Golden

Apologies for the lack of Blog updates of late, once you stop posting it is difficult to get back into the habit.

Things have been busy over the last few months. Firstly, we moved into a new condo, although it is only 100m away from the previous one. I have also started looking for work out in the real world. Unfortunately our permanent residence application has not been processed and that is making the job hunt a little more challenging. But enough of that boring stuff, I know you all want to see exciting photos of exciting places...

Over the weekend we headed out to Golden in BC with the aim of doing the Burgess Shale hike/tour. The Burgess Shale is possibly the most important fossil site ever discovered and as such you need to book the trip months in advance. Also as it is a world heritage site it is not possible to get to the site by yourself.

Unfortunately there was a massive rock slide on the highway that blocked the road and stopped us from getting to the hike. However, as we were already camping out there we figured we would try to get in a hike anyway. After consulting a rough road map and navigating some even rougher forestry roads we managed to find a hiking trail. In the end the hike was good, apart from the hordes of communist mosquitoes.

The town of Golden

Quartz Lake

Avalanche debris

Lake O'Hara

A few weeks ago we managed to get back to one of our favourite locations, Lake O'Hara. As the hut is a pretty popular spot you need to book your trip long before there is any chance of knowing what the weather will do and its expensive enough that you dont want to cancel at the last minute.
When we left from the car in the morning it was -25 C with windchill taking it down to -45 C, it was not pleasant. Thankfully once we got out of the valley bottom the wind dropped and the temperatures held around a balmy -20 C. In the end it wasnt too bad, the trip in is all up hill so we generating plenty of our own heat.
I had hoped to hike up into the upper valleys but in the end there was just not enough time to get any where with a really good view of the numerous glaciers. I guess we will just have to head back next year.

Karl and Aleisha on the trip in.

Our cosy cabin

Lake O'Hara is always worth the trip

Blatant self promotion

After months of arguing with reviewers about insignificant problems our paper has finally made it. I would have thought that with positive reviews from four, yes four, referees that three rounds of reviews would not be necessary.

Ice Racing

Winter driving in the Great White North has always unnerved me, there is something just not quite right about driving down a snow covered highway at 100 km/hr. Most Canadians have grown up with this insanity and think its normal, however Im not convinced. So in the name of public safety I decided to take a winter driving course. Safety First, that's my motto.
Of course the best way to learn is to push your limits and there is no better way to do that than by racing on a frozen lake! Thankfully the ice was a good 1m thick so there was little chance of going through. Despite this we were still not allowed to wear seat belts, just in case we had to make a quick exit. The course was run as a non-profit organization by a local Autocross champion who wanted to help drivers deal with tricky situations.
My first lap of the day was pretty slow as the conditions were slick, not surprising I guess considering it was solid ice. My instructor encouraged my to push my limits and before long I was hitting 80 km/hr down the straights and power sliding around the corners. Despite being super fun I also learned a lot of skills and I think I will be back again next year to refresh my skills.

Proof that we were on a lake

There was a light dusting of snow giving us a little grip but I would still spin all four wheels in 3rd if I was too hard on the gas.

The corners were polished ice, great for learning about weight transfer/power sliding.

The Saabaru, making safety fun since 2010.

Happy International Year of Chemistry

2011 is officially the international year of chemistry. Finally, chemistry is getting the respect it deserves.
The goals of IYC2011 are to increase the public appreciation of chemistry in meeting world needs, to encourage interest in chemistry among young people, and to generate enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry. For more exciting details check out

http://www.chemistry2011.org/

Hawaii

One of the worst parts of my job is being forced to go to miserable conferences in miserable places. So in December Aleisha and I begrudgingly went to the tropical paradise of Hawaii. Before the conference started we holidayed for a week in Maui. The condo we stayed at was right on the beach in a secluded cove that was packed with turtles. It was pretty sweet.

The view from our condo

We had a pretty good run of weather but on one day we had one heck of a torrential downpour. So on that day we decided to drive the road to Hana. While only ~80 km long it apparently has over 600 corners and a stupid number of one way bridges/entire sections of one lane road. Its quite the tourist attraction but the heavy rain turned them all away. As I was driving an new Subaru Impreza the road was one of the best I have ever been on.

Nothing quite like blind hairpin corners, cliffs and narrow roads.

Aleisha and I posing in front of a random blow hole.

Much of our time was spent swimming, snorkeling and chasing fish in the crystal clear water.

The view from our hotel room on Waikiki. It made the conference bearable.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. We are now back in Calgary after an incredible trip to Hawaii (photos will be up soon).

Our synthetic tree

Aleisha and I decided to head out for a quick XC ski by the river to work up an appetite.

General update

The last few months have seemed to fly by with nothing really exciting happening, hence the lack of blog activity. The only notable exception being my Science paper coming out and research group getting 15 min of fame in the local media. Other than that we spent most of the weekends working on research proposals or our permanent residency application so didn't get out much. Until recently there also wasn't any snow in the Mts so there wasn't a lot of outdoor activities that we really wanted to do.

Last week we finally got our first good dump of snow, ~25cm in Calgary, so the Mts are starting to look better for skiing. Hopefully the weather will be miserable in December while we are in Hawaii and when we come back there will be a crud load of snow waiting for us.

Johnston Canyon is an absolute tourist mecca but when its -10 the hoards thin out and it made for an interesting hike.

Last weekend it was -22 out but Aleisha and I decided to get our first day of XC skiing in. Turned out that -22 is too cold.

With the snow comes the bad road conditions, thankfully we have our Saabaru so we no longer have to drive Nth American shit boxes. We also picked up some new snow tires/rims just before the snow so the car is an absolute dream on the snow/ice.

Lake O'Hara - Hiking Nirvana

The monthly Canadian holiday came around again last weekend so Aleisha and I made the most of the remnants of summer and went camping. Lake O'Hara came highly recommended from everyone we had ever talked to, and we certainly liked it when we visited last winter. The fact that the campsites can be booked 3 months in advance and are booked out within hours of becoming available also indicated that the area was worth a visit. As you may have guessed by the title of this blog entry, the hiking was pretty good. In fact Aleisha and I would go as far as to say it is the most incredible location we have ever had the joy of hiking in, it was quite simply perfection!

On the trail to Wiwaxy Gap, overlooking Lake O'Hara

Lake Oesa

The weather for the first day started off nice, cool but sunny. Unfortunately this didnt hold for the rest of the day and after hiking 3/4 of the Alpine Circuit the weather packed in and we called it a day. Of course just as we got back to camp the skies cleared and we cursed our decision to end the hike.
The next morning we were greeted by snow and temperatures hovering around zero. Reluctantly I managed to drag Aleisha out of camp with the hope of making something of the day. We were rewarded with empty trails, incredible scenery and in the end sunshine.

Lake O'Hara

The route to Wiwaxy Pass that we slogged up the previous day

The view from All Souls just as the sun broke through

Car Camping - Waterton Lakes National Park

Last Friday Aleisha and I skived off work a little early for a weekend of car camping in Waterton Lakes National Park. The combination of redneck truck drivers and torrential rain made for an interesting trip down, but the trusty Saabaru got us there safe.
After last years experience with the Crypt Lake hike in Waterton (apparently one of the best trails in Canada) were we not expecting exceptional hiking when we set off on the Carthew-Alderson trail. However, it turned out to be a breathtaking hike with an incredibly diverse mix of scenery, certainly a lot better than the overrated Crypt Lake hike.

Windy Waterton

Looking into the USA and Glacier National Park (looks like some exciting bush bashing)

Carthew Ridge

Alderson Lake

Glacier National Park Montana

Last weekend Aleisha, the Saabaru and I took a three day trip down South of the border into Glacier National Park. We were incredibly surprised to find that it was only a 4 hr drive from Calgary and that included a friendly border crossing. In Montana we joined up with Stefan and Claire who were on the last leg of their departing Nth America tour. The trip started well after Stefan managed to lock the keys in the boot of his rental car. As it turned out breaking into the car was the easy part (thanks to a friendly ranger), dismantling the entire rear seat assembly to gain access to the boot was more challenging. The following day we headed off to the Grinnell Glacier hike, one of the few trails in the area that were not closed due to bear activity. After enduring a morning thunder storm we made it to the glacier, or whats left of it. Just as we were leaving the clouds parted and the day seemed to improve. However, while we were walking back one of the other people on the trail mentioned that there was a bear sighted close to the trail earlier in the day. Just to make it better the bear was a Grizzly with cubs, that turned it into a cluster f*#k moment. Unfortunately the valley was a dead end so we had to continue down the trail and hope that the bear had moved on. We passed a few more people who all seemed to indicate that the bear was staying in one place about 30 min down the trail. Then 5 min later we ran into a guy who said the bear was a 100 m away and coming this way. We quickly ran up rocky slope, about 30 m off the trail and waited. Sure enough less than a minute later the Grizzly and cubs came into view and slowly passed by us, barely paying us any attention. Lets hope that all our future bear encounters go as well!

The next day we did the tourist thing and drove the Going to the Sun Road through the national park. It is said to be the most scenic road in the US and we wouldnt disagree.

The crew at Grinnell Glacier

Looking back to the Glacier. Why is it that the weather always clears on the way out?

Stefan and the bearsAleisha and Claire having a dip after an eventful day

Saabaru Cam - Driving the Going to the Sun Road

Group Hike

Every summer my supervisor suggests that we do a group hike every month. Unfortunately organisation of the outings always falls on to me so we usually end up doing one hike per summer. After scouring the hiking literature for an interesting hike that was essentially wheel chair accessible (some group members carry a number of sporting and food induced injuries) I came up with Chester Lake. Unfortunately on the morning of the hike a Grizzly Bear warning was posted for the trail so we were forced to Black Prince Cirque. For some reason I seem to have a poor memory for difficult sections of hikes and I though the hike was easier than what it actually was. However, in the end no one died and we had a great day.

A friendly Grizzly poses for the tourists and despite how big this one looks it is probably only a couple years old and has a lot more growing to do!

Looking up to Black Prince Cirque

The survivors

Burstall Pass

The last few hikes we have done have been revisits of last years failures. When we did Burstall Pass last year the weather was miserable and the view from the top was non-existent due to rain/fog/cloud. Thankfully though the weather last weekend was simply perfect and the hike just as good. The drive in was also spiced up by seeing a Grizzly Bear wandering by the side of the road.

The snow cover uplands close to the pass

Aleisha and Karl approach the pass

The much improved view, definitely worth the second trip.

Insane hail storm in Calgary

Thunder storms are quite common for Calgary at this time of year but the storm we got earlier in the week was something truly incredible. We had golf ball sized hail for about 10 min and while a lot of the city got missed the University copped a beating. Walking home that evening a saw a number of cars that had their windows smashed but thankfully our Saabaru was safe under ground.

This movie was taken just outside the Chemistry building (video from Karl Dawson).

I also recommend checking out this video which shows the Botany Departments glass house being destroyed.

Forgetmenot Ridge and Galatea Lakes

The last couple of weekends have been chock-a-block full of outdoor goodness. Last weekend I managed to get out to the foot hills and finally get to the top of Forgetmenot Ridge. The last time Aleisha and I were up there, there was a foot of powder to contend with so the going was a little easier this time around.

The view from Forgetmenot Ridge

This weekend we travelled a little further out into the mountains and did the Galatea Lakes hike. Unfortunately the weather gods decided that we had seen too much sun of late so we had to put up with rain, wind and cold on the final few km's. Despite of this the lakes were quite impressive and well worth the few drops of rain.

Aleisha and Kim struggling through the rain

Galatea Lakes

Wasootch Ridge

It looks like hiking season has finally started here in Calgary. After weeks of rain the sun came out in force this weekend so we made the most of it and headed for the mountains. The trip was to Wasootch ridge which is a ~11km return trip with ~700 m gain. We didnt quite make it all the way along the ridge, some rather ominous clouds started to roll in and an exposed ridge is the last place you want to be in a thunder storm.

A view from close to the top

Looking back down Washootch Ridge

Rest time

Our Saabaru

Much to everyones surprise we have managed to survive the last 18 months in Calgary without owning a car. I actually think that if it wasnt for the insane winters here we could probably do without one for quite a few more years. But after putting a rental car into a snow bank this winter we decided for our own personal safety that we needed a car. After much thought, discussion and analysis the logical choice that Aleisha and I came up with was a 5 door 2006 or 2007 Subaru Impreza. In North America Subaru only make AWD cars and from 2006 there were a bunch of safety and mechanical improvements over the previous years models. After test driving (aka thrashing) a 2010 Impreza at the dealership (same engine and drive train as the 06) the decision was sealed. Over the last few months we have been keeping our eyes on the local used car market but were getting a little despondent at the price and quality of used Impreza's. Then last week a car caught our eye and after test driving it a few times and getting it checked out we parted with our hard earned money and bought the Saab 9-2x.

You see, Subaru has had a complex life. Back when GM wasnt loosing a massive amount of money each day (just a few million) they owned Saab and a small share in Subaru. A few of the designers over at Saab couldnt be bothered designing a new car so they figured they would take a Subaru Impreza, add a few new body panels and call it a Saab. So our car, the Saab 9-2x was born.

Our Saabaru in its new home after its first clean and polish.

Is it a Saab, is it a Subaru, no its a Saabaru!

People from warm climates may not recognise these two buttons, they are for the heated seats. It also has has a luxurious moon roof (sun roof). Also notice that it doesnt feature the usual Nth American lazy fat man drive system, instead you "manually" control the gears, amazing!