Patricia M. at Fort Good Hope B& B

June 17, 2006

I posted a pix of Patricia M., a friend and former colleague, at the B & B in Fort Good Hope.  She is working in Norman Wells for the next year.  Go to My Pictures. 

Squamish Bear Facts!

Bears, mostly black bears, are a concern in the Squamish area and one was shot last week as it was harrassing a newspaper carrier.  This is what you are supposed to do if you see a bear:

Stay calm and Don’t Panic.  Speak to the bear in a normal voice to let it know you are nearby (Kind of difficult to do I expect). 

Give the bear plenty of space.  Allow the bear an easy exit route.  If you suddenly come face to face with a bear, back away slowly, moving in the direction you came from.  Do not run.

Calmly take your children and pets indoors.  Call your neighbors to advise them to BEAR-PROOF their yards (this means keeping garbage inside and removing fruit from any fruit trees.  No bird feed is supposed to be out from May until October either.

I haven’t seen a bear yet (thankfully). 

Other weekly news here are the accidents or death from mountain climbing.  A 73 year old experienced climber fell 60 ft. last week and survived the fall with a few broken ribs.   He was actually just on a trail, not actually climbing apparently, but slipped and then tumbled off a cliff.  I expect I will climb to the top of The Chief eventually by the back trail - takes about 3 hours I hear and the view is incredible - but that might be it in terms of my mountaineering.