Alpine Wanderlust

Lore about the tulips at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

We went to check out some smaller (possibly better) fields than the famous busy one at Roozengaarde and apparently the reason why Tulip Town and Tulip Valley are across the street are because they are rivals and the one brother decided to be a little rebellious and do things different so he created Tulip Valley.

IMO Tulip Valley has been my favorite so far because its quieter and you still get rows and rows of tulips but when you walk through the orchard, it feels like you have some solitude and quiet. It was so peaceful and a huge contrast to Roozengarde even on a weekday

Are you headed out to the tulips? We’re half way through the month! On May 1, they chop them all down

Inspired by to take more photos of flowers

The most gorgeous little tulip bouquet 💐 from Kim’s garden!!

Spring in the city just makes me so excited for summer in the mountains

What are you dreaming up for the summer?

“So we started hiking up the road with skis A-framed to our packs. Plenty of cars passed us. But after slogging 1/3 a mile, a nice older gentleman asked if we wanted a ride. Yes, yes of course! It took a solid minute to figure out fitting everything into the vehicle since the back couldn’t be opened. But we all squished in, heads poking in between skis and rode to the trailhead.”

I’m on a mission to catalogue my outings and this one lead us to British Columbia!

More on the blog https://www.alpinewanderlust.com/stretching-the-legs-round-mountain-ski-tour-garibaldi/

The bluest waterfall I’ve ever seen

And I only wrote a little blurb on my Hokkaido skiing guide 🤯 it’s free to visit unlike its more famous neighbor the Blue Pond but doesn’t freeze over in the winter (at least when I was there)

https://www.alpinewanderlust.com/a-week-in-japow-skiing-in-hokkaido/

Some of my favorite scenes from Whistler backcountry, and wishing that I had my longer lens out there. At least cropping still works on my 24-70mm lens!

{trip report} Finally tried backcountry skiing in Whistler, lift assisted!

It’s hard to say no to lifts when they’re right there so we paid $45cad for a ride up and enjoyed some sweet turns just outside the resort! It was a fun experience and I can’t wait to do the full traverse one day

It was marginally tricky to figure out where to exit and re-enter the ski resort, so I wrote up a little blog all about it!

Read more: https://www.alpinewanderlust.com/musical-turns-oboe-mountain-ski-tour-at-whistler/
And it’s linked in my bio too

Next on the blog: Ski tour Asahidake, the tallest mountain in Hokkaido.

If you’ve never been up a volcano, this one is well worth your time with the easy access to fumaroles and amazing views and plenty of skiing potential too!

Read more on my website: https://www.alpinewanderlust.com/a-volcanic-attempt-asahidake-ski-tour/

The highlight of japow: skiing Yotei (while sick)

Stats: 8 miles, 5000 ft gain, high stoke, great powder

Read more on my blog
https://www.alpinewanderlust.com/ghost-of-yotei-ski-tour-via-makkari/

Photos from the window seat flying over Japan (and Alaska)

The Japanese Alps just hits a little different

How to plan your Hokkaido ski tour

1. Look up trip reports such as my own or
2. Look up avalanche forecast and weather patterns
3. Decide to hire a guide or go unguided. And if you’ll rent skis
4. Go out and have fun!

More on how to ski tour in Hokkaido, specifically near Furano on my blog:
https://www.alpinewanderlust.com/fresh-powder-kaun-bowl-at-mt-furano-hokkaido-backcountry-ski/

Let me know what you think!

Properly engulfed.

Both what you fully expect after all the hype about “JAPOW” the mind blowing deep and light Japanese snow.

But also a slight fear of what if you get stuck or get caught

But thankfully much of the terrain is lower angled and there’s just so much snow that you don’t need to ever venture too far away