Salish Sea

This is the entrance to the hikers’ (showshoers, backcountry skiers’) route up Hollyburn Mountain yesterday. The Park Rangers have had to cut stairs and a hallway through the snowbank beside the road so that people can reach the trailhead. Some years, we can ski right down to the cars parked along the road. This year we would end up at the top of an 8-foot cliff of snow. Most of this snow has arrived in 2008. There is no snow only 1000 feet below here on the hill. In this magical place, called Cypress bowl, snow still falls almost every time it is raining in Vancouver.

Readers of this blog know that I recognize 3 local seasons (not four). I don’t know the exact day that the Dark Season ends and Spring arrives. It seems to be around or after Valentine Day and before the end of February.

We’ll, in my opinion, Spring has arrived. Now is when my backcountry ski season really begins. On this day we left all of the Gortex in the car. It was actually warm in the sun. With this snowpack (and still more snow to come), we could still be skiing in July (but probably not here).

Cypress Bowl is only a 1/2 hour drive up a switchback highway from West Vancouver. An hour of walking or skiing up through old-growth forest is all that it takes to reach the summit.

Although it is close to urban Vancouver, this amazing Provincial Park certainly has a big mountain feel to it. The views of nearby hills, of the city, and of the Salish Sea are worth the treck.

Technorati Tags: snowpack, Hollyburn, spring, snow, Cypress Bowl

The map on the left will work for 9 PM, mid-latitudes in the northern hemisphere, during the month of February. Click for full-size image. (It is actually set for the night of February 23 and the latitude of Bowen Island.) The map on the right shows the track of Comet Holmes. It begins on February 1. There are ticks for the position on Feb. 11, Feb. 21, and March 2. The track ends on March 5. If you have a telescope, and you would prefer some R.A. and Dec. data, there is an ephemeris posted here by the Institute of Astronomy - U. of Cambridge.

Technorati Tags: Comet Holmes, Sky map, star map

When I wrote this blog entry about how to make an outstanding pizza, I did not have the permission to publish the name of my mentor. I can now. He is the musician and baker, Tim Clark.

Please drop by Elk Fork Studios, run by Tim Clark and Linda MacMichael.

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We awoke this morning to this. I have not heard a vehicle in hours. I went out only to clear the snow from the hummingbird feeder when I saw a frustrated hummer. The snow is still falling. It is hard to imagine that we are only a month away from blooming fruit trees.

Technorati Tags: hummingbird, snow

The Dark Season has been particularly gloomy lately. We have received lots of precipitation. There is no snow at sea level, and not much below 1,000 feet. Above 3,000 feet there is now lots, and all of the upper trails on Hollyburn Mountain, in West Vancouver are above that. For days we had been watching a bubble of high pressure moving in from the Pacific Ocean. It arrived Monday night, and we planned to ski on Tuesday. I’m glad we did. That one day of blue sky was spectacular on the hill. (The pictures are thumbnails).

As we begin to ski up the backcountry trail on Hollyburn Mountain, the high altitude old-growth trees are heavy with snow and ice. The temperature is just above freezing, and the trees drip on us as we ski beneath.

Since it is the middle of the week there are not many people on the path. Everyone seems in a good mood, and no one passes without a friendly greeting.

It looks as if this is a rough winter for the forest.

The heavy burden on the branches and the recent winds have brought down many branches and whole trees.

The hikers’ backcountry route meanders up and to the west of the groomed  commercial nordic area on Hollyburn Ridge. The top of the  nordic is known locally as The Water Boards. I’ve never known what that means. It is at that loop below us. Here the backcountry trail climbs an open swath in the forest and we have our first views of Vancouver and Georgia Strait.

Higher up, the air is colder, and the trees are no longer dripping. The summit of Hollyburn is the dome to the right.

When I look at these pictures I don’t have the sense that we are climbing.  It is not very steep, but it is uphill!

Up here it is possible to see the mountains to the east and some of the distant wilderness to the northeast.

I think the peak is Crown Mountain.

It seems that lots of snowshoers are heading up to the summit.

We decide to find some fresh snow, and solitude, in the forest to the left of the route.

That wide open swath didn’t feel like the backcountry.

Here in the forest, with the brilliant sun, the encased trees, and the dark blue sky, it is magic.

At one point I could look through the trees and glimpse the route to the summit. It was not far away and I could just hear laughter and squeals of delight. It sounded like a playground. Folks were enjoying the mountain.

Although the trees look as if they are plastered with snow, that is really ice-hard.

We arrive at a high dome. There is a couple of inches of wind driven powder over a hard base. The snow is sparkling in the sun and we have a fine view of Vancouver and the Salish Sea. The trees in this forest are spaced so that skiing among them, and finding the easier glades will be fun. To check the depth of snow, I plunged my avalanche probe straight down, and at 240 cm, there was no bottom. We took the skins off and skied down.

The Quadrantid Meteors Shower, tonight, could be the best shower of 2008. Under clear dark conditions you might see over 100 meteors per hour. We seem to have a heavy cloud layer over Bowen Island, but perhaps some readers will be lucky enough to have clear skies. The best time will be during the darkest-before-dawn tomorrow morning. For this shower, the time of maximum meteors is brief: less than 12 hours.

Technorati Tags: Quadrantid meteors

The star maps showing Comet Holmes position were popular last month. So, here are the maps updated for January 2008.

Sky maps for January 2008. Click thumbnails.

The map on the left shows the stars for the whole evening sky. The exact time when the moon and planets Saturn and Mars are in that position is 9 PM, January 23.

Comet Holmes will not move very far across the sky this month. Begin to locate it by finding Mirfak, in the constellation of Perseus. The second map show the section of Perseus with Mirfak and the track of Comet Holmes. The numbers beside the ticks on the track show the date and time the comet will be at that location. The comet is now faint and you will need clear dark skies and large binoculars or a telescope. Around Jan. 22 Holmes will pass in front of the star Algol. Unfortunately, there will be a brilliant Moon shining nearby.

The Quadrantid Meteors Shower will peak on January 4. Since there is a new crescent Moon, the sky will be dark, and it could be the best meteor shower of the year. Shower meteors seem to radiate from a single point in the sky, and normally the name of the shower uses the name of the radiant’s constellation. This one is named for a constellation that no longer exists called, Quadrans Muralis. The radiant is now in Boötes. Boötes is not up in the early evening, but you don’t need to see the radiant because the meteors will streak across all parts of the sky. The numbers of meteors could increase a little after midnight.

Technorati Tags: Comet Holmes, meteor shower, Sky map, star map

The young people are planning an expedition to Hollyburn Mountain, in Cypress Bowl, to build an igloo next Sunday, December 30. We will probably use the same location as last year. << Click the link for directions. Follow the links to see how the igloo turned out. Edited to note: the usual throng of igloo builders has not materialized, and we will not be igloo-making on Sunday. If an igloo is to be built this season, I’ll mention it in this blog.

Probably the only weather that would prevent this is rain above 2500 feet (not too likely). We will be there all day. If you’d like to visit or participate: • dress for warmth • warm hat & dry extra mitts are good • all day means bring lunch and water or hot tea • a big shovel is useful… even better are large clean paint buckets - the trick is to easily move lots of fresh snow without working it into lumps • if you bring a dog, it must be on a leash - a dog running around will ruin an acre of snow in a couple of minutes • when you approach, please stay on the path so as not to mess up the snow we will use for construction. If you would like to participate, please call me at (six-oh-four) 947-0815. Thanks.

Technorati Tags: Cypress Bowl, Hollyburn, igloo

Each year one of our neighbours on Bowen Island hosts a caroling party. About 30 people of all ages arrive, and a little after 5:30 PM we set out to tour some of the local houses. Homemade song books were provided. This year many of is showed up with headlights to make it easy to read the words and music. Others carried lanterns. Some of the people we visit knew we would arrive, and after our two carols plus singing “We wish you a Merry Christmas,” instead of figgie pudding, we were served hot mulled wine and cookies. As we proceeded, folks would join us and the throng became larger.

The temperature was above freezing, and the Moon with Mars as a very nearby companion, emerged to light our way. Just about the time when folks were tired of walking, and feeling a bit cold, we returned to the host’s where there was a huge pot-luck dinner, and lots more music.

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After days of precipitation, we have a lovely clear evening. The temperature is hovering just above freezing. There is a brilliant moon near Comet Holmes in the sky. Shortly after 7 PM PST I went out to see the comet. Nothing. So, I took the time to become dark-adapted. Now 7:31 PM, and I have seen the comet. I used some software to make my computer screen dimmed red, and kept my dark adaption. On the computer I checked the exact position of the comet. Outside again, I used a tree so I could stand it its shadow (moonlight). On a line from Mirfak to Kappa Perseus, the comet was a vague faint cloud in the bluish (not black) sky, and at right angles “above” that line. I could see HIP13965 and HIP13713 (6th mag stars). The comet is at the tip of a long isosceles triangle formed with those faint stars. Actually, it fills lots of the space between those 2 stars and Kappa. It helps that the binoculars are hand-held. The contrast between the comet and the sky is so low that the comet is best seen because it is ‘moving’ in the field as a result of my unsteady hands. The sky map (above) looks much better if you right-click and open it full-size.

Technorati Tags: Comet Holmes, star map