Sarah Bourne Photography » Travel

Winter camping on Mt Trorey, BC

Sarah Bourne — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:39:19 +0000

For the first time in months, it seemed, the clouds cleared in Whistler and the sun came out. It was forecast to stay out for a few days, so Rob and I took the rare opportunity to go back country touring and camping.

We headed out from the back side of Blackcomb Mountain on what is the first leg of the “Spearhead Traverse” – a three day, two night ski tour from Blackcomb Mt to Whistler Mt. We were not intending to do the whole traverse, just a quick tour out to Mt Trorey.

Within 30 minutes or so we had left the mayhem and crowds of the in-bounds Whistler Blackcomb ski area and were in the back country. It never ceases to amaze me just how large the mountain area is, compared to the area that we ski – you reach the top of the ridge, look out and see layer upon layer of little-touched mountains. I say ‘little-touched’ as this is a well traveled ski tour route and there were probably 50 – 80 people out there. Still, that leaves a lot of space and untouched snow for us.

After traversing a little, we headed up the already well trodden ski tour track to the top of Mt Trorey (2,600m). It took us about an hour. The sun was out and warm, although there certainly was a chill in the air. Rob built his now famous snow fort that would act as our kitchen and living room for the night while I dug out a level area for our tent. From experience, this time I took the time to level out the snow pad by jumping up and down on it with my skis.

As the sun went down, the temperature dropped and the wind came up. The sunset was pretty and the stars too. We knew it would be an almost full moon but by 10pm it had still not materialized and I was too cold to wait any longer. The wind was getting stronger and stronger and at times during the night we thought that the tent was trying to take off. Not a great night’s sleep was had! In the morning, after most of our stuff was out of the tent it actually did take off! Thankfully I had tethered it fairly well so we didn’t have to chase it all over the mountains.

A beautiful, tiring experience and I wouldn’t have missed a moment of it. Enjoy the photos!

Winter camping on Oboe

Sarah Bourne — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:42:07 +0000

Rob and I have been waiting for the right weather to go camping in the mountains and last weekend was perfect: unseasonably warm, sunny and with no foreseeable change. So we packed up all of our camping equipment and set off.

Thankfully we could take a couple of the Whistler Blackcomb ski lifts to get to the top of Piccolo Mountain. From there we hiked up Flute Mountain then skied down to the base of Oboe. It was tricky going as the sun had melted the snow giving it a crust that was hard to ski, especially with a heavy backpack. Then we hiked up Oboe to our camping spot.

Rob loves to build and I love to take photos, so I ‘let’ him build camp which I documented it. Eventually Rob’s creation, complete with lounge area, kitchen and ‘fireplace’, was ready and he made us both a hot chocolate. He topped his up with a well earned tot of rum!

We watched as the sun set spectacularly behind Black Tusk Mountain, the moon rose and the stars came out. I carried on taking photos and video while Rob carried on with his domestic chores and made us some noodles.

After an uncomfortable night’s sleep (snow, contrary to popular belief is not soft and fluffy to lie on all night!) we got up at 7am to see the sky turn pink and blue as the sun rose. As we were up so early we took advantage and went for one ski run without our heavy packs. The snow was great on the non-sun affected slopes. Then we packed up, fed the birds a little more and headed back home.

It was a tiring but exhilarating weekend. Now……where to go next?

UK West Midlands in the Springtime

Sarah Bourne — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:38:02 +0000

While spending the winter in Switzerland I took advantage of cheap air travel to visit my family in the West Midlands area of the UK, where I grew up. Luckily spring made an early appearance so Rob and I took advantage of the lovely weather to see a little of the local countryside.

I hadn’t realized how close the canals were to my sister’s house, or that the canals ran right through the center of Birmingham – even right through some buildings! We were impressed with the renovation of the waterways in Birmingham and would certainly recommend anyone visiting the UK to take a day to go there. Canal boats can also be hired for anything from a long weekend to a week or longer……maybe next time for us.

Venice in the winter

Sarah Bourne — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:05:57 +0000

Still waiting for snow in Switzerland Rob and I decided to take full advantage of the exceptional rail service in Europe and ‘popped’ to Venice for the weekend. We stayed at a private bed and breakfast that was excellent. The owner had to collect us from the maze of streets then walk us back to the house.

We spent two days walking and walking in the grey, drizzly weather. Great for moody photos, some of which have a look about them that seems as if the city hasn’t changed at all in 100 years. Unfortunately it has, however, with property prices driving the Venicians to the mainland: some 100,000 have left in the last few years, leaving a population of around 60,000. I would certainly recommend for anyone to go and visit this exceptional city, stay with one of the private bed and breakfast operators in the hope of keeping them in the city that they were born in.

We walked. We ate. We drank. We took photos. We listened to a live performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. We enjoyed ourselves!

Streets of Sion, Switzerland

Sarah Bourne — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:52:22 +0000

With yet another clear blue day and no snow for nearly a month, Rob and I decided to go down the valley to Sion. This is a mixture of old and new, somewhat commercial, town and we chose (not surprisingly) to wander around the old part. Peeling paint, old fashioned doorways, shutters and narrow alleyways with cafes on every corner and two chateaus overlooking the valley. It was a lovely way to spend the day.

Alloway Beach, Scotland

Sarah Bourne — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:56:03 +0000

A couple of weeks ago a friend flew me to Scotland to shoot his wedding. On the morning of the wedding I took a stroll down the beach as the sun rose. It was very pretty.

Toko Hotel

Sarah Bourne — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:10:50 +0000

Here in Nendaz, Switzerland, there are many large apartment / hotel blocks but Toko Chalet, Hotel and Restaurant offers a little extra. Sitting just outside of the main village (but still close to the lifts and shops) it sits above the valley and offers stunning views over the mountains. Amongst other things, the restaurant offers the only Indian cuisine in Nendaz!

I was asked to take some photos of it for the owners, Treena and Meredith.

Basel International Ski School Photos

Sarah Bourne — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 08:22:32 +0000

Here in Switzerland one of the local ski schools – Neige Aventure – asked me to take photos of their students from the Basel International Ski School.

The full gallery of images can be viewed and prints ordered from here.

Here are just a few example photos:

Old Stuff in Haute-Nendaz

Sarah Bourne — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:18:53 +0000

Today I went for a wander into the old part of Nendaz. After living in Whistler for the last 10 years, where most of the buildings are less than 30 years old it is quite impressive to see these old barns and houses still being used. I can’t recall the name of the “toad stool” pillars under some of the buildings, but I do know that they are installed to stop mice and rats from scurrying into the barns.

New Year’s Eve in Nendaz

Sarah Bourne — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 12:55:51 +0000

With another beautiful day ahead of us, John, OB and I headed up Plan du Fou again. We played around with some portraits then headed down the off piste for some more action shots. The Kodak courage ended in great photos but mostly carnage on every landing! Fortunately no injuries.

We then met up with Nick who guided us on the Greppon Blanc itinerary. Starting at 2700m we skied down a huge bowl which still had surprisingly good snow in it considering it’s nearly a week since it snowed. The bowl funnels into a gully, then a road and we actually skied right through what must be a summer farming community – all closed up for the winter. Eventually we ended up more or less in the middle of nowhere waiting for a bus back to Les Masses at 1515m. Quite a lot of lifts and runs later we were back in Nendaz after an adventure of some 4 1/2 hours!

Later on I joined everyone for New Year’s celebrations Euro – style in the main square. Champagne, fireworks and DJ. Lots of fun.