BC wins big at Canadian Tourism Commission Northern Lights travel writing competition

Articles and photos from British Columbia's wilderness destinations won big at the Canadian Tourism Commission's Northern Lights Awards in San Fransisco earlier this month. Backcountry skiing at Sol Mountain Touring, The Great Bear Rainforest and the Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park were all honoured.

The New York Times' Ski Guide 2010 included an article by Mark Sundeen about his ski trip to Sol Mountain Touring, a member of the Backcountry Lodges of BC. Back and Beyond in BC won first prize in the Independent Journalist: Newspaper category.

B.C. freelance writer and contributor to Be Wild in BC, Andrew Findlay won in the Magazine category for his article Howl in the Mist: BC's Marine Wolves, which appeared in Westworld Magazine. In the article Findlay went island hoping in the Great Bear Rainforest with environmentalist Ian McAllister. Other ways of seeing this remote coastal wilderness and the grizzly bears, spirit bears and wolves that inhabit its rainforest is with Maple Leaf Adventures, Bluewater Adventures, members of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC, fishing resorts and many sea kayak companies like Kingfisher Adventures, Ecosummer Expeditions and Coast Mountain Expeditions.

A photo taken by Chris Harris in British Columbia Magazine of the Itcha Ilgachuz Provincial Park won first prize for a Photograph. The mountainous and very remote park is on the western edge of the Chilcotin Mountains and is best reached by horseback. Try the BC Guest Ranches for operators in the park.

The Northern Lights Awards are given to journalists who wrote or captured images about Canadian travel destinations and is awarded every year at the CTC's annual international conference the Canadian Media Marketplace, which brings together writers, editors and photographers and tourism representatives from across the country.