Exploring the Queendom: Part Two - Video and Photos
When the draw of adventure pulls you deep into the mountains, it can take you to familiar places but often times into terrain you've not yet explored. Wherever that journey leads, there is an incomparable feeling deep within when you arrive exactly where it was beckoning you to go.
 |
At the end of the Canadian alpine riding season, Wildland Media and I were grateful to make a second trip to a majestic granite mecca deep within British Columbia's Coast Range, nicknamed 'The Queendom'. A glimpse into our first trip and how we got there can be seen in Part One.
With only 48 hours to explore, sleep was willingly traded for finding new lines in a landscape where trails are formed instantly by the creativity of the rider. Our days started before sunrise and finished long after it set.
 |
Our goal was to go deeper and further than before, to traverse a remote ridge that had previously caught our imagination - a series of recently exposed glacial benches cast with a couple stunning blue lakes.
 |
The Queendom alpine landscape is without human fragmentation, pure in all its form. No roads. No trails. We were delivered up to the alpine thanks to a nearby boat access and helicopter serviced logging operation.
 |
A saying within the mountaineering world is 'what looks good from far, is often far from good'. Each mountain range, each peak, has its own unique form and there is an art to understanding and navigating their character.
Gentle rolls can mask large cliffs. Gradual streams can lead to falls. Car size rocks can teeter upon touch. Keeping yourself in check and humble is an important lesson you may not get to learn twice.
 |
 |
 |
With every pedal stroke into the unknown, we deepened our understanding of The Queendom, a geomorphic masterpiece sculpted by nature on the Sunshine Coast near Powell River, British Columbia.
 |
As the light faded we made our way back to camp. We were full of heart, yet ready to rest. The constant intensity of adventuring into the unknown leaves you elated, but in need of a recharge that only some rest can provide.
After a nourishing mountain meal, we fell asleep to the starscape and dreamed of adventures to come.
 |
The adventure continues as Part Three - The Story, is coming soon ...
Exploring the Queendom: Part One - Pictures and Video
Wildland Media: Specializing in outdoor adventure photography and videography, particularly in the backcountry.
Lorraine Blancher: Accredited ACMG Day Hiking Guide / PMBIA Mountain Bike Instructor gratefully supported by - Race Face, Fox Racing Shox, Crankbrothers, Sport Oxylent, Troy Lee Designs, CLIF Bar, Five Ten, Osprey Packs, Specialized Canada and Vittoria Tires.
 |
MENTIONS: @lbbikes / @skizzer / @raceface / @foxracingshox / @FiveTen / @crankbrothers / @troyleedesigns / @CLIF / @Specialized / @vittoria
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
hate to be a hater, but this is two separate zones across the Valley from each other. each about a max of 5 km long that's rideable it appears. not exactly somewhere to go unless you have $$ burning in your pocket for heli time to bump around here and there to ride some admittedly epic rock lines.
what would really be cool would be to do a long ridgeline hike/climb on the ridge that extends way north from Part 2's content. doesn't really seem too bike friendly though.
It's an amazing place - as mentioned in a private message to you, I'll send you various route info if you're genuinely heading in there. Let me know what you're thinking and I'll give you insight. I've been on handful of other ridges in the area (not on this trip).
As mentioned in the Article - There's definitely some good terrain for riding and there's definitely some not - and I'm not exactly sure where you're assuming I've only gone ...
The point IS to link long rides! (It's kinda why I'm doing it - cheeky smile!)
It's what I love to do.
(I spent many years working for CMH Heli Ski / Summer Adventures where it was my summer job to guide people on some sweet and unique adventures deep within the Columbia Mountains. They've been doing this for over 35 years - heli skiing for over 50 years. They kinda invented it. I'm honored to have been there when Hans and Leo would still come into the lodge and even in the mountains! My main passion is mountain biking ... and if you know me - I like to ride. I've been blending both those skills for awhile now, exploring various remote ranges in a nontraditional way to link up my ultimate rides, etc.)
I rode up in that general area with Lorraine last year
1. Why I love the planet we live in.
2. Why I love this sport.
3. Why I'm moving to Canada.
It’s definitely a sensitive environment and you want those experiencing it to take care of it!
One of my favorite books is The Mountaineers: Freedom of the Hills. Within their pages they have some amazing insight for low Impact travel / camping. (I’ve devoured their doctrines for over 20 years and just bought their new 50th anniversary edition as it’s that good.) I also love the Outdoor Ethics of the Leave No Trace Organization. They have 7 established principles, number 5 being minimizing campfire impact (including things like even selecting the wood carefully as there’s an art to that too!)
If anything – I think we both want to shed light on the understanding of low impact best practices. (It's definitely a bit of a personal struggle to shed light on a pristine area – you almost want to keep it to yourself - but you also want to inspire others to explore beyond, appreciate their beauty first hand too.)
We’re working on series - Notes From the Backcountry – to give insight on all the above and have it mountain bike specific so we can adventure and coexist. (I have a few peeves as well – like the banana peels and people who bury toilet paper in the alpine.) We can learn from mistakes of places like Everest Base Camp or even when climbers initially used pitons and scarred the rock, etc ...