Coincidence or Destiny

On a sunny, tipsy late-March afternoon, I wanted to start this post. Happy hours have grown on me since I moved to Canmore, Alberta. And maybe that’s the culprit.

Regardless, it is peak March in the Bow Valley. Snow is receding from the mountains, and the valley trails are showing themselves. It’s still winter, but the daylight and the lack of snow in the valley tell you summer is around the corner; there is no spring around here, really.

I think I first heard about Banff from an Australian friend when I was studying in NYC. Oh, Australians know how to travel. Regardless, it is hard to miss when you live in Canada, especially if you are a person who likes the views and the trails. Still, I only traveled here after spending two years in Montreal, and maybe only because it was the Covid summer. It was kind of impossible to leave the country for months after Covid started, and a natural destination was the Canadian Rockies. And so was the first visit. Instagram shows my first post from Banff, the Tunnel Mountain Road, on June 26th, 2020. A classic le Tour de Bow, Alymer Lookout, Stanley Glacier, Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Marble Canyon, Wapta Falls, Icefields, Jasper… 9 days, it was. Then the unexpected Covid year followed by “Canada calling for PR”. By June 2021, I was in Alberta again. This time venturing into BC: Revelstoke, Nelson, and Fernie, extending the horizon a bit more: Valhalla, Bugaboos, and Assiniboine for the first time, most of it with L.!

It was the Mountain Collective pass that I bought in the 2022-2023 winter that brought me to the Bow Valley in the winter, Islandman in the background. March 5th, Instagram says, I was at Sunshine Village, and it looks like I stayed about 14 days here; perfect timing. The beauty of this place hit me differently in winter, and I remember saying and dreaming in Canmore:

“What would it feel like to live here, and would I ever get used to these views?”

It was a brave new world during Covid, and dreams ran “wild”. L. was with me, looking into my eyes with excitement.

Well, that excitement didn’t last for much longer. She wanted a baby, and I felt like a fulfilling life together didn’t require that. That led to the decision to separate. Meaning no more mighty Old Port loft, a symbol of the fun Montreal life we were enjoying. It was time to pack up our house. I was also scared of what it might feel like staying in Montreal and living without L. We worked at the same office and had many common friends. I decided to leave. But I needed to stay in Canada for a few more years and get a first-world passport for good. It was also easy to go fully remote in the spring of 2023. Weeks before the fully-remote bus left the last stop, I hopped onto it. It was time to make a dream come true.

In hindsight, it feels like it should have been an easy choice, but nothing about that was easy. After spending 5 years, I finally had a community of friends in Montreal: throwing parties outside and having a decent support network, enjoying and improving my DJ skills. I also knew the city, had a car, and was ready to buy a home. Think of moving across the country where you knew “no one.” Giving that up. No, it wasn’t easy.

Packing and moving happened in good spirits. So did the cross-country, 6-day road trip from Montreal to Calgary. It felt so liberating to move your home to the west, like many families have done over so many years. Seeing the Great Lakes and the Great Plains. So was the month I spent in hostels and campgrounds in the Bow Valley, trying to find a house. I had many fun hikes during this time, and started to explore the peaks around.

I had a few friends visit early on (Kelvin, Jacob). It was nice to have them; I was pretty lonely, to be frank. I tried to continue DJing and being social, but without much reward. I got a place with a beautiful view of Grotto, just like I dreamt earlier in March. Working with views. Honestly, the views only lasted a few months. You don’t eat all the time. Similarly, you don’t need to see it all the time.

Learning new things like backcountry skiing, climbing, and mountaineering felt much better. After all, if you are not doing those, why are you living in the mountains? Why try to go to the beach if you are in Canada? Finally, I grew to love winters: I improved my skiing and winter knowledge through many courses like AST-1, AST-2, Ski Mountaineering, and Crevasse Rescue. I did quite a few backcountry and resort ski days. I tried skate skiing and did plenty of winter running. The ultimate Canadian boot camp.

Winters can be just as much fun as summers if you know what to do. Nothing matches walking on skis, in winter, around mountains; you set your track, and then it disappears. It’s crazy when I think about it—how much I did and learned during the 2023-2024 winter. I didn’t really socialize much, nor did I do much DJing and partying. It was just playing in the great wilderness, working, and sleeping. And maybe all of this originated from loneliness and the need to prove to myself that I could have fun and grow despite it all. Towards March, I booked one of the Assiniboine Naiset Huts. It was a moving experience. After 3-4 months of just starting out, getting comfortable enough to go into the deep winter and walk around Assiniboine. Such a special place. Skiing out on my own, I had a small accident where I pulled my calves at the Assiniboine Pass. Luckily, I didn’t become that guy who needed a rescue; it was just a painful 20km walk. This trip was so liberating—maybe even a phoenix awakening.

Then things just got better. L. and I kind of got back together. Cem visited for the summer, we had a mountain adventure, and L. visited, too. It was a fun, proper summer, minus the fires. Nice to run alone, but also nice to run with friends.

Spring started with King of the Hills, where you run up the mountains for 4 weeks, and it is a great wake-up call for the body. A summer full of running and exploration. Nothing serious, but I still got much fitter. I lost some weight and got better at running longer distances. This resulted in my very first ultra run in the inaugural Black Lung Ultra in Nordegg. It was such a fun journey. Though I got lost during the last section, I was still able to score third place. The funny thing was, I didn’t even try hard to do this. I just needed to run slower, walk sometimes, and live in the mountains. And mountains shape you.

The second year started with a better rental place. Cheaper, better, 3 floors, and some privacy. I had a few roommates to help me feel better when I traveled during the dark months like November through January. I tried ice climbing, and it was cold. Then L. arrived in February for her sabbatical, kind of repeating what I had done a year ago and discovering the winter wonderland. We started doing outings together and went to Assiniboine together this time. It was special, again.

We decided to stay for another summer. Summer was around the corner, and this time I did more mountaineering with our awesome guide, Tim. Went to the Bugaboos with L. 4 years later, this time with gear, and did some fun climbing. Things escalated, as they say, and then we did Sir Donald. Being fit and doing long days; using your body and mind. So much fun.

We also did some more long runs, like the Golden Ultra. Faster than ever, and then it was time to pack. I got my Canadian passport in early 2025, and the rest of the world was calling. Or it felt like that, somehow. Maybe the European Alps, maybe California. So, I started packing up the house. The lease was ending conveniently at the end of September. We did one last run that I had wanted to do since I moved in: running to the Bow Hut from Bow Lake. Such a treat to run by the glacier late in the afternoon with almost no one on the trails. Just the sun, the rock, the ice, the wind, and you.

So went the two years I spent in Canmore. Now I’m back in the valley for skiing and arranging the last bit of moving logistics. Destination: California. Anti-Canada. Good weather, but you have Lake Tahoe! We’ll see how that will compare to the great Canadian wilderness. Regardless, I’m impressed by the redwoods and the hills around the Bay Area. It should be a smoother ride back to the city.

Funny enough, remote work was fine. I think I was as productive and impactful as I’ve ever been. I did some useful things and continued growing, and by the end of 2025, I was co-leading Gemini Nano pretraining. I did work a lot sometimes, but I also took the day off when there was fresh snow or a course. I developed a nice cooking routine. Oats in the morning, a salad for lunch, and something fun for dinner. And weekends for some bread and olive oil, when not getting an early start. It was a simple life, though busy sometimes.

Canmore changed me. First of all, it taught me alignment. Align your life with the winds of change. Especially you—you who have options and means. Don’t try to run trails if you are in the city; similarly, don’t live in the city if you want to hit the trails. If you want to work hard, go work hard on the main ship. If you are blocked at work, go do something else. Life is short, but long enough to pipeline and time things. Start from your priorities and shape your life so that those things are aligned and easy. Once there, look around and ask yourself what is aligned with your current situation. There will be more than you initially imagined, that’s for sure.

Also, I learned (again) that I don’t know what I don’t know. We are incapable of imagining life—only its rough contours. And nothing compares to actually doing and living the dream. Maybe it is right, maybe it is a mistake. There is only one way to find out. So find it out.

Canmore made me more capable in the outdoors. It made me fit. It made me lonely and happy. Happy being alone. Happy doing my own thing, with not much to coordinate. I have three pairs of skis now and a bunch of gear. And the right outfit for every weather. Very light tents—two of them, to be precise—and a climbing rope. So many different bags of all sizes. My favorite winter shoes are the NF traction mules now, and no more buying running shoes without trying them on. Trail running shoes are the best.

So, in short, it felt great living here, and indeed, I got used to the views. Came for the views, stayed for the trails, and became a mountain goat who can ski. Let’s see how this mountain goat will do in Redwood City.