Time sure flies around the end of the year and the start of a new one, but there has not been much to pass on here - at least not much that I can show the photos of.
I came back to work on Boxing day and was greeted by a four vehicle head-on collision; the next day was a simple roll-over; the next day a head-on collision at the same spot as the roll-over; and the next day was a double fatal head-on collision. So you see - no pics.

Then we spent a couple days out on the snowmachines checking out some back country cabins. I 'may' have taken some blackmail photos of someone else's machine in certain 'encounters' with terrain and vegetation, but alas, I was bribed well not to show them.

There were a couple more unfortunate collisions that I can show the photos of. Sadly, a couple of moose did not survive their night on the highway. The cow was picked up dead one night, and the next morning her calf met the same fate. The carcasses were saved to feed bears in the spring when they are used to keep the bears away from populated areas.



We did get another big dump of snow early in the new year. It was a surprise to wake up in the morning and find another 20-30cm of snow in the yard.

This contributed to some pretty nice wintery scenes in the area.






Of course this also served to increase the avalanche hazard again in the area.
I was on days off in the city when a young local man died in an avalanche on a mountain within view of the village. I was not aware of it till I was reading the newspaper the next morning having a coffee in town. Then I spotted at reporter in a CTV jacket just before the Global TV Uplink truck pulled up.


Across the street was the CBC satellite truck.



Another elk met it's end this morning while dining on spilled grain in the rail yards in Field, B.C.
It was also saved for spring time bear feeding with the moose.


Harley did not consent to any new video this week, saying that his writers were on strike.
But he does seem headed for more fame and fortune after we discovered that he has been featured in an international (?) e-tourism web site called the Jasper Journal! Check out the link.

Extra: Almost forgot to mention that the packing and organizing has started for our departure for the official RoadTrip '08 which is scheduled to start at the end of this month. Counting down the days!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Wishes
From Harley and his friends!

(Harley video at bottom of this posting!)

Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the mountain passes, nothing was stirring, - except for perhaps a few avalanches.

Some came down on their own, and some needed a little help. Some of the avalanche paths have the Trans Canada Highway in their sights, so they get some special treatment.

Finally a clear, sunny day, and the helicopters were buzzing. Some flitted from mountaintop to mountaintop, trying to get the mostly 'out of order' mountaintop radio repeaters working again, after their solar panels had been covered with frost and snow for weeks.

On the avalanche front, after we closed the highway and railroad as a precaution, another helicopter added a touch of explosives in key avalanche start zones. Creating smaller avalanches under tightly controlled conditions is much safer than risking a much larger, unplanned slide that could block the highway or knock a train off the tracks.

The first photo is of the closed highway looking towards some of the avalanche paths. If you squint, you might just see a couple of puffs of white up on the slope. Those are the explosives going off.



The next photo is showing a closer view, and if you squint once again, you might just be able to make out the helicopter, which is the speck to the left of the snow puffs.

As planned, nothing actually reached the road, but at least now the holiday travellers would have one less obstacle to reaching their destinations.

I, on the other hand, had some days off, so I headed out to my 'other' place and was welcomed to the neighborhood by some Christmas decorations on our gate.
If you are still squinting, you might just see my house in the distance?

(Don't forget, you can click on any photo to see a larger version. Less squinting, eh!)

Notwithstanding the "Harley video" at the bottom of this post, Harley was content to stay indoors and relax most of the time.

I, on the other hand got out to explore a bit, and hiked around checking out some of the nearby bush areas. Lots of deer around, but they were all just a bit too camera shy to stick around for the photos.




And I also drove around a while and came across the remains of some one's hunting or holiday camp. Some of you may not recognize the truck without the camper on it?

Rest assured, the camper will be going on again early in the new year, and we will be hitting the road south again as soon as possible. Yahoo!


Okay, here's what you've all been waiting for! If you have dial-up, that 'waiting' my be more than just a figure of speech.
Here's the famous (some might say lazy?) cat playing with his Christmas mouse, and then, thanks to generous readers Terry & Marie, Mary & Merle, he is checking out the latest shipment of ...

Catnip!

It is that time of year again - winter! And sticking with the skiing theme of last weeks post, here are a whole bunch more ski-related pics.

But, really none of actually - skiing! Confused?

Well this is the time of year where we prepare for avalanche search and rescue, so we get our butts out of the office and practice search techniques.

It is always easier when you have some snow to work with, but that is in relative short supply so far this season. It is also more realistic if you can work in an actual avalanche deposit, as opposed to snowy field.

There are a few avalanche deposits in the 'not yet opened' areas of the ski hill, so that is where we went. The back side of the hill is not open yet, so we had to resort to snow machines to get back there.














It is also a good opportunity for our 'dog team' to practice their snow technique.














Although searching for buried tranceivers has always been a part of our recent exercises, this year things were even more high tech. We are working with a system of buried targets that can be turned on and off remotely from a control unit. This system also registers if it is hit by a searchers avalanche probe. The 'remote tragets' are the yellow boxes in the photo with 'easy searcher' on them.


I guess I should mention that these 'targets' are well hidden under several feet of snow when the search is in progress. The ones sitting on the surface have been dug out and 'rescued'!





In spite of all the high tech gadgetry employed, the rescue dog is still the single most valuable asset in an organized rescue.














And ... on the other side of the mountain - on Saturday, there was another historic moments as Canada's Britt Janyk had a podium finish, becoming the first Canadian woman ever to do so in the downhill at Lake Louise!