Andrew Strain Photography » BC

Mountain Landscapes

Strain — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:04:41 +0000

A pair of mountain landscapes, one from the summer and one from last week.

The Spell of the Yukon

Strain — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:12:14 +0000

Atlin may be located south of 60 but is so isolated from the rest of BC that it may as well be a part of the Yukon. There is a real magic to the north – I’ve traveled to every corner of BC and have never felt the same electrifying attraction as the one that keeps drawing me to my childhood home. The south coast mountains may be where I live, but my heart will always belong to the vast wilderness of the north…

I spent the last 5 days visiting family in Atlin and find myself suffering from severe northern withdrawl. No one writes of the Yukon better than Service – I’ll leave you with this. Hopefully my vacation snaps do the words some justice.

I wanted the gold, and I sought it,
I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy — I fought it;
I hurled my youth into a grave.
I wanted the gold, and I got it —
Came out with a fortune last fall, —
Yet somehow life’s not what I thought it,
And somehow the gold isn’t all.

No! There’s the land. (Have you seen it?)
It’s the cussedest land that I know,
From the big, dizzy mountains that screen it
To the deep, deathlike valleys below.
Some say God was tired when He made it;
Some say it’s a fine land to shun;
Maybe; but there’s some as would trade it
For no land on earth — and I’m one.

You come to get rich (damned good reason);
You feel like an exile at first;
You hate it like hell for a season,
And then you are worse than the worst.
It grips you like some kinds of sinning;
It twists you from foe to a friend;
It seems it’s been since the beginning;
It seems it will be to the end.

I’ve stood in some mighty-mouthed hollow
That’s plumb-full of hush to the brim;
I’ve watched the big, husky sun wallow
In crimson and gold, and grow dim,
Till the moon set the pearly peaks gleaming,
And the stars tumbled out, neck and crop;
And I’ve thought that I surely was dreaming,
With the peace o’ the world piled on top.

The summer — no sweeter was ever;
The sunshiny woods all athrill;
The grayling aleap in the river,
The bighorn asleep on the hill.
The strong life that never knows harness;
The wilds where the caribou call;
The freshness, the freedom, the farness —
O God! how I’m stuck on it all.

The winter! the brightness that blinds you,
The white land locked tight as a drum,
The cold fear that follows and finds you,
The silence that bludgeons you dumb.
The snows that are older than history,
The woods where the weird shadows slant;
The stillness, the moonlight, the mystery,
I’ve bade ‘em good-by — but I can’t.

There’s a land where the mountains are nameless,
And the rivers all run God knows where;
There are lives that are erring and aimless,
And deaths that just hang by a hair;
There are hardships that nobody reckons;
There are valleys unpeopled and still;
There’s a land — oh, it beckons and beckons,
And I want to go back — and I will.

They’re making my money diminish;
I’m sick of the taste of champagne.
Thank God! when I’m skinned to a finish
I’ll pike to the Yukon again.
I’ll fight — and you bet it’s no sham-fight;
It’s hell! — but I’ve been there before;
And it’s better than this by a damsite —
So me for the Yukon once more.

There’s gold, and it’s haunting and haunting;
It’s luring me on as of old;
Yet it isn’t the gold that I’m wanting
So much as just finding the gold.
It’s the great, big, broad land ‘way up yonder,
It’s the forests where silence has lease;
It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It’s the stillness that fills me with peace.

The Spell of the Yukon, Robert Service

I’ve been busy…

Strain — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:00:31 +0000

Not a lot of time for blog posts these days… if you’ve been following my twitter feed you may have seen these photos, but for the blog readers here’s a couple photos from a whirlwind summer in the bush… more to come once the snow flies and the dust settles. In the meantime, peep some photos shot by my friend Jussi Grznar, another snowboard photographer from Whistler who’s found his way onto my field crew for the late season madness.

Other random note – I’ve moved to Whistler (although I’ve only spent one night in my new place, and likely won’t be around much til November. See you then?).

Fall Snow

Strain — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:31:22 +0000

A few more photos of October snowfall in the upper reaches of the Lillooet River / Salal Creek. Hopefully my next post will be less of a tease and more about actual snowfall.

Back to the Bush

Strain — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 03:35:35 +0000

I’m looking forward to a busy end to what’s been a lengthly field season in mountains of southwest BC – fingers crossed winter holds off for one more month, then hits full force and doesn’t stop ’til May.

I’m heading back to the bush tomorrow morning – here’s a quick glimpse of the area I’ll be returning to:

No internet in camp, so I’ll see you all in a week (or more).

Wedgemount Lake, 2010

Strain — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 22:08:34 +0000

For someone who spends as much time outdoors as I do – between 200-300 days per year – I don’t actually do much backpacking. In the summers, I tend to spend my days off resting my body and catching up on weeks away from friends, loved ones, and hot/running water. In fact, Wedgemount lake is the only place I’ve hiked in for camping in the past 5 years or so. I live in a tent and hike around the alpine for a living – the idea of taking time off work to do what I do for work (without pay!) seems a little foolish to me.

On the other hand, being able to share with friends the world beyond highway viewpoints and resort chairlifts is a special experience, and one of the reasons I began shooting photos in the first place. And, no matter how much I complain about working for free or not having a helicopter to ferry me around, I can’t go for more than a couple days in civilization without feeling the urge to get out and go up.

On Wednesday afternoon I headed up with the Wedgemount Lake trail with Eric and Alix to spend a much needed night in the alpine. The weather was cold but clear – perfect fall hiking conditions. I apparently wasted far too many frames on long exposures Wednesday night, as my camera battery was dead by 830pm, and had to settle for iPhone photography during our Thursday hike around the glacier. Note to self: bring spare batteries next time.

A couple other photos from the hike up:

Next time I’m up I’ll have to stay for a few nights and bag some of the many surrounding summits. Might have to wait until next summer though, as the next time I’m out hiking for pleasure, I’ll probably be on a splitboard…

For comparison: some photos of Wedgemount Lake / Glacier from August 1977.

Wedgemount Lake, 2008

Strain — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:03:39 +0000

One of my most-read and searched for blog entries is a trip report for a hike up to Wedgemount Lake in 2008. I’m heading out the door for the 2010 edition right now… she’s gonna be cold but the weather is looking good.

Here’s a photo from 2008 – this will be joining the photo from my last post on the walls of the Blackbird Bakery sometime next week.

Fresh fish

Strain — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:42:25 +0000

Word on the street is there are a couple salmon coming up the Fraser right now. If you’ve never had cedar planked sockeye, now would be the time to get on it…

I also recommend a side of bell peppers – cut into thirds, filled with mozzarella and grilled.

Delicious. I love BC.

My New Haircut

Strain — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 05:08:13 +0000

You know what this is? This is my new f***ing haircut.

Bush life is good.

Coastal Summer

Strain — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 02:58:30 +0000

Continuing on last weeks theme – summer in the mountains of coastal BC.