Pure Outside

I have a friend named Stephanie who is incredibly athletic.  She is one of the fittest women I know and never shies away from a race, challenge, event or ass kicking moksha yoga session.  We raced the Squamish MOMAR together – check it out over at PureOutside.com.  I am a fan of everything she does [...]

Last year when the MEC winter catalogue arrived, my girlfriend Kirsten was awed by the cover photo.  A group of friends camped out in the snow on a bluebird day surrounded by all the amenities one would have at home.  “That looks like a great idea for my birthday party!” she exclaimed excitedly in a [...]

If you like this post make sure you check out Island Adventurer as well. Island Adventurer will be promote the best of Vancouver Island’s trails and events. Pureoutside will be focusing on the rest of the world! If you’re familiar with my work at the Squamish MOMAR you’ll know that while I vowed to always [...]

Hornby Island is one of of those places that everyone knows and loves to visit. The island is primarily known for its beautiful sandy beaches, warm ocean water, beautifully maintained mountain biking trails, outdoor education centre and the laissez-faire attitude most locals seem to have. This year round population is drastically different than the influx [...]

Ever since I moved to Vancouver Island I’ve heard about the legendary MOMAR (Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race) race series and dreamed of competing in one.  It’s evoked many emotions for me over the years, awe, determination, jealousy, respect, fear and very recently, pain.  You see, last weekend was when I finally ballsed up and [...]

In 1990 Tim Macartney-Snape made a 4 month solo journey on foot that began in the waters of India’s Bay of Bengal and finished on the peak of Mt Everest; he became the first man to truly climb the mountain from ‘sea to summit.’  Taking a cue from this adventurer we decided to host our [...]

The snow piling up on my tent reminded me of the first Outdoor Recreation trip I’d ever been on; it was October 2005 and I was in my second year at Malaspina.  We hiked the old ski hill on Mt Cokely and camped near the saddle between Arrowsmith and Cokely.  The weather was forecast to [...]

In 1858 Amor De Cosmos (born William Alexander Smith) moved to Vancouver Island as a fledgling activist and photographer; between 1863 and 1882 he contributed significantly both politically and socially to development of our province.  He held office in three different levels of government – with Vancouver Island (when it was still a British colony), [...]

Earlier today I grabbed my snowshoes and took off for a quick jaunt up Notch Hill in Nanoose; first time on them this winter!  The first 500m really didn’t have enough snow for snowshoes but I wore them anyways – the excitement was too much for me.  It didn’t take very long before there was [...]