This video has amazing footage from inside an avalanche, and shows how an airbag and avalung can save lives. It also shows to not underestimate the power of avalanches…
Winter
These skates are the cat’s meow for going out onto natural ice. They consists of a skate blade with a skate-ski binding. Click in your skate-ski or classic ski boots and off you go. These are bar-none the most comfortable skates I have ever used, because the boots are so comfy, and provide lots of support. The blades are curved up at the front so they handle bumpy ice and snow better than regular speedskates. You can supposedly skate through several inches of snow.
Earlier this month Dr. Bill Pruitt passed away. He was called the father of North American boreal ecology, and one of the world’s leading experts on snow ecology. I had the fortune to work at his Taiga Biological Station near Wallace Lake, Manitoba during a winter, helping his student Jim Schaefer track woodland caribou.
When people think of winter on the west coast, they think skiing at Whistler, and possibly at the three local mountains. But what about snowshoeing on Vancouver’s north shore? This sport is gaining popularity, as it is a perfect family sport, costs relatively little, requires little or no training, and is a great workout. Mt. Seymour and Cypress both rent snowshoes.