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Resources

Resources

Here are some helpful sources I use when planning trips:

Conditions:

  • Avalanche Canada (https://avalanche.ca/map): The main hub for avalanche safety and forecasting in Canada. No one should visit the backcountry in winter without checking the avalanche forecast, or without proper avalanche training. 
  • BC Forest Map (http://www.bcforestmap.com/): Interactive map showing when each cutblock in BC was last harvested. Also includes old-growth forests, protected areas, and closed areas. Very useful for planning routes around recently logged areas (old-growth = less bushwhacking, usually), or when searching for big trees.
  • Sentinel Hub (https://www.sentinel-hub.com/): Detailed satellite images.
  • Service Road Atlas (https://backroadstatus.com/): An interactive map of all forest service roads in BC, with crowd-sourced road conditions. Also includes closed areas and travel advisories. 

Trip Reports/Route Descriptions:

  • Bagger Challenge (https://www.facebook.com/groups/107938272618588): A Facebook group for the Bagger Challenge, a challenge dedicated to exploring the mountains of Vancouver’s North Shore. Plenty of helpful trip and conditions reports. 
  • BestHikesBC (https://besthikesbc.ca/): A combination of hiking guides and trip reports for hikes in southwestern BC and northwestern Washington, mostly summit-focused. Includes detailed directions and GPS tracks.
  • Bivouac (https://bivouac.com/): The Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia. A database of over 30,000 mountains. 
  • Clubtread (https://forums.clubtread.com/): A hiking forum that was very active in the 2000s/2010s, focusing on southwestern BC. Mostly inactive now, but still an excellent source of trip reports. 
  • Francis’s Summit Trip Reports (https://www.francisbaileyh.com/): Hiking and mountaineering trip reports in SWBC and worldwide.
  • Peakbagger (https://www.peakbagger.com/): Database containing thousands of mountains and trip reports. A great way to find information on obscure peaks.
  • Steven’s Peak-Bagging Journey (https://stevensong.com/): Over 1700 trip reports for peaks in southwestern BC, the Rockies, Washington, and worldwide. Includes many photos and GPS tracks. 
  • SWBC Peak Baggers (https://www.facebook.com/groups/240069949775049/): Facebook group focusing on peakbagging. The successor to clubtread.com.
  • Vancouver Trails (https://www.vancouvertrails.com/): Over 200 trail descriptions, mostly at the beginner and intermediate level. 

Books:

  • Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis (John Baldwin, 2009): The bible for ski mountaineering in the Coast Mountains, containing hundreds of routes. Available online at https://www.johnbaldwin.ca/exploring-coast-mountains-on-skis.asp, but consider donating.
  • Scrambles in Southwest British Columbia (Matt Gunn, 2004, https://coastbackcountry.com/scrambling-in-southwest-british-columbia/): A guide to scrambling (the middle ground between hiking and climbing), with over 120 routes, access descriptions, images, and hut information throughout southwestern BC.
  • 105 Hikes in and Around Southwestern British Columbia (Stephen Hui, 2018, https://amzn.to/4gYkKTJ): An update to the classic “103 Hikes” guidebook, with 105 detailed trail descriptions throughout SWBC and the North Cascades. 
  • My own books:
    • The Glorious Mountains of Vancouver's North Shore (July 2018; https://amzn.to/4h4yexs): The book provides turn-by-turn route descriptions for climbing 66 North Shore peaks, including exhaustive facts and statistics, special cautions, first ascents, name origins, and historical and cultural backgrounds as well as little-known facts and secrets. Roads and access trails are provided. All peaks feature GPS-based maps, with elevation profiles. The glories of these mountains, creeks and lakes are enticingly illustrated with over 150 colour photographs.
    • Family Walks and Hikes on Greater Vancouver’s North Shore (May 2020; https://amzn.to/4gZE572): Introduces readers to a wide range of trails that North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and the Howe Sound Islands have to offer. With routes ranging from neighbourhood walks to backcountry adventures to rugged mountain vistas, Family Walks and Hikes of Greater Vancouver’s North Shore has something for everyone.

Eastern USA:

  • Quincy Koetz (https://quincykoetz.com/): Many trip reports throughout the United States and eastern Canada, especially in New England and Calfornia. Many obscure destinations. This site was very helpful when I was planning trips in Maine and New Hampshire. 
  • PureADK (https://pureadirondacks.com/): Hiking directions for all 46 Adirondack High Peaks.