My girly blog post

My first thought was - eh, if I was a guy, I would put this on our blog.

After couple of hours - ah hell with it!

...and so here it is, my girly blog post.

On our weekly ski trip to our  north shore mountains (remember, we have just about 4 hours to get back to kids!), as we near the first bump of Mt. Seymour, I notice a guy in shorts. I make  a comment to my husband - "I wish that guy would tumble down and get the snow right on his b...."

Don't take me wrong, it was a beautiful day, pretty warm. But I just don't like seeing this kind of "gear" in the mountains, even if it's "just" our local mountains. People have died here and I hate how they get constantly underestimated.

As we hurry around the first pump with at least 15 people on top of it, I nearly loose balance skiing down towards the 2nd peak with the skins on. That makes me think of the guy in shorts- "I shouldn't have talked like that, now I will get it back in return". I did not know at the time how much truth was in those thoughts. 

On the 2nd peak I secretly swear at couple of people that cause me to not go and ski with full bladder. We take the best line from the 2nd peak down to the gully, traverse, and again another even better line below the 3rd peak. I stop in the middle of the run on a steep slope as I cannot hold it anymore, put my pants down and assume this cute girly position. In a split of a second I realize it's all going wrong as I loose balance and start falling ... yeah, falling with my naked bum into the arms of Seymour powder. Yeah, our loved powder. Everywhere, on my bum, in my ski pants, underneath my shirt. How is this not connected to the guy in shorts! I hate him at this moment even more...until I start laughing about it which takes me about a minute, because as I said - it's a beautiful and warm day.

So that was my story. Now -beware of your thoughts and comments about other people! You never know what's about to happen as a result of them.

Parents are awesome!

Since I am a parent and awesome as well :) I must explain this a bit. With 2 small children "running" around, every time on skis with El is very precious. And every time her mother takes care of our children for few hours, we enjoy all of it on local slopes above North Shore. With the visibility not so good, I decided on Hollyburn which has some descent tree skiing. But going up I realized pretty quick this won't be much fun (hard snow with just little bit of dust). Plan B was to cross the woods from top of mt Hollyburn towards mt Strachan and ski NW slopes towards Howe sound CT. Things started to improve with gaining the altitude and on the best descent of the day we've found 20-30cm of fresh snow. Next time we should skip the boring part and head straight to this area. Short video:

Magical weekend.

Well for me every weekend is something special. As long as I don't have to work. This time, the plan on Saturday was Mt. Seymour backcountry with my friend Juraj and on Sunday kayaking Squamish river and hiking up Grouse mt. in the afternoon. Thankfully to El's parents and the weather, all 3 things were really enjoyable. Now I can say, who stayed in the city, was a looser. I mean can you call somebody who miss the opportunity to ski in the sun above the clouds and kayak in the morning frost warmed by the sun a looser? I think you can :)

...let the winter begin!

Mt Cayoosh. This is a classic winter season opener. 1300m elevation gain and you can ski all the way to the car. Well, the last 40min are pretty tough. On January 2. I wanted to discover some powder in this area but to my small disappointment everything was wind blown, wind moved and so on :) But still, this is a great run in beautiful surroundings and being with your friends in the backcountry... what more do you want? Ok, we need more snow :) Forrest at 1400 was still a bit open. This was my -I think- 5th time up on the summit, so next time I would like to take a look at some other ski projects in this area as Million $ couloir etc.

https://picasaweb.google.com/oscar.nika/MtCayoosh2561m

mt. Hanover, not quite in Germany

Last weekend trip led us to local mountain just few km far away from our home. Mt Hanover (1748m) was in my view for few years already. Hidden from "regular" people view, we also had to ascent 1250m to get its live proportion. We put the skis at 1200m and followed through the saddle (1400m) toward the summit. There were so many ski opportunities around and the lines from mt Brunswick are a good reason to come back in the future. Fairly easy slope (35-40 deg.) in the south gully was enjoyed by me and Stano in the noon Sun. Altogether 2000meters elev. gain in 8 hours.

What does it look like, when you...

...when you lose your ski in a small avalanche, you go there a month later with chances 1:1000 to find it, you see some fresh snow on the way up and you see some new slides on the place where the ski was lost. The day started pretty good, when we saw that the approach to the snowline (1300m) wasn't bushy and Jano lost his lovely sunglasses. There wasn't so much sun on the first half of our climb. Getting closer to the summit of Cayoosh mt. things were getting less optimistic. I was doing some planing of my next trip to Cayoosh in middle of September (3rd one this year) to rescue the ski, while the strong sun was burning our faces. Jano tried to go with his eyes closed which helped him not to get blind :-) When we arrived at the scene, after 2-3 minutes it was clear that I need to come again few months later (if not years:) cause there was still huge amount of snow around. Jano went around to the ridge and I started to go straight up approximately where the accident happened. Suddenly I couldn't believe my eyes... there in the snow I see the post of the binding sticking out of the snow and the rest of the ski just few centimeters under the surface. What a luck!!! I don't have to come to this place again, were my first thoughts. And Jano can leave this land in PEACE on Monday :-)
We have summited half an hour later and in terrible spring conditions (wet and heavy) skied down to Duffy. I was little bit disappointed Jano didn't ski this time on the other ski (only on the other ski) to have the descent completed.

Meeting Lou Dawson on mt Baker

http://www.wildsnow.com/5358/mount-baker-backcountry-skiing-3/

Mt. Rainier 4392m

Rogers pass

Last weekend I went for a trip with a friend from Calgary- Palo. We planed this for few weeks already and at the end it was a perfect timing. Temperatures running around -10 at night, and below zero during the day, kept the snow pretty dry for us. I couldn't believe - up on Young's peak, there was 10cm of fresh snow on the summit. This was one of the best skiing ever. Ok at least when I talk about powder conditions. Last year on New year, we couldn't see any of this beauty as the weather and fog kept us down. But these three days the weather was on our site. We spent the first night at Sapphire hut (it is a shelter for 4 people or 8 Czechs) and 2nd at Asulkan. I enjoyed the first one better, because of being alone there with a friend and we were 500m higher than the Asulkan cabin. Skiing from the Dome col was just gorgeous. On the third day we went up the Youngs peak 2847m and skied back to cabin. The slope was up to 45deg. The further to the right, the steeper it got. Ascent was very pleasant. We followed the track from another group from previous day. In about 1h40min up we were and it is no more than 30min descent back to hut (700m elev.). This was a Highlight of this winter, that's for sure :-)

https://picasaweb.google.com/palochalupa/RogersPass#

Rogers pass skiing from Tomas Cernicka on Vimeo.

Coquihalla sunday walk.

There is some interesting skiing in this area and thanks to Stano, who already knows this place better than me, we managed to carve some turns into this slopes. He also taught me, what tree skiing really means. It was a nice day with an adventurous end.

Waas happenin!?

Actually not much. The weather sucks, my shape sucks, my not working sucks... only Jakub and Ela make me happy every day. When I wake up, I have the two greatest people beside me and I am smiling. Ok not exatly smiling. I always say, give me half and hour more Jakub and I'll take you for a long walk.

This winter won't be much about skiing. But there will be one highlight of this ski season. Jano Blasko is coming to visit us. And I promised to take him for a ride. And this is it: Mount Judge Howay, 2260m high located no more than 60km from our home. However to reach its top, is required to paddle 18km, hike 13km and climb 3km one way. Driving the car will be the easiest :-) I don't know how often this mountain is climbed, but my guess is something like 1 party per year, maybe less. And most times only every second party reaches the summit.

Usually 3 days are required, but I would stick with as many as possible. 4 maybe 5 to have enough time to get a good weather once we are there. When I looked at the pictures first, I got this idea about skiing it rightaway. It took me few hours, maybe days to find out what the slope is like. We can expect 45deg steepness. Maybe more maybe less. Elevation gain will be 2100m. If the conditions allow, I am expecting to ski more than 1500m. The look from the bottom will be impressive, I am sure.

Stay tuned :-)

Tomas

Skiing with mommy.

Impossible turned out to be a reality and my wife skied this winter already for the second time with me. Thanks to Jakubko, who enjoyed the time with Lubka. Thanks grandma for taking care of him.
And thanks to me, who have not even deserved such beautifully skiing :-)
We hit wonderful conditions up on Seymour, harder snow with some powder (whip cream) on the top. I am alway disappointed to see so many people on the parking lot and on the trail. And amazed to breath the air by ourselfs skinning up the 3rd peak.

Taky maly projekt

Dnes sme sa s Jurajom vidali do nemenovanej oblasti (seymour;), aby sme zlyzovali jeden z mojich malych projektov. Jedna sa o asi 100m kuloar, ktoreho ustie som nikdy nenasiel, avsak pred dvoma rokmi sa nan zo spodu s Elou pozeral a slintal. Seymour je znamy svojimi skalnymi prahmi a zlozitym terenom a tak sme si to s Jurajom namierili najskor na miesto, kde som stal pred dvoma rokmi. Nasadili sme macky a zacali nakopavat smerom hore. Sklon okolo 40 stupnov a niekolko centimetrova skrupina ma trochu sklamali. Ocakaval som 45 a prasan. Slnko vsak spravilo svoje a prasan ktory sa nachadzal iba tienistych svahoch, bol tu iba spomienkou. Vrchol kuloaru bol schovany asi 20m pod samotnym vrcholom v stromoch. Lyzovanie do neho vsak nebol problem, prvy odskok a uz to slo same :) Nakoniec sme sa dorazili v nizsich polohach, kde v tieni stromov ukryval lahky sneh.

Mt Seymour opat... a uz nikdy viac?

Mt Seymour opat... a uz nikdy viac?
Vcera som bol na "nasom" kopci tu za mestom. Len tak narychlo, 2 hodky a potom rychlo spat za zenou a synom. Doma pribalujem macky, tie na viazanie zabudam a utekam smer Seymour. Chcem sa ist pozriet do strmsieho zlabu. Vyslapat si ho, zlyzovanie vsak nechavam v mysli na inokedy, ked nebudem sam. Pri prichode na parkovisko vsak menim nazor. Okolita oblacnost a mierna hmla mi v mysli skracuju dnesny vyjazd. Planujem ist aspon na prvy Peak (prvy z troch). Pri Brockton point stretavam Skipatrol, ktori mi oznamuju, ze sa v backcountry stala nehoda. Pytam sa ci mozem pokracovat a po nejasnom suhlase som sa vydal mnou uz osuchanou trasou. Vzapati som vsak stratil kontrolu nad lyzami s pasmi, a obanoval, ze som si nepribalil macky na viazanie. Sneh pokryva ladova kora a ani lyze ani pasy mi nedavaju dostatocnu kontrolu. Vyzuvam lyze a obuvam macky. Skipatrol na mna pozera a letmy pohlad mi napoveda, ze sa nikam nechystaju, lebo macky nemaju. Hlavou mi prebehlo ze sa ich spytam, ci nepotrebuju macky pozicat. Nespravim tak s vidinou dostat sa pripadne na miesto nestastia, vidiet zachranu zraneneho na vlastne oci. To som este netusil, ze na miesto dorazim ako PRVY! Asi po 10 min pridem pod 40-45 stupnovy svah- Juzna strana mt. Seymour, ktory byva vzdy peknym ukoncenim lyzovania v tejto oblasti. Ma sice iba do 60m ale vzdy si tam rad vychutnam obluky v jeho najstrmsich pasazach. Tiez sa mi tam podarilo minuly rok padnut na tvrdom podklade, ked mi vypla lyza. Nastastie som sa zastavil.
Dnes to vsak nebude dobra lyzovacka, hovorim si a premyslam nad tym vyslapat na mackach a nasledne aj zliezt, koli ladovym podmienkam.
Natraverzujem do prava, kde je svah strmsi, aby som nakukol ci sa nieco nestalo v tejto najstrmsej casti. Vzapati pocujem ako na mna ktosi vola Tomasi, pod sem Tomasi. Zchadzam rychlo nadol do takeho minikuloaru, kde vidim Petra a druhu osobu prikrytu oblecenim. Z dialky sa pytam ci potrebuju pomoct. Vzapatim mi Petr oznamuje, ze uz je neskoro. Prebieha mi mraz po chrbte. Pytam sa komu to pomahal, ci ho stretol na svahu. On vravi ze nie, ze boli spolu. Ako sa vola? Tomas... Ktory Tomas? ...
Je mi do placu. Som nahnevany a smutny. Objimem Peta a vravim ze mi je to luto. Hovorim mu ze sa vratim naspat pre prvu pomoc. Zbieham dolu zliabkom a po chodniku utekam spat, kde som posledny raz stretol stretol Skipatrol. Oznamujem im smutnu spravu...
Zvysok uz je nepodstatny.
Odisiel clovek, ktory mal rad prirodu a ktoreho mala rada rodina a kamarati. Tomas opustil 2.5 rocneho syna a zenu.
Ja som utekal za tymi mojimi.
Pokoj v dusi.


ps: nestastie sa zrejme stalo pri vyslape asi 45 stupnovym svahom na lyziach, pasoch a pomocnych mackach uchytenych na viazani. Po zosuchnuti sa ladovym svahom asi 30m nasledoval naraz do stromu. Poranenie hlavy a hrudnika boli vazne. Niektore z tychto informacii su iba mojim odhadom z danej lokality.

Zase ten Seymour!

Kamze tento vikend? Klasika. Pocasie klasika a tak aj na lyze klasika. Vybehli sme s Jurajom na uz nami davno zosuchany mt Seymour. Cakala nas zaujimava skrupina, ale aj vyhlady. Ludi ako na "vaclavaku", avsak stacilo sa pustit, kusok dalej a boli sme sami. Dufam ze sa pocasie coskoro stabilizuje, lebo uz ma svrbia hrany a chcelo by ich zarezat do niecoho cerstveho, strmeho... co vam budem hovorit :)

Cypress mt.

Vcera sa nam podarilo vybehnut na lyze. Bol som velmi zvedavy, co dorobili tyzdnove dazde so snehovymi podmienkami. No zda sa mi, ze vobec nic. Sneh pekne tvrdy a stale dostatok. Nezalyzovali sme si moc, lebo miesta kam by sme normalne sli, boli trochu strmsie, vypadane a zmrznute. Nakoniec sme si zlyzovali iba zjazdovku dva krat. Oskar na nas tiez vykukol, tak z toho bola pekna obednajsia vychadzka. Pozuju Nikolaj, Juraj a NS mountains.

Yesterday we managed to get out on skis. I was very curious what the 1 week rains have done with snow conditions. But it seems to me that they have done absolutely nothing. Snow pretty hard but still enough of it. Skiing wasn't great, because the place where we normally went, were a bit steeper, and it looked frozen. Finally, we only skied piste twice. Sun also came out for a little, which made a great views and nice outing with friends. Posing Nicholas, George and NS mountains.

Black Tusk

TOMAS: Ahojte!
Na tento vikend sme si naplanovali Cypress peak cez Roe creek road. Tesime sa na nocovanie v divocine a lyzovanie v nedotknutom snehu. Na moje velke prekvapenie sa za jednou zo zakrut zacina objavovat pickup. Potom druhy, treti, desiaty. Pri tridsiatom som prestal pocitat. Odhadli sme to tak na 50 aut z ktorych kazde malo minimalne jeden skuter. No super, vidina divociny sa meni na nocnu moru a my ustupujeme smer plan B. Vidavame sa ku Garibaldi lake s chutou na nejaky prasan. Za posledne 3 tyzdne tu celkom pekne nasnezilo a tak sme boli plni ocakavani. Vystup na Taylor meadovs 8km nam zobral 2.5h a po chvili obcerstvenia sme vyrazili smer Panorama ridge. Od jeho vrcholu nas odhovoril silny vietor a nutnost zhadzovat a nahadzovat pasy. 1800 vyskovych mi tiez nerobilo dobre a uz som sa tesil do spacaku. Ale najskor zjazd, kde sme si presli cez zaujimave druhy snehu. Na chatke sme boli sami, celkom ma to prekvapilo v takyto pekny vikend. Na druhy den sme si naplanovali vystup na Black Tusk 2319m a jeho pripadne zlyzovanie. Moc informacii zo zimnych vystupov nan som nenasiel a tak som si dovolil taketo smele uvahy. Realita vsak bola ina a bol som vdacny aj za tych 6 oblukov a jeden opatrny miniskok priamo z vrcholu. Dalej nasledoval zlab so sklonom 45-50stupnov s jednym este strmsim miestom. Z neho sa bolo treba este odpojit do druheho zlabu trochu miernejsieho. Cele to bolo 1.5- 5m siroke tak sme si vychutnali obe cesty po svojich zvierajuc pevne cepin/ palicky. Lyzovanie z popod steny bolo paradne po stvrdnutom snehu sprevadzane cely den sa usmievajucim slnkom a nekonecnymi vyhladmi.
Viken v super partii a dobrom pocasi sa podpise na peknych fotkach :-)