Before sunrise, Steve Tersmette is already walking. Headlamp on, camera packed. He

climbs toward a ridge to catch the first light coming over the mountains. Pink ridges emerge

from the dark, one behind another.

This is what keeps him coming back.

In Tourism Kimberley’s October hiking films, Tersmette reflects on what nearly twenty years

in Kimberley have given him: mountains close to home, a community drawn to the outdoors,

an endless list of places to explore and the goosebumps he still gets in the high country.

There are easy trails close to town and longer journeys deep into the mountains. He can still

find places where he spends a day without seeing a crowd.

“There are so many valleys and drainages and trails that I haven’t set foot on yet,” he says.

He prefers adventures that take some work, like the 2017 Sufferfest, when he and Shawn

Emmett completed the first summer traverse of the Purcells on foot, travelling nearly 280

kilometres from near Kimberley to Rogers Pass.

Fall gives him another reason to go: cooler temperatures, quieter mountains and alpine and

western larches turning yellow across the high country. An overnight trip gives him time to

watch the landscape change. At sunrise and sunset, shadows move across the ridges and

valleys, changing the landscape by the hour.

“It’s worth staying,” he says, “for that different perspective.”

The mountains have been part of Steve’s life since childhood. He has climbed them,

photographed them and written about them. After nearly twenty years in Kimberley, there are

still mornings worth getting up in the dark for.

“And I haven’t even scratched the surface,” he says.

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For more on memorable hikes in and around Kimberley:

https://www.tourismkimberley.com/stories/happy-trails-and-sunny-summits%3A-memorable-

hikes-in-kimberley-bc

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About Steve Tersmette

Steve Tersmette moved to Kimberley in 2006. A photographer, climber and mountaineer, he

has established new climbing routes and volunteers with the East Kootenay Climbing

Association. He was also a recipient, with Shawn Emmett, of a Vancouver International

Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF) and Mountain Equipment Co-op Adventure Grant for their

ambitious human-powered exploration of the Purcell Mountains.

His three guidebooks—Waterfall Hikes in Southern British Columbia and Waterfall Hikes in

the Canadian Rockies, Volumes 1 and 2—offer outings for families and experienced hikers.

For visitors to Kimberley, the southern BC volume provides ideas for exploring waterfalls

across the wider region.

Photos by Trixie Pacis