Early Season Turns

Waiting in anticipation for the resort to open, we decided to head up to the Duffy to get our legs back in gear and to find some pow in the backcountry!

We thought we would be lucky to just get a few simple turns in - instead, we found much more than we had bargained for!

Stawamus Chief

The Stawamus Chief is claimed to be the 2nd largest granite monolith in the world, with a 600 metre vertical face seen from all areas of Squamish. Estimated to be 93 million years old, the Chief was formed by the slow cooling and solidification of molten magma deep below the Earth's surface. Exposure of the granite body came about through the erosion of overlying rocks, and the steep granite cliffs were then shaped by glacial erosion which also shaped the Howe Sound inlet. The Chief has significant historical and cultural value to the Squamish First Nation. It is also considered to be a place of spiritual significance.


There are three separate summits which can be reached via a trail on the backside of the Chief. This scramble up the Chief is an extremely popular hiking trail for locals and tourists alike. The trail starts off with some steepish stairs alongside a beautiful creek, and continues through a beautiful forested area all the way up to the Chief's granite surface. Once you reach the open granite, there are chains and ladders to help you get through certain steeper sections. The views from the top are breathtaking! On a clear summer day you can see kitesurfers and sailboats playing in the Howe Sound Inlet, snow on Diamond Head peak, the entire town of Squamish, and you also get an amazing view of Quest!



For those looking for more of a challenge, the Chief has approximately 180 climbing routes. Most of the big wall routes that go to the very top of the Chief are 12-18 pitches long, and usually take an entire day. Some of the most popular routes up the Chief include 'Stairway to Heaven' (5.10c), 'Ultimate Everything' (5.11 or 5.9+A0), 'The Buttress' (5.10c), and the world-class 'Grand Wall' (5.11a).



Rock on!

Squamish Days

Squamish just recently celebrated its 51st annual Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival! This annual event brings the community together every year with its Loggers Sports Shows, pancake breakfast, parade, music events and bed races!

Quest participated in the bed races, and despite the rain, the Quest team did remarkably well! Good job Questers!! Get your teams together and start practicing for next year's event!

Bouldering Playground

Not only is Squamish a rock climbing mecca, it is also known for its world-class bouldering!

Bouldering is a form of rock climbing which consists of short climbs and requires limited gear. As the climbs are normally quite short, and not super high, no ropes are actually required. The only thing you need to boulder is some climbing shoes, chalk and a crash pad in case you fall! The V-grade system is used for bouldering, with grades ranging from V0 – V16. All the bouldering in Squamish is set in one beautiful forest location, under the granite monolith, the Chief. There is no shortage of rock boulders here with boulders ranging in all types of shapes and sizes.

Walking through this forest, it feels like a magical playground with people scrambling on all the chalk-marked rocks around you. Come and try it out!

May in Squamish

Spring is such a confusing time in Squamish - do I keep skiing, or should I dust off my bike and climbing gear instead? Or... why not just do it all!

Saturday ended up being a glorious day, so we decided to spend the afternoon at the Smoke Bluffs for some rock climbing. The Smoke Bluffs are within walking distance of downtown Squamish. The series of short cliffs offer some great crack climbs and is one of the most famous crags in British Columbia. There are at least 400 routes on over 20 bluffs in just this one area alone.




One of the classics in the area: Penny Lane (5.9):



Elephant's Arse Crack (5.10c):

There are plenty of other climbing areas in and around Squamish, including some amazing long routes up the Chief, the famous granite monolith that looms over the town:

Sunday we decided to switch it up and go for a little backcountry adventure off of Blackcomb instead. The mountain remains open till the start of June, and one can access the backcountry via the Blackcomb Glacier. The spring is a great time for touring - there is definitely no shortage of snow up there!

AAHHH!! Where are you taking me??

Whistler is planning on opening their bike park on May 17 already! Apparently the trail crew has been digging and working hard to open at least 2 trails for opening day!

What's a Duffey?

"What's a Duffey?" one of my friends asked me when I told him I was planning on heading to the Duffey for the weekend. Well the "Duffey" is short for the Duffey Lake Road, a 100km mountain pass, linking Pemberton to Lillooet. It takes about 1.5 hrs to get to the start of the pass from Squamish. The Duffey offers spectacular sights of the surrounding lakes and dramatic mountains. It also offers some fabulous ski touring, with numerous backcountry huts to stay overnight at. Some friends and I headed up the other weekend and got two great days of skiing in.

Looking down at the Duffey Lake Road (above)

Earning our turns:

We got cozy at the Cayoosh Hut with 5 strangers for two nights (8 of us in total) with just enough room for us to all sleep comfortably. This tiny A-frame hut is fully stocked up with all sorts of amenities including a spice rack!

Check out the coolest bench ever! (above)

I have also added a video from another Duffey day back in January:

Quest at Whistler

We seriously live in the best place in the world! The recreational opportunities in Squamish are limitless. If you're a skier, you've most likely heard of Whistler, a ski town located just 45 minutes north of Squamish. Whistler has two unbelievable mountains you can ski at - Whistler and Blackcomb. The mountains are located side by side and together offer so much amazing terrain. Being located in the coast mountain range (i.e. wet), there is no shortage of powder days. Whistler Blackcomb is also the official Alpine Skiing Venue for the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games.

Quest students get an amazing deal on a Whistler season's pass. Student passes are offered at $399 - how could you not get one! The students have been having an awesome time sking on weekends and block breaks. We also offer regular shuttles for students heading up to Whistler for the day.

Here are a few photos from the mountain this past weekend. It was extremely busy, because of the American President's week, but the crowds couldn't keep me away!

Quest also got involved in the Fire & Ice show this past weekend, which is a welcome show that takes place every Sunday evening in the skier's plaza. A couple thousand people gathered for this past Sunday's show which included skiers and snowboarders jumping through a burning ring of fire, fire twirlers and a fireworks show to top it all off. It was a great opportunity for us to meet people from all over the world and tell them about our wonderful new university! Here are two of our admission counsellors, Sarah and Emily, freezing in the cold... we're definitely dressing warmer next time, and bringing lots of hot chocolate!!

Moonlight Skiing in Quest’s backyard

We took full advantage of the clear skies and full moon this past week, and headed up into Garibaldi Provincial Park, just up the road from Quest, for a moonlight ski. What an absolutely gorgeous night! The moon was so bright, we only used our headlamps when shadowed by the trees. Once we got into the alpine, the trees opened up and we were in a magical moonlit land! The snow sparkled in the moonlight, as we continued up into the alpine. We headed up the ridge, and found a perfect little ledge for our picnic dinner with a glorious view of the peak of Diamond head, the lights of Squamish, and the surrounding snow-capped mountain ranges.

After a scrumptious falafel wrap (from the Quest dining hall of course) and tasty hot chocolate, we then snapped into our skis and headed down. The snow conditions were fantastic! We got some great powder turns in, and then continued on down the trail back to the parking lot. What a perfect way to experience a full moon! As we drove down the road, we drove past Quest, lit up in all its glory. How amazing to experience something like this in, literally, the backyard of a university!!!

Catskiing on the Hurley Pass

The other weekend, I was fortunate enough to be invited on a 2-night catskiing trip with Backcountry Snowcats on the Hurley Pass. The Hurley Pass is just north of the Pemberton Meadows and is only accessible by 4x4 in the summer and via snowmobile in the winter. It was my first time catskiing, and I highly suggest it for those looking for fresh powder turns. We almost had too much snow (if that's even possible...)! Unfortunately, avalanche activity was considerable, so we stuck to the trees. But no complaints - we experienced an entire weekend of deep, blissful powder and untracked turns. One especially cool spot was 'the Badlands', a burned down forest, where we skied amongst black tree skeletons.

Be sure to check out our video too: