Seymour Butts

Mt. Seymour juts 4,754 feet upwards, basically, out of Vancouver. It's a force of nature tamed by humankind, with a decent highway right to the top, where ski slopes entertain.

Suz and I were hoping to get some nice mountain photographs when we visited her brother (and family) for Christmas, and one day of sun was all we needed. Every morning we woke up to the same question, "What do you want to do today?" The answer was always "Mountains!" Finally, on one sunny day, we headed for Seymour.

At the base of Mt. Seymour the temperature was +7C. A sign read "Warning. Extreme winter driving conditions. Only 4x4 vehicles and cars equipped with snow tires may proceed."

We proceeded.

Slowly the lush ferns and trickling waterfalls were replaced by snow and ice. With higher altitudes came lower temperatures. The blue sky vanished as we hit the clouds. Higher and higher we drove, until the snowbanks rose higher than the BMW's roof. Finally we broke through the clouds at the peak of Mt. Seymour to find the temperature was 0.

Clouds were moving all around us as we explored. The views were pretty spectacular in nearly every direction. As long as the clouds cooperated, we were able to see straight down into the city. Other times, an eerie cloud cover settled over the trees.

One interesting sight was a chairlift destroyed in a 1998 windstorm. It still stands, but the roof is heavily damaged and appears to be rotting. There are 6 TV stations that have their broadcasting towers on Mt. Seymour along with 15 area radio stations.

Mt. Seymour was surprisingly bright and jam-packed with skiers, tobogganers and snowboarders. Except for being in a jet, it is the highest I've ever been. Suz exclaimed, "This is where Santa lives!" upon reaching the summit. But she was wrong. Santa lives in my basement, chained to the wall.

What I Learned in Vancouver

Suz and I just got back from spending 8 days in Vancouver and four hours in Calgary waiting for our connecting flight. We were spending Christmas with family and the experience was exactly how I imagined it would be - unpredictable. Snow one day, rain the next. A generous blast of sunshine, then snow again. It was neat, albeit slightly nauseating. And I learned something important while I was there. You don't need money to enjoy it.

Nope. You don't need money to see the amazing sights in Vancouver. Looking at mountains is free. The bridge-happy city is surrounded by coastal mountains and water and none of it costs a cent. All you really need is a little luck with the weather, at least in the winter.

The weather was so unpredictable that we had to check the weather network hourly to see if our plans were going to be thrown out the window. During a sunny day we drove off to Stanley park and watched the sun set behind the cityscape while Asian tourists asked us to take their picture in front of the totem poles. We drove deeper into the park and stopped in a small parking lot with "Wawa" parking to take in this view of the mountains & industry on the water.

And we didn't have to fly all the way to L.A. or some tropical island for great palm trees. Vancouver, as if to brag, has these coconutty trees planted all over the city. I was really surprised to see them, but even more surprised to see all the estates with giant palms guarding the front gate, or lining the driveways.

Mountains are neat and all, but it's not just those pointy, hard, jaggedy rock things that are incredible. In places like White Rock, even the soft, so-fluffy-you-could-wipe-your-ass-with-em clouds are spectacular.

And you don't need to fork out the same amount a small country's GDP for a chauffeur to drive you around to see all these awesome sights. Nope. All you need is an awesome brother-in-law who lives in B.C., and will drive you anywhere you want to go.