Before the fog and snow, we had some mostly clear skies for first lifts up Cypress this morning.
Another awesome day riding.
For more pictures from Cypress Mountain, click any of the photos to go the Cypress set at Flickr.
Category Archives: Photos
Photos, mostly.
We Need Snow on the North Shore Mountains
Yikes. GB and I went up to Cypress today, even though we knew the only lift open was the Easy Rider chair which services the bunny hill (Runway).
I was really surprised to see how little snow there is on the mountain. Thanks to last week’s pineapple express, there’s no base left what-so-ever, even though the web site says they have 61 cm at mid-mountain. You can see from this picture at the top of the Easy Rider lift that the terrain above is pretty much rocks.
When you drive up you can see most of the way up the mountain, and there’s very little snow up there – the runs are all showing gravel or grass through the light dusting of snow. I actually think there was more snow in mid-October than there is today.
I gather they’re hauling snow up from the parking lots to keep the bunny hill open, which means it’s festooned with bits of rock and gravel. So if you’re going up, better buy some P-Tex. Better yet, leave your good board at home.
It sure brings home the vagaries of local weather. Last year, most of the mountain was open by mid-November.
I’m disappointed to hear the forecast calls for clearing tomorrow. Damn. We just need a couple of days of snowfall like we had a couple of weeks ago and we should be good to go.
I’m doing a snow dance tonite.
Naked.
Entrance to the Sun
Entrance to Waterfront Park in North Vancouver
Small World
North Van By Night
The Pier. More from a full moon evening on Flickr.
Seen in North Vancouver
I took advantage of a couple of days when it wasn’t raining (all day) to get a few shots around the north shore.
If you’re interested, I put a few of them into a flash slide show…
End of the Pier
A Slice from the North Shore
HDR image. More on Flickr.
Vancouver From the North Shore
I love this city, even on a cloudy rainy day. Have a great weekend.
4 exposure HDR shot with a 60mm Nikkor lens on a D200 body.
Blooming With A Passion
Sleeping on the Stripes
Today in the Bay
English Bay on a post-storm Monday afternoon.
This deep sea makes some mist as it turns downwind at the fairway buoy bound for Vancouver. That’s Vancouver Island in the far background, and the low darker green are Gulf Islands.
A kite surfer catches some air.
Some late afternoon colour on the way to grab a coffee.
Then again, if it is on fire…
One of the engineers I used to work with was fond of saying “If it isn’t on fire, it’s a software problem”.
Last night while working diligently away on some wireframes on my MacBook Pro I did a double-take when my power adapter did a little pre-Halloween fireworks show and sent up a small but pungent trail of black smoke.
“What’s that smell?” came the chorus from the kitchen. “Well, family, that’s the smell of the clash between form and function”.
All kidding aside, its a good thing I was working at the kitchen counter – not sure what would have happened had I had the computer in my lap, or sitting on bits of paper on the desk (which it often WAS).
I’d read about supposed issues where the power cord connects to the (MagSafe) magnetic connector, but Apple hasn’t issued a recall and there’s no information about this problem on their web site.
I have Apple Care and they didn’t even hesitate to offer to send a new one out. The first question the service rep asked was “Was there anything else damaged when this happened”.
Fortunately I have a 2nd adapter so I’m not without power – not sure what you’d do if you had to wait the 5-7 working days for a new one to arrive.
More, larger pictures on Flickr.
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UPDATE:
Wow! I got the new replacement power cable via courier today – one day after talking to Apple Care on the phone. That’s impressive !
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New Downhill Area at Cypress
I did a quick stitch job to show the new downhill areas opening up at Cypress this year. You can grab the large version – it’s about 500K and is 2800 pixels wide.
Anyone interested in a high-rez version (10,000 pixels wide) just email me.
North Shore Tags
Modern artifacts – swallowed up by a commercial development in Lower Lonsdale in North Vancouver.
Urban art that’ll be uncovered in the next round of tear-down.
Sublime English Bay
Even though it was pelting with rain, English Bay looked marvelous today. These shots (yes, they’re photographs) have a real oil painting look to them, thanks to the rain and the saturated print.
Gulf Islands Sept Sail Show
I’ve put together a little Flash presentation on my recent solo trip through the Southern Gulf Islands.
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[/kml_flashembed]
Thanksgiving Respect
One of the great things about being a parent is the respect and adoration of your children.
Paris in the Spring Time
In 1977 I sold my 1966 Mustang for just enough money to buy a plane ticket to Paris. My high-school sweetheart K was working there as an au pair, and the trip from Calgary to Paris was my attempt to lure her back.
It didn’t work by the way.
However, it was April in Paris. I was 21. I was in love. Did I mention it was Paris in April ? Perfect. Well, with the small exception that K was more interested in, well, pretty much everyone else.
Still, it’s what Paris is about, isn’t it ? Unrequited love in a city of beautiful people who seem to be in no hurry to do anything but talk, smoke, drink coffee and embrace.
Like I said, perfect.
I had (and still have) a Canon F1 film camera, and I shot slides and some negative stock while I was there. The light was incredible
almost every time we went out, and the city made up (well, almost) for any heart ache I was suffering.
It’s true that almost every 2nd frame is a shot of K (standing in front of a fountain, waiting for a train, outside the Louvre, ironing…) but all these years later I’ve started scanning the other half of the slides and am enjoying the discoveries.
It was an important time in my life. I was young, I had my first really big job (running a newsroom in Calgary) and I was still naïve enough to believe that if I flew to Paris the woman I pined for would change her mind. All in all, perfect.
I’ll be adding the scans slowly to my Flickr Paris 1977 page, and your comments are welcome.
Apple Pie in the Buff
They’re organic and just tart enough to make a delicious apple pie. Our little tree in the front yard looks like it’ll be good for 3 pies this year – just right.
In My Yard Today
I’ve posted a set of photos on Flickr of flowers and stuff in my front yard today. It may be fall, but don’t tell the plants that !
