British Columbia Magazine

If you’re one of those thoroughbred West Coasters who prefers cool breezes and just a hint of sunshine over truly sweltering summer temperatures, than the heat wave currently baking southern B.C. is likely making you grumble. Luckily, Whistler Blackcomb has a novel remedy for cooling down — snow! The ski resort reports that enough of the white stuff remains in the alpine at the top of the Whistler Village Gondola that, for the first time ever in July, guests can go snow shoeing and tubing at a three-lane park. Blackcomb Peak’s Horstman Glacier is also open for summer skiing and snowboarding until July 25.

There are plenty of other, more traditionally summery things to do in Whistler as well, including golf, river rafting, biking, and ziplining. See www.whistlerblackcomb.com for more options.

If you enjoyed learning about British Columbia’s hundreds of “Sleeping Giants” in our Summer 2010 issue, hot off the presses, try spending a day playing amateur volcanologist and exploring the wonders of the Sea-to-Sky Highway.

Natural Resources Canada’s Sea-to-Sky GeoTour guidebook provides information on the origins of the awe-inspiring geological landmarks along the route, including glaciers, mountains, and volcanoes.

Download the free guide or listen to the audio version on an MP3, which includes interviews with scientists like Melanie Kelman, a co-author of the tour, and one of the experts quoted in our volcanoes story. For more information on the famed stretch of Highway 99, check out the photo essay in our Fall 2009 issue.

Many of us soon will be enjoying some well-earned winter holidays. Are you wondering what to do with your free time, or maybe how to keep visitors or energetic children occupied?

Visit our free adventure database at www.shareyourbc.com for hundreds of fun, reader-recommended things to do in B.C.  You can search for activities by location (either close to home or choose to roam), or search by a specific winter activity, such as skiing, dogsledding, snowmobiling, or snowshoeing.

Here’s a fun idea contributed by B.C. visitor J.P. from Bridgeend, Wales:

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Feel like Bond, James Bond!
Activity: Tobogganing
Location: Whistler

At the ages of 63 and 75, my wife and I tobogganed down Blackcomb Mountain in April, zipping past all the skiers, arriving at the very edges of the slopes then, apparently falling off the edge, hurtled down yet another slope. All this after the peace and tranquility of the high ski lift—perfect peace whilst being lifted over the snow, the bears, and the trees . . . just us and the blue, blue sky.

Coming down the mountain on the toboggan felt like we were taking part in a James Bond movie, being pursued by the “bad guys,” seeing the very edge of the white world in front of us and tripping over it, only to find yet another escape opening up in front of us. Fantastic! Utterly repeatable!

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Whatever you decide to do with your time, have fun and enjoy the season. Happy holidays to all from the editorial team at British Columbia Magazine.

If you’re heading up Vancouver Island this weekend, you might want to slooow down at Cowichan Bay. This small seaside community on the Island’s southeast coast is North America’s first certified Cittaslow—Italian for “slow city.”

To qualify as a Cittaslow and join an international network of like-minded communities, Cowichan Bay had to excel in six categories related to quality of life: environmental policy, land use and infrastructure, strength of urban fabric, encouragement of local products, hospitality, and Cittaslow awareness.

“Lots of fundamentals of Cittaslow are already engrained in what Cow Bay does,” commented Cittaslow Cowichan Society president Bruce Stewart in a Cowichan News Leader article. “We actually scored higher than other Cittaslow cities.”

Less than an hour’s drive north of Victoria, the quaint village (pop. about 1,300) has earned a reputation as a food and wine destination in recent years, featuring artisan cheeses, breads, ciders, even old-fashioned ice cream. As writer Brian Payton revealed in our Fall 2006 Destination article “Cowichan Bay,” it is also a place rich in history and outdoor opportunities.

The community will celebrate the Cittaslow designation with an official ceremony this fall.

Info: Cowichan Bay

We thought you might enjoy this snapshot of our own Jane Nahirny, suited up for adventure in remote Bute Inlet on British Columbia’s mid-coast.

“Good thing orange is my colour,” jokes Nahirny, who appears on the right, seated next to trip organizer Trish Hutchison.

Nahirny travelled up the 75-kilometre fiord last summer. She noted how markedly the air temperature drops as boaters move toward the head of the inlet, where Homathko Icefield dominates the landscape. The colour of the fiord changes gradually, too, turning from navy blue to emerald green as glacial silt in the water increases.

It’s an extraordinarily scenic journey, with waterfalls streaking down granite cliffs that rise some 2,000 metres straight up from the inlet, and frequent sightings of seals, eagles, and bears.

Click here to see the complete Bute Inlet story—just one of 50 entries in our current summer issue’s complete list of “50 things to do in B.C. before you die.”

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.”

In tough economic times, “cheap” is a word we all want to hear. Cheap travel. Cheap gas. Cheap eats.

Tomorrow on CBC Radio One, our own Jane Nahirny will share tips for cheap B.C. getaways with B.C. Almanac host Mark Forsythe. Jane is promotions co-ordinator for British Columbia Magazine, and is working to develop all kinds of fun activities around our magazine’s 50th anniversary year (1959-2009).

Jane will bring her bubbling enthusiasm for all things B.C. to the radio show this Friday, March 13, between 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. B.C. Almanac listeneres are encouraged to call in after 1:00 p.m. with their own recommendations for cheap B.C. getaways.

Tune in tomorrow for some terrific ideas for spring break!

Rocky Mountains, here we come!

Our publisher Don Foxgord was aboard Delta Air Lines flight 4543 as it made aviation history last Wednesday, completing the first direct international flight into Cranbrook’s Canadian Rockies International Airport (YXC). A crowd of 250 people waving Canadian flags greeted the inbound flight, which arrived on time on its non-stop journey from Salt Lake City Airport (SLC) in the U.S.

The new regular service establishes the Cranbrook airport as one of the few airports in British Columbia to receive direct service from a major U.S. “hub airport.” Delta’s 50-passenger Canadair RJ 200 airplanes handle the two-hour Salt Lake City-Cranbrook flights on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Cranbrook (pop. about 20,000) is the smallest city in Canada to host Delta Air Lines, purportedly the world’s largest airline.

photo: courtesy Darren McDonald/redbarkphoto.com

I laughed when I first cracked the cover of Exploring Tumbler Ridge. Charles Helm, family practitioner and unofficial cheerleader for his Northern British Columbia community, had inserted a personal greeting for me written on a sheet from his medical prescription pad.

The book, written by Helm, is a fitting prescription for anyone itching to experience Tumbler Ridge. He provides a thorough overview of the area’s geological and human history, and explains how the community survived when the coal industry it depended on temporarily collapsed. He discusses the dinosaur fossil discoveries that have brought a level of fame to Tumbler Ridge in recent years, and other topics of local interest—the eagle migration and the impact of the mountain pine beetle, among others.

“The Tumbler Ridge area has yet to give up all of its secrets,” Helm writes, “and the purpose of this book is not to provide directions to every interesting feature.”

Yet the section I find most valuable provides an excellent, detailed overview of nearly 50 hiking trails in the area. It includes maps and difficulty ratings, as well as estimates for distance, time, and elevation.

I’ve already dog-eared a few pages. Who knows, a summer hiking trip to Tumbler Ridge might be—sorry, I can’t help myself—just what the docter ordered.

Exploring Tumbler Ridge can be purchased from www.exploringtumblerridge.com.

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.