On Aug 18^th 2010 we began our ascent of the Wedge Trail. Our packs each weighed approximately 40lbs so the trail took us about 4 hrs.

 Our Summit Gear included

Mountaineering boots

Crampons

8mm/ 30m, dry rope

3x 6mm/5m cord

Ice axe

2x 120cm sling

2x5m webbing

Harness

3 locking, 2 non-locking carabineers

2 ice screws

Rock helmet

First aid kit

Soft shells gloves pant and jacket

Food

 We reached the cabin at about 5pm. Our plan was to settle in for the night and attempt to summit in the early hours of the 19^th. Here is our route from the bottom of the wedge glacier to the summit of Wedge Mountain via the North Arête.

 When we woke in the morning, the weather had turned overnight and it was completely socked in. It stayed this was until about 11am, which put an end to our summit.  I am determined to attempt a summit again.

Due to our summit being cancelled we explored the glacier and practiced safe glacier travel for a few hours before making our descent a day early. Here are some photos for your enjoyment and stay tuned for our second summit attempt this winter.

Wedge Glacier

Wedge Lake

Wedge Glacier

Wedge Hut

Sunset by the hut

Thank you to Shaun Stroshin, Escape Route and Rossignol for making these adventures possible.

The trail begins with a short hike to the first waterfall, just a half a km off the main trail. Then you ascend through the forest over two suspension bridges and then into the meadows. There are many bridges through the meadows that take approximatly 5 minutes each.  Once you get to the lake you’ll see that there is no camping at Rainbow lake itslef because it is a water resovoir, there is also no swimming. Just 3 km farther you will come to Hanging Lake, where you’ll find camping and swimming. Both lakes however are quite cold.

You also have the option of going down the trail on the other side of Rainbow Mtn. to Madely Lk. This 9km strech is an excellent way to experience a wonderful day making  your trip a solid 17km from one side to the other.

Tips:

Wear Sunscreen, bring bug spray (depending on the time of year the bugs can be quite bad), A walking stick or trekking poles are recommended, and be sure to stop occasionally and enjoy the scenery throughout the hike but especially through the meadows.

Here are some photo’s. Enjoy

Here is the first waterfall.

One of the two main bridges on the hike.

This waterfall is breath taking. It is also the largest we saw just off the trail.

The meadows.

Rainbow lake.

For more information on The Rainbow Lake Trail and others like it, Visit the Escape Route, located in the market place in Whistler British Columbia. Or online at www.escaperoute.ca

Pavillion Lake

                 Situated between Lilloet and Cache Creek Marble Canyon Provincial Park is a great place to stop and picnic or camp for a few days. Whether your into fishing, watersports or birdwatching, this park has a little of something for everyone in your gang. This canyon was once part of a Pacific island chain, there are a few lakes situated in the canyon Turquoise, Crown and Pavillion. Pavillion  for its fresh water coral, is the more popular of the few and was just recently visited by NASA. It is frequently studied by scientists. The canyon in which Marble Canyon Provincial Park is located is limestone, which is rare in British Columbia.  Overall this place holds a certain mystery about it.

Here are some photo’s we took of the lake.

Shaun enjoying the view and the break from driving.

Oh by the way, the water was the perfect temperature. I have also included a few pictures of the signage posted around Pavillion Lake.

PETERSON CREEK PARK

Well its official we are now residents in Kamloops BC. Our backyard is a utopia for mountain bikers and hikers a like. The park is called Peterson Creek Park. This park has got it all. A small creek that runs from above the city, down through it and into the Thompson River. Some of its trails take you to waterfalls and others to caves. Here are a couple of photos we took of our day.

This is my new favorite spot. I’ll probably spend a lot of time studying here.

This is a picture form a hill top in the park. Shaun Stroshin en route to the look out.

Stay tuned for more Peterson Creek Park Exploration.

Surgery day you will spend sleeping, eating and icing. Doing anything else is like running a marathon. Plus the morphine doesn’t ware off for about 5 hours, then it’s onto Percocet’s or T3 your preference of course. I took perc’s I found them to be very strong and they put me to sleep as well. This was a blessing considering I couldn’t do anything. The dinner I ate that night was small but, like going on a long ski trip and coming home to the local pub for a burger and beer it was the best god damb dinner of my life.

Day 2-4

For days 2-4 I highly recommend calling your mom. No one will wait on you hand and foot like your mommy does. I was blessed to have my father fly out from Ontario for the first 5 days. I am a daddy’s girl and he is my hero. Thanks DAD!

I was in so much pain these days that I could only stand for mere minutes to go to the bathroom. To shower I used a chair…this was awesome. Sitting on a chair, while hot water runs on you is a must for waking yourself up from a pain killer daze.

I made a mistake in the first week by not moving my leg enough. This caused trouble in the coming weeks as you will see by reading. I would recommend sitting with your leg as straight as possible and moving it as much as you can to avoid the seizing of your hamstring, calf and quad.

Days 5-6

By day 5 I could crutch around no problem I even went for the car ride to drive my Dad to the airport. I was in much less pain and took painkillers less frequently. Movement at this stage in crucial. Your exercises should be provided by your surgeon in a nice little booklet.

Day 7

This is the day they take the bandages off and check out your gnarly lady killers (scars). Mine bled a bit with the removal of the tape. This is normal. A sense of relief comes with this moment as your knee can finally breathe. They put regular store bought bandages on your knee and off you go.

WEEK 2

Day1-2

This week I started physio. I decided twice a week would suffice my schedule and budget. My recommendation for physiotherapy is to choose the best physio in your city. Going to the closest place to home may yield disappointment and slow recovery. I see Alison Mclean at Peak Performance Physiotherapy in Whistler BC. She is a physiotherapist, manipulative therapist, acupuncturist, and intramuscular stimulation and rehabilitative Pilates are just some of her arsenal of treatments. She is also an athlete herself which is important to me. She has won many awards for physio of the year in Whistler BC and is sought out by some of the best winter sports athletes in the game. Her credentials are a list too long for this blog.

PEAK PERFORMANCE PHYSIOTHERAPY

Day 2-4

By this point you should begin walking with your crutches and mimicking the movement without putting weight on your injured knee. Remember movement is the key throughout this process to avoid muscle cramping and stiffness. Walk around your house without crutches using the walls and counter tops as support and try firing your quad muscles as often as possible. Getting your knee straight is the first step to walking without a limp. The sooner you get it straight the better and faster your recovery will be. Be patient, everyone heels at different rates and your recovery time will be different than others. This is just a guideline.

Day 4-7

At this point I was off of pain killers entirely.  I recommend continuing icing in intervals 20mins every hour. Depending on your surgery you can at this point heat your hamstring graft with a hot pack to help get your knee straight if you received patella or a cadaver graft this is not applicable. I took Advil for swelling and continued to ice, elevate and rest as much as possible doing stretches and exercises outlined above about 4 times daily.

WEEK 3

Day 1

At three weeks I was back at work and having no issues standing or weight bearing on my leg. I continue to ice and stretch as often as possible. I go to the gym to swim and bike and work out 5-7 days a week depending on how I feel. I began walking with one crutch except for long distances and was biking in full rotation, without raising my hip.

Day 2-4

At this point your physio becomes more aggressive and you are pushing your leg to the point of pain. This is normal when working to achieve your flexion and extension. You should be doing…

Stationary biking minimal resistance

Quarter squats

Hamstring exercises

Core work

Calf exercises

Swimming

Day 4-7

By this point you will want to be walking without crutches. You’ll feel your strength coming back. This is when you should start being more careful not to over train and to rest and ice adequately. Remember its about frequency of the activities not about one session a day. Your scars will be fully healed at this point. I recommend keeping them out of the sun and using vitamen E to prevent them from drying out. Vitamin E can be used at week 2 is desired and will not affect your healing process negatively.

WEEK 4

At week 4 you’re over the hump. You’re walking, exercising and keeping a regular log of your progress. At this point your flexion and extension are getting better and you are walking with a limp. Avoid exercises that incur pain. Talk to your physio therapist about what exercises you can start doing, and keep your patience with your muscles. Everything takes time and getting back to 100% is not about speed. Quality not Quantity is what your want in your recovery. GOOD LUCK.

I tore my ACL completely and if that’s not enough I also tore my meniscus.  “ACL reconstruction surgery uses a graft to replace the ligament. The most common grafts are autografts using part of your own body, such as the tendon of the kneecap (patellar tendon) or one of the hamstring tendons. Other good choices include allograft tissue, which is donor material.” (Yahoo Health). I received a hamstring graft, by Dr. JP MD McConkey. He is one of the best surgeons in Canada. Famed for his flawless record, and his work with many sports figures such as; BC Alpine ski teams Toria Whitney in February 2010 just before the Vancouver Olympics.  

In the next few months I will be dedicating my blog to the long process of recovery.

Check out this You Tube Video from a patient receiving a similar surgery to my own.

ACL Reconstruction

Here are some photos from the day of my surgery.

All Smiles at 8am at Squamish General Hospital. Papers in hand and ready to go under the knife.

This is about 4 hours after I went under. First the they prepped me for surgery. Gave me a choice of either spinal freezing and a light sedative or a general anestetic. I chose the general anestetic because the Squamish General Hospital is not equiped with a plasma for me to watch the surgery.  They inserted an IV, gave me oxygen and injected the Anestetic. I was out like a light.

When I woke up, I was on my side on a gerny in and out from morphine and spouts of pain. When I came to a little bit more. I was asking for pillows to support my leg and water from thirts. The nurse was also kind enough to give me another morphine injection. Swwweeeetttttt! and then sleep. When I was finally sober enough to sit up, about 2-3 hours in recovery, I was helped into the wheel chair, unhooked from my trusty cryo cuff, and wheeled to the front door by my nurse. Followed by Dr. McKonkey who introuced himself to Captain Michael Sullivan (my dad) and Shaun Stroshin ( my boyfriend) who were my escorts for the day.

Forcing a smile. Yea ride home! I slept the whole way…

I spent most of the remainder of the day sleeping.

There was a small amout of surface hoar and it made for beuatiful sparkling photo’s. Here you can see the effects of this summer’s glacier melt. The open crevasse’s  are breath taking. We crossed a well bridged area over looking a larger crevasse.  I am hoping for a cooler spring and summer for 2010 as new routes are already a must, due to this past seasons high temperatures.

This beautiful photo was taken while we were summiting Decker Mt. Shortly after the trekkers broke into multiple parts. Good thing the hard part was over.

This was my favorite photo of our trip. Everything came together, to create a great depiction of how beautiful it was on Mt Decker that day.

Coming out of the mountains into wine country just outside of Osoyooos BC. The fog  was very spooky and expressive of the area’s quiet winter months. Osoyoose being one of the warmest most populated area’s in BC in the summer with its many vinyards and orchards. Its a whole new world in the winter months.

We stopped for lunch in Osoyoos at a friendly restaurant that had murals painted all over it. This cowgirl was my favorite. We posed like we were in a boy band at her feet. I definatly would reccomend you make a stop at the family steak house, which has its own brewery inside, and $6 steak sandwich special on wensdays.

This is a picture of the warmest lake in Canada. Osoyoos, British Columbia. Pretty gorgeous Eh!

As we were heading up out of Osoyoos back into the mountains, we passed this little house perched upon this gorgeous hill looking over the valley where the town resides. This is my favorite picture of the trip. Its a beautiful sunset.

The sunset and I happily ever after.

They call hucking for the camera Kodak courage. This is what they call flash fear. One of our gracious hosts in the humble about we stayed at in Rossland. Thanks Niaomi!

The Burley Mount Roberts! She speaks for herself doesn’t she.

Kelsey Bennet at the Captain Jack Carey Memorial and chinese downhill.

The athletes and friends of Captain Jack Carey gather and remember as old man winter is put to rest and we honour a the man who started it all.

Jim Norm Jack, wathcing as Captain Jack’s wife thanks everyone for their love and support of her husband. Her speech was a heart warming experience that I will never forget.

Back on the Road again after a long night of partying.

Group shot. We stopped at a deserted winery, and found this wonderfully friendly dog to play with.

Top 5 Men

1 Luke Nelson

2 CJ Wright

3 Alex Wall

4 Cliff Bennet

5 Ryan Bougie

Top 5 Women

1 Leah Evans

2 Jocobina Milne Home

3 Martha Burley

4 Chelsea Sullivan

5 Laura Sliva

On our way to Revelstoke crossing over Duffy Lake. The sunset spoke a thousand words to us but the only thing I remember is her beauty. Everytime I leave Whistler I ask myself the same question. How did I ever get so lucky? We packed up every piece of ski gear we could possibly need into my roomate Dave’s truck. Two pair of skis each, a few duffel bag of clothes,  a cooler of food, two sleds, and of course some pillows for the long drive. As we head up the highway for Revelstoke, we are all excited for our first competition of the season.

We arrived in Kamloops, only to realize how muddy Max’s uncovered sled had actually gotten. If there is one thing I will remember from our drive its to cover your sled.

This is the qualifier venue from The Canadian Championships 2010 in Revi. This venue was a choice made late afternoon by IFSA officials. I got one inspection and a few photos. Then it was off to the afternoon meeting. The morning of the qualifier I chose my final line. I felt very unprepaired but all’s well that ends well.

This 3rd place finish was awsome. I skied  a line that none of the other girls skied. This technique paid off and I will remember it for the future.

Here is a photo of the venue for day 1. I had the gnarliest of lines picked out for the event. When we got to the afternoon meeting they closed my line. I had to choose my B line. I was very unhappy with this and conversed with other athletes but closed is closed as they say. My results on day two were not what I expected.  The winner Janina Kuzma, skied my A/original line choise and won, with no penalty. This was a great learning experience for me. To be more comunicative with the judges and to remember to ask questions even when you think you know what the answer is.

In the end my line choice was not high enough to move me through to the finals. I am however confident in my ability to ski well and choose a great line and I feel there are great things to come for me this season. I am well on my way to my goals of gaining prequalification on the IFSA WT. I missed it by a hair, but you can bet I’ll be back for more.

I opted for driving home early with some girlfriends to save cash, as the heli ski finals used the weather day and we all had to work. As we were driving I could see my reflection in the window, and I knew that the season had only just begun for me. In a week I will be on my way to Red Mountain. An IFSA WT Qualifier event. I am excited to move through the season with the success and confidence I have gained from Revelstoke.

I’LL MISS YOU REVI, AND YOU CAN BET I WILL BE BACK FOR MORE.

My friend Christian Ratcliffe and myslef touring up the logging road across from the weather station on Duffy lake rd. This was our frist glimpse of Cayoosh Mtn as we toured into the cabin just below our route.

My friend Jamie and I. We took out OFA level III together and then we went our separate ways. This was the first time we saw eachother. He and a friend spent the night in the Cayoosh hut with thier dog. We had shared some tea and went on our way. Good to see you Jamie!

Christian and I recording our findings.

Measuring  the depth of our pit. Prepping for observations.

Christain looking at the Nov 25 th crust our pit showed it being about 2 in thick. Holy Moly!

The Cayoosh is an excellent day tour and I highly recomend it to anyone looking for some easy skiing  and a beautiful view.