Alexander Weber is a writer currently based in Vancouver, BC. He divides his time between squeezing every available free second into an adventure and recovering with beer and ice cream.
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Alexander Weber
Issue: 2018-12-05, PHOTO: Alexander Mark Weber
Bear Mountain – A redux
If you’ve read about our first attempt to climb (or even glimpse) Bear Mountain, you may be wondering how or why we ever returned. I wish I knew myself, with any sort of confidence. Was it the resentment of failure? Was it the undeterrable... Read more
Issue: 2018-10-24, PHOTO: Alexander Weber
Bear Mountain – A loving tribute to a living nightmare
Things started off great when we immediately got off trail (we wouldn’t know this till days later). We attempted to follow some GPS tracks I plucked from the internet. This involved scaling a wet, lushly vegetated and slippery mountainside... Read more
Issue: 2018-09-19, PHOTO: Alexander Weber
Bear Mountain – A loving tribute to a living nightmare
In the late summer of 2016, my friend Dan and I attempted to climb Bear Mountain, a 2,400-metre tall peak situated in the North Cascades National Park, just south of British Columbia. The north buttress of this mountain offers 670 metres of superb... Read more
Issue: 2017-10-04, PHOTO: Alexander Mark Weber
There and back
The Nā Pali Coast’s Kalalau Trail is a stunning 18-kilometre there-and-back hike on the north coast of Kauai, Hawaii. Often topping Greatest-Hikes-in-the-World lists, along with Most-Dangerous-Hikes-in-the-World, it promises a rugged trek along... Read more
Issue: 2017-02-22, PHOTO: Alexander Weber
Pacing Ourselves to Pigeon Spire
On my third day in the Bugs I team up with my friend Andrew, who is one of the late-comers. We wake up when our bodies decide to and have a leisurely morning. Our objective for the day is the West Ridge of Pigeon Spire - a very easy technical... Read more
Issue: 2017-02-22, PHOTO: Alexander Weber
Taking on Sunshine Crack
I sleep in the next morning and Dan and I take it slow. Ironically named, Sunshine Crack faces north and does not catch sun until late in the day. It is cold in the Bugaboos, despite it being late July. Our approach is easy however and we are at... Read more
Issue: 2017-02-15, PHOTO: Alexander Weber
Taking the Kain Route
We begin the next day by eating cereal with rehydrated milk powder, gathering our things and setting out. The hike and scramble to the base of the climb involves navigating past several glacier pools, ascending a snow ramp in crampons, and... Read more
Issue: 2016-12-14, PHOTO: Alexander Weber
Bugaboos, Part 1
I have a terrible feeling about this. I am mentally preparing for the worst: tent bound by rain, wind, hail and all manners of terrible weather - for days on end. My hopes have been dashed before; it will not happen again. We are heading into a... Read more
Issue: 2016-09-22, PHOTO: courtesy of Alexander Weber
Never Again
In this two-part series Alexander Weber writes about competing in his first Ironman triathlon. In Part One he told us about his race preparation and his feelings before the competition. We left him three days before race day... Read more
Issue: 2016-09-15, PHOTO: by Alexander Weber
Fear and Loathing
Dear Reader, having just read the title of this article, I assume you may believe the following about myself: I am insane, and I am a diehard superhuman athlete. While you may be right about the former, I would disagree with the latter. Before I... Read more
Issue: 2016-08-25, PHOTO: Alexander Weber
In the ‘Cirque of the Unclimbables’ -- Part 4
This is part four of a four part series, chronicling Alex and Mandy’s attempted ascents at the Cirque of the Unclimbables. We left the pair as they were half-way up an intimidating spire-like peak called Lotus Flower Tower. They had just reached... Read more
Issue: 2016-08-04, PHOTO: Alexander Weber
In the ‘Cirque of the Unclimbables’ -- Part 3
This is part three of a four part series, chronicling Alex and Mandy’s attempted ascents at the Cirque of the Unclimbables. We left the pair as they were about to try to climb Easy Huey Spire, after seven days of waiting out the rain. It was a... Read more
Issue: 2016-04-21, PHOTO: Mandy Wong
In the ‘Cirque of the Unclimbables’ - Part 2
The next morning we woke up with our first clear view of the Cirque proper. This place is nothing but intimidating -- and yet, surreally beautiful. You sort of feel like you’ve been plopped into the middle of a science-fiction film set, with... Read more
Issue: 2015-12-10 PHOTO: Mandy Wong
Beauty and Humility in the ‘Cirque of the Unclimbables’
There’s a GoPro video I captured on my recent trip to the Cirque of the Unclimbables. In it, I am 200 feet up a rock wall, suspended from a questionable anchor made of various webbing and rusted bolts. Above me is 2,300 feet of vertical granite... Read more
Issue: 2015-08-13 PHOTO: Alexander Weber
Mind-blowing Beauty
Everyone needs to drop what they’re doing, and go and hike the Chilkoot Trail. Already hiked it you say? Well get back out there. Not fit enough? Then start training. Barring any major physical restrictions, you really have no excuse. Read more
Boulder On!
Do you like climbing rocks? Do you enjoy hiking in a gorgeous valley? What about making friends? Walking a tightrope suspended between two giant boulders? Do you like having fun and being happy? If you answered yes to any of these, you’re in luck. Read more
Issue: 2015-07-23 PHOTO: Alexander Weber
Doing the Squirrel-paddle
I couldn’t sleep the night before. Was it the roughly 10 night-shifts in a row I had pulled just prior to leaving, or was it the excitement to get on that river? I’m not a river paddler. I grew up in Ontario (which I realize has rivers) and am at... Read more
Issue: 2015-07-16 PHOTO: Alex Weber
Marathon Man
In a half-a-month I will run my first trail marathon, and my second marathon overall. The Yukon River Trail Marathon takes place on Sunday, August 2. I can already imagine going to work the next day with wobbly nonfunctioning legs and hips that... Read more
Issue: 2015-06-04 PHOTO: Alexander Weber
Slim’s River West Trail
I am making my way up a mountain. I am alone, tired, and very thirsty. The nearest road or person is 30 km away. The sun has just disappeared behind a mountain; I know it will be dark shortly. I must make it back to my tent soon, or risk crossing... Read more
Issue: 2015-05-14 PHOTO: by Alexander Weber
Exploring the Bittersweet Beauty of the Juneau Ice Cave
The Zhange Danxia landform in Gansu, China; The Great Blue Hole in Belize; Tulip Fields in the Netherlands; Mount Roraima in Venezuela, Brazil, and Guana, and 23 more places make up a Buzzfeed list of “27 Surreal Places to Visit Before You Die”. Read more