British Columbia Magazine

Our adventurous Contributing Editor Larry Pynn has been welcomed into the Explorers Club. Based in New York, the multi-disciplinary club includes about 3,000 members in more than 60 countries; its honorary chair is the late Sir Edmund Hillary, first to climb Mount Everest in 1953. The organization was founded in 1904 to promote advancement in research, scientific exploration, and “the instinct to explore.”

It’s certainly not the first prestigious nomination for Pynn, also a longtime environment reporter for Vancouver Sun. He has received 15 journalism awards, including the Jack Webster Award for excellence in British Columbia journalism.

Some of his top adventures, Pynn says, have been in service of British Columbia Magazine. He made first ascents of three unnamed peaks—the tallest more than 2,400 metres–while researching an article for us on Clendinning Provincial Park, northwest of Whistler. (See “The Clendinning challenge,” Spring 2004.). To write “Pinballing down the Pitt” (Fall 2005), he made the first-known descent of the upper Pitt River, Greater Vancouver’s most remote tributary.

Other major journalistic exploits include a 19-day hike through the Northwest Territories on the Canol Trail, and exploration by kayak and foot of Sirmilik National Park in Canada’s high Arctic, north of Baffin Island. Pynn has also researched and written two non-fiction books: The Forgotten Trail: One Man’s Adventures on the Canadian Route to the Klondike and Last Stands: A Journey Through North America’s Vanishing Ancient Rainforests.

No question: our contributing editor is an adventurer of the first order. Congratulations, Larry!

Editorial staff never know what they’ll be asked to do—it’s part of the fun of working on a magazine. For our two new billboards in downtown Vancouver and a video spot now running on BC Ferries’ customer-information monitors, Associate Editor Jenny Manzer contributed . . . her legs.

Art Director Ken Seabrook designed the delightful ad, and Assistant Editor Shanna Baker photographed Manzer’s gams.

Manzer, better known for her editing and writing skills than her work as a leg model, notes wryly, “When Shanna pulled me into Ken’s office, where the rest of the staff had gathered, I knew something ominous was about to happen.”

Manzer may have been a tad reluctant to pose for the ad, but as rockers ZZ Top famously crooned, “She’s got legs . . . she knows how to use them.”

Thanks for being such a good sport, Jenny!

Click here to learn more about that exciting contest.

Our former editorial intern, Meghan Stothers, is the poster girl for Victoria’s Bike to Work Week this month. Meghan was the model cycling commuter while on staff with us, earning frequent fashion kudos for cycling to work in stylish skirts and heels. Meghan appears in the poster below with her daughter and a colleague at her new job with the Ministry of Environment.

Cycling commuters in close to 20 communities across the province will get into gear for Bike to Work Week, May 11 to 17. As of May 7, more than 530 teams had registered to participate in the Victoria event.

Bike to Work Week promotes cycling and the many benefits of two-wheeled travel, including reduced traffic congestion and pollution, and improved personal health. “Celebration stations” with food and drinks are part of the fun.

In June, Vancouver cyclists can become part of an installation at the Vancouver Museum entitled “Velo-City, Vancouver and the Bicycle Revolution.” The photographic exhibition, running June 4 to September 7, will explore “Vancouver’s human-powered revolution that’s changing the way people experience and relate to the city, their neighbourhoods, and to their own bodies.” Submit a photo of yourself and your ride online and answer a few questions to join the revolution.

As the editor of a magazine with 120,000 subscribers worldwide, I get a lot of mail. Most of it is electronic these days, so parcels by post tend to be something of a treat. And the one that came this week from Yourincontrol Holdings of Kimberley, British Columbia, was the most delightful package I’ve received since a reader mailed me a piece of what he hoped I could confirm was fossilized lynx poop.

Yourincontrol is the Canadian distributor of the Shewee—a sample of which the makers included in the parcel. According to the accompanying press release, “The Shewee is an ergonomically designed, molded plastic device that allows women to urinate while standing up, and without removing clothes.” The narrow, 17-centimetre-long funnel device looks rather like a small tool used to plant delicate seeds in the garden.

I’m having so much fun showing this around to people, I haven’t been able to bring myself to take it home to try it. The reactions are exquisitely amusing. Amazement. Disbelief. Horror. Feminist triumph.

“I blush just looking at it,” said Assistant Editor Shanna Baker, when I asked if she would like to blog about the product.

The inventor, 29-year-old Samatha Fountain—I kid you not, her name is Fountain—says the idea for the Shewee came to her while she was backpacking in Europe.

“It struck me how much easier it was for a guy to go to the toilet in a place where there were no facilities or nowhere to squat behind, so I came up with a way of effectively urinating like a man.”

I can’t testify as to the effectiveness of the Shewee, and we generally avoid editorial endorsements of products, anyway. But should you decide to buy one ($14.00 plus tax online at www.shewee.ca), please, pretty please, drop a comment here to let us know how it works out for you. 

Last week, CBC Radio invited British Columbia Magazine to share some budget-conscious spring-break travel ideas on their B.C. Almanac program. The half hour flew by as I chatted with host Mark Forsythe and listened to some great tips from callers.

As I said to CBC listeners, B.C. residents can view local travel as an opportunity, not a hardship, during these economically uncertain times. Travellers come from around the globe to enjoy what we have right on our doorsteps.

In our magazine’s Spring 2009 issue, international publishing sensation Nick Bantock—creator of the Griffin & Sabine books—demonstrates just how rewarding local travel can be on a whimsical tour of Saltspring Island, his Gulf Island home. You can read the full story online—and don’t miss the chance to enter our Saltspring Getaway Contest!

Here are some other ideas we shared on B.C. Almanac. There are exciting opportunities for every budget and in every region of the province—and plenty of good reading here on our website for even more ideas.

Vancouver Island

* Quirky alleyways of Victoria’s Chinatown are fun to explore with children; small imported toys for pocket change.

* Great deals on Victoria hotels; check in with Tourism Victoria online.

* Intriguing shores . . . for beachcombing and viewing eagles, seals, otters. Read associate editor Jenny Manzer’s article about Qualicum Beach.

Vancouver, Coast, and Mountains

* Vancouver: Daytrip to Granville Island’s sensory-rich public market on the fun little False Creek Ferries.

* Walking the Seawall is always free. Give the kids coloured pencils to makes sketches of the Stanley Park totem poles.

* XÁ:YTEM Longhouse Interpretive Centre in Mission: tours, workshops, pithouses, Transformer Stone.

* Check out Hostelling International Canada’s selection of budget B.C. accommodation. We also hear good things about The Upper Deck Guesthouse hostel on the Sunshine Coast.

Thompson Okanagan

* At Big White and Silver Star ski hills, purchase adult accommodation and lift tickets during spring break, and children 12 and under can ski for free.

* Cross-country ski or snowshoe on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail.

* Look for Ogopogo, the Loch Ness-like monster of Okanagan Lake. Bring binoculars.

Kootenay-Rockies

* Nakusp Hot Springs is open year round. Cheapest dip? Wednesdays, $4/person. Bring a self-contained camper for off-season stays, just $18/night.

* Two-night family packages at Fairmont Hot Springs; $368 for two adults and two children—includes “eco-adventure” activities such as wildlife tracking and snowshoe fondue.

* For snowshoeing, skiing, or winter camping, B.C. parks around the province offer a cheap and satisfying family outing. See assistant editor Shanna Baker’s profile of six top winter parks in Frosty escapes, online.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast

*The Cariboo-Chilcotin region has some of B.C.’s best cross-country skiing. Historic Barkerville is closed in winter, but the restored buildings of the old townsite make for an intriguing ski destination.

Northern British Columbia

* Just outside of Prince George, Sugarbowl-Grizzly Den Provincial Park is a premier backcountry skiing and snowshoeing destination. Read our full magazine profile of Sugar Bowl-Grizzly Den online.

* Check out the Ski and Stay in Spring packages at Hudson Bay Mountain in Smithers, promising “sun, snow, and savings.”

As we approach the end of 2008, we would like to thank our loyal readers and magazine contributors for their support of British Columbia Magazine this year. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and look forward to welcoming you back in 2009.

It’s going to be an exciting year, with our Summer 2009 issue marking the magazine’s 50th year of publication. That’s right: we’re turning 50! We have all kinds of exciting editorial content planned, so stay tuned: you won’t want to miss a thing!

Susan Rybar of Victoria visited the Rocky Mountain town of Fernie earlier this fall and snapped this photo of the historic and picturesque downtown, with the Lizard Range beyond.

“Recognize this?” she inquired in the playful e-mail she sent along with the photo. “Well, with snow and twinkling lights, maybe?”

Susan was the Publication Director of British Columbia Magazine when we released our Winter 2006 issue, featuring this splendid cover image by Fernie photographer Henry Georgi.

You can peruse the entire “Coolest Fernie” travel article in the Read Online section of our magazine’s website (www.bcmag.ca). Just in time for ski season! Enjoy.

Larry Pynn was in Tofino last weekend, testing out the waves at Long Beach, British Columbia’s best-known surf spot. And while it may not appear from this photo that our contributing editor was hard at work, the trip was all in the name of research. Pynn will write about hanging-ten and the like for a future Outdoor Advisor column in British Columbia Magazine.

This was only the second time the Tsawwassen-based writer has tested himself on a longboard. In 2001, a high-school friend living in Hawaii introduced him to Maui’s breakers. Pynn clenched his teeth so hard at the sight of each oncoming wave that he threw his jaw out.

This time, he benefited from the guidance of Sepp Bruhwiler of Tofino’s Westside Surf School and even managed a few times to stand on the board and travel several metres before “bailing out” in the shallows.

(You may not have been riding the big kahuna, Larry, but we’re proud of you just the same.)

“I had a great time” says Pynn of his surfing exploits. “My only regrets are that you can’t hide anything in a wetsuit, and that I live so far away from Tofino’s crashing surf.”

Warm weather didn’t stop Janina McLaren from making chili last Friday—195 cups of the rich, steaming comfort food.

Our community-minded administrative assistant/photo researcher and her friend, Marlene Thomas, each took time off work to slave over a hot stove. The next day, they served their vegetarian chili to participants in the 2008 Paws for a Cause “Walk & Run for Wildlife,”  a fundraiser supporting the BCSPCA’s Wild ARC (Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre).

Janina and Marlene dished up chili for everyone who completed the three-kilometre Fun Walk and five-kilometre Rover’s Run, some with dogs, some without. Most of the leftovers were sent to the Sooke Crisis Centre, and, fortunately for our editorial team, Janina brought a sampling into our Victoria office.  Yum!

Janina and Marlene’s efforts for Wild ARC were on behalf of the Sooke Lions Club. The service club has supported Wild ARC for the past five years; Janina has been involved for the past three. Wild ARC, the only wildlife centre of its kind on southern Vancouver Island, treats more than 1,700 wild animals annually, including deer, songbirds, waterfowl, raptors, raccoons, otters, mink, seals, and bats.

“Helping these defenceless animals is a very worthwhile cause,” says Janina, who plans to sponsor an animal this year as a Christmas gift for her young grandsons. Donors to Wild Arc receive a photograph of their critter, along with a special certificate.  Janina’s choices include a duckling for $25,  a heron for $50, or a seal for $75.

Visit the Wild ARC and BCSPCA websites to learn more about their programs and how you can help.

Here at British Columbia Magazine, we’re always interested to hear about unusual places where people have spotted our magazine. Readers report from around the globe about copies, sometimes decades old, turning up in their doctor’s office in Australia, a third-world classroom where they are teaching English, and other surprising places.

Janina McLaren, our administrative assistant/photo coordinator, says her grandson recently noticed a copy in a waiting room in Phoenix, Arizona.”Grandma, I saw your magazine,” he proudly exclaimed over the telephone.

On a trip to London, Ontario earlier this summer, I scoped out copies of British Columbia Magazine for sale in a Chapters bookstore. It looked great there on the newsstand alongside Conde Nast Traveler, In Britain, Travel & Leisure, and Cottage Life.

But imagine my surprise at finding one in a cedar-shingled outhouse in the shadow of British Columbia’s Homathko Icefield. I was in Bute Inlet doing story research, and there was our Spring 2006 issue, on the floor right beside the toilet paper–every page intact, I might add.

How about you? Where have you seen British Columbia Magazine? We’d love to hear about your sightings.