The flood

Calgary is in rough shape this week.  It rained about 250 mm. in the foothills over 36 hours last Wednesday and Thursday and then the rivers raged.  All of them.  

I don't want to sensationalize it - it's a significant natural disaster that has had major impacts on people's lives and will take years to clean up, and that's no fun.  So just some notes and one unhappy story: 

Canmore got hit first.  Cougar Creek, usually a trickle, cut through the town, overflowing and eroding its banks, and then taking out houses, roads, and bridges.  The Elbow and Sheep Rivers, classic foothills creek runs, erupted.  They took out their own access roads and then the towns below.  On Thursday, sitting at my cubicle at work, I did not work.  I read the news from upstream and I knew it was coming.  

By the end of the workday, the water had started to make its way into the city.  100,000 people were evacuated.  I live in an old building, about 50 m from the confluence of the two rivers through the city.  It was evacuated and they shut off the power and gas.  I emptied out my basement, parked my car up the hill, filled the sinks with water, and stayed the first night.  

In the morning, the river was higher than it's ever been - at least since they started measuring - but the building and Inglewood were still dry.  Other areas were less fortunate.  All the bridges were closed, some underwater.  Many neighborhoods along the Bow and Elbow had flooded badly.  The Elbow is usually 20 m wide and it was now more than a km wide.  The stadium had water 14 rows deep.  Islands in the Bow had vanished, including a huge park downtown and the one the zoo is on.  Downtown was under water.  The city was a mess and at an standstill.  

On Saturday, the situation had stabilized.  The rivers were still near their peak, but they were slowly coming down.  

I put a call out and said I was willing to go into the flooded areas in my boat to retrieve anything vital.  A few people called and asked if I could get some cats out.  The cats were in Erlton, now in the middle of the river, in a flooded house.  But I thought I've give it a shot.  

I met Sandra at the riverbank and got her keys.  She described where her house was and gave me the address.  By my understanding, I had to go across the river from where we were.  

I paddled through a neighborhood, then a big park, and eventually reached the main current.  There was a bridge  - 25th Ave. - below and at water level, with a lot of debris - cars, appliances, fences, and roofs - piling into it.  Most of the water was running off the bridge and to the right into a neighborhood.  The other side of the river had a higher bank and was calmer, so I crossed above the bridge.  I had to get out on the other side to go over a concrete barricade.  On the other side of the barricade, it was flooded but not really moving.  There were a lot of fences and other debris between the buildings, and it didn't seem passable by boat.  But I was close to where I thought the house was, so I decided just to swim there.  When I got to the right block, there were a few people stuck - but doing fine - on their balconies, so I asked for directions.  I was on the wrong side of the river.  So I swam back to the barricade, got back in my boat, and ferried across again.  

Now I needed to head downstream, but on the other side of the 25th Ave. bridge.  The river was ripping through here, real rapids with cars, fences, and houses making features, and there was a lot of debris in the current.  I picked my way through it carefully and a block downstream it opened up.  I was on the right street!  So I paddled to the address and got out.  

The main floor of the house was a meter above the water level, so it was easy to get in.  I found one of the cats - Bo - right away.  Bo was calm.  I picked him up and put him in my backpack with nary a complaint.  The other cat - Milo - was upstairs and very upset.  He was bounding from surface to surface, knocking things over, running around at warp speed, and clearly disturbed.

I cornered and caught him the first time 10 minutes later.  As I took him down the stairs, he lunged at my face and cut it.  I dropped him.  I caught him again a few minutes later and this time held him far away.  Again, he lunged, and this time bit me in the hand.  I dropped him again.  I got a sheet and the next time I cornered him, I threw the sheet at him, pinned him down, and wrapped him up.  I put the bundle in my backpack, then pulled out the sheet.  Mission accomplished, so I thought.

I was a little worried about having cats in a backpack, but they calmed down almost right away.  As I paddled back, I checked on them every minute or two and they seemed fine.  When I got to the bank, I opened the top of the bag so they could get more air and walked back to the cars.

Sandra went in her car with the backpack to let the cats out.  Much to her and my dismay, Milo was dead.  I think he probably had a heart attack.  He was stressed from the start and I don't think I made him any more comfortable.  RIP Milo.  Bo was fine and went to hide under a car seat.  

Since, I've spent most of my time teared out drywall and carpet in basements and on main floors of houses swamped by the flood.  The clean-up is going surprisingly fast - I would say most houses are past the first clean-up phase of getting everything wet out - and there were thousands of houses where this needed to happen and fast.  The rebuild phase will take months, if not years, but can proceed at a more measured pace.

In the meantime, access to many of the parts of the parks and K-country is cut off.  Hwy 40, into the Kananaskis drainage, has 40 washed-out sections.  The bridge into the Elbow drainage, home to a great creeking run and many of our best mountain bike trails, is completely gone.  Both whitewater 'parks' - the Kananaskis and Harvie Passage - are severely damaged and will take a long time to put back together.

Some pictures:

 (The Bow and the East Village)

 (The Elbow River, cutting the elbows)

 (Cougar Creek in Canmore and the Trans-Canada Hwy)

 (Livingston Place, home to Mercer)

 (A K-country bridge)

(The south LRT line)

Making the most of it

Big week last week.  

I went into Vancouver to work for a few days after the Elk / Vedder / Cheam trio.  I broke up long days at the office with morning runs around Stanley Park.  On Thursday night, I hit the Grouse Grind with a colleague.  

Friday morning, Connor and I headed out to Chilliwack to organize for RedBull Divide and Conquer and put in a quick Den lap on Vedder.  Vedder is so good.  I just can't get enough.  Fast, smooth, steep, and lush.

(Toby, rolling it)

(Connor on one of many, many stunts)

We headed back in Van in the afternoon, after picking up the Dudeman car and some team kit.  

The RedBull race was on Saturday.  We got off to a wicked start.  Joren had a stellar run and put us in front by 5 minutes over Ed McCarthy and Mike Simpson, the two runners on our radar.  

(Joren, pulling through for the Dudemen)

Ricky started off well and had the lead up to 11 minutes through the first descent.

But he crashed at the bottom.  He managed to get through the next climb, but couldn't get through the next descent.  He walked out and into an ambulance, and spent the rest of the afternoon in the hospital.

I knew he was in trouble when he was only a few minutes slower than expected.  If there is one thing Ricky is not, it's slow.  After Connor's team came through the bike - paddle transition, our race was over.  I gave Connor a few minute head start, then busted my balls to catch him.  I got pretty close!  And he didn't know we were DNF, so he busted his balls too.

(Dave, Connor, and Mike - dudemen on the day)

With two of the top teams out - Stephen Matthews crashed and ended his day at the hospital too - North Shore RCMP (Dave Vunic, Connor, and Mike Simpson) bested everyone else easily and walked away with the glory and the cash.    

(Win or hospital)

Then it was off to tend to this dudeman.  He was hurting, with a dislocated bone in his hand.  He'll be OK, but out for a while.  

You win some and you lose some.  We went for it and that's how to do it.  And it's the how that counts, if you ask me.

With some help from RedBull, we got a lot of press in the weeks leading up to the race and some good exposure for our partners - Mt. Waddington's Outdoors and the Clearbrook Coffee Company.  These are good guys doing good stuff.  Patronize them.  Here are some links - 

http://globalnews.ca/video/596510/red-bull-kayaking

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Calgary+kayaker+returns+Vancouver+defend+Bull+Divide+Conquer/8491137/story.html

http://globalnews.ca/news/626251/teams-of-runners-bikers-and-kayakers-compete-in-annual-red-bull-divide-and-conquer-endurance-race/

http://www.redbull.ca/cs/Satellite/en_CA/Article/TEAM-“NORTH-VANCOUVER-RCMP”-CROWNED-RED-BULL-021243350181005

http://www.redbull.ca/cs/Satellite/en_CA/Video/Red-Bull-Divide-and-Conquer-Action-Clip-021243350941623

http://www.theprogress.com/sports/210880871.html

I got another Den lap in before making the big drive back on Sunday.  

A big weekend in Chilliwack

Ricky and I both spent a lot of our racing careers in Chilliwack.  It's a great training venue for both mountain bike and slalom racing, but other opportunities abound.  For my part, I didn't quite realize to what extent until I 'retired' and pursued a more diverse set of interests.  I was in Chilliwack again this weekend, the river was at a great water level, and I didn't go paddling. 

After an all-nighter in the car, I arrived on Saturday morning and needed to stretch my legs out and get some fresh air.  So I drove up to Elk Mt. and ran up it.   35 minutes and you're here, with big views of the Fraser Valley.

(Elk Mountain)

Then we got down to business.  

We're racing RedBull's Divide and Conquer next weekend.  This year, we've teamed up with Joren Titus, a man not bound by gravity - this dude can run uphill - and we aim to repeat.  Last year's race was super fun, with three hard legs and a very strong field.  This year will be no different - we're going head-to-head with lots of old friends and sparring partners.

Anyway, we're working with Mt. Waddington's Outdoors and Clearbrook Coffee Company this year, helping to promote their Fraser Valley businesses.  So we have a team car.

We painted and stickered it up on Saturday afternoon and put on a barbecue for the whole crew.

Sunday morning brought the Vedder Mountain Super-D race for Ricky and the same ride for Connor, Melanie, and I.  Vedder has some of the best mountain bike trails in the world and they were in incredible shape.  So many bridges, stunts, and bermed corners.  Places to open up and places to hang on for dear life.  From the high trail, The Den, you can stretch the downhill out for 20 minutes!  

(Race start)

There were over 100 racers.  I think that's the FVMBA's best turn-out ever.  Ricky broke his bike about half-way down and coasted to 8th place, less than a minute off the pace.    

(Ricky, sending it)

Straight after the race, it was back in the car and off to ski Mt. Cheam.  

The dudeman car was packed to the gills, with Ricky, Nathan, Melanie, Connor, Jon, and I, and Max the dog making the trip.  Nevertheless, with a little pushing, tailpipe collateral damage, and some strategic rock placements, we got it all the way to the snowline.  

(Oops)

With just a few km to the base of the mountain, we made quick progress and were up to the saddle in a few hours.  It was late and the weather wasn't so great - we were socked in a few times on the climb - but the snow was, so we turned it around and got in some good turns on the way down.

(A man and his dog)

(Nathan Etsell, Ricky, Connor, Melanie, and Max take in the view of Lady Peak and Jones Lake)

 (Connor, hucking it out of a natural booter)

 All in all, about as good as weekends get.  And all right in the backyard.

Dudeman, where's my car? continued

A few months ago, we wrote about the ultimate Dudemobile.  Since, several new candidates have emerged:  

(The Legomobile.)

Compact, fuel-efficient, with excellent feel for the road, the Legomobile speaks for itself.

(Mel's Hotdog)

The advantage of Mel's Hotdog is obvious - it has the highest front-end crash safety rating of any car ever.   

(The Popemobile.)

If the pope had died, I might have thought twice before making fun of him.  But he retired.  And the new pope is too humble for this kind of car.  It's perfect for the Dudeman on display.  

(Find your path.)

This Pathfinder probably crashed Kijiji.  Any Pathfinder is a solid choice; this one, as described, is perfect.

(Tried and true.)

Miraculously, this 1947 Toyota Tercel 4x4 has withstood the test of time.  It requires no muffler, it's a beauty, and it easily goes 70 kph.

(A poor imitation of Mel's Hotdog.)

Did you know that some cars have aerodynamics that rival those of golfballs?  It's true.  Just leave any car out in the hail.  

What's the right car for the dudeman?  You decide.

free polls

The Waddington Hut trip

This past weekend, we went into the Waddington Hut in the Birkenhead area north of Pemberton.  

Ricky has the full report on rickyfederau.blogspot.com already.  

The hut was busy and another group wrote a trip report too.  They neglected to mention the incident and so I did.  They took it down, so here it is again.  

"You didn’t tell us about Sunday night, Louie.  Please, allow me.

To start, the Waddington Hut has a voluntary registration system.  There were 14 people registered to stay last weekend and around 30 at the hut.  If you plan to go, register here - http://www.ubc-voc.com/wiki/VOC_hut_registration.  You don’t have to, but you should.  It helps everyone to plan and know what to expect. 

On Sunday night, 29 of us listened to Kyle Miller drone on and on and on about himself as we tried to go to sleep.  Never before have I met such an obnoxious, self-absorbed jackass in the backcountry.  (Go to the hill!  You’ll fit right in.)  The quintessential FIGJAM (Fuck, I’m good.  Just ask me), a BIG DEAL.  He’s got a website:

“The “Where is Kyle Miller??” Project is a backcountry initiative dedicated to the exploration of new lines and dramatic descents in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.”

You call it a project, an initiative.  I call it a weekend.  Whatever.  I doubt this is the first time Kyle has referred to himself in the third person. 

Anyways, eventually even Kyle gets tired of listening to himself talk and we all go to sleep.   For an hour.

Then Louie gets sick.  He throws up.  On himself, on a few other people.  He looks like he’s going to do it again and he doesn’t move.  Someone says ‘Dude, you gotta get out of here’ and he wanders downstairs, leaving behind a loft packed tight with groggy skiers and a big mess.  It’s mostly box wine.

Most of Louie’s party disowns him, since they ‘all only met a few days ago’.  And they start making excuses - like ‘Well, he skied all day’.  Um, like we didn’t.  That’s kind of what people go to huts for.  We just didn’t get drunk on box wine.  Louie doesn’t come back upstairs.  Those puked on start cleaning themselves up, until KYLE TO THE RESCUE!  To be sure, Kyle helps, but he won’t stop fucking talking about how great he is for helping while he’s helping.  He also memorably says ‘Look, we’ve all been here before’.   We have?  Nope.  I guess that’s how the pros are different from the everyman.  Eventually, someone asks him to shut up and just go back to bed. 

Louie won’t talk to anyone the next morning.  No clean up.  No apology.  He just pretends it never happened.  Like in this trip report. 

Communal huts don’t work unless everyone acts as if they’re part of the community. 

Check your egos at the door."

For the record, Louie has since apologized.  It happens that huts can be busy and people get sick.  No one is pissed about that.  

I'm just bringing everyone back down to earth, where the mountains are big, the people are small, we forget about the rat race, and just have a good time.  You'll be a better skier for it, and (much more importantly) a better person.

Dudeman of the week - Vince Osborne

A few years ago, I got a call from Vince Osbourne.

Vince - Do you want to do this 36-hour adventure race?

Toby - OK.

Vince - Anything else you need to know?

Toby - I don't think so.  Oh wait, I guess I need to know when it is.

And we went from there.  

In that race, the harder it got, the more tired I was, the faster he seemed to go.  This guy saw briars and bogs and he put the gas pedal through the floor!  We've been chasing each other around the mountains on most weekends since.

Last weekend, Vince - whose age now starts with a 4 and with a baby on the way - is up front breaking trail, holding his own in a pull-up contest, and sending it down big pillow lines.

Photo: Yannick Letailleur

Full dudeman, Vince Osborne, full dudeman.

The Yaar! traverse

Earlier this month, Andy Traslin got some play for climbing both Yak and Nak mountains in the Coquihalla ski area in a day.  We see your Yak - Nak and raise you a Thar.

A few days ago, we considered doing the Nar (Nak - Thar) traverse, but once up there, we wanted to see it from the other side before we skied it.  So yesterday, Ricky and I set out to do laps on Thar to check it out.  This is what we ended up doing

No GPS.  Just great drawing with a mouse.

the Yaaar traverse, or Thar - Nak - Yar.  

There was already a skintrack in between Thar and Nak, but it eventually broke left and contoured around Nak.  We used it to start up Thar and then traversed around the bowl.  

From the back of the bowl.  Nak front right, Yak behind.

After skiing Thar, we returned to the track and took it all the way up Nak.  

Ricky scopes it out.  Nak and Yak from the top of Thar.

The weather wasn't great on top of Nak and there's awesome glades to ski below, so we did a run all the way down off it.  

As we climbed back out, vis improved and we decided to give Yak a shot as well.

The last pitch of Yak.

The climb up Yak is somewhat exposed, but less so if you go all the way to the saddle between Nak and Yak in the trees and then traverse across the face.  That's what we did.  The last 150 m. are steep, but yesterday, snow conditions were good.  That made for fairly straightforward climbing to the summit and great skiing right from the top.

Ricky, from the summit of Yak.

If you're just in it to bag the peaks, you could do it much more efficiently.  But there's great skiing on all three, so it's worth taking a few runs down along the way.

Hey Snowshoes! Step off my track, bro.

Last weekend,  we climbed up Nak at the Coquihalla to ski it.  A few times.  There were also some snowshoers there.  They apparently didn't want to break a trail.  So they used ours, and wrecked it.  So we made another one on the second lap.  Then they came down, used our new one, and wrecked it too.

Besides for safety, there aren't a lot of 'rules' in the backcountry and that's for the better.  I don't like people telling me what to do either.  But that doesn't mean there shouldn't be any etiquette.

The quintessential nature of the backcountry is of self-reliance.  When you go into the backcountry, you should be prepared to take care of yourself, fend for yourself.  That means, be prepared to rescue yourself, get stuck out there by yourself, and to blaze trail for yourself.  Not prepared to do that?  Go somewhere else.  There are resorts, lodges, guides, and trails that cater to exactly those folks.

These were those folks - for all intents and purposes, lost without the skintrack and not going very far if they had to do it for themselves anyway.

Now, I realize that someone else's trail is often the path of least resistance and, if it's there, I use it too.  But skintracks and snowshoeing trails are two different animals - one is for skiing; one is for walking.  I'm not going to ski all over your trail, and you shouldn't walk all over my track.  I also won't cut any overhead slopes on you or spray you in the face with blower pow.  Deal?

There's plenty of room in the backcountry to go around.

Dudeman, where's my car?

Vancouver won a prestigious award this week:

#2 in traffic!

The obvious solution is the triplet the Port Mann.

Or, people should just live closer to where they work.  If you work in Vancouver, live there.  If you live in Abbotsford and you're going to get in your car at 6 AM, it better be to the Coquihalla.  There is never a traffic jam heading east.  Ever.

The dudeman doesn't commute.  Rule number 8, or whatever rule we're on.

But the dudeman does need a car.  He's going places, just not to work.

I present three fully capable options.

The Classic Tercel wagon

Conquering the Mt. Cheam fire road.

It's four-wheel drive, it's got loads of space, and it's cheap.  This car will tackle anything, at speeds up to 80 km per hour.

The hail-damaged insurance write-off

It's ruined.

This can be any car, per se.  The important thing is that, although there's nothing actually wrong with it, it has no value.  Hence, there can be no further objections to racking up tons of miles and taking it places you probably shouldn't.

This Pathfinder

Dudeman makes a compelling case, which requires no further elaboration.  Unless you're this guy, he's not going to sell it to you.

When will flipflops be 'in-season' again?

My flipflops are slowly biting the dust.

This is their third duct-taping.  Initially, I didn't have time to go out and get new ones - I was on my way to Rossland for the Dudeman Games - and now it's apparently too late.  I don't think it should be too late.  

I wear flipflops year-round.  I don't think you have a very good life if you don't.

What's in the bag?

I fielded two questions recently which prompt this post.

1.  What luxury items do you take hiking?

2.  What's the #1 accessory I should get for my bike?

The answers...

1. and 2. None.

That's not to say you shouldn't take anything with you - you should take what you need.  If you take more than that, you're just weighing yourself down and you'll have less fun.  

This morning, I went for a run along the river pathway in town.  Being a Sunday morning, there are tons of 'serious' runners out on their long runs, and they are typically loaded down.  They have hats.  They have sunglasses.  They have ipods.  They have belts holstering half a dozen tiny waterbottles.  They almost always start overdressed, so they are also carrying jackets and gloves, etc... they have taken off.  Sometimes, they have gels taped to themselves.  They are on a path in the middle of the day and they are covered in reflective taping.  They mostly look miserable, as if they are engaged in some chore.  (Guess what?  No one, and I mean no one, needs to run.  And, for that matter, almost no one is going to accomplish anything running either...  that's a topic for another day.)

I've run around the reservoir from my house, which is about 38 km, a few times with half a (regular) waterbottle.  So I think that's what you need.

When I go into the mountains, and there is any potential to spend a night out (lost, injured, or with complete equipment failure), I think I should be prepared for that and so I take this:

(You should also bring a buddy.)

Granted, a night out with a space blanket, a lighter, and little food would be uncomfortable, but I would certainly survive (and I'm willing to prove it).  I would rather be uncomfortable in the unlikely circumstance of spending a night out than the rest of the time, saddled with a bunch of extra stuff.

I also take tools and materials to fix a flat and a chain, and make minor adjustments, if I ride my bike.  Those are likely circumstances (I got 8 flats in one day last month) and you should be prepared for those too.  I'd rather spend 5 minutes fixing something and carry a few extra ounces than spend a few hours hike-a-biking a few times a year.

Obviously, your individual preferences may vary, but for the most part, I just don't think most people are even thinking about what they actually need.

Would the real DudeMan please stand up?

I'll never forget the moments after team "the full dudemen" won the RedBull Divide and Conquer. All the racers were hanging out at the RedBull tent and over the megaphone we heard 'would the full dude man please come up to the stage'.  This was a call for our team to come to the stage; however, there was like 5 or 6 other guys who also walked up to the stage.  They of course were thinking, 'Hey, I'm a full dude man'. So this brings up the question who and what makes a dude man a dude man? I'll try and fill you in with 8 simple rules and attitudes that can make you a dude man.

1-Dude Man is the master of all, and jack of none.  This comes from the phrase 'jack of all trades, master of none'. So basically dude man is just good at everything he touches.  He is oozing with talent in everything he does. He can try wind surfing on a whim and just slay it.  Dude man is kinda like Chuck Norris.

2- Dude Man don't care.  Dude Man is like the honey badger:

He just don't care.  It's pissing rain? Dude Man don't care.  We have to sleep in car?  Dude Man don't care.  

Dude Man sleeps with sunglasses on.

You wanna drive 8 hours both ways to do a 4 hour bike ride?  Dude Man don't care.  You wanna have cereal for dinner? Dude Man don't care. You shovel chicken shit for a living?  Dude Man don't care.  You haven't had a shower in 2 weeks? Dude Man don't care.

3-Dude Man is on a full-dairy, full-meat, full-gluten diet.  

Clean your plate, son.

He does't show up at a dinner party and say 'Oh, I'm vegan and I won't eat that rare bloody steak.  Oh, does that beer have gluten in it?  I can't drink that.  Ice cream gives me gas.'  Dude man!  If ice cream gives you gas, that's sweet.  Your own brand is not so bad.  Dude Man just eats everything and doesn't complain about it.

4-Dude Man gets shit done.  It might not always be pretty, but it always gets done.   Dude Man is persistent.  

When there is a tree across the road, you just build a new road around it.    

New road.

You break your chain?  You have a chain tool and you know how to use it.   Skins not sticking?  You duct-tape them on.  Dude Man can suck it up.

You need to go from Liptovsky to Prague in a compact when a few dudes, a few boats, and a bike?  No problem.

5-Dude Man does not play games. That means no sucking up to the fire chief to get that napping and bbq job. No whoring yourself out to the industry to get a free set of tires.  Dude Man tells it like it is and bends over at the cash register if need be.  However, Dude Man does everything in his power to avoid paying retail.

6-Dude Man is not a punter.  When it's 4th down, Dude Man sends out Peyton Manning and goes long. He doesn't send out the kicker and just give the ball away.  When there is a river-wide hole the size of China,  Dude Man boofs it like a champ and maybe gets pitted, so pitted.  

Or if there is a sick booter into a blower pillow line, Dude Man just goes for the back flip and maybe ends up doing a lawn dart.   Or he sticks it.  It's all cool dawg.

Full lawn dart.

7-Dude Man doesn't always race, but when he does, he races to win.  Half-ass is not in Dude Man's vocabulary.  It's full win-or-hospital.  Either you don't care to compare yourself to other people, or you're going to crush their balls.  

Dylan Wolsky, of The Nomads, leaving it all on the trail.

8-Dude man is not a dick swinger.  A dick swinger is someone who has something that's not really needed but you want to show others how big your dick really is.  Like they guy driving his lifted Dodge Cummins diesel truck down Robson Street with 2 sleds in the back.  He revs his engine saying check out my dick, its huge! Or the guy who lives in a 6000 sq ft house with a 4-car garage.  Maybe he needs the 4th garage to make his house into a massive dick?  Dude Man doesn't need to swing his dick.  When it comes down to it, we are all really just mid-pack in the rat race, and there is no need to swing your dick around, except as a joke.

Are you a full dude man?