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Outdoor Tips, Tricks, Inspiration and Activities | MEC Blog

When climbers go sport climbing in Quebec, they generally find established routes that have been scrubbed, stripped of loose rock, and equipped with bolts and solid anchors at the belays. But who’s responsible for all that goodness?



Cleaning, outfitting and maintaining routes is done, in the most part, by an established group of volunteer route setters who take time off work or use their vacations to scout out crags, clean potential lines and bolt routes so they can be safely climbed.



These experienced route developers are accredited by the Fédération Québécoise de la Montagne et de L’escalade (FQME). Many get supplies and materials as well as specific training that’s financed by the members of the Fédération.

They are all very experienced climbers, trailblazers and artists who can read a rock face and see its most elegant and compelling lines. They can spot potential hazards and know how to create safe climbing areas, so local climbers and visitors to the province can discover new routes and practise the sport they love with confidence – without having to stress about objective hazards, sketchy bolting or gut-churning runouts.



Prepping a route, drilling and fixing anchors is a highly technical process. It’s not something anyone can learn or master quickly. Most climbers who’ve been clipping bolts for a while have climbed examples of excellent routes as well as routes that could have been established more “thoughtfully.”

Any successful route developer should have the skills to expose the best, most beautiful, most challenging lines at a crag and to grade them accurately and consistently. Some route setters also write climbing guidebooks, so they’re the people who describe a route’s specific challenges and give climbers crucial info about the equipment and crux sections.



Route development involves more than just cleaning and bolting, so the FQME collaborates with landowners and park managers to ensure continued access to climbing areas. They fund development and provide training to make sure bolting is done in line with established security codes and environmental standards. The objective for new route development is always to do it with minimal impact on the environment, and to follow guidelines set up by internal committees of the FQME.



Climbers who are members of the FQME and opt to support the *Accès Montagne* level provide funding for the gear needed to establish routes, and provide support to the provincial route setters. Without the FQME and the volunteers who set routes, quality climbing wouldn’t exist the way it does currently in Quebec.



Both climbers and the FQME count on the work of volunteer route setters who clear brush, prune vegetation, scrub moss, drill rock and set out to discover interesting new walls and amazing routes to climb.



*MEC is proud to support climbers through our [Expedition Support](/en/explore/outdoor-impact) and Community Investment programs.*



Learn about the unsung heroes behind climbing in Quebec.

Who bolted that awesome line? | MEC Blog

Who bolted that awesome line?

Think back to the most fun you had as a kid. Chances are, whatever comes to mind, it probably wasn’t time spent glued to a screen. Turns out (unsurprisingly), cold creek water on our skin, awe at the distance of the stars, the taste of gooey, melty s’mores – all those outdoor childhood moments – shape who we are.

Early outdoor activity and play are inextricably linked to physical and cognitive development. Exploring new spaces gives us a sense of our place in the world, fires up our senses and helps us develop muscle strength, coordination, flexibility, balance, gross and fine motor skills, and self-confidence. We feel accomplishment at crossing a log, develop personal preferences in trying new activities, and build character when things don’t go our way. Over time, we build a relationship with nature and start to identify with our favourite activities; we become skiers, paddleboarders, campers, hikers, bikers, runners and so on.



*“I first learned about climbing from outdated copies of* Freedom of the Hills *and* Basic Rockcraft *that I’d discovered on my parents’ bookshelf. Naturally, I decided to practice my hip belay technique on my unsuspecting sister. My adventures eventually moved from the backyard to mountains around the world, but I’m thankful for my early exposure to the outdoors and for my parents who clearly thought it was more important to take a photo than to immediately get their kids down off the fence.” – MEC Ambassador [Nick Elson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0pWw7Qcfy0).*

## Where we’re at
Yet, the 2017 edition of the [Coleman Canada Outdoor Report](http://torontosun.com/2017/06/16/about-30-of-canadians-spend-less-than-5-minutes-outside-a-day/wcm/625dec97-7496-494e-bbac-9366d44c62b1) found that as adults, 29% of us spend less than half an hour outside each week – that’s less than 5 minutes per day. Meanwhile, data collected by Statista revealed we’re watching [17 hours of TV](https://www.statista.com/statistics/234311/weekly-time-spent-watching-tv-in-canada-by-age-group/) per week. It’s not that we don’t know it’s good for us; the Coleman study found 98% of Canadians agreed being outdoors improves our well-being and 95% agreed it reduces stress. If most of us are having such a tough time doing it, how can we change things so the next generation spends 17 hours outside each week and watches only a half hour of TV?

> Kids should be getting *at least* 60 minutes per day of vigorous activity, several hours of light activity, and no more than 2 hours of screen time.
>
The [Canadian 24-hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth](https://csepguidelines.ca/) recommends *at least* 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity, accompanied by several hours of light activity and muscle and bone strengthening activities incorporated 3 days per week. As for screen time? No more than 2 hours per day. Currently, only 15% of preschoolers and 24% of 5- to 17-year-olds meet the Canadian Sedentary Behavior Guidelines.

Participaction [similarly recommends](https://www.participaction.com/the-science/benefits-and-guidelines/early-years-0-to-4/) that preschoolers 1–4 years old get 180 minutes of physical activity of any intensity throughout the day, with kids aged 3 and 4 getting less than 1 hour of screen time per day and kids under 2 abstaining from screen time altogether.



*“My dad shared his passion for mountain sports with me as soon as I could walk rocky trails, slide on skis, and scramble up holds. Safety was important and he’d make it fun and funny, promising potato chips or jelly beans as he counted my turns (so I wouldn’t go straight downhill). Being active in the mountains is deeply-rooted as my happy place. Though I took that passion forward to become an Olympian and an X Games gold medallist, it was never about competing when I was a child, it was always about fun and taking on new challenges.” – MEC Ambassador [Roz Groenewoud](https://olympic.ca/team-canada/roz-groenewoud-2/)*



The guidelines make sense. As kids we have stores of energy and curiosity. I bet if we could ask our younger selves how they wanted to grow up, they might suggest something in line with Hackschooling prodigy Logan LaPlante’s approach to growing up. In his [2013 TED Talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY), a 13-year-old Logan posited, “What if we based education on the study and practice of being happy and healthy? Because that’s what it is, a practice.” In short, we should make getting outside a habit and routine as early and consistently as we can, so we continue to prioritize it as adults.

## The rise of forest and nature school
Enter [Child and Nature Alliance of Canada](http://childnature.ca/) (CNAC). This national charitable organization (and MEC community partner) is dedicated to connecting Canadian kids with nature in a meaningful way. CNAC’s flagship program, Forest School Canada, is leading the child and youth nature education movement across Canada. To date, they’ve worked with over 300 educators who are now supporting child-directed and play-based learning initiatives in their own settings. The Ottawa Forest and Nature School (CNAC headquarters) sits on 900 acres of land ripe for exploring, learning and reintroducing risky play into kids’ lives.

[Risky play](https://www.bu.edu/childrens-center/files/2020/07/Risky-Play.pdf) is thrilling and exciting play where children engage with the probability of danger. From a child’s perspective, it can feel both scary and funny. Testing new swing designs, building bridges out of rocks, identifying bugs and fossils, taking note of the different animals in the area, growing leaves to feed caterpillars, drawing and writing about things found in the schoolyard, even climbing trees all help them thrive developmentally.



While the play may [seem arbitrary](http://childnature.ca/but-it-looks-like-theyre-just-playing/) to onlookers, kids who attend the Ottawa school gain ample benefits associated with risky play time, including improvements in test scores, positive social interactions, decreased ADD and ADHD symptoms, and decreased stress, among others.



Great Teaching: Petra Eperjesi, OCT

## Young outdoor leaders
Toronto-area [Trails Youth Initiatives](http://www.trails.ca/) has graduated year-long programming to help vulnerable youth from the Greater Toronto Area reap benefits similar to those of CNAC’s students. At their 143-acre natural environment facility, students attend one weekend per month during the school year and two weeks each summer over the course of four years, with the option to return for a fifth leadership year. Across kilometres of hiking trails, campsites and playing fields – not to mention three lakes – participants explore yoga and equine therapy, go on canoe trips, swim, snowshoe, hike, cross-country ski and camp.

Trails’ programs assist in building self-awareness, empathy, mindfulness, non-violent communication strategy and more; giving them the skills and confidence to become community leaders (of the 2015 graduates, 98% took on a service or leadership role following their time with Trails). MEC is proud to support this programming through grant funds and gear donations.



*“Car camping was the name of the game growing up in southern Ontario. Every summer, like so many Ontarians, my dad and mom would pack us up for 2 weeks of thrashing about. It was fun – really fun. My brother and I would be gone for hours off in the woods exploring. I’m so grateful for the long leash our parents gave us, because I think it was that freedom that taught me how to trust my gut in the wilderness, and feel comfortable decision-making on my own – skills that have become very useful in my career as an alpinist.” –MEC Ambassador [Sarah Hart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgnEUknjUjk&list=PLiGBs8TAKXgN5A4xc9tAmOtV1FPjaqbFM&index=10)*

## Recreational reconciliation
As the CEO of [Spirit North](http://www.spiritnorthxc.ca/), MEC Ambassador Beckie Scott works with Indigenous communities and local schools to break down racial and socio-economic barriers through cross-country skiing. Since its inception, Spirit North has grown from 4 participating communities to 32, reaching 6023 Indigenous children and youth every year. Participants learn basic skiing techniques, play games and develop skills that transfer back to the classroom and community.

The program is holistic in many respects; not only does it promote good mental health and nutrition while keeping kids inspired and active, but it also promotes cultural exchange and understanding through multi-community festival days, Powwow drumming and dance, as well as Métis jig activities. After participating in Spirit North programming, 90% of kids wanted to exercise more, 93% felt supported, and after just one day with Spirit North, 95% of students said, “I feel like I matter” – what’s better than that?



*“Spending winters outside on my skis, immersed in nature and loving the great outdoors were some of the most formative and enduring moments of my childhood. Those years spent gliding through the parks and trails of Vermilion, Alberta, led to both a professional career in skiing and sport, and a life-long love of winter and the outdoors.” – MEC Ambassador Beckie Scott*

##### Ready to get the little explorers in your life outside? Here are 5 simple ways to start:
1. Give them more freedom. Participaction breaks down the [statistical instances of common parental concerns](https://www.fatherly.com/parenting/how-to-get-your-kids-and-yourself-comfortable-with-risky-play#:~:text=Risky%20play%20helps%20kids%20develop,%2C%20and%20risk%2Dmanagement%20skills.&text=The%20job%20of%20a%20parent,to%20let%20them%20take%20risks.) to give you more peace of mind.
1. Connect with an organization such as CNAC to learn more about balancing and [managing risk](http://childnature.ca/when-adult-perceptions-of-risk-result-in-real-bans-on-childrens-play/) to create a good balance of fun and risky play.
1. Get into some further reading on raising a [wild child](https://booksnation.site/?book=0544705297), counteracting “nature-deficit disorder” and fearlessly bringing them to the great outdoors.
1. Make the outdoors part of story time, with classics like *A is for Adventure*.
1. Don’t forget to [make it fun](/en/products/kids/kids-activities/games/c/1225)!

*Top photo courtesy of CNAC.*

## Related articles
- [Why we go outdoors](/en/article/why-we-go-outdoors)
- [How to enjoy winter activities with kids](/en/explore/how-to-enjoy-winter-activities-with-kids)
- [IOU: 7 priceless gifts for kids](/en/article/iou-7-priceless-gifts-for-kids)



How much does outdoor activity really impacts your kiddos? With only 15% of preschoolers and 24% of 5- to 17-year-olds meeting healthy guidelines, turns out, a lot.

Science says: getting kids outdoors is a game changer | MEC Blog

Science says: getting kids outdoors is a game changer

MEC members are generous to the core – even when they’re shopping for themselves. When you buy a headlamp or a backcountry ski setup at MEC, you’re supporting community investment initiatives that conserve ecologically and recreationally important places to adventure and reduce the barriers Canadians face to leading active outdoor lifestyles.

This year, MEC members’ purchases contributed to hundreds of inspiring projects, including the highlights below:

## A hut for year-round adventures
With panoramic views of alpine lakes and spectacular peaks, the [5040 Peak West Ridge Hut](https://www.huts.accvi.ca/) will be an oasis for hikers, snowshoers and backcountry skiers. The first of its kind on Vancouver Island, the 12-person heated hut is being built and managed by the Alpine Club of Canada – Vancouver Island Section with help from an MEC community investment grant. The hut is planned to be ready in 2018; check out the ACC site for all the up-to-date info.



## Gear for epic expeditions
Helping people pioneer new routes, reach unexplored peaks and achieve their dreams is kind of our jam. MEC expedition grants support members tackling ambitious challenges. Whether you buy a kayak or an MEC Expedition Support Trucker Hat, your dollars support amazing adventures.

In 2017, MEC funded 22 epic expeditions. Some highlights? Expedition Ikivuq paddled an unexplored river through remote Northern Quebec. Martina Halik and her mother Tania embarked on an incredible [five-month ski traverse](/en/article/i-did-a-5-month-ski-traverse-with-my-mum) of BC’s Coast Mountains. Naomi Prohaska became the [youngest person to summit](/en/article/record-setting-climb-naomi-prohaskas-mount-logan-summit) Canada’s tallest mountain.



## A chance to sleep under the stars
Camping is a rite of passage and beloved pastime for many Canadians. In addition to supporting individual pursuits, MEC is proud to support organizations that teach the basics and offer opportunities to those who might otherwise find it difficult to get outdoors overnight.

Park Canada’s [Learn to Camp program](https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/serapprocher-connect/ltc-dlc/ltc-dlc08) hosts nationwide workshops that introduce outdoor skills in a welcoming, supportive environment. MEC donates gear and provides staff to teach everything from how to set up a tent, to how to cook over a campfire, to how to paddle a SUP. Participants leave with the skills to try camping on their own and create lasting memories with family and friends.



## New trails to explore
With the help of community groups across the country, Canada’s trail network is always expanding. New trails create new opportunities to explore and connect with our surroundings, and MEC supports these local initiatives that get people outdoors and active.

The [Great Divide Trail Association](http://www.greatdividetrail.com) is a group of mainly volunteers who’ve taken on the task of developing and maintaining a 1125-km trail along the Continental Divide between BC and Alberta. Over many summers, MEC has provided this dedicated group with the supplies they need to build and restore this rugged, remote wilderness trail.

In Quebec, Vallée Bras-du-Nord’s En marche project helps young adults (16–30 years old) struggling with issues that affect their ability to work or engage with society. Under the guidance of professional mentors, they work in forestry and trail development for six months, challenging themselves and pushing their limits. Through funding, gear donations and staff expertise, MEC is excited to support this crucial connection between outdoor activities and life skills.



## Bike rides for everyone
There’s nothing like the feeling of freedom you get when you jump on a bike, whether you’re commuting to work, hitting the trails or bikepacking into the mountains. To let their residents experience that same sensation, Victoria’s Beckley Farm Lodge residential care facility received funds to buy a trishaw. Powered by volunteers from the local chapter of [Cycling Without Age](http://cyclingwithoutage.org/), this modified bike allows elderly people and those with disabilities to get out and feel the wind in their hair.



These are just a few of the many of environmental- and outdoor recreation-focused non-profit organizations that MEC has supported through funding and gear donations. Thank you for helping strengthen our communities and conserve the wild places that sustain us, both during the holidays and all year round.

*Top photo: 5040 Peak West Ridge Hut.*

## Related articles
- [5 ways to get funded by MEC](/en/explore/outdoor-impact)
- [Why being active outdoors matters more than ever](/en/article/why-being-active-outdoors-matters-more-than-ever)
- [Surviving the Fundy Footpath: a video story](/en/article/surviving-the-fundy-footpath)



Every MEC purchase helps fund community projects, expeditions and conservation. Here are some of this year’s recipients, thanks to your support.

Community investments: The gifts you gave this year | MEC Blog

The gifts you might not know you’ve given

> “We created this traverse in the hopes of experiencing something so immense, so incredible, so epic that it would change our lives forever.”
>
*In January 2017, Tania and Martina Halik began their Coast Mountain Epic, a ski traverse of BC’s Coast Mountains. Their 5.5-month adventure took them through harsh icefields, across sweeping river valleys, into blizzards and whiteout storms, wading through frigid waters and ultimately, from Squamish, BC to Skagway, Alaska. Now, Martina recounts for MEC how “an old lady and her asthmatic daughter” (as she puts it) skied further than they ever had before.*

It all started with a boring plane ride to Denver for a week of work and the nagging knowledge that my friends and family were off on exciting summer adventures. I wanted an expedition of my own. And not just a short one, an *epic* one. One so long and difficult I could barely comprehend it without feeling a combined shiver of fear and exhilaration. There it was: ski traverse BC’s entire Coast Mountain range.



We spent a year and a half planning; poring over maps and Google Earth, training, cajoling potential sponsors and dehydrating insane amounts of food. Finally, in January 2017, we were ready to take our first step off Brohm Ridge in Squamish towards Skagway, Alaska.

By “we” I mean me and my Mum. I can hear the collective gasp, “What?! With your mother? A 6-month long ski traverse of the Coast Mountains? Isn’t she like, 60?” To which I say, “Yes and yes.” Sure, we aren’t exactly the energy drink-chugging, diehard athletic types you’d expect to take on such an epic suffer fest, but we had a dream and a willingness to try anyway. Arthritis and asthma and society’s preconceived gender notions be damned.



Turns out three days traversing from Squamish to Whistler was just daunting enough to open our eyes to the true scope of the trip, break some gear and retreat back to North Vancouver to rally. We hit up MEC for some replacement parts, ate our last meal in civilization, hitched up our pants and off we went.

It would be 47 more days to Bella Coola. Forty-seven days of learning, close calls, hunger, and cold and suffering. But 47 days of the most remarkable and beautiful moments imaginable; magical ice caves and full moons over remote icefields and dancing powder turns down 2000m (3600ft.) of vertical.

There were the unfound food caches, the alder-choked river valleys, the unrelenting, soul-crushing, gear-snapping cold. For a while, there was a constant wish to give up and go home. To go sit in a hot tub, eat non-stop and never, ever, venture onto another icefield. But, sadly there was no “beam me up Scotty” badge. We were hundreds of kilometres from the nearest road.

> All the while, my Mum just plowed into the alders with a smile on her face, looking at all the pretty snowflakes and little chickadees tweeting their mirth over our struggle. The woman is goddamn unbreakable.
>


Bella Coola was only a third of the way. That meant two-thirds of mountains, valleys, glaciers and river crossings to go. We faced unrelenting precipitation almost the entire way, not to mention extreme avalanche hazards, constant route changes and almost impossible logistics. On the other hand, there was a near endless opportunity for ingenuity and creative thinking under pressure. We grew and learned and formed new ways of thinking and surviving. We never gave up.



Spring came and the snowpack started disappearing rapidly. We decided to skip some sections and alter our route. In the midst of it all, almost without us really realizing, something had changed. It was easier. Yes, spring was here and weeks of -25°C weather were gone, yet we still faced big storms and avalanches, crevasses, bushwhacking, and now bears too. The difference was in the way we dealt with it – how we now employed the hard lessons we had learned over the last few months – we were strong, both physically and mentally. Traversing had become our life. I no longer thought of quitting. For the first time, I began to believe Skagway could be a possibility.



Weeks turned into months. We crossed icefields bigger than I’d ever imagined. We saw climate change first-hand, staring with disbelief at glaciers that had retreated over a kilometre in a single year. Our maps and aerial photos were almost useless. We saw landscapes so stunningly beautiful it made my Mum speechless. With tears in her eyes, she looked out at a never-ending skyline of peaks and icefalls.

It stormed and it snowed and it rained and sleeted. Sometimes the sun baked us and we frolicked around in sequined tutus developing really weird tan lines. A day before the summer solstice, in the semi-twilight of a calm Alaskan summer night, we took our last steps off the mountain into Skagway.



Mostly what I felt then was relief, but there was more emotion mixed in there. As the full weight of it set in I started to cry. The mountains had unequivocally changed me. The only person not crying, of course, was Mum. For her, I think, it was just another trip.



### 

*In June 2017, Tania and Martina Halik completed a ski traverse of BC’s Coast Mountain range. MEC was proud to support them with an [expedition grant](/en/explore/outdoor-impact), as well as the Optimus Nova+ Stove, backcountry pot with integrated heat exchanger, and a Petzl Headlamp that stood up to -30°C temperatures. Way to go Martina and Tania!*



Tania and Martina Halik know to accomplish something extraordinary – like an intense ski traverse – you just need to be determined and try.

Ordinary to extraordinary: mother-daughter team traverse BC’s Coast Mountains | MEC Blog

I did a 5-month ski traverse with my Mum

*When we’re talking about the activities we love, it’s easy to have a default picture in our head of everyone having full mobility or cognitive capability, but in reality, there are a ton of MEC members who take on climbing, paddling, skiing and more in an adapted way. [Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports](https://vass.ca/) (VASS) instructor Theresa Weltzin gives us an inside look at the joys of skiing differently.*

#### Why did you get involved with VASS?
Three things: a love for skiing, a desire to ski with the family, and Jewel, our youngest, being born without enough oxygen and developing significant developmental delays. I grew up in Surrey, BC, and skied on the weekends at Mount Seymour with my parents and siblings; we enjoyed spring break ski trips to BC resorts. When Jewel was born, the vision I had of us doing the same was momentarily shattered, until a physiotherapist suggested VASS.

#### How are you connected to the program? Who participates?
I found out about the instructor-training program a year after Jewel participated in her first year at Mount Seymour in a sit-ski. The Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing (CADS) Level 1 training program was fantastic. Since then, I’ve volunteered as an instructor primarily for VASS’s sit-ski programs at Mount Seymour. I have also been part of the instructor groups in other VASS programs for people who (for the most part) have an intellectual-cognitive disability. Through the program I get to meet people who have disabilities stemming from accidents, birth events and so on. Some have physical impairments, some have cognitive and some have both.

VASS tends to have two program coordinators for each program day and lots of instructors (1–3 instructors per student). Students range from very young (4 or 5 years old) to adults in their 40s and 50s. We have over 300 students per year. Money donated by sponsors like MEC helped us purchase a new mono-ski for our students. We had a young boy last winter who’s going to be able to use this equipment independently very soon.



#### Tell us about being an instructor. What does it mean to you?
Volunteering enriches me and gives other families the joy of the mountain ski experience that I love. It’s a challenge to meet individuals where they’re at and get them on the slopes. I like having a run with the person in the sit-ski and feel how they’re doing as they work on balancing, turning and sliding. Sometimes a student may not have a lot of words to give me feedback, but a smile or gesture of happiness reinforces why I do it. I also support VASS via the CADS instructor-training program as a course leader (6 years and counting).

#### What are the main differences between adaptive and non-adaptive skiing?
It comes down to equipment and mindset. The equipment used to help someone get down the slopes is what gives an indication of adaptive skiing. There are also many folks whose equipment looks the same as everyone else’s but the lessons, teaching and learnings are different because of a cognitive impairment, for example. I know for individuals who would otherwise never get to ski, VASS has become the means to expand their experience, support their families and expose them to a world of mountains and snow.



#### What does it mean for you to be able to ski with Jewel?
It means the world to me – we can go on ski holidays or day trips whenever we like. My husband and other daughter both took the CADS Level 1 instructor training course too, so we take turns with Jewel. She really looks forward to going skiing and talks about it from about November onward. Sometimes we get in a whole day and other times it’s just two hours. She likes going fast down the mountain and has enjoyed going to Whistler, Sun Peaks, Big White and SilverStar, where we’ve connected with fantastic adaptive snow program people. My husband is keen to become a better skier – he didn’t grow up with it – and that is awesome.

#### What do you wish people knew about adaptive skiing?
People all over the world like to be active like everyone else. Every time we break down barriers and remove obstacles (physical, social and psychological) we all grow as a community. Families are well-supported by organizations like VASS.



#### How does your family like to get active?
Weekends are spent skiing at local hills and going on a ski holiday with my siblings’ families and their kids. If we have a lot of snow, we sled too. During the summer we go to the beach, go kayaking and go for walks in the park. Jewel likes to go on the swings at playgrounds and ride her bike around the block.

#### On that note, what are your favourite MEC products?
I usually grab clothes or shoes (I have a [raincoat](/en/products/clothing/jackets/rain-jackets/c/1025) that is particularly well-used and in great shape). I got my latest [ski helmet](/en/products/snow/backcountry-skiing/ski-snowboard-helmets/c/2138) at MEC. I love that MEC offers [running and cycling clinics](https://events.mec.ca/find-an-event?start%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=2017-10-23&activity%5B%5D=1&activity%5B%5D=2&type%5B%5D=13&type%5B%5D=17&type%5B%5D=20&type%5B%5D=18&city=&store=) as well as [bike maintenance workshops](https://events.mec.ca/find-an-event?start%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=2017-10-23&activity%5B%5D=2&type%5B%5D=13&city=&store=) for the community.

*Photos courtesy of Theresa Weltzin.*

*Tuning and waxes for adaptive skis are available through *[MEC ski shops](/en/explore/ski-shop)*.*



### 

*MEC is proud to support Theresa and other VASS instructors efforts in adaptive skiing through the *[Community Contributions program](/en/explore/spring-and-fall-grants)* via a grant to *[Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports](https://vass.ca/)*.*



## See more stories and articles
- [Why being active outdoors matters more than ever](/en/article/why-being-active-outdoors-matters-more-than-ever)
- [5 ways to get funded by MEC](/en/explore/outdoor-impact)
- [From bluebird to whiteout: what to wear when you go skiing](/en)



Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports instructor Theresa Weltzin gives MEC some uplifting insider info on adaptive skiing.

For the love of winter: teaching adaptive skiing | MEC Blog

For the love of winter: teaching adaptive skiing

Halfway up the 1500m South Ridge of Serra Two in BC’s Waddington Range, I discovered I’m powerful. And I don’t mean physically powerful; I knew that a long time ago. What I mean is, I finally realized the internal strength and resilience I possess.

It was the summer of 2012 and two girlfriends and I had been dropped off at the head of the 22km-long Tiedemann Glacier by our pilot, Mike King. I’d never felt so small. From our perch rose Mount Combatant (3762m), Mount Tiedemann (3848m), Mount Asperity (3716m), and Serra’s One through Five. Each ridge-line from glacier to summit represented 1600m or more of technical rocky relief. As Mike navigated his Bell 204 helicopter away from us, we stood alone among giants.

A few days in, while on Serra Two’s south ridge, our climb wasn’t quite going according to plan. We began to notice low-hanging clouds around the summits, indicating a breakdown in the high-pressure system we’d been riding. We quietly discussed the deteriorating weather as we curled into our bivy. With 800m of complex low fifth-class terrain below us, retreating would be slower and more complicated than continuing upward. Darkness fell and we lay silently cocooned, ears straining for the sounds of worsening weather.

When we woke the next morning, we had to shake off a fresh layer of snow on our sleeping bags. The ridge we intended to climb was now encased in snow and ice and we were engulfed in a winter storm. With few words between the team, we knew that we were going to “fail to the top.” Over 14 hours, we navigated the ridge with gloved hands and aluminum crampons strapped to our approach shoes, each taking our block of leads to push the rope higher up the ridge. We made it to the top and back down safely, but what should have been an easy alpine rock adventure turned in to a tough three-day ascent.

As we made our way back home to Squamish, it became apparent to me that on Serra Two, I’d tapped into an inner strength I didn’t know I possessed to get through that storm. It took several more mountain adventures before I finally drew the connection between the internal strength and resilience I’d identified in myself through climbing, and how to translate that power to my life outside the mountains.



Several years after the Waddington Range climb, a challenging life experience forced my hand, so to speak, and I dug deep to tap into my personal strength – not to climb a mountain this time, but to navigate the valley of my present life circumstance. Despite the theoretical storm engulfing me – I watched helplessly at the life I’d built for myself crumble at my feet – I had never believed in myself so firmly.

Climbing is often referred to as a selfish sport, and I agree with that sentiment to a degree, but without climbing I don’t know if I would have arrived at the place where I believe so whole-heartedly in my ability to endure, thrive and put my head down to push through difficult times. For this reason, I have purposefully sought out ways to share with other women what climbing has taught me.

Over the last two years I’ve been afforded incredible opportunities to participate in the lives of women both inside and outside the climbing community. There was the MEC-sponsored “Send with Sarah” event at the 2016 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. On the final day of the festival, MEC brought together 16 women to participate in a climbing clinic, enjoy Sunday brunch at the festival venue, and attend a panel discussion featuring notable female adventurers. The purpose of the day couldn’t have been solidified any better when one of the most accomplished female rock climbers of the 21st century, Lynn Hill, made a surprise appearance during our clinic. Lynn imparted meaningful advice about surrounding ourselves with other women who can share in our passion for outdoor adventure.



More recently, I was asked to co-facilitate the Minerva Foundation for BC Women’s Learning to Lead™ program. Now in it’s seventh year, the program brings together fifty 16-year-old girls from across the province to develop and enhance their leadership skills both personally and within their respective communities. That weekend, I left exhausted from trying to keep up with 16 year olds, but also revitalized as I’d witnessed the transformation in these young women as they discovered their own internal power and resilience.



Finally, and a major aha moment for me, was volunteering with and then working for The Howe Sound Women’s Centre in my hometown of Squamish, BC. After living in Squamish for almost eight years, I’d never taken the time to connect with the community of women beyond my insulated circle of climbers. Squamish is full of women who’ve lived through their own personal challenges and demonstrated a resilience far beyond my own. And in some small ways, I’ve been given the chance to share with women in my home community the power I discovered in myself through climbing, but that I believe resides deep inside all of us.

As women and climbers, we have the unique ability to challenge ourselves mentally all the time and hone the skills of internal fortitude to achieve our climbing goals. But what do we do with these skills beyond just ticking off another project? I encourage you to explore ways to lift up other women and help them uncover just how powerful they are too. Feminism teaches us that women expand, learn and challenge themselves best in the company of other women. Take what climbing has taught you, and spread it to the community of women just outside your door.

*Top photo by Rich Wheater.*



## related articles
- [Record-setting climb: 15-year-old Naomi Prohaska’s Mount Logan summit](/en/article/record-setting-climb-naomi-prohaskas-mount-logan-summit)
- [15 things I wish I knew before I started climbing](/en/article/15-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-i-started-climbing)
- [The gear I love: one pro climber’s essentials](/en)



MEC Ambassador Sarah Hart shares how climbing has given her the strength and resilience to face tough personal challenges and adversity.

How to unleash your inner badass | MEC Blog

How to unleash your inner badass

You never know the impact something will have on you until you’ve sat with it for a while. When I decided that I wanted to be the youngest person to summit Canada’s tallest mountain, I didn’t know what to expect, or what it meant. I wanted to be challenged and I knew that having a dream would motivate me. I had no clue how much effort would go into just one training trip, or how many hours I would need to practice avalanche and crevasse rescue. But I also didn’t know how much passion someone could have for something.

As I began to learn about mountaineering, I began to love it. Every trip I took with my ACMG mountain guide father, I learned something new – how to prevent and treat blisters, what worked for me, that you can sunburn the inside of your nose, tongue and eyes. Beginning to learn and understand the fundamentals of mountaineering also taught me so much about myself; I know that to make myself happy and clear my mind, I need the mountains. I know I can set my mind to accomplishing something others might call insane and do it, and that is so encouraging. Training to climb Mount Logan set me out on so many incredible adventures that I wouldn’t have done if I weren’t preparing for it.

As my departure for the Yukon grew closer, I became more and more nervous, but more and more excited. And, most importantly, I felt more and more supported. I was being cheered on by my family, friends, friends of friends, total strangers and amazing companies like MEC, Peak Performance, Nomad Nutrition and Mountain Berry Landscaping. Without the people that inspired and helped me, I never would have seen Mount Logan.

On the flight to basecamp, I was so grateful to be where I was. Just seeing Mount Logan was incredible. The size of it is incomparable to any of the mountains I’ve seen before. Landing on the Quintino Sella Glacier, I was so ready to start moving up this beast of a mountain.

With each day in Kluane National Park and Reserve, I was pushed further and further. The days became harder as the nights became colder. For most of the trip, every step uphill was an elevation record for me. The effects of altitude – headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, shortness of breath and overall tiredness – were new to me, but almost everyone experiences it. Most of our camps brought on some altitude sickness, but that was overshadowed by the joy I felt in making it that much further up the mountain.



Every step I took was bringing me closer to realizing my dream. As the climbs between camps grew steadily harder, the views became more rewarding. We had views of the slanting King Peak (Canada’s fourth-highest mountain), an incredible mass that made us feel so small. The sight of Mount Saint Elias, however, was by far the most astonishing of the expedition. Gazing out and seeing nothing but snow, ice and rock was fascinating. We were truly in the middle of nowhere, although this had all been the centre of my thoughts for so long.



I’d thought about Mount Logan every day for two years. I had imagined the route and camps countless times, and memorized maps of the mountain. I thought about the view from the top so much it took away from my GPA. When the time came to actually live out the month I’d spent so long preparing for, it was crazy. I couldn’t believe where I was most of the time. I couldn’t comprehend that I was living my dream or that it wasn’t a dream anymore, it was my reality.

Standing on top of Canada is possibly the hardest moment of my life to describe. I was in such awe and disbelief of where I was, I couldn’t grasp that I wasn’t asleep or just imagining it. I was the highest person in Canada and the youngest person to have ever been there. I was, in that moment, who I had been aspiring to be for 25 months.

After I summited, I didn’t have the sense of completion I had expected. I was still just a girl who wanted to spend as much time as possible in the mountains. Having completed my goal didn’t mean I was finished; it wasn’t just another thing to tick off a list and then move on from, it was something to build on. Our expedition in the Saint Elias range cemented my need for and love of mountaineering.



In the time that has passed since I left the Yukon, I’ve thought about the mountains a lot. I have yearned for the calmness of the ice and the sense of peace in my soul. I have craved the views of surrounding peaks, and looking back to see how far I’ve climbed. I know having goals will push me to become a better mountaineer and a better person, and I get why it seems inspiring. Yet, being able to fully enjoy the company of rock and snow is something much deeper than being the youngest, first or fastest to accomplish something. I know now that I prefer the roaring wind at the top of a peak over four walls and a roof. And I know that I wouldn’t be able to stay away from the mountains if I tried.

*Photos by Rich Prohaska.*



### 

*On May 24, 2017, at the age of 15, Naomi Prohaska became the youngest person to summit Mount Logan, Canada’s highest mountain. MEC was proud to support Naomi with an [expedition grant](/en/explore/outdoor-impact) as well as outfit her with [ski boots](/en/products/snow/backcountry-skiing/boots/c/2072), the Exped Downmat sleeping pad, Ferrosi climbing pants, [hut booties](/en/product/5055-860/get-down-booties) and an [MEC Outpost Duffle](/en/product/5059-969/outpost-60l-duffle) for her record-setting climb. Way to go Naomi!*



Months after her record-setting summit of Mount Logan, 15-year-old climber Naomi Prohaska reflects on her big moments on top of Canada’s biggest mountain.

Record-setting climb: Naomi Prohaska’s Mount Logan summit | MEC Blog

Record-setting climb: Naomi Prohaska’s Mount Logan summit

Thomas arrived in Toronto from Ethiopia as a refugee in February 2017. He was blown away by the size and diversity of the city, but had only stepped foot outside it once in five months. A recent outing to Rouge National Urban Park offered a second escape. “It’s nice to just get outside without the sounds of the city in the background, and this is only the second chance I’ve had so far.”

Thomas had been invited as a part of MEC partner Parkbus’s [NatureLink](https://www.parkbus.ca/naturelink) program, which takes new Canadians and urbanites with transportation barriers to outdoor destinations. [Parkbus](https://www.parkbus.ca/index) has been shuttling city dwellers to the great outdoors for seven years now. Founders Alex Berlyand and Boris Issaev have taken passengers to Algonquin, Killarney, Elora Gorge and Grundy Lake Provincial Park. When they heard about Parks Canada’s development of Rouge Park, the country’s first ever Urban National Park (categorized as such due to its proximity to Toronto), they knew it was a great opportunity for their NatureLink initiative.

The program was coined by Parkbus ambassador Julia Bitan and kicked off in winter 2016, when the crew took a group of Syrian refugees to Arrowhead National Park. For many Syrians, it was the first time they’d seen snow. This year’s trip to Rouge Park was a little closer to home, but coming in at more than 21 times the size of New York’s Central Park, it still feels a world away.

This outing also coincided with the [Rouge National Urban Park Flagship BioBlitz event](http://bioblitzcanada.ca/events_flagships-toronto.aspx) in June. BioBlitz is *the*place to be for nature lovers, those into classifying organisms (taxonomic experts) and citizen scientists. Everyone was treated to a unique day outside observing the area’s flora and fauna.



The day’s activities included scouting for nesting turtles on a marshy nature walk, meeting falcons and partaking in some wall climbing – far from average for those who had yet to step foot outside the city limits. “I have always been an outdoor enthusiast,” says Boris, “but my family and I lived in Toronto for seven years before I was able to buy a car and start exploring.”



Boris knows firsthand how few transit connections there are to outdoor areas, especially if you live downtown. “From personal experience, I can say that new Canadians are unfortunately one group for whom opportunities like this are few and far between.”

At NatureLink’s core is relief from the frenetic energy that can accompany moving to a city – solace and solitude for those unaccustomed to city life, plus a chance to play outdoors and relax in their new home.



“This whole thing is just such a great gift to Canada and to the Greater Toronto Area for Canada’s sesquicentennial,” shares Omar McDadi, external relations manager for Rouge Park. “To be able to bring so many people from so many different backgrounds right across the economic spectrum to explore here… we’re stoked about it. It’s awesome.”

*Photos by Danielle Marr*



Parkbus introduces NatureLink, a new transit program that removes barriers to getting more and new Canadians outside.

MEC Blog