Author Archives: Jeff Mottershead

Wasps (censored version)

The VOC has its share of glorious epics. Ideally these end up as a trip report or a journal article, and if they don’t, word-of-mouth only keeps them alive for so long. It’s always best if a real participant writes … Continue reading

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Rufus the Destroyer goes to Langley

Sometimes I worry that people are complaining that I’m putting up useless garbage that doesn’t meet the standards of a VOC trip report. But sometimes I get mail telling me that I’m not being sufficiently ridiculous, so here we go. … Continue reading

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Groundhog Day and Garibaldi Lake

Participants: Nadine Bruneau, Oliver Capko, the legendary Christian Veenstra Back when we were replacing the roof on the Brian Waddington Hut, we had a bunch of VOC volunteers, who were there for the weekends, Jacob, who stayed the whole time, … Continue reading

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Fooling around near the Elkhart gas station a few days before Groundhog Day

I’d had my vehicle in the shop for most of January, and I had a groundhog to install, which meant my son, Devlin, and I hadn’t done any backcountry together going into the last weekend in January, and we had … Continue reading

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Red Heather: Throwing Down the Gauntlet to Punxsutawney

Many years ago, I saw an airblown inflatable Santa riding on a sled with a snowman at Rona. I’d never seen a Christmas decoration so spectacular, so I bought it. I’m sure I wasn’t the first to have such a … Continue reading

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Under the glacier behind Century Sam Lake

Participants: Cathy Lin, Joanna Gower, Tom Curran, Cassandra Elphinstone, Kevin Lam, Shu Yu Fan, Rob Cieniawski, Elaine Zhou I remember when you could get a Seaburger Platter on the ferry for $6.50. That is because I am old and mouldy. … Continue reading

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Pirate Glacier School: Most participants left in an ambulance

Participants: Desmond McCarthy, Cove Beavan, Axel Rodriguez, Grace Li, Lexi Berger, Emmet Vannier, Well, yes, it’s true, but maybe a bit misleading. Desmond drives an ambulance. He bought it from some guy on Craigslist. The lights and sirens work, if … Continue reading

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Neve in a day in October

People seem to think that Garibaldi Lake being frozen is a prerequisite for doing the Neve. This seems like more of a convenience than a requirement, since people do sometimes circle Garibaldi Lake. You could argue that if one were … Continue reading

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Mt. Albert Edward, gum grafts, and the most disgusting thing I’ve ever skied, April 23, 2023

Mt Albert Edward is a 2093 m peak on Vancouver Island. When you’re on any of the nearby mountains, it really looks like the place you want to be. My son, Devlin, and I had taken a swing at it … Continue reading

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Seychelles, March 10-29, 2023

My son, Devlin, had been objecting to too much stuff around BC and never getting to go anywhere cool for a couple years. My argument that BC stuff was cool didn’t fly, so I told him I’d take him somewhere … Continue reading

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