Big Chief

A day off from conference to spend as I like today and being in Vancouver I decided to go to Whistler to ski: it is only about an hour and a half away. Unfortunately, the high winds and poor visibility made it a less than ideal and I left early and stopped in Squamish to take some pictures.

Located half way between Vancouver and Whistler, Squamish gained some prominence at the Winter Olympics two years ago. Property values here certainly increased dramatically over the last 6-8 years.

However, Squamish does have a depressed air about it. Situated at the Northern Tip of Howe Sound it has spectacular scenery and wildlife but seems dominated by the relics of previously thriving industry, mainly quarrelling and logging. It makes for very interesting blips.

This picture sums up the greyness and dampness associated with the Pacific Coast and the thin horizontal layer of cloud is, to me, very iconic of Canada's West coast. The rock mound is called the Chief and makes for a challenging day's hike.

Squamish is the name of the Indian First Nation that occupied this territory before the arrival of Europeans.