Author Archives: BarryH

Vancouver: surviving a grey, wet Family Day

Posted on February 16, 2013 by BarryH

In his book ‘Notes from a Small Island’ Bill Bryson records that when he arrived one Sunday in Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales that it was raining and that it was closed (I paraphrase from memory because someone has borrowed … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Canada | Tagged Canada, Canada Centre, Canada War of 1812, cormorants, Family Day, Heron, Seaplanes, Stanley Park, Vancouver | Leave a comment

Vancouver on a sunny Sunday in February

Posted on February 12, 2013 by BarryH

A month skiing in the Rockies is at an end. My visit to Canada is nearly at an end. I had heard so many good things about Vancouver that I decided to spend a few days in the city before … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Canada, Reflections, Winter | Tagged Anglican church, Athens, Atthens, Burrard Street Bridge, church, False Creek, Granville Island, Granville Street Bridge, Inuckshuck, mountains, Pacific Ocean, scuplture, sea, Skytrain, sunrise, sunset, The Seawall, tower blocks, underground transit, Vancouver | Leave a comment

Whistler in brief

Posted on February 11, 2013 by BarryH

Whistler is very different from Banff in many respects. It has a resident population of 10,500 compared with Banff’s 7,500 yet styles itself a village and nurtures that image. Banff retains the character of a ‘frontier’ town, a place which … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Banff, Brew Pub, First Nation, lights, Olympic Square, ski runs, skiing, street art, The Stroll, Whistler | 1 Comment

Given the bird

Posted on February 9, 2013 by BarryH

Skiing finished now. I survived relatively intact. Tomorrow I’ll post impressions of Whistler but this is just a very brief note to correct a mistake In the last post on the blog I included photos of a bird which I … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Winter | Tagged birds, Blackcomb Mountain, Clark's Nutcracker, mountain restaurants, outdoors, Whistler | Leave a comment

Whistler-Blackcomb: snow and skiing

Posted on February 6, 2013 by BarryH

OK, so I’ve been skiing now for 3 weeks and apart from a brief gripe about snowboarders there has been virtually no evidence on the blog that I have done any skiing. Time to correct that. But first a brief … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Health and humour, Winter | Tagged Blackcomb, Camp Robbers, Canada Jay, Grey Jay, mountain scenery, ski boots, ski runs, skiing, skis, snow, snow conditions, snow types, snowing on the mountain, Whiskey Jacks, Whistler | Leave a comment

Banff: a Canadian Rockies town in Winter

Posted on February 1, 2013 by BarryH

Apologies for the blog-free zone. I’ve been in Whistler since Saturday, skiing every day on either or both of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. But I’ll come to those another time. I couldn’t leave Banff behind without giving some impressions of … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Banff Avenue, Banff Avenue Brehouse, banff canada, Banff National Park, Barpa Bill's, Bow River, Canadian Railways, Canadian Red Squirrel, Castle Mountain, ice climbing, ice sculpture, Mount Rundle, raven, The Keg in the Caribou, trains, Trans Canada Highway, Vermillion Lakes, whistler and blackcomb | 1 Comment

Survival: skiing, snowboarding and ice hockey

Posted on January 26, 2013 by BarryH

A small part of the church service which I went to in the Banff Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning was to exchange with the person next to or close to you something which you regarded as a blessing during the … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Grumpy Old Men, Mountains, Reflections, Winter | Tagged Alpine Rules, Banff, ice hockey, Lake Louise, Presbyterian Church Banff, skiing, snowboarding, Sunshine Village | Leave a comment

More Rockies Rambling around Banff

Posted on January 24, 2013 by BarryH

On Sunday I had another day-off skiing, went to the morning service in the local Presbyterian Church of Canada, a building shared with the Korean Presbyterians, and then in the afternoon set out to walk the trail to Sundance Canyon. … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Aegean Sea, banff canada, Banff Hot Springs, Barpa Bill's, Bow River, cross country ski, cross country skiing, Greece, ice skating, Marsh Loop, Presbyterian Church Banff, presbyterian church of canada, river ice, Sundance Canyon | Leave a comment

Rockies Rambling around Banff

Posted on January 21, 2013 by BarryH

Though the sight of the deer carcass on the frozen river was a sobering reminder that the Canadian Rockies are not just picturesque and benign but are nature in the raw (the previous blog post), Thursday’s rambling along the Bow … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Winter | Tagged Banff, Banff National Park, Bow Falls, Bow River, Cascade Mountain, Fairholme Range, Mount Rundle, river ice, Spray River, sulphur mountain, Tunnel Mountain | Leave a comment

Canadian Rockies: where wildlife is red in tooth and beak ….. but it’s all a matter of perspective

Posted on January 20, 2013 by BarryH

Enlarge the images by left-clicking on them Thursday was a day-off from skiing. But not a day for sitting on my backside or mooching aimlessly around the shops as some seem to do (generally spouses here with significant others who … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Mountains, Winter | Tagged banff canada, Banff National Park, Bow Falls, Bow River, Canada, canadian rockies, cougar, deer, Saskatchewan Diamond Mine, Spray River, wildlife | Leave a comment