Chris was one of my favourite and most consistent partners. He was always up for a bike ride, run, ski or hike and so long as the ‘work’ was out of the way he would move mountains to make an outing happen, it just meant so much to him. Early morning bike rides or skis were pretty normal for us to try and maximize the daylight hours, he was my most consistent partner for these early missions when most people can’t imagine getting up at 5 to go for a bike ride, he’d be ready to go, everytime. I have biked and skied so much in the coast range with Chris that it is almost impossible for me to think about either of these activities and not also think of him. We had so much light-hearted fun together.
Chris lived an incredibly full life in 42 years. He had essentially sworn off of televison and instead spent his time reading and working on projects at a pace that most would find unsustainable. Anyone that knew Chris would know about his incredible and wide knowledge base on so many topics. He could discuss politics, engine repair, pop culture, classic film, ski history, physics, philosophy and pretty much everything that came up with enthusiasm. He spent some of his high school years in Germany, taking in that culture and seeing the world. Upon moving back he became completely entrenched in the local mountain bike scene here in Squamish. Volunteering his time to build trails and support the community in so many ways. He built countless bridges, trails and features in and around Squamish - on his own time. He was a huge pioneering part of the mountain bike community here and that chapter alone would be a pretty big footnote in someone’s life.
I remember many occasions where I would ask how his day was going, he’d casually respond with something like; ‘My mom and Ellie and I are going to the Symphony in Vancouver but first I’ll work then I need to plant some things in the garden after going for a run, maybe a bike ride too - wanna come!?’ He seemed to have an energy reserve that broke the form, he was a total inspiration to me for what can be be done with a day. I just loved that about him.
Our last big trip together was a 20 day traverse of the central coast range from Gun Lake to Toba Inlet last winter. I was so happy to be going on this trip with Chris and Ryan, 2 of my favourite people and we had been planning it for a long time. On one particular day we were to move through some broken, steep and complex glaciated terrain; a crux of our 20 day trip and we were all a bit nervous about it. At one point, Chris was up ahead and I could see him scanning a tough section to come. The low level anxiety that I’d been feeling all day about this section suddenly vanished as I realized right there and then that there was simply no one else I’d rather be with in this situation then Ryan and Chris. I knew that we would be OK, we made good decisions and made it through, like always. We laughed and cried together, had light and heavy conversations about many topics and came back better friends then when we left, I’ll never forget it.
I will miss his gentle soul and wonderful, kind nature as a human being. I’ll miss how much he appreciated life and I will think of my friend every time I see a splash of alpineglow on fresh snow, savour an espresso or Pinot Noir, watch a great film or listen to Bach, ski excellent powder or have a particularly good bike ride.
The last time I saw Chris he dropped off a Christmas card and a bottle of scotch. The scotch was
for simply bringing his ski boots in to get punched while he was away, I tried to refuse the scotch for it was too much for such a simple task but he would have it no other way. The other night I opened the bottle and did a toast to one of the best people I have ever had the privilege to know.
So long my dear friend.
