What's more Canadian? A Mounty or hockey? How about a Mounty playing hockey:
A snapshot of a lone Mountie, donned in his full Red Serge, playing shinny on a glacial lake in B.C.'s Purcell mountain range is being called the "most Canadian picture ever." Kaslo, B.C. RCMP Cpl. Shaun Begg scored a goal in his official uniform.
Photograph by: Rick Wiltse photo , Vancouver Sun files
B.C. Mountie central figure in 'most Canadian picture ever'
Kaslo RCMP Cpl. Shaun Begg is central figure in 'most Canadian picture ever'
By Scott Brown, Vancouver Sun March 20, 2015
A snapshot of a lone Mountie, donned in his full red serge, playing shinny on a frozen glacial lake in B.C.’s Purcell mountain range is being called the “most Canadian picture ever.”
RCMP Cpl. Shaun Begg, the central figure in the image, isn’t in a hurry to disagree with the assessment.
The photo, which has been shared thousands of times on social media after the B.C. RCMP tweeted it out Friday, was taken by old-timers hockey teammate Rick Wiltse Wednesday on Shamrock Lake, 2,500 metres up Mount Hammond, near Invermere.
“I had no idea the photo would go viral like this. It was supposed to be something just for myself,” said Begg, RCMP detachment commander in the West Kootenay village of Kaslo. “It’s a proud Mountie and proud Canadian playing hockey 9,000 feet up on a glacier-fed lake. I can’t see anything more Canadian than that ... unless I was chugging a bottle of maple syrup.”
It was the road trip (air trip?) of a lifetime for Begg and his teammates on the Kaslo Afterburners old-timers club.
Afterburners teammate Eric Matthews, a pilot for Coldstream Helicopters, flew the team up on Wednesday.
The past few weeks, Matthews has been busy transporting film crews up the mountain to shoot Molson beer commercials.
“When we landed ... it was like something out of a movie,” said Begg, who received permission from his supervisors to don the serge on his day off on the mountain.
He only planned on wearing the uniform for a photo for his office or a Christmas card.
“The guys told me I had to do a couple of shifts in the serge,” said Begg, who reports that playing hockey in it was actually quite uncomfortable. “I had to play without the cross strap.”
Despite being constrained in his regimental tunic, Begg still had game.
“I scored on our goalie Mike Guttensohn. Now, he’ll say he let me score, but I actually scored.”
sbrown@vancouversun.com
Photograph by: Rick Wiltse photo , Vancouver Sun files
B.C. Mountie central figure in 'most Canadian picture ever'
Kaslo RCMP Cpl. Shaun Begg is central figure in 'most Canadian picture ever'
By Scott Brown, Vancouver Sun March 20, 2015
A snapshot of a lone Mountie, donned in his full red serge, playing shinny on a frozen glacial lake in B.C.’s Purcell mountain range is being called the “most Canadian picture ever.”
RCMP Cpl. Shaun Begg, the central figure in the image, isn’t in a hurry to disagree with the assessment.
The photo, which has been shared thousands of times on social media after the B.C. RCMP tweeted it out Friday, was taken by old-timers hockey teammate Rick Wiltse Wednesday on Shamrock Lake, 2,500 metres up Mount Hammond, near Invermere.
“I had no idea the photo would go viral like this. It was supposed to be something just for myself,” said Begg, RCMP detachment commander in the West Kootenay village of Kaslo. “It’s a proud Mountie and proud Canadian playing hockey 9,000 feet up on a glacier-fed lake. I can’t see anything more Canadian than that ... unless I was chugging a bottle of maple syrup.”
It was the road trip (air trip?) of a lifetime for Begg and his teammates on the Kaslo Afterburners old-timers club.
Afterburners teammate Eric Matthews, a pilot for Coldstream Helicopters, flew the team up on Wednesday.
The past few weeks, Matthews has been busy transporting film crews up the mountain to shoot Molson beer commercials.
“When we landed ... it was like something out of a movie,” said Begg, who received permission from his supervisors to don the serge on his day off on the mountain.
He only planned on wearing the uniform for a photo for his office or a Christmas card.
“The guys told me I had to do a couple of shifts in the serge,” said Begg, who reports that playing hockey in it was actually quite uncomfortable. “I had to play without the cross strap.”
Despite being constrained in his regimental tunic, Begg still had game.
“I scored on our goalie Mike Guttensohn. Now, he’ll say he let me score, but I actually scored.”
sbrown@vancouversun.com
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