Anniversary Glacier

Despite the Australian Rules Grand Final the preceding night (which only really effected two of us!) we set out not too far past our scheduled 6am start time on the way to the Duffey Lake Road, shortly beyond Pemberton. Three or so hours and lots of coffee later we made our first stop to examine avalanche paths opposite the road. Several more stops were made for this purpose until shortly after lunch, at which point the day people headed home again and we headed off the bitumen and up to the trail head. Abandoning the vehicles the nine of us marched behind James towards Keith's Hut, stopping only to cough and wheeze. After breaking the new record for the steep, but thankfully short, final section, we spent the rest of the afternoon/evening basking beneath the magnificent scenery and preparing a smorgasbord of curries, stir fries and some beautiful salmon (courtesy of Chris). When it came time for bed, two squeezed into the overfull hut, two into our only tent and the remaining six of us were lulled to sleep under an endless blanket of stars.

Once again the morning dawned fine, and a little damp, and when the last stragglers were finally extracted from their sleeping bags we set off toward the glacier. First we climbed the moraine parallel to the glacier before walking along the knife thin moraine ridge. The trip down to the glacier proved a little intimidating over some loose moraine, but proved well worthwhile, giving us the opportunity to peer into some small crevasses, see the blue ice of the glacier, examine some snow particles, observe debris flow and inspect a selection of other features and processes the names of which I can't currently summon to memory. After a hike back over the moraine, a quick lunch at the hut and a speedy walk back down to the trailhead we were on the road home again.

My thanks (and I'm sure those of my fellow explorers) go to James and Steve for their organisation, chauffeuring, interpretation, teaching and patience. Also a thanks to Mother Nature (in whatever reincarnation) for the finest weekend of weather we could have wished for.

Enough of my drivel now, onto the photos:

Avalanche paths, Mt. Rohr (sp?)

Avalanche hazard above the Duffey Lake Rd.

Last stop for the day trippers, Duffey Lake.

Mt. Joffre and Anniversary Glacier from near Keith's Hut.

Walking the moraine ridge.

What a lecture theatre!

A crevasse!

Wes checking out the snow.

One for the folks back home!

Mandatory group shot.

I thinks it's called sediment flow.

Lunchtime at Keith's Hut.

Marpole Brewcastle

Beer's a bit expensive here, so we decided to side step the problem. Marpole Brewcastle brew beer to specification, you state the type (in this case a Corona like beer and an Elephant like beer), and they brew it for you, 50 liters at a time. All you have to do is put the yeast in, front up to bottle it and of course, drink it. Split six ways, we saved about 60% on our brew.

The girls cleaning the bottles...

Matt in his element....

Mamiko having a go! (mouth open helps you concentrate!)

Black Tusk

Despite having a cold and not feeling like even getting out of bed, Jay lured Erin, Mamiko and I up to Garibaldi Provincial Park, about an our and a half north of Vancouver, with the promise that it was 4km's each way to the top of the spectacular Black Tusk.
When we arrived at the car park the sign told us otherwise, 14km's one-way to the view point, plus another one or two to the top (and about 1750m vertical altitude gain, which is about sea level to the top of Falls Creek!) . Having come all this way we decided we would at least start walking in the right general direction. But of course once we started walking summit fever took hold and we had to keep going. After about three and a half hours Erin opted to turn around and take the long way back via Garibaldi (and several smaller) lakes, all the uphill was giving her pains in the hips. After climbing the final scree slope before the top cliffs, Mamiko (wisely) decided that the final chimney to the summit was too sketchy, leaving Jay and I (and about 10 other people) to reach the top, five and a half hour after leaving the car park.
Despite running several sections on the way back down, the return trip still took us more than three hours (Erin on the other hand had made it back down in less than two). We returned to the car just before dark, total trip time, about nine and a quarter hours. Well worth the walk though, as you'll see from the pictures below the scenery was most spectacular.
As a side note, I spent most of Sunday in bed!!

The Black Tusk

Mamiko, the Talus Slope, Lake Garibaldi and the Garibaldi Range (?)

Jay, Snow and the Tusk

Mamiko powering up the talus

The Garibaldi Range (I think!)

The Summit

Jay being extreme

UBC

The following photos were taking on a walk I went on during a two hour gap I had. Not all of the photos are taken on the campus itself, but as far as I can understand the whole spit of land belongs to what's called the University Endowment Lands.

The log jam next to uni

Wreck Beach

Rocks on the foreshore

Downtown from the foreshore

Totem outside the Museum of Antropology

Rose garden below the flag on Main Mall

Lions outside the Asia Centre

A bell!

International house

Koerner Library, it's supposed to look like a book

Forestry Atrium

First Nations Longhouse

Japanese Garden

Lighthouse Park & Cypress Falls

Once again, the lovely weather lured us out of bed relatively early and up for suggestions. Upon Jay's suggestion we decided to head out to the north shore and go for a walk. We drove for about 45 minutes out to 'North Van' (the richer area- gorgeous houses) and then on to the Lighthouse Park where we wandered around checking out the flora and views, eventually winding up at the lighthouse lookout (which is as close as you get). With time to spare, we jumped back in the car and headed about 10 minutes further north to the Cypress Falls area. We took the walk up to Cypress Falls and then went on a car tour of the area (commentary by Jay). All in all, much less strenuous than our previous 'walks'!

Rocks at the north shore.

Matt, Erin, Jay and Freddy on the rocks.

Awww.....

Rhiannon at the lighthouse. Sorry...bit dark!

The light house from the look out.

Shabusen

What began as a nice dinner out one night, has now become the house's Saturday morning brunch after a big night at the house on Friday nights. With all-you-can-eat Japanese and Korean food for $12 you can't go wrong. We definitely get our money's worth due to the expense of red meat and lamb- Matt goes nuts! and the fact that this meal is breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one!

SFU

Simon Fraser University has three campuses: the main Burnaby campus (where I am, up in the hills!), the Harbour Centre campus in downtown Vancouver, and Surrey campus in Surrey (on the other side of the hill). SFU, named after explorer Simon Fraser opened in September 1965 and at the Burnaby campus there are around 22,000 students. I say up in the hills because the university's elevation is around 400 metres, high enough to make my ears pop each morning as I drive up the Burnaby Mountain Parkway. The total area is around 430 acres, with buildings expanding over 260,000 square metres of the land. SFU is quite famous for it's distinctive architecture, an interconnected complex of buildings based on the original design concept of Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey. The university is a maze of pathways and split leveled buildings that are easy to follow, but sometimes just as easy to get lost in. It's often referred to as the concrete jungle or cemetery due to the high volume of concrete used in it's construction along with it propensity to become lost in the clouds on foggy mornings (and sometimes whole days!)

Olympic fever has also taken hold on the hill since the International Olympic Committee's choice of Whistler, Vancouver as the host of its 2010 winter games. SFU is involved too, with a lot of construction underway around the uni, mostly concentrated in the car park due to it being designated to be the site of a world-class speed skating oval for the event. It's bad enough I have 8.30 classes three mornings a week, but I gotta get up even earlier to get the pick of the best car spots not under the cranes!! It takes me anywhere between half an hour and 45 minutes to commute each morning, which is sometimes a chore, but gorgeous views of Burrard Inlet, the Lower Mainland and up into the mountains instantly remind me of why I'm here : )

Ok, enough of reading... lets look some pictures. I took my camera up to school one day and just wandered around taking photos in my breaks! It's kinda a snapshot of a day! Enjoy!

You can also check out the website, if you feel so inclined: www.sfu.ca

Cruising up the Burnaby Mountain Parkway.	We're here!
Looking up to the library (left), Convocation Mall & Maggie Benston Centre.	The SFU car park! It's a long walk if you sleep in!
This is the Bennett Library, the main library on campus. I think it's about six floors, but everything is really easy to find and the staff are really helpful. There's even staff members who know what the assignments are for specific subjects and help you research them. There are big rooms designated to 'group study' and 'private study', so it caters for all types and the best part of all (given our internet at home aint too reliable right now) is that there are hundreds of computers all lined up that are always working, with every kind of program imaginable and all hooked up to this cool printing system.	Looking across to the Convocation Mall.
The North-West corner of the Academic Quadrangle and one of the mosaics on the supports.
	As you can see the Academic Quadrangle is a giant square building elevated from the ground, but 'rooms with a view' are mainly offices and stuff- the real action is under ground. Under the ground is two levels of classrooms, labs and lecture theatres all linked together by the same square shaped concourse. This underground concourse also leads off to buildings, Education and Science on the north and south sides, that are semi built into the side on the mountain and down the steps to the library and Convocation Mall on another side. The fourth side leads to more labs and some cafes. Besides lecture theatres and labs there is also an Art Gallery and multipurpose sports facility in the middle (underground).
Sorry, had to interrupt the tour to go have a meeting with my Marketing project group in the AQ... Ben, Marisa, Edwin and me!	Looking up to the AQ through the Convocation Mall. On the north side (to your left) is the Bennett Library, and on the south side are the Maggie Benston Student Services Centre, the Highland Pub and the SFU Theatre. This central mall is where graduation ceremonies are held in June and October. Rain, hail or shine graduates and their families are seated under the mall roof, where the ceremony is held. If you squint you can see a raised concrete platform on which the official dudes sit while grads cross and receive their degrees. I sticky beaked on the October one- it was quite exciting!
Inside the Maggie Benston Centre. This striking building with its central atrium provides one-stop service to students: the Office of the Registrar, the Student Society, the SFU Bookstore, Health Services, Career Services, Co-operative Education, the Peak student newspaper, International & Exchange Student Services, etc are all in this building. Managed by the Student Society, there is also the Highland Pub and Higher Ground coffee shop to relax in between classes.	This is Christina, the lovely lady I run to every time I have a question. She's responsible for the well being of all the exchange students and organises fun stuff for us too! Thanks Christina- you do a wonderful job!
Off to the West Mall Complex for lunch... bumped into Lia, a fellow Aussie from Monash, on the way.	Inside the West Mall Complex. Here's were I spend most of my time due to it being the home of the Faculty of Business Administration. There are also classrooms, lecture halls, and seminar rooms and big open rooms with desks, as well as nooks and crannies with couches to study in. Unfortunately the north side of the study hall provides a great view of the mountains and I find a lot of time is wasted day dreaming!
View from Raven's Cafe (in the West Mall) over the northern mountains. Not so good today, but on a clear day you can see this giant snow capped mountain way off in the distance... still haven't worked out what its called...	Directly opposite Raven's are doors out to the Labatt Sport Court and the Gym Complex.
	Another place I spend a lot of time is the Chancellor's Gym Complex. It has two gyms, 6 lane 25 meter swimming pool and diving tank, racquetball and squash courts, Piper's Fitness Centre (cardio & circuit stuff), the Bog weight room, saunas, physiotherapy, and offices. It's four levels high and membership is free for all students! Just outside the complex is a climbing wall (if you can call it that...), 400 meter track, tennis courts and several playing fields. I've joined the tennis team (and am playing for top spot on Wednesday!), hiking group and ski club, but there are a variety of Intramural leagues and sports clubs to take part in. There are also heaps of bike trails and running track all over the mountain.

Photos from International Students day...

My Fellow Victorians Stace (from Swinburne), Steve, Laura and Lia (from Monash).	We won first place in the best poster competition!!!
Maddog (Scotland) teaches Daphne (Sweden) the pipes.	Sanne & Kristian (Denmark) and a random SFU student.

Some more photos from school in late November- when it snowed!

Whilst attending my last macroeconomics tutorial (thank god!) something that I was assured wouldn't happen, did. It snowed at school! The lake had already frozen over in the previous week which was somewhat exciting for all us Aussies, but seeing it dump snow like it did was kinda weird. Unfortunately I could only take a few snaps before my tutor for my next class caught me playing in the snow and told me to get inside! I tried to explain it was only the third time I'd seen snow... but he didn't really seem to care!