About a month ago, Protect Our Winters Canada @POW invited us to share how stoked we are for the upcoming season. As you may know, I’m one of those people who are incredibly excited but also super impatient when it comes to waiting for snow.
Hence the double winter vibe and hoping from Northern to Southern hemisphere to get the year-round winter.
My friend Sofia ( @sofia.warrington ) and I decided to not only show how stoked we are but actually go hunt for some white gold. We loaded our bikes and packs on a gloomy Tuesday morning and drove up to the Elfin Lakes parking lot.
Luckily, the parking lot was empty, giving us a free way to bundle up the packs, dress in snow gear and hop on our bikes, without any weird side looks.
To say that we are excited about this winter is an understatement. When Covid-19 hit, we were not only robbed of our season but of all the fun that comes with it! Socializing, parties, jam sessions, contests, traveling, filming, and other projects. It was simply not fair, an unpredictable finish to the season.
Luckily, the backcountry was there for us and did not disappoint.
And after an incredible summer, when the weather starts getting moody in Squamish and the temperatures drop, we seek shelter in the idea of riding powder on a sunny morning, breathing in that crisp alpine air. That idea becomes the drive, that will get us through the fall, though some struggle more than others, we are all patiently waiting, sitting, and marking the days on our calendar, to when we can ski again.
And for a lot of us, that idea becomes a little obsession, watching snowboard movies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (almost) and have that early season stoke as the light at the end of the dark tunnel, that we call fall in Squamish.
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The weather that day was just classic. A blend of sun, snow, and rain. It didn’t take us long to reach the snowed-in trails and that’s when it really hit me. Winter is coming and we have so much to look forward to! Snow is here, but also, on the other hand, we need to acknowledge the effects of climate change. This whole challenge was sparkled by Protect Our Winter Canada, with a headmaster Jeremy Jones on the front lines, to raise awareness about climate change.
I’m a firm believer that climate change is inevitable. It is happening either way, with or without us. But everything that we are doing is either going to help lower the risk or push it through the roof. And unfortunately, we’ve been pushing that ceiling higher and higher, with each year to come.
From POW website:
Our mission is to turn passionate outdoor people into effective climate advocates. Protect Our Winters Canada is a passionate community of enthusiasts, professional athletes, and industry brands uniting the outdoor community to address climate change. We believe our love of adventure in nature demands our participation in the fight to save and protect it.
Vote this fall. It is currently the number #1 thing you can do. Vote for the green parties, do your research. The most powerful thing we have is our voice. Give it to someone who can transform the laws and make a change in a good direction. This year has been just crazy, maybe is time to turn it around.
Read more: https://protectourwinters.ca/
I haven’t posted in a while, but these two videos pretty much sum up my fall! Mountain biking and lots of yoga.
☽ Follow me on Instagram – @alenkaamali – to see more of my adventures ☽
More about Alenka
My name is Alenka and I’m a Squamish based photographer and a freeride snowboarder. I love using my medium to capture sports, adventures, underwater shots, adventures in the mountains, and days on snow! Very simply put, I’m one stoked girl, ready to get up at 2 in the morning and hike for sunrise, go to the airport and take a random flight…you name it!
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