Pie-aineering. A collection of crust in scenic places.

We ate all the pie

On that lactic acid high

Skiing is so fly

Kabocha π Haiku by Caroline Jung

Green Chili Chocolate Pie on Mount Ossa with Susie. Oct 21, 2018. It was an exceptionally warm fall day.

The north end of the Tantalus Range is probably my favourite part of the whole area, the views are just so spectacular, arguably more so than on top of Tantalus itself as I found out this summer. Plus, it’s a “straightforward” daytrip, with some scrambling up to Class 3.14. After reaching the “summit” of the Apron yesterday, @susie__do and I set out for some more pie-aineering on Ossa today. Car to car was 11 hours, including an hour long summit pie club meeting. We hiked up in the dark, and was happy to have extra daylight in the bank for the way out.

Tantalizing Pie – Momofuku Milk Bar Pie – ontop of Mount Tantalus, part of a 3 day Tantalus Traverse from sea level with Nick and Michal. Aug 5, 2018.
Momofuku milk bar pie on top of Mount Dione. Aug 5, 2018.
Summit of Mount Alpha after climbing the Northwest Ridge with Michal, Lena, and Nick. Half of the pie remaining. None left when I reached the Squamish River. Aug 6, 2018.

Pemberton Potato Pie from Creekbread and Strawbery Rhubarb Pie from Stong’s. Fast light summer Currie-Wedgemount traverse with Maddy and Alex, July 14-15, 2018.

Peach Cobbler from Trader Joes. I cheated here, but it was a last minute decision to haul a pie up the north ridge of Mount Stuart on a two day climb. Enjoy my first slice on the Great Gendarme while Nick M. gets ready to lead the offwidth pitch. Mount Stuart. July 7, 2018.
Chocolate peanut butter pie, with a side of freshly baked cinnamon buns on the West Coast Trail, June 2018
Strawberry rhubarb on the summit of Kulshan (Mount Baker) with Heather, Cam, and Kalina and Artem who smelled the pie and climbed back up to Grant Peak after I mentioned there might be pie as we bumped into them. May 13, 2018.

Possible Fastest Known Pie Time (FKpT) on the summit of Mount Macbeth with Nick E. and Eric C. These guys are so fast, I barely had time to pull out my pie before they ripped down the Curtain Glacier. Feb 11, 2018.

Tortieres and Lemon Pie. My food group of Roz, Sam, and Olek for the Chilko Base Camp New Years trip to Mystery Creek were stuck eating pies for two dinners. Thanks to Sam Mckoy and Chilko Basecamps for delivering the pies via the whirlybird. Dec 29, 2017.

Canoe Cherry Pie. This was one of my hardest pies, which involved figuring out how to bake a pie from scratch, two days into a summe canoe trip, pitting cherries and rolling out a butter crust without any means to chill it. It was worth it for Agi and Adam’s breakfast wedding though. All the guests took turns preparing a meal on the trip for them. Naturally I choose breakfast pie. July 24, 2017.

Lemon Tart and American Pie celebrating Canada Day and Independence Day on the summit of Mount Adams, just before skiing down the SW chutes with Mary, Laura, Christian and Colin. July 2, 2017.

100% chance of crust on the North Shore. Don’t forget to add beer and pie to your list of 12 essentials whenever you venture into the backcountry. Summer Solstice North Shore Beer and Pie Meeting on Pump Peak, June 20, 2017 with a big turnout!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie on Mount Tahoma. May 21 2017 via the Emmons Glacier with Greg
Chocolate Pie on Castleguard Mountain. May 8, 2017 with Meghan
Chocolate Pie on Mount Columbia. May 9, 2017 with Meghan
The remains of the chocolate Pie on Snow Dome. May 10, 2017 with Meghan, waiting out a whiteout

Birthday girl Maddy with her pie presents. Lemon Tart, Chocolate Torte, Peach Pie, on top of an unnamed summit above the Solitude Glacier in the Callaghan Valley, Feb 12, 2017.

ACMG approved bourbon pear crumble pie. Only 2098 grams. And maple fudge.

This weekend was really just an excuse to sit around and eat sweets. My pear pie, and sucre a la creme from Sam’s mom. I really could have just sat around here, filling myself with both treats. But Sam was only in town briefly and wanted to ski in his backyard. I guess I have a skiing problem.

Seven Mile Headwaters Ski Trip with Sam Mckoy

Key Lime pie, and Blueberry pie. This was a fast and light trip. I left the tent and the oven at home, and brought the space-age ceramic dish to save weight. The pie was a lot like the early Coastal snowpack on the trip – a firm crust with a delicious filling on top. Hopefully, my pies will evolve as the coastal snowpack develops this season, and provide a good reflection of current conditions. Two pies for three skiers is a good ratio.

Grouty Ridge – November 19-20, 2016 with Alex and Maddy
Chocolate cookies and apple pie, warmed up on Grouty Ridge, Oct 29, 2016.

Warm apple pie capped off our evening of hanging around the snow kitchen eating and eating. “Just finish your slice of pie, and then you can finally go to bed,” we told Mylene, Geoff and Breanne, who were new to this style of ski touring. The pie and beer meetings usually make for a calorie-positive weekend. If you’re reading this and wondering if you’ll be a good fit with the South Coast Pie and Beer Club (SCPBC), here are the club’s entrance question.

1) Do you like pie? What’s your favourite?

2) Describe the last four pies you ate this month?

3) Do you have a skiing problem? Sorry. We just sit around and eat pie most of the time.

Grouty Ridge South Coast Pie and Beer Club Meeting
Backcountry apple pie, aka Pow Pie at Tenquille Lake. Bring your own rolling pin for this one folks. Oct 15, 2016.
Peach Pie at the finish line of the Fat Dog 70 Miler in Manning Park. Photo taken at 2:45am, Aug 15, 2016. There are only so many reason to run a 70 miler, and pie and beer at the finish line is one of them.
A strong showing of key lime and apple pow tart for a festive North Shore Beer and Pie Club Meeting on Hollyburn, Dec 21, 2015.
Apple Tart on Pump Peak, lots of crusty topics discussed at this North Shore Beer and Pie Club Meeting, December 14, 2015.

If you have a First-Known Pie Ascent (FkPA), or Fastest-Known Pie Time (FKpT), send me a photo of your crust on the summit and I’ll add it here! Contact Rich

Annual General Meeting of the South Coast Pie and Beer Club. Can you guess what date it is held on? Hint. It’s in March.

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