Mount Elma: First snowshoe adventure

Embarked on my first snowshoe hike with the Island Mountain Ramblers this past weekend.  We set out to climb Mount Elma which would require a 400 metre ascent from the start point near Mount Washington.  The starting point was already at about 1000 metres so we found ourselves in a winter wonderland from the get go.  It has been a couple years since I was in a snowy environment and this was my first taste of West Coast alpine snow.  As it is early in the season most of this snow was light and fluffy and completely untouched.  In short it was beautiful and almost magical!

We had hiked in this area before during the summer so it was neat to see the terrain completely transformed in the winter.  This hike required snowshoes in order to trudge through the snow.  In many cases we were carving our own trail through the forest so the going was tough, especially for those at the lead.  I sunk through the snow to my waist on a number of occasions, one time even getting stuck under a tree and spending a few minutes before I could get out!  Anyhow, we had impeccable weather for the most part and it was a fantastic day of hiking in the snow.  Finished the day with some hot Vietnamese soup and a soak in the hot tub at the recreation centre.