#Date taken: February 2021

#Location: British Columbia, Canada

#3 of 5 #Edition 1/1

I love winter, although it has been the bane of my existence for this waterfall! Four years ago we had an epic cold snap and I had full intentions of hiking up here. However, luck was not on my side and suddenly I found myself with a bout of appendicitis, requiring emergency surgery. By the time I had recovered, the local winter conditions were gone.

The next year, some more cold came in, but then a ton of moisture came in with it, dumping a ton of wet, heavy snow. We attempted the hike but the snow was causing tree branches to break and crash down, so we abandoned ship.

However, last year things were looking different.

The cold was not as severe as originally forecast, but snow was still minimal, so I decided to hike up there when weather conditions would yield the best ice conditions. I was the first one in and had the trail to myself for a good three hours. When I arrived, I found the falls were pretty much perfect, complete with some ice on the creek, much to my surprise!

Naturally, I knew I had to go in the water. When it comes to waterfalls, the best compositions are often found in the water, especially when ice is present. I checked my thermometer and the air temperatures were only -2c, which wasn’t cold enough for me to be concerned about hypothermia, as I had dressed knowing I would probably do this.

However, that didn’t mean it wasn’t painful! It was quite painful, and eventually my toes started to go numb. I finished my shots and got out of the water so that I could warm back up and eat lunch. While struggling to pack up my tripod that had frozen up, I suddenly heard someone ask "are you Tristan Todd?" Turns out it was someone I knew from Instagram, although we had never met in person before. I suspect he thought I was a bit off my rocker for hanging out in the frigid water!

I finished up my lunch, which is usually just a chocolate bar or peanut butter and jam sandwich, and began the 6km return hike through the snow and ice in my soaking wet pants.

No regrets!

I hope you enjoy viewing this as much as I enjoyed creating it! Tristan Todd