I wish you a Happy New Year!
Last year, when I did the 2020 review post, I had hoped that 2021 would see the end of the global pandemic. But COVID-19 is still with us, and with the new Omicron variant, 2022 is not looking much different than 2021. But just like last year, I am grateful that everyone in my family is healthy, and Kasturi and I have jobs to support our lifestyle.
Family Trips
Snowshoeing / Hiking
We made two snowshoeing trips in early 2021 – one to Black Mountain and another one to Hollyburn Mountain with Rohan and his family.
We had got snowshoes for Kavya, but after the Dog Mountain trip, she was more comfortable hiking in just her boots on packed snow. She used microspikes in some icy sections, but her snowboots worked pretty well for the most part. Even shorter trips took more effort, but Kavya got more comfortable with these winter hikes.
As spring approached, we started doing some longer hikes. Given the elevation gain, terrain and cold, the Lindeman and Greendrop hike was probably the toughest. But, having her friends Chloe and Kiera on the hike helped Kavya keep going.
Munro Lake hike was another long hike with close to 900 m elevation gain. Unfortunately, at one point, we lost the trail. But finding our way back using GAIA maps was an “adventure” for Kavya and her friend Riya and, as per them, was the best part of the day.
Backcountry Camping
The most stressful part of backcountry camping is trying to book the campsites. Earlier in the year, I had tried to reserve sites for three families on Berg Lake Trail. I was logged in, ready to go when the bookings opened, but I didn’t find any availability. It was probably the most frustrating experience.
Unfortunately, due to flooding, Berg Lake Trail was closed for the summer season in 2021. We ended up making some local backcountry camping trips and had a great time. Three-day trips to Upper Joffre Lake and Garibaldi Lake offered incredible views and made for some fantastic family time.
In 2021, we also did our first family backcountry hut stay at BCMC’s Watersprite Lake Hut. Gaurav and his family joined us, and it was a fun three-day trip. Watersprite Lake is a beautiful alpine lake, but I think the hut made this trip special.
Personal Trips
Ice Climbing
I did not pursue ice climbing actively and just did one trip to Marble Canyon in February. Slawomir, Beata and I made a day trip that involved 640 km of driving and 110 m of climbing. That’s ice climbing in BC.
Later, Rohan told me about his week-long ice climbing course in the Rockies, and I have now signed up for a similar program in January 2022. I hope to get my basics nailed down and get a taste of ice climbing in the Canadian Rockies.
Snowshoeing / Winter-Spring Hiking
In 2021, I explored more of BC’s backcountry in winter and spring on snowshoes than I had done in the previous years. I first started off the year with AST-1 course with Canada West Mountain School.
With Slawomir, I made a couple of trips to Garibaldi Provincial Park. The first trip was to Garibaldi Lake.
Later in the season, we planned to go up to Panorama Ridge. But, given two feet of fresh snow, we went to Taylor Meadows and Garibaldi Lake. With snowshoes, we were breaking the trail at a snail’s pace. Slawomir said it would have been much easier on skis.
The final trip to Garibaldi Provincial Park was to Parkhurst Mountain with Slawomir and Beata. It was also my longest trip of the season, with about 22 km and 2200 m of elevation gain. Here again, I envied the skiers.
Scott and I made some local trips to Mount Seymour and Mount Strachan. It was not my first winter trip to Mount Seymour, but traversing below the Tim Jones Peak to go to Mount Seymour was quite an experience.
On Mount Strachan, hiking up Christmas Gully was fun, but the best part was figuring out our way across streams on our way down. Thankfully Scott knew what he was doing and got us safely back down.
Oudi and I had attempted Runner Peak in 2019. In 2021, we went back with Bala and Scott. The visibility was limited, but we managed to summit in optimal conditions. Route finding to the summit was my favourite part of this trip.
Climbing
I started following a grade pyramid approach to Trad Climbing and tracked all my climbs on The Crag platform. I did about 70+ climbs with about 19 outdoor climbing days in 2021.
Most of these were single-pitch climbs in Squamish, but I also managed to do some multi-pitch/alpine climbs this year.
Nesakwatch North Spire Southwest Ridge and Mount Matier West Buttress were two of the most challenging climbs of the season. Both have an Alpine Rating of D and had some unique route finding challenges.
I also organized a BCMC trip to the Mount Rexford area. Over three days, we climbed North Ridge of North Nesakwatch Spire and West Ridge of Mount Rexford. Oudi, who has been a mentor to me, joined these trips and helped me build my confidence in leading alpine climbing trips.
Skiing
Kavya and I continued to ski on Grouse in 2021 and by the end of last season, we had achieved our goal of skiing all Blue runs on Grouse. We even did some of the easier Black runs and skiing down from the Grouse Mountain Peak was probably the highlight for Kavya. For me, it was seeing Kavya let go of her fears, ski freely and enjoy it. I took private ski lesson and it really helped me learn new skills and boost my confidence.
After seeing backcountry skiers zoom past me on several snowshoeing trips, I felt it was time to learn backcountry skiing. Oudi again helped me pick the gear and took me on my first backcountry trip to Mount Seymour. I spent more time falling than skiing, but it was a good experience, and now I want more.
India Trip
After two years, we could finally fly to India and spend some time with family. Unfortunately, we couldn’t trek with Kavya in the Himalayas but had fun exploring the Sahyadris.
Kundan and his six-year-old daughter Khushi joined us for the Kalsubai trek. Kalsubai is Maharashtra’s highest peak, and even though it was Khushi’s first trek, she did really well.
Later in Satara, Ajinkyatara was a relatively easy hike right from my mother-in-law’s place. We went up the steeper route from Kurneshwar and then came down the other side via Hanuman temple. Kasturi and I surprised ourselves when we accidentally went up a trail to access the Dakshin Darwaja (South Door) of Ajinkyatara.
My favourite family hike in India was the Vasota fort trek in Sahyadri Tiger Reserve. The ferry ride and remoteness of the hike made it very special.
In the final weeks of our India visit, I made a quick trip to Uttarakhand. Kundan joined me for a couple of days in Rishikesh, and we explored the city and nearby attractions.
After two days in Rishikesh, I headed to Joshimath for Kuari Pass Trek. It was a beautiful day with fantastic views of 7000 m peaks in the Garhwal Himalayas. I hiked 27 km with about 2000 m vertical in 11 hours, and it was one of my best days in the Himalayas.
Training
In 2021, I continued using Uphill Athlete’s 24-Week Mountaineering Plan. However, the training was interrupted first by our India trip in November, and I did some local hikes and strength training sessions. Later in December, I had some medical issues, which resulted in another break in December.
For 2021, my total training and activity (climbing, hiking, skiing, etc.) time added up to 500 hours, with an average weekly elevation gain of about 1374 m. Majority (>80%) of my training was in Zone 1/2 i.e. below my aerobic threshold of 155 bpm.
After almost two months’ break from training, I am starting 2022 with much lower fitness than I had to start in 2021. My training for the first few months of 2022, will be a mix of mountaineering (aerobic) and ice climbing (strength) training plans. Hoping for the best in 2022!
