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Winter on the Rock

Amy Rosen, National Post Published: Friday, December 07, 2007

Excerpt:

Every place has its secret finds that only locals know about. The Corner Brook Caves are the find here, and Ed English is the local. Not only is Ed a great guide and ambassador for Newfoundland, he's got stories from here to next Tuesday. (Hint: Ask him about his autistic dog and deaf cat.) Ed leads us into the woods, where we strap on homemade snowshoes (more on those later) and set out on a trek along the Corner Brook Trails. We cross a wooden pipeline that feeds water to the pulp-and-paper mill; modern-day Corner Brook, a city of 22,000 souls nestled on the Bay of Islands, was built on the mill in the 1920s, though people have lived here for thousands of years. A short while later we arrive at the mouth of the Corner Brook Caves. A twisting network of limestone chutes and caverns, the caves were carved over millennia by the Corner Brook Stream. Ed hands out orange overalls, hard hats and LED headlamps, which we gamely put on before disappearing into the darkness. Every twist and turn in the caves has a name appropriate to its particular peril, such as Dolomite Dam, Dinosaur Teeth and Rat's Crawl, and each one yields a white-knuckle surprise. We start down the Chute and shimmy along the edge of the Whale's Back, which makes for some tricky manoeuvring, because if you slide off you get wet. Or worse. The caves go on for a couple of kilometres, and if you don't stick with Ed, you'll be lost forever. The place is all icicles, frozen walls and jagged rock faces that would rip your clothes up if you weren't wearing overalls. No ropes, no life jackets, just slippery rocks. It's dark as death down here, and really quite dangerous. In other words: big-time fun. ....

It's Saturday, touton day at the gazebo in Corner Brook, where people are lining up for the island delicacy of bread dough fried in bacon fat and topped with molasses. At Blow Me Down Trails, we're kitted up with cross-country skis and gear. Corner Brook has 40 km of groomed trails, but we're going to make our own tracks and head deep into Gros Morne National Park. Our destination is the Tablelands, the flat-topped hills that rise above the clouds drifting over the Long Range Mountains. These mountains, an outlying range of the Appalachians, are made up mostly of peridotite, and contain lots of iron. In summer they shine bright red in the sun, taking on a Mars-like appearance.

We glide across fresh powder and take in the stunning views: Snowy mountains tumble into the icy river and Bay of Islands. This is avalanche country, and we come across the remnants of a few recent spills. The skiing is great, hilly and challenging, but when the wind picks up we decide to pack up and go for a drive through the park.

We stop at Trout River, a fishing village inside Gros Morne, where the main catch is crab, lobster, herring and mackerel. We could be looking at a postcard snapshot of a Newfoundland fishing village; it's as picturesque in winter as it is in summer, perhaps more so.

For the complete article, visit :

http://www.nationalpost.com/life/travel/story.html?id=152770

Caving On The Rock

Globe and Mail, Feb 9, 2008

How to be cool with your kids

…remember that a surprising diversion is available just below the snow. Linkum Tour’s year-round cave tours kick off with a hike or snowshoe down the Corner Brook Gorge, followed by 1 km of sliding, shimmying and crawling through the Corner Brook caves. A twisting network of limestone chutes and caverns, the caves were carved over millennia by the Corner Brook Stream. And the names of some of the cave’s formations – Dinosaur Teeth, Rat’s Crawl, and Whale’s Back should give you an idea of the adventure involved.






			We have been fortunate to have several new articles appear over the last few months. Thanks to these writers and their publications! Winter on the Rock Amy Rosen, National Post Published: Friday, December 07, 2007 Excerpt: Every place has its secret finds that only locals know about. The Corner Brook Caves are the find here, and Ed English is the local. Not only is Ed a great guide and ambassador for Newfoundland, he's got stories from here to next Tuesday. (Hint: Ask him about his autistic dog and deaf cat.) Ed leads us into the woods, where we strap on homemade snowshoes (more on those later) and set out on a trek along the Corner Brook Trails. We cross a wooden pipeline that feeds water to the pulp-and-paper mill; modern-day Corner Brook, a city of 22,000 souls nestled on the Bay of Islands, was built on the mill in the 1920s, though people have lived here for thousands of years. A short while later we arrive at the mouth of the Corner Brook Caves. A twisting network of limestone chutes and caverns, the caves were carved over millennia by the Corner Brook Stream. Ed hands out orange overalls, hard hats and LED headlamps, which we gamely put on before disappearing into the darkness. Every twist and turn in the caves has a name appropriate to its particular peril, such as Dolomite Dam, Dinosaur Teeth and Rat's Crawl, and each one yields a white-knuckle surprise. We start down the Chute and shimmy along the edge of the Whale's Back, which makes for some tricky manoeuvring, because if you slide off you get wet. Or worse. The caves go on for a couple of kilometres, and if you don't stick with Ed, you'll be lost forever. The place is all icicles, frozen walls and jagged rock faces that would rip your clothes up if you weren't wearing overalls. No ropes, no life jackets, just slippery rocks. It's dark as death down here, and really quite dangerous. In other words: big-time fun. .... It's Saturday, touton day at the gazebo in Corner Brook, where people are lining up for the island delicacy of bread dough fried in bacon fat and topped with molasses. At Blow Me Down Trails, we're kitted up with cross-country skis and gear. Corner Brook has 40 km of groomed trails, but we're going to make our own tracks and head deep into Gros Morne National Park. Our destination is the Tablelands, the flat-topped hills that rise above the clouds drifting over the Long Range Mountains. These mountains, an outlying range of the Appalachians, are made up mostly of peridotite, and contain lots of iron. In summer they shine bright red in the sun, taking on a Mars-like appearance. We glide across fresh powder and take in the stunning views: Snowy mountains tumble into the icy river and Bay of Islands. This is avalanche country, and we come across the remnants of a few recent spills. The skiing is great, hilly and challenging, but when the wind picks up we decide to pack up and go for a drive through the park. We stop at Trout River, a fishing village inside Gros Morne, where the main catch is crab, lobster, herring and mackerel. We could be looking at a postcard snapshot of a Newfoundland fishing village; it's as picturesque in winter as it is in summer, perhaps more so. For the complete article, visit : http://www.nationalpost.com/life/travel/story.html?id=152770 Caving On The Rock Globe and Mail, Feb 9, 2008 How to be cool with your kids …remember that a surprising diversion is available just below the snow. Linkum Tour’s year-round cave tours kick off with a hike or snowshoe down the Corner Brook Gorge, followed by 1 km of sliding, shimmying and crawling through the Corner Brook caves. A twisting network of limestone chutes and caverns, the caves were carved over millennia by the Corner Brook Stream. And the names of some of the cave’s formations – Dinosaur Teeth, Rat’s Crawl, and Whale’s Back should give you an idea of the adventure involved.