I have over 40 years of images for this club that started out as the Vancouver YMCA Cross-Country Ski Club in the early 70's.  Most of the members were from abroad such as England, Australia and Scandinavia.  They knew and appreciated what a wonderful natural playground we had in this province while many locals, such as myself, were blissfully unaware.  It was a game-changer for me when I joined the club which later went on to become the Pathfinders Outdoor Club.  I will start with our trips to the Cariboo and include what I come across in my albums although not in chronological order.  Enjoy.

You can click on an image to enlarge it and then make it small again by clicking on the X.


We went to the Cariboo to ski in the marathon but also went on many of the local ski trails.




At one point we had to ski under the highway to get to the other trails.













It was -20 or colder but if you kept on moving nothing froze on you.



The trails seemed to go on and on.




Getting the poster up in the hotel room for the marathon.  Getting excited.


 
The morning of the marathon.











After the marathon, we sat down and enjoyed a meal together and recounted the big event.


 Some years later, we did it all over again.



 For me, the day started with a BIG breakfast and then it was on to the starting line.






The Club Bus

 It was during the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal that Spencer Peat bought a new 12 seat van to transport club members on outdoor trips.  The van even had the Olympic decals on it and this caused some confusion during the summer.  As the van load of hikers left the city in the mornings, people on the street started cheering, assuming we were athletes heading to the Olympics.


  In winter the side of the van was covered with 12 pairs of skis. 



That van covered a lot of miles over the years.  Spencer eventually gave the van a new identity with the club logo.  Yes, getting there can be half the fun in the club van.  Ingrid looks ready to go.






Years later, Jim Pearson brought his seven passenger 4x4 into service to take members into the outback.  There always seemed to be enough vehicles to give everyone a ride. 



Fun and Frolics: We shared some activities with other clubs


At the end of the ski season we had a fun and frolic event where we sometimes invited other clubs for fun competitions.  We had our own cheerleaders for this one!



This was our soccer team and part time band - the YMCA Beavers!  Check out the front teeth.



Spencer won the knobbly knees contest.  He was a natural.



Sometimes the fun and frolic was held in the ski area such as Mt. Baker.  Here we have ski rope jumping - which never quite made it into the Olympics.



This one never made it to the Olympics either.  On the right are Pat and Maureen Kinney with a style all their own.  I think they won the wheelbarrow event.






When we were all done with the sporting activities, we went down to a campground and had a BBQ.



Heli-ski Trips

Club members went on three Heli-skiing trips to the Black Tusk near Whistler and one near Callaghan Lake.  I have a blog on that here as well at -
 http://bcnu-myoutdooradventures.blogspot.com/2010/02/heliski-black-tusk.html



A favourite trip was to Manning Park.  It seemed to have the best snow and weather conditions.



Alexander Falls area is now an Olympic world class nordic ski area but forty years ago the Callaghan Lake Trail was our play area.






The following is a potpourri of images from summer and winter trips and socials from my albums.






















Chuck and Di showed up once for one of the Halloween parties.

















































































Spencer Peat:  a remarkable person, a leader and friend to all.


We always had a group photo at Leavenworth, Washington. 






































Diamond Head is an absolute favourite with our club for day trips and overnight stays.



Mt. Shuksan from Picture Lake.  Back then, we always started our ski season in the middle of November at Mt. Baker and was it ever a frosty start to the season.

The view in front of Table Mountain.  This is also where we ended our ski season.  Some of the best hiking anywhere can be had in the alpine meadows of the Mount Baker National Forest. 
















We have had numerous canoe, kayak, sail and motor boat trips over the years.



This was a blind skier we took out on a day trip and it was a wonderful experience for all.








Cathedral Provincial Park
 To get to Cathedral Provincial Park club members  had to cross the Ashnola River on a log.


 This park offers beautiful lakes and unusual rock formations.


 Excellent campsites and great hiking.


Super views from this park that is just east of Manning Park.



Hot Springs
 The club made a number of day and weekend trips to Meager Creek Hot Springs.



 There were the hot pools and then there were the very hot pools.
Club members did two overnight hikes to the top of Mt. Baker.  The blog for that is above the photo.



Club members hiked the West Coast Trail a few times and that blog is above.




So fortunate to have met and married a sweet young lady from Yorkshire in the club who turned out to be an awesome outdoor companion.  Monica has been a dream come true.



  And we are still making great memories to this day.

As time permits, more photos to follow.





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