“The party would strike a committee to review all school textbooks and literature to ensure they are “neutral”. …. Does that mean they are increasing funding so schools will have textbooks instead of expecting teachers to source the information themselves? Seriously so incredibly out of touch.

If they wanted to take a stance on the fact teachers technically aren’t allowed deadlines ( the Ministry enforces students rights to hand all their work up until 56 hours of the final report card deadline). Or the fact teachers don’t have many meaningful consequences at their disposal.

But instead they want to gut check history, and enforce what feels right rather than academic consensus.

If you want to get a better understanding of what the limits of climbing look like Mark and Janelle Smiley’s Attempt on Humingbird Ridge is a very well filmed and edited insight. Cornice and Avalanche risk, extremely Chrissy. This route and mountain have been climbed, but the route itself has been considered unclimbable.

At this point the technical challenges are all surmountable. Weather, retreating glaciers and loose rock are the barriers.

You aren’t born too late for an adventure. The valid critique is that if you take the view that previous ascents where more adventerous, then you need to be more creative and seek out challenging summits that are measured in grades not height. Many of those summits require the same dedication that early attempts on Everest did, but whose got time for that?

The reality of Everest is it is much lower effort. Which is fine! People are free to spend their money as they like (provided they don’t endanger others, and clean up their trash).

So you dream of adventure? The good news is that most of the adventurous peaks are way way cheaper. The downside is they require far more time and skill. But let’s get to the heart of the critique. Going and doing Andromeda Strain in a single day isn’t as impressive to a general audience. It may be a feat less than 100 people have accomplished, but you’ll get blank stares at work, on dates, and no one will invite you as a speaker even if hardcore climber will know Everest doesn’t remotely compare. So which do you value most; Adventure or Recognition.

Please don’t use the Icefields bus. Every morning they grate the road, scraping tons of ice away, and then drive hundreds of tourists in huge vehicles up and down while lamenting the shrinking glacier.

I’ve been wanting to give this one a go too. It seems like a really good circuit if you come from the Skyline Trail, and down the Rainbow Trail.

This is the best trip report I’ve seen. They don’t mention much scrambling but I also get the feeling it might be missing a bit of detail. Given that it’s not well travelled the crux seems to be route finding.

Be suspicious of SWBC Peak Baggers. The mod team silences constructive critiques. It’s led to a blind leading the blind culture. Lots of stoke, very few certs. It’s a great resource if you already have courses and experience and can make your own educated risk assessments. But it is consistently dangerous information for beginner mountaineers.

South Coast Touring can be a bit gossipy but is well moderated and a lot of guides will come on to provide free advice.

Zenith Mountain Guides and Mountain Condition Report are other excellent resources.

What kind of mountaineering experience do you have? What courses have you done?

FYI Matier has a dangerous glacier all year round. It should not be done without crevasse rescue training. Even in winter there are sections where the wind makes the snowpack quite thin.

A lower HSCT is a nice idea, but the terrain between Tunnel Bluffs and Deeks Bluff is extremely rocky and steep. Any trail would require some serious trail infastructure. If you could get the permits, and volunteers it would probably be quite popular for exactly this reason.

This is really sound decision making. On the bright side (for alpine hiking, not so much wildfires) the snow will clear up sooner than usual this year).

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I’ve included a photo of the glacier from the firewood flight this October. The glacier is in worse condition every year with crevasses on the lower section and right the way across, which is new this year. I’d be more cautious than normal.

I haven’t been up since earlier in the winter, but coverage was thin for that time of year. Even this early in the season I’d be plan to travel roped up on the way up, and down. On skis with a wider surface area, I probably wouldn’t rope up, but I’d be moving fast between known safe zones based on the image and the fact I’ve skied that glacier 30+ times. If you haven’t done this route I’d recommend staying roped up.

I’ve got a video of the whole flight if you need more beta.

The topography and bias towards alpine backcountry routes don’t lend themselves well to in SW BC. For out and back it’s mostly going to be along the ocean.

I’ve been wanting to do Seymour, out to Bishops, and then bushwack to Dickenson, take the trail down and paddle back along Indian Arm. You could do the Howe Sound Crest in much the same way. Not so much of a river run though. Malaspina sections of the South Coast Trail.

The Garibaldi Neve Traverse would be viable in summer with a packraft, and kinda cool, but lot’s of glacier travel. If you’ve got a strong mountaineering background a reverse Tantalus where you paddle out via the Squamish River could be very cool. But that would be a lot of weight to carry on 5th class terrain that requires speed to manage the objective hazards. You’d almost want to stage the packraft at the river in advance, which kinda defeats the purpose.

Stein Valley might be viable, but the river is a solid Class 5 I believe. Not sure what your taste in whitewater is.

Yeah! Like it’s a great tool to study from before doing a course, or for double checking something you see online, but it’s just so clunky to learn from.

If you’re looking for snow free peaks, Leading Peak, Gambier, and Mt Gardner would be your best bet as they are all islands, and sub 1000m. Short of that everything has snow. Check out Zenith Guides Email List list for superb ACMG written conditions reports.

There was fresh snow Saturday, so it’s still very much Spring conditions which means avalanche conditions are mostly heat/precip based, but there are winter conditions above 2000m. With a competent group you’d want advanced avalanche training and experience.

Solo that’s a hard no.

If it helps I would frame your post with:

Who you are -

Where you’re coming from -

Exactly what dates, and times you’re looking to do an objective -

Past peaks you’ve done that are similar, and how long it took you-

If you’re using it as a training objective, what is the bigger objective -

What snacks/skills/banter you bring to the table.

This would be a good email to send to Grouse’s Customer Service team.

Controversial take but…. I think Freedom of the Hills is not a very useful learning tool. It’s an adequate reference tool. It’s more of a dictionary or encyclopedia than a tool for learning. It rarely has much context, or narrative structure on how to apply the skills. It’s great when you’re trying to refresh something you’ve learnt before.

Mike Clellands Glacier Mountaineering far better. The silly animations make it hard to take seriously at first glance, but the comical angle allows beter visibility in how things actually come together. Kinda like how Comic Sans is easiest for dsylexic people to read. It also contextualizes how people move, make decisions and route find. Petzl also has a ton of well drawn, process based guides and a proper Summer Skills Handbook (if gear intensive). I prefer using it to teach than Freedom of the Hills.

That being said, being self taught is risky business. I was self taught, but lived in Canmore, and was able to get cheap courses, or guide friends to straighten out the many inaccurate, or poorly replicated online skills I’d taught myself. Anyone who self teaches needs to keep humble, and seek out corrective feedback.

I was in the area at a similar elevation and there is loads of snow starting at 1050m.

Not sure what kind of extra information you’re hoping for. Trail will likely be well packed, but you’ll want gaiters for the hike to avoid getting snow down your boots/shoes. In the mornings I’d assume an overnight freeze, so microspikes and trekking poles will be necessary. On the bright side if you have those the travel should be faster on the harder packed snow. Always a good idea to start extra early (pre sunrise), and end extra early with Spring/summer snow.

Camping in snow lowers the ambient temperature at night, so even with a very warm forecast plan for subzero temperatures. A sleeping mat with an insulation rating of at least R-4 is recommend (they stack, so two cheap foamies works)

This route require a glacier travel and crevasse rescue skills, along with mountaineering routefinding. It’s also most popular backcountry skiing for the ascent and descent efficicency. You should also be totally comfortable backcountry camping.

I’d start this summer with a mountaineering course. Altus runs some good programs, Canada West and Mountain Skills Academy are popular. The 6 day courses are the best holistic option, but you can take 3 day courses that cover most of what is needed. Gym climbing and outdoor rock climbing are a good idea too to build comfort managing ropes.

You’ll also want to start doing scrambles in gently increasing difficulty. Clubs like BCMC or ACC will have lots of other keeners. The deadlines have past for the Mentorship programs BCMC runs, but it’s worth looking into those if you are able to commit to at least one weekend a month, more likely two and have a good fitness level.

Come winter an AST 1 is a good start but to go without more experienced people an AST 2 is standard.

However Sound Crest is a hard no. It’s got sections of moderate scrambling that are magnitudes more challenging with a heavy pack.

I’d recommend starting with places that have infrastructure like pit toilets.

Manning Park is a great option as another commenter noted. The classic is the generally overbooked Garibaldi, or Helm Creek. If you don’t mind steep ascents then Wedgemont and Lake Lovely Water make for good options.

If you can provide me some evidence that you properly understand Leave No Trace ethics and know the steps for going #2 in the backcountry I’m happy to share a few more. But I’ve been coming across more and more toilet paper turd piles near trails to blanket blow up good spots.

The worst part about this is that the bear learns that if it harasses people it gets food. One guess how that ends…

I greatly appreciate this sentiment. It’s so good to hear people willing, and keen to learn, grow and share.