Trip Ideas
Contents
General History
Ski Touring in the Southern B.C. Coast Ranges
Trips by Type
- Hiking trips
- Scrambling trips
- Mountaineering / Alpine climbing trips
- Rock climbing trips
- Skiing trips
- Paddling trips
- Hot spring trips
- Bike trips
- Car free trips
- Illegal trips
- Caving
Trips by Location
- North Shore North Vancouver, West Vancouver
- Tri-Cities Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody
- Squamish
- Whistler
- Duffey Lake
- Fraser Valley Abbotsford, Langley, Chilliwack
- Coquihalla Summit
- Washington State
- Nearby islands
- Manning Park
- Cathedral Park
Trip Ideas (Creative)
- Bike 'n Hike - Mountain bike up the FSR, then hike up to Mountain Lake hut
- Summit Mount Veeocee - yes, we have a mountain named after us
- Spearhead in Red - Complete the Spearhead traverse in the spring, wearing red bodysuits
- Fizzy at Lizzy - bring nice (or cheap) champagne to Lizzie Creek cabin
- The Raft & Craft - camping in the Squamish valley doing crafts, and then paddling the Squamish river
- The Dip & Flip - trying to jump in as many lakes as possible (Semaphore lakes area) and then making pancakes
- Games at Garibaldi - playing board games somewhere in Garibaldi
- Drinks at Sphinx - everyone brings different mixers for a "bar pot luck" at Sphinx glacier (Burton hut)
Ski Routes by Map
(A) Omer lakes & Loch Lomond
(B) Mount Sedgwick
(C) Mamquam
(D) Alice Ridge
(E) Diamond Head & Neve Traverse
(F) Brohm Ridge
(G) Sphinx Bay & Neve Traverse
(H) Black Tusk Meadows
(I) Helm Creek & Cheakamus Lake
(J) Singing Pass (Via Trail) & Singing Pass (Via Lift) & Spearhead Traverse
(K) Rethel Creek
(L) Cloudburst Mountain
(M) Brew Hut & Powder-Cap Traverse
(N) Brandywine Mountain & Metal Dome
(O) Powder-Cap Traverse
(P) Callaghan Lake, Telemagique Ridge & Powder-Cap Traverse
(Q) Rainbow Mountain, Beverley Creek, Puma Peak, Gin Peak & Mount Sproatt
(R) Pemberton Ice Cap
(S) Overseer
(T) Ipsoot Mountain
(U) Tenquille Lake
(V) McGillivray Pass
(W) Lizzie Lake
(X) Microwave Road
(NA) Frosty Mountain
Guidebooks
For printed guidebooks, see the guidebooks page.
There are a number of good online resources as well:
- bivouac.com
- trailpeak.com trail database
- Clubtread.com trail wiki
- Vancouver Trails
- Trailscanada.com- mostly ontario-centric, but has some BC stuff too
- hikipedia- a wiki dedicated to hikes in Washington State
Grading
The usual system for rating a trip's difficulty has two components. One rates how strenuous a trip is, and the other rates technical difficulty. The technical rating is based on the Yosemite Decimal System, extended to include skiing.
For physical difficulty
| Class | Difficulty | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A | Easy | Up to 5 hours of travel per day |
| B | Moderate | 5 to 8 hours of travel per day |
| C | Hard | 8 to 12 hours of travel per day, heavy loads, etc |
| D | Extreme | More than 12 hours of travel per day, heavy loads, rough terrain, etc. |
For technical difficulty
| Class | Hiking/Climbing | Skiing | Glaciers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | on-trail hiking | trail skiing and only gentle slopes | no glacier travel |
| 2 | off trail hiking, rock scrambling. Extremely rugged (north shore) hiking trails may be included here. | skiing moderate slopes | straightforward glacier travel. |
| 3 | easy climbing (usually not roped, but pulling on handholds required), glacier travel in broken terrain | skiing sustained steep slopes (30 degrees) with sections that can be very steep (40 degrees) | glacier travel in broken terrain, bridged crevasses, icefalls, etc. |
| 4 | moderate climbing, usually with a rope and placing occaisional protection. | Difficult high mountain skiing. Sustained steep slopes combined with crevasse hazards, terrain traps, etc. | Belayed Ice climbing on steep ice slopes placing ice screws for protection |
| 5 | technical rock climbing. Difficulty is graded using the YDS system or other rating systems | extreme skiing, may involve rappels over cornices or cliffs | Technical ice climbing. Difficulty is graded using water ice gradings such as WI3, WI4, WI5, etc. |
| 6 | aid climbing |
Note about glacier travel: If a trip is rated Class 2 or Class 3, that does not necesarily mean that there will be glacier travel involved. Rather, if there is glacier travel then the Class 2 grade implies that it will be easy glacier travel.
Sometimes two technical difficulty grades are used, where a trip has a short difficult section but it mostly at the easier grade. (see Black Tusk Example Below)
Examples
- Black Tusk B2(3)
- Wedge Mountain North Arete C3
- Mount Baker, Coleman-Deming route B2
- Mount Seymour Hike A1
- Alpha Mountain, east ridge C3(5)
External Links
Decision making for wilderness leaders: Strategies, Traps and teaching methods (PDF)
