It's not for the faint of heart, or the sober. In my experience, Canadians don't go camping for the great outdoors as much as they go for a booze up.

The camp ground we did a lot was in Kananaskis and was called Sandy McNab. Really in the woods, lots of trails around.

You'll need an axe for splitting wood anyway. This can be used for fending off bears (according to drunken campers).

You must be referring to a bunch of males getting together to prove their manhood to each other by getting drunk and acting stupid!!!!

We (or at least my husband) goes camping with the kids all the time in very remote areas - there's no drunkiness or anything else - just other families wanting to have to good time with their kids....and yes we even have bears!!!!

Sandy McNab, October 2002.

Photograph 1: my burly Canadian mate chopping wood on his first camp drink.

Photograph 2: same mate later on, looking like a pillock after a "couple" more camp drinks. Note the toque.

I rest my case....!!!!!!!

Well I wouldn't suggest tanking up the kids

You don't happen to be your own mate, do you?

It's not all about drunkenness...it's a great networking opportunity. The fool on the right (now a chartered accountant with a Calgary oil firm) in the second picture put my resume in front of his boss - at the oil firm - who gave me my first job in Canada. Incidentally, it's his wedding I'm returning to Calgary to visit in October. Can't wait to get back to Calgary for a bit!

Oh I am becoming so nostalgic, and I haven't been gone for more than a couple of months yet...

What have I started? Let me find one of me on the trip.

Photograph 1: give the Englishman (me) a beer an an axe.
Photograph 2: the result.

Pictures are crap quality - expats seems to have a file size limit now...

Oh, please give me a break (hahaha) you made my day with that statement...I laughed so hard I almost fell off my chair....that's the best "bs" line I've heard from a male in years - No, dear, it's not about getting drunk....it's about a group of guys getting together to do some networking......and if we just happen to get drunk.....well that's not our fault......what a great line!!!!!!

Wonder why females can never think of these clever phrases.......

Sometimes people are reffering to "a friend of mine" when they actually mean "I".

I was just wondering.......

Right then, see above.

I reckon that is you Calg Anyway....if you are brave enough to put your pics here, you should be brave enough to put it on one of the free online storage sites ( www.photobucket.com ), unlimited storage, and you just post a link to the pics you want people to see.

Glaswegian and I have met. So he's the witness if there are questions as to the authenticity!

I will have to have a look into one of these online photo storage sites.

Easy as pi really, you just upload your pic, without a size issue, and you can create an album or a slide show. Very handy at sending pics to families and friends, you just give them the link to go see the pics, you can even password protect/ encrypt them.

Another one is sony imagestation !