Digging Through the Snow

There's been a lot of sunny days with blue skies along with tons of snow up at Paradise Meadows & Forbidden Plateau lately.

Here's what the Wilderness Centre at the trailhead to Strathcona Park looked like a couple of days ago!

Thanks to Kate for the photo!

The building is being used on weekends by Island Alpine Guides as a base for their popular Avalanche Skills Training courses.  Digging through the snow to access the building must be good practice for the course!

The building is available to other interested groups as well, check out the facilities here.

Strathcona Centennial Presentation

A great presentation last night  by Phil Stone on the Strathcona Centennial Expedition, and a great turnout by the community for the event to benefit the work of the Strathcona Wilderness Institute, host of the event.

The Discovery Expedition of 1910 and the Centennial Expedition of 2010 which re-traced the route were brought to vivid life,  by means of historic photos & contemporary video; as well as readings from the diaries of the past & the anecdotes of the present participants.

If you missed the presentation in Courtenay there are still chances to see it on Vancouver Island: see the schedule here. You'll wish you had been along on the Expedition! and it will inspire you to visit Strathcona Park (if you haven't already) : BC's first & oldest Provincial Park.  Community support is needed more than ever as BC Parks reach their Centennial year.

Adventurers Ahoy!

Calling all outdoor explorers & armchair adventurers! Please join the Strathcona Wilderness Institute for a presentation of the ‘Strathcona Centennial Expedition’ on Sat. Feb. 19 at 7 pm at the Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College, Ryan Rd, Courtenay. In the summer of 2010 this Expedition retraced the historic journey of a century earlier that resulted in the creation of Strathcona Park as the first BC Provincial Park. Join Philip Stone as he tells the story with slides and a documentary video.

Admission is $10 with proceeds going to support the work of the Strathcona Wilderness Institute.

Events and celebrations are planned throughout British Columbia in 2011 to mark a century of provincial Parks. The Comox Valley is an important gateway to Strathcona Park, the oldest Provincial Park in BC.

Student Snowshoe

Looks like the Comox District Mountaineering Club had an awesome snowshoe outing with a group of high school students on the weekend.
Paradise Meadows & the Forbidden Plateau is a winter wonderland! The snow base seems to be holding steady at about 500 cm (16').

Snowshoe Treks

Snowshoeing continues on the Forbidden Plateau & Paradise Meadows with the Comox District Mountaineering Club.  A snowshoe trek for students is being organized for Feb. 13.