3rd in Northern Lights travel journalism award

Next week Explore Magazine will accept an award on my behalf from the Northern Lights Awards part of the Canadian Tourism Commission's Media Marketplace in New York City. An article I wrote in the June 2010 issue of Explore Magazine won third place in the magazine category, which recognizes excellence in "tourism-oriented coverage on Canadian destinations in 2010."

My article was The Best of Banff, an in depth travel guide to Canada's first and most popular national park. I grew up and went to university in Calgary, spending all my free time playing in the mountains around Banff. My parents still live in the area and I return two or three times a year. I tapped my parents extensive knowledge to a huge extent and this article would be a skeleton without their input.

The article was a collage of bits and pieces: best bets on hotels, hikes and adventures; recommendations from locals; suggested reads; and more. All of it was designed to help a visitor to Banff make the best use of their time. I think I succeeded. 

Of all the hundreds of articles I've written it is the one I'm the most proud of. An excerpt from the original article is online at explore-mag.com.

Restless Josie Australia

Considering the economic impact of weather

Like many active, outdoorsy people I spend a lot of time checking on the weather. Is it snowing on the hill? Will the rivers be up this weekend? Should I paddle or climb tomorrow?

The weather often dictates my daily schedule as I plan my exercise and fun around its whims. I consider temperature, wind, waves, precipitation and freezing level. But I rarely consider economics, until I read this article in The Economist.

The author considers the data on how December snowstorms in England effected economic output. Where others blame the weather for dramatic losses in productivity, the author is a little more cautious. The Snow Sport Industry of America chimes in to say an early winter in the east increased sales of things like jackets, skis and snowshoes.

I'm sure weather's impact depends on where you live. Here on Vancouver Island 10 centimetres of snow can shut schools for the day, sending parents outdoors to play with their kids instead of to work. The same amount of snow in Toronto would snarl traffic and make just about anyone that drives late. Yet, no one blinks at 10 cms in places like Winnipeg or Revelstoke.

And consider a town like Whistler, where many businesses have a 20 centimetre rule: if it snows 20 cms or more they open late. In December the mega resort got buried by 10 metres of snow. That's a lot of late starts.

And yet that's nothing like the impact of a hurricane or a major flood.

Just one more reason to pay attention the the weather forecast.

Stories for AOL Travel now online

In January I started writing for AOL Canada's travel portal, travel.aol.ca. Officially I'm their Vancouver Island blogger, reporting on places to go, things to do and what's new from my Island in the Pacific. I'll also throw in the odd story from other parts of British Columbia and Canada to spice things up.

So far I've written about the growing fruit wine scene in the Comox Valley, a couple winter festivals at Mount Washington and Victoria's Winter Farmers' Market. You can read them all and more here. I post weekly and am loving the chance to check all the things on Vancouver Island that I've been meaning to write about but haven't had the chance.

Decisions, decisions: Outside Magazine's Buyers Guide shells

Outside Magazine tapped my wet and mild locale to review spring and summer shells for their Summer 2011 Buyers Guide. I'm almost finished testing soft and hard shells (and some that land somewhere in between) and now its decision time. What shells will make it and what won't. Space is limited and the options are many. I try to find a balance of choices that range in price and features. But most companies make great stuff, so it gets pretty hard. For Gear of the Year I'm thinking of naming the...no way, you'll have to wait until the issue comes out in April.

Ski articles out in print

Last winter I spent a week touring around the Canadian Rockies with photographer Josie Boulding. She's also my wife. We hit Lake Louise, Panorama, Fernie and Castle Mountain at the tail end of a month long dry spell. I wrote about the surprisingly epic trip - we found great skiing everywhere we went - in an article for Ski Canada's 2010 Fall issue called Four for the Road. The issue is on newsstands now.

Presenting at the Great Outdoors DIY Weekend

As the gear editor at explore Magazine I've been tapped to do more than 10 gear presentations at the Great Outdoors DIY Weekend. The outdoor show is a collaboration between explore and her sister titles Cottage Life, Outdoor Canada (fishing and hunting) and Canadian Home Workshop, taking place this weekend at Toronto's International Centre.

Between stints manning explore's booth, I will give talks and presentations on four themes: portable power, winter gift ideas, winter commuter gear and picking and packing packs. Portable power will highlight some of the new powered products making winter warmer and other products that allow us to keep our digitized world functioning just about anywhere. Highlights from explore's winter gear line up and others that didn't make the magazine will be on display for winter gifts. Gear for walking, running or biking to work in winter weather is the focus of the commuter products presentation. At an area dedicated to getting newbies into the outdoors is where I'll present a how to on picking and packing day and overnight packs.

I'm looking forward to the show. Should be lots of fun and it will be a great chance to meet lots of readers.