My friend Don Vockeroth is a pioneer in Canadian mountain climbing and anyone who climbs in the Rockies is standing on Don’s shoulders.  Don has an impressive list of first ascents, but always did it humbly and quietly, and always for the adventure, never for the glory.  He also had a wicked sense of humour in his climbing, but I’ll get to that later. 

In the early 1960s Don was instrumental in the first alpine helicopter rescue (this is the story behind the song “Fearless”).  In those days helicopters…

I recently discovered a podcast by Peter Mansbridge called “The Bridge”.  This episode was about Justin Bieber renting the Stratford arena on Boxing Day to play some shinny with some friends, including some Toronto Maple Leafs.  It inspired me on many levels and I wrote him a letter.  It was rather long and at times rambling.  He read parts of it on his next podcast as his letter of the week.  I must confess it was really gratifying to hear that voice reading my words.  It was also impressive the way he…

Many years ago I was listening to Peter Gzowski on Morningside talk to an Inuit fellow from the Arctic who had just fought a polar bear, hand-to-hand.  He and his wife were out checking their trapline, and arrived at one of their cabins.  He was outside getting some more wood while she was inside starting the fire, when a polar bear attacked him.  She heard the commotion and came outside to find her husband and the polar bear standing face-to-face grappling.  She went back inside and got the rifle but she…