Mount Cain

I fear this posting might give away the best kept secret on Vancouver Island but I can't resist. Mount Cain is a hefty 5.5 hour drive from Victoria to the north. It is a small, rustic ski hill in the middle of nowhere...run by volunteers, only open on weekends and a gateway to some of the most incredible back country skiing on the island.

So we packed up and headed north on Friday to get the annual fix of skiing in while the conditions are good. A short nights stay in Courtenay then up at 4:30 am lead by friend and adventurer Tim Irvin, the man with the plan (albeit sometimes a haphazard one but a plan none the less). We headed north in the dark hoping to get to the access road and hitch a ride up the road to paradise. One catch was that the hill doesn't actually open until next weekend so traffic would be limited to say the least. We arrived to a parking lot absent of all cars and sat there with our fingers crossed at 7:30. By 8:15 we were beginning to think we were going to be out of luck when at last hope arrived so we sandwiched ourselves into this little car and busted up the access road.

Long story short, heck of a day, 7 hours of slogging up with skins on and ripping it down in slightly wet powder but powder it was and very few other soles about. What a great spot, super low key but great terrain. Cain is basically an access route to tons of back country skiing. We were socked in all day, couldn't see a thing except the runs we were on until late in the afternoon when the sun finally broke and exposed some of the most beautiful landscape I have seen on Vancouver island. It was incredible. We spent the last hour of the day near the top of Mount Cain with some locals smacking a few golf balls off into the abis....they stash golf clubs up on the highest section of terrain and although i was somewhat morally opposed to golf balls in paradise, i couldn't resist smacking one off the cliff.

Our day ended with a full hour of descending down the access road, basically about 20km of skiing down this road that is partly plowed so there are tons of hazards, it was wicked good fun. It is very flat for the last 5km so it meant a fair workout to get to the car.

At the end of the day Tim and I both convinced ourselves that we still "have it", you never let go of your first passions and every year is another one to be thankful that you can still do it.

A day well spent, one I will not soon forget.

Jasper's Top Ten List

Here is my top ten list:

10. Extension cord
9. Door
8. Paper
7. Cat
6. chair
5. steam
4. plant
3. chicken breast (frozen)
2. towel
1. cardboard box