New Years Day 2009. We had some awesome early season turns and then a short avalanche cycle where we closed down for two days. There were 6" glide cracks in the trees where avalanches had tried to initiate but lacked the momentum to continue. Every year is a little different. We are nearing the end of dry spell now and we finished skiing the steeper lines on Mustang Bowl, Mustang Face and Wildhorse Peak.

Cassis, France

On our return to the airport in Nice we spent two nights in Cassis. Sara took about 1000 pictures. We strolled around and walked out of town along the rocky bluffs and inlets. It was a great way to finish another awesome visit to France.

Avignon

When in France we always stay at the Chateau Rainford. This picture is not it, although Avignon is under an hour away from the tiny little village of St. Romain en Viennois where Sara's parents have a small and rustic place. We explore the little village markets, historical places, vineyards and the mountain roads like Mt Ventoux which is one of the classic climbs of the Tour de France.

Zermatt - Scott and Alex

Sara has some good friends who operate a small hotel in Ausserberg, Switzerland just around the corner from Zermatt. It is a beautiful place with great hiking in the mountains above the village. We took a quick visit to Zermatt although a little while after this photo was tekan it started pouring rain. We left the next day and over the next couple of days it snowed heavily for the start of an epic winter season in the European Alps.

Grindelwald - Eiger

When in Switzerland visit Grindelwald. I remember reading The White Spider and a host of the other early mountaineering books about climbing the North Face of the Eiger. It was pretty amazing to finally see this mountain. We strolled around pleasantly in beautiful Fall conditions chasing chamoix and taking photographs.

Cinqua Terra

Sara and I spent a day hiking the Cinqua Terra coastline of Italy. Needless to say it was incredible. We were quite surprised by the number of people hiking. What a contrast from hiking in the backcountry of British Columbia. The train stops in every

town along the coast so you just keep hiking and easting and drinking and sleeping and photographing.

Swiss Alps

In the Fall my parents met Sara and I in Italy for a car tour of Southern Europe. We spent two weeks travelling through Italy, Switzerland and Provence, France. We were travelling through thick fog in the valley and started up this valley ( I think it's near Andermatt ) and popped out of the clouds into a glorious day.