Feb 20, 2022 Ski Trek

"Things are only impossible until they're not." - Captain Jean-Luc Picard, USS Enterprise, Star Trek

 


 To me, that was our finding from our ski trek on the Falaise St-Jacques and the Bande Verte. We skied, dodged branches and side-stepped up and down steep pitches on the falaise and then we broke trail on the multi-use path of the Turcot Bande Verte. We skied a 7 km circuit to prove it could be done. All that while A.T. Lane filled bird feeders along the way!! 

Snow Buntings Observing our Progress




 

And there were firsts. A.T. Lane and I had hoped to string together 15 km in order to complete the requirements for a stage in the virtual Canadian Ski Marathon. Sadly, we only compiled about half that distance but we now know it can be done. Birdie's friend, novice skier Fenn Mayes, showed grit as he navigated the falaise trail, on par with the more experienced skills of H.S. Tibbs and Alfred Wesley Sheritt.

Were we the first? I think not, but we had a mission ... to boldly go where no man (person?) has gone before!!


 

 But enough of the Star Trek associations. More fitting is Jackrabbit Johannsen's credo .... to see what's on the other side of the hill.

Birdie Munger, aka Steve New








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

22 April 2023 Falaise St Jacques Garbage Picking under the Rona Hardware

Image
 Saturday 22 April 2023, about 20-25 volunteers gathered to clean up garbage from under the 5890 St Jacques Rona Hardware store.  As with most Falaise clean ups, they started from the Valley of the Birds near the Rose Bowl then walked  Eastwards along the  Hiking Path.  At first the hillside was clear of garbage as it had been that had been cleaned by many of the same volunteers in years past.  However the area under  Rona hardware was an different,  this section was covered by new garbage.  After scaling the cliff, the volunteers gathered about 20-30 bags of garbage.  In addition the took down bigger items such as 20 sheets of insulation, the usual assortment of metal and pipes, a few tires , a deck umbrella and a chaise-longe.      The bags of garbage were hauled over to the Eastern Access road.  However the large loose items were left by the path.  Another group of volunteers will have to be organized remove them.  The city will be contacted in order to arrange the pick up from the
Read more

Action Shots of Snow / Garbage dumping at Sean Automotive into the Falaise

Image
 I went today on a regular walk in the Falaise, filling up the bird feeders, taking some bird photos, and reporting to eBird. On the way back from the Falaisosaur I picked up some garbage that was left near the Fat Tire and added this to the collection at the Central Access Road. Passing through the Skateboard Park I wasn't sure if we should consider the orange traffic cones as garbage or not.  I decided to leave them for now. Continuing East I took a current photo of the New Hillside Garbage Dump that someone created in Nov 2021.   A more interesting installation, entitled "Growth" is just a little further along the path.  It was done just this past winter. However I was in luck!!!  Immediately above the Growth Art Installation I could see a new work in progress.   Hurrying back uphill to see who was doing this I found the front end loader parked at the new dump site location behind Sean Automotive. I spoke to someone at Sean Automotive, who refused to have his pictur
Read more

Alma Auto Tyre Collection

Image
It was  a beautiful April Spring day in the Woods, and five Falaisians set out to remove new garbage that was dumped over the Winter below Alma Auto.   Heading east from the Valley of the Birds, we replaced a bird feeder that that had fallen near the Growth Art Installation. Soon we were at the new garbage area that had been thoroughly cleaned last fall.     First, we sought the recently discovered special  gem of the Falaise, a massive truck tyre that had been dumped over the winter. ( See the discovery photos 31 March 2022 ) Unfortunately, the tyre ran away from us downhill.  Oh well, we can pick it up along the Bande Verte later.  After that we collected some misc garbage, and about a dozen car tyres along the Eastern Trail as well as lower down near the Bande Verte.  
Read more