Document type : <B>vocene</B><BR>Date : <B>2015-01-06</B><BR>Description  : <B>VOCene #26 2015</B><BR>Content : <BR><PRE WIDTH=80>VOCene # 26: Tuesday, January 6th, 2015

Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and that your involvement in the VOC this year will be happy and memorable! Please note that gear hours change each semester; see below.

In this Issue:
Special Features:
    1. New Semester, New Gear Hours!
    2. Submit an Article to the VOC Journal-Deadline January 15th
    3. Climbing Wall Logo Competition- Deadline January 15th
    4. Photo Competition- Deadline January 27th
    5. Wilderness First Aid Discount Opportunity! Sign up by Mid-February

The Usual Suspects:
    6. Recent Trip Reports
    7. Upcoming Trips
    8. Message Board Highlights
    9. Ms. Manners
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1. New Semester, New Gear Hours!

Welcome back to a new semester! Each semester, the timing of gear hours change for each day. Please keep in mind that for the first few weeks of the semester, gear hours may continue to change! Check back to the gear hours link regularly before going to rent gear as the times may change. 

Currently, gear hours for the current semester are as follows:

    Monday: TBD
    Tuesday: Cassandra Elphinstone 17:00 - 18:00 Starting Jan 6
    Wednesday: Tianna Sturdy 12:00 - 13:00 Starting Jan 7
    Thursday: Gabe Frame 18:10 - 19:10 Starting Jan 8
    Friday: Krista Cawley 09:30 - 10:30 Starting Jan 9

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2. Submit Your Trip Report to the Annual VOC Journal! Deadline January 15th

Calling all adventurers - from first-time to old-time VOCers:
Have you been on a memorable or epic trip lately?  We want to publish your TRIP REPORT in our annual journal! Simply submit the report to vocjournal@gmail.com.  

Pictures can be submitted in JPEG format (resolution should be at least 300 dpi). Be sure to include a caption for each photo and who took it.

Don't hesitate - submit your report today! The deadline for all articles is January 15th!

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3. Climbing Wall Logo Competition!- Deadline January 15th

We've decided on a name for the new climbing wall: The Aviary! I'd like to get a head start on a few things like having signs/banners made, getting staff shirts, and maybe even something as snazzy as membership cards. I'd love a cool logo for the gym!

The following might provide inspiration: 
The name: The Aviary. This is following the UBC Thunderbird theme, and the fact that the gym space is tall and narrow.
The colour scheme. The wall is mostly a grey colour ("Stone" - RGB 201,207,204) with accent areas in a light blue ("Azure" - RGB 51,128,184)

The final version will need to be in a vector format (SVG, etc).

There is now a deadline set of January 15th at midnight! There is nothing like saying Happy New Year like a good old logo submission!

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4. Photo Competition- Deadline January 27th

It's time to pick your best pics and submit them to the VOC's annual photo competition!  

The pictures can be submitted in the following categories:
   A) Landscapes – Waterfalls, mountains, sunsets, etc. People are not the focus of the shot.
   B) Action Shots – Photos of people outdoors and in action, usually climbing, skiing, or mountaineering.
   C) Flora and fauna – Plants and animals only. A good place for macro's.
   D) Club Activities – Parties, longhike, winter longhike, glacier school, and all other club activities.
   E) Portraits – Portrait of a person. Preferably in an outdoor setting, and of someone in the club.
   F) Misc – Anything that doesn't fit in the other categories.

In addition, there will be a photo chosen as the best overall entry.

Please send in your photos to vocjournal@gmail.com before January 27th. Resolution should be at least 300 dpi. Prizes are presented at the VOC Banquet. Contest winners and runners up will be printed in the VOC's 2014-2015 journal.   Open to VOC members only.

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5. Slipstream Wilderness First Aid Training Discounts

Slipstream First Aid is once again offering the VOC a roughly 40% discount on their 50-hour and 90-hour Wilderness First Aid courses. These courses have been taken by members of the VOC in the past and have recieved very positive feedback. 

To keep things flexible, Slipstream is allowing us to purchase course vouchers that are good for one year from purchase. With your voucher you can select any course date and location that works for you. Please signup using the signup tool by early February.

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6. Recent Trip Reports

Lopez Island: A Winter Getaway
Sometimes it’s nice to do things off season. Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands is a very popular summer destination, but on a chilly weekend in mid December we found ourselves in an almost empty campground, on roads with little to no traffic and on beautiful abandoned beaches. True, it was a bit cold and the days are short. But with enough clothes, a bonfire at night, a cozy tent and the right company, everything is possible...

Hanging Lake: Hike-skiing, Ski-hiking, or Hskiing?
In the Coast Mountains, it’s not often that early season skiing starts at the end of December. This year, just like last year, is a late starting snow season. Somehow, during the years we have lived in Vancouver, almost every snow year is “out of the ordinary”, unusual or atypical in some way. Perhaps it’s global warming causing the weather to be more variable. Either way, we take what we can get...

Toddler-friendly trip to Brew this weekend (Jan 3-4)
Line, Cora, Fenya, and myself piled into V3 at 6 am yesterday. After chaining up just off the highway we drove to the bottom of the R200 branch; numerous other vehicles had done/did the same, some with only summer tires. On the ski up we met a lot of people coming down, including a Annie with a BCMC party of many who had just done the Powder Mountain traverse, Spencer et. al., and Craig et. al. with their dog Talus. We leapfrogged with a party of 4 snowshoers on the way up, and got passed by a pair of rando racers out for a day trip to the hut (well, they had light boots... but no spandex... who knows how they self-identify)...

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7. Upcoming Trips

THIS WEEK

Frost Fest at the SUB · Tuesday, January 6th (TODAY!!!)
Come check out our booth at the UBC Frost Fest (= mini clubs' days), where you can sign up for a membership and ask us about the club!

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THIS WEEKEND

Winter Longhike 2015: Mount Seymour · Sat. Jan. 10th - Sun. Jan. 11th
Winter Longhike is coming up! This is an introductory trip for winter camping. We'll be a large group of keen people that want to experience a totally new face of the white backcountry. We'll be having great fun and learning new skills such as building our very own snow shelter (or if you're ambitious enough, a snow castle). There will be a prize for the most elaborate snow-cave :D Other activities likely to happen include (but are not limited to): Backcountry food cook-off, sing-alongs, and great skiing on Sunday. Pre-trip meeting will be Wednesday, January 7th at 6:00 PM in Buchanan A202.

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NEXT WEEK

The Aviary Logistics Meeting · Tuesday, January 13th
With the opening of The Aviary fast approaching, I’d like to have a public info/discussion session where we can go over some of the details of how the wall will be run. I’ll go over the results of the survey I’ve conducted, and present my thoughts on some of the following points: Membership pricing structure, open hours, staffing, route-setting and programs. We’ll also go over more general concerns, get feedback and suggestions from everybody, and start up the stoke for what is going to be an EPIC facility! This event will be at 6:30 PM, location TBD.

VOC slideshow - Climbing Wahoo tower · Wednesday, January 14th
Nick, Lena, Will and Olek are giving a slideshow about their alpine climbing trip to the Manatee Group where they climbed the remove Wahoo tower.
To get you excited, have a look at their trip report. This event will be at 7:00 PM in Buchanan A202.

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NEXT WEEKEND

Stepson of crampon (Beginner friendly ice climbing) · Fri. Jan. 16th - Sun. Jan. 18th
This will be beginner friendly but you should know how to belay someone on a top rope. No previous ice climbing experience is necessary but winter camping experience will help. I'll take people according to the committed sign-up order. Committed sign-up will open on January 7th. I will probably limit the group size to 12 people, but don't worry, more ice climbing trips will follow. I have a Modo van with snow tires booked so unless the winter doesn't come, this trips is a go! Pre-trip meeting will be Wednesday, January 14th at 6:00 PM.

Avalanche Skills Training Block C (AST-1) · Sat. Jan. 17th - Sun. Jan. 18th
Every year the VOC works with Canada West Mountain School in order to provide its members with discounted rates on avalanche safety courses, with the intent to help students mitigate the risks of backcountry skiing. The courses available to VOC members run from November thru February and in total include four sessions of Avalanche Skills Training I (AST I), and one session of AST II. This trip requires sign up in advance in the clubroom, along with payment. Cost is $230 (course and avy kit) + $110 (Whistler Pass). There will be an in-class session on the evening of Tuesday the week before. Note: registration has already closed for this session, but there is one more in February (7th-8th) and registration closes January 9th!

TeleSchool at Mt. Seymour · Saturday, January 17th
Wish that you had a chance to learn how to tele ski in a controlled environment, with a teacher and without a giant pack on your back? Do you know the basics but want to hone those mad skills with the help of someone who can *actually* ski?  Do you want a chance to show off your beautiful style while imparting knowledge to others? If you answered yes to any of the above questions than the VOC Tele-School is the trip for you!  This will be a one day instructional even held at the Seymour Mountain resort on the North Shore.  Groups will be organized with a teacher based on skill levels.  These groups will include, 1) 'I have never skied before', 2) 'I can downhill ski, but dont understand how to bend my knees', 3) 'I know the basics but would like to be better', and 4)  'I am an awesome skier and shouldn't be at school'. Pre-trip meeting will be Tuesday, January 13th at 6:00 PM in Buchanan A202.

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8. Message Board Highlights

a. Sublet in kits available Feb 1st- May15th:  it's 790$/mo utilities included. the add can be seen here : [vancouver.fr.craigslist.ca] 

b. What are your goals for 2015? It's that time of year, time to reflect about the year in passing and think about the year to come. What are your outdoor (or otherwise) goals for 2015?

c. Size 2.5 Avalanche Brandywine Dec.26 2014 - partial burial

d. Check out the message board for numerous for sale items, including outdoor gear and more!

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9. Ms. Manners
Do you have a question for Ms. Manners? If so, email it to to your friendly neighbourhood VOCene Editor and it'll get forwarded Ms. Manners for review. Remember, there's no such thing as a stupid question, so ask away.

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Dear Ms. Manners,

I am new to the club and always considered myself outdoorsy. After meeting a few people, I have become rather intimidated and realize that I do not know as much as I thought I did about the outdoors. I would love to gain more outdoor knowledge and skills, especially in this winter season! How do I do this?

Sincerely,
Intimidated

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Dear Intimidated,

It might be more common than you think for some new members to feel intimidated when first joining the club. New members have a variety of backgrounds, ranging from almost no back country knowledge to extremely experienced back country travellers. There is no need to feel intimidated as long as you have determination and an open mind! The outdoor knowledge you do have currently will serve you well moving forward. If you have none, well we can help teach you anyway!

There are many ways to gain knowledge and skills, especially in the month of January. This coming weekend for instance is Winter Long Hike where you can learn how to build a safe and effective snow cave to sleep in. The weekend after, we have Tele-School where you can learn proper downhill skills on telemark skis! This same weekend, we also have a tentative beginner friendly Ice Climbing Trip where you can learn how to top rope ice climbs in a relatively safe environment. The weekend after that, we have Intro to Backcountry Skiing and Camping and Intro to Backcountry Snowshoeing. If you have begun travelling in the back country already, and want to learn how to do so more safely with knowledge of avalanche terrain and how to conduct beacon searches, then consider signing up for a Avalanche Skills Training Course, with the deadline to sign up for the last session (February 7-8, with class evening of Feb 3) this Friday, January 9th! In general, the club hosts many beginner friendly trips, some of which have an instructional aspect (although we are NOT certified guides or instructors!!!) and others which have learning through experience. Sign up and attend as many trips as you can, and in no time at all, your backcountry knowledge will increase substantially!

Some trips fill up fast, so sign up early! Good luck! We hope to see you out there with us this semester.

Sincerely,
Ms. Manners

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