Snow is falling, people are running, buds are blooming and the sun is shining.  Beautiful B.C.  

Beyond the Bend covers special events, excursion highlights, hikes, promotions, business updates, and stories from our readers. Our goal is to motivate you to experience and enjoy the unique backyard in British Columbia.

Check out our winter snowshoe program!   

Back East, building a snow cave never entered my mind.  As a kid, even the one meter of snow that fell wouldn’t be enough for a cave.  Up in the alpine of British Columbia, depth of snow is not a problem.  In fact, a multi-story snow cave could be a possibility; but I totally condone that. 

Up at Elfin Lakes last weekend I had the fantastic opportunity to build and accommodate a snow cave for the night.  It was the only night I have in memory that I wanted morning to arrive quickly.  Building the snow cave wasn’t too hard.  A couple of hours, a shovel and waterproof gear was all I needed.  I ended up with a lovely cave with a snowy bed and a tea light holder.   My key learning’s:

For details on building a snow cave, contact Beyond the Tour.

Hike Profile:

If you are looking for a rewarding introduction to snow shoeing, Mount Seymour has it.  About a half hour away from downtown, the 6 km return Dog Mountain trail begins at Mount Seymour resort.  Snow shoe rentals are available at the resort. 

The trail has its challenges and as always, it’s a smart thing to keep your eyes looking in front of you.  The amount of snow Seymour has experienced this year, anytime out on the trail should be a good one.  The last time I was up, all that was in front of me were trail markers and fresh powder.

Give yourself about 2-3 hours to complete the route as you will want some time to check out the beauty of the snow covered trees, First Lake and of course, the spectacular views from the summit.  Weather may change quickly on Seymour so make sure you are prepared with all your safety gear and extra clothing.  Also, with weather changes, views can’t always be guaranteed, but a good experience is.

Have fun at Dog!

Distance: 6 km (Both ways)
Time Required: 2- 3 Hours
Difficulty: Easy

Human Resources challenges?  Beyond the Tour goes Beyond.

What’s really happening in the kitchen? Customer service statistics, employee retention, leadership succession, low moral, absenteeism and many more issues face business leaders and human resources managers.  Businesses constantly fight the battle of losing their best, keeping everyone happy and meeting the demands of business owners.

It’s a tough balance to maintain and as such, businesses are turning to team building companies, consultants, trainers and coaches to help in maintaining and/or building a successful business.

Beyond the Tour has a unique approach to addressing these challenges and implementing programs that work.  Excursions are designed with exercises that expose individuals and allow everyone to speak their truth. Our unique program helps:

Call us for more details at 604-318-1129 or download our brochure at:
www.beyondthetour.com/forms/brochure.pdf

Email us at go@beyondthetour.com to book your Beyond the Tour excursion.

There was a time, long, long ago, when we could be goofy and not care.  When you see a child act goofy, do you ever say: “That looks like fun”?  Why do we hide it as adults?  We all have it - that goofiness.  It’s just hidden and repressed.  Letting it out is normally just reserved for the bathroom. 

Connecting with our goofy self is a great way to add balance and fun to your life.  It’s not an immature act.  It’s an act that removes you from being rational, to being.  The only one who really cares about you looking goofy is you.  Try to let go of that and not care about what others may think of you.

We spend a lot of time not being true to ourselves. 

Go ahead, be a goof.

Do I ever have issues!  (This is not related to being goofy <insert smile>) 

Thank goodness I have taken care of many of them but stuff still comes up.  Growing up with a chain smoking Father whose drunkenness forced us to camp out in our forest on numerous occasions was a depressing start to life.  I dealt with it in a way that worked back then – hiding.  Looking back at old photos never revealed that, but then again, who takes pictures when there is unhappiness around?  I certainly don’t.  The last thing I want to tell my son when he’s 25 is “Here’s a photo of you when I got really angry with you because I couldn’t finish my newsletter - you wanted to play.”  No, my camera is tucked away right now.

All that stuff from my childhood has sat around and plagued me for years.  Issues include: being held back a year in school, my father loving my brother more, never pleasing my parents with my grades, and it goes on.  Pushing that all away has really helped me be the person I thought I should be.  I was not being completely authentic with myself.  If I live in a world where I compromise who I really am and put up a façade, who is really being impacted in the long run?  I now understand.

I now live in a world where I am focused on living authentically, passionately and most of all, happily.  There are times when I’m not.  But that’s another story in progress.

Once we hear our own voice, listen to our bodies, and believe and respect each other,
we all grow.