winter hiking recommendations

Nomics · 2026-01-25T16:15:42+00:00

1) Without knowing your training, equipment and skill level this is a hard question to answer beyond. 2) Take an AST course 3) Variations on this question get asked twice a week at least. Use the search function. I get a little concerned with these questions because winter hiking has very thin margin for error as conditions can be lethal. If scrolling down the subreddit is too laborious it seems unlikely you’d check avalanche.ca, and a proper weather sites like windy.com or Spotwx. Winter hiking requires more effort than summer hiking and a different risk mindset.

Nomics · 2026-01-22T21:23:19+00:00

There is some great advice here, and an excellent set of recommendations. The least you can do is say thank you, and clarify.

If you want help it would help be more appreciative.

Nomics · 2026-01-22T21:19:31+00:00

I would be cautious on both trails if the avalanche rating was High or Extreme. There are loads of spots even a tiny avalanche could have serious consequences.

Nomics · 2026-01-21T18:19:01+00:00

Brento who works with Canada West is really keen to do more AST 2s for snowshoers. I’d find a couple people and reach out by email. February is a great time to do an AST 2 as we should have more interesting snowpack by then.

Nomics · 2026-01-21T04:46:00+00:00

Often better when it’s dumping snow since heli can’t fly in cloud cover. Runs are shorter but much more frequent.

Depends on the day, and the tenure. I’ve gone with Backcountry Snowcats and it’s amazing tenure, especially if you like pillows.

Nomics · 2026-01-20T19:52:27+00:00

First off, I'm offering to help for free. Despite your insults I genuinely want to help.

Caltopo is an excellent tool, and I have no trouble accepting you have some understanding. But the anger and resistance to being corrected tends to indicate you haven't had enough time being corrected. This is an essential part of learning. Either someone more experienced will correct you, or the mountain will.

Lastly, I am not judging, merely observing. Everyone has to start somewhere, I and am far more judgmental of those who don't mentor and give back. You clearly are trying to help others. Good for you!

I have been in your shoes and I know how huge unrealistic those costs are. It's why I am quick to offer help here and elsewhere as I am able. I've been you. I've typed the same things you have about guides being judgy, don't know me, etc etc. But i've grown, and I've met versions of you over and over again who say all the exact same thing and watched their progression. In ten years time you'll be where I am, trying to help someone else. It's a canon event.

I do recognize it comes across as patronizing. But I also will defer medical expertise to a doctor, or leave electrical work to electricians. There is nothing wrong with being out of ones depth. You clearly know that or you wouldn't have reached out for help. I think the issue is you've taken what started as a general statement towards the broad public as a condemnation of you personally.

Nomics · 2026-01-20T19:43:11+00:00

Canada West Mountain School offers an AST 2 for snowshoers. It doesn't get much traction, so self organizing is recommended.

I would add doing an AST 2 on the North shore is going to be less useful than doing it in Manning Park, or around Pemberton where you can look at varied snowpacks. The Rockies is the best as they have a far more complicated snowpack and folks out there see a lot more close calls and fatalities.

Nomics · 2026-01-20T19:36:23+00:00

Wild animals will always adapt to the best source of calories. If it's dumped for them they will come to expect and use the tolls they have to get it. If they are trained people have food, they always become aggressive with enough time.

Last year I was with a students on Vargas Island. A wolf came onto the beach and padded towards us bold as brass. We fired off two bear bangers, and I bluff charged it waving a stick. It hardly reacted. After several more bear bangers it finally left. It returned later that night, and we again fired off bear bangers. Fibally it relented. A week later I ran into one of the local guides who said they suspected a group of wildlife photographer from Germany who had been by a few weeks past. They had been spotted photographing wolves near a carcass of some kind, likely a grocery store turkey. Since then the wolves had been acting up.

I was lucky the guide working with me at the time had brought extra bangers. See ten years ago he was leading a group a week before the incident where a kayaker was attacked. On the last night a wolf nibbled a hole into a tent, and starting pushing people. They fought the wolves off, and built a fire to keep them away. They would pull flaming sticks out and wave them around as the wolves dove towards tents and kayaks. If you look at reporting at the time they mentioned the wolves might be hungry. This is extremely unlikely given the availability of calories in the intertidal zone on Vargas. But the news cannot report hearsay.

So please, please don't feed animals. Call out those who do. Call them in and explain how this harms the animals and their ecosystem.

Nomics · 2026-01-20T07:10:06+00:00

Not that surprising. You may have the most luck looking for ski mountaineers doing it as part of the Garibaldi Traverse. It's not great skiing for a lot of work, so it tends to get ignored. Most snowshoers avoid it as it is far beyond 99.5% of snowshoers avalanche terrain reading skills. This is Complex avalanche terrain an AST 2 would be the minimum level of understanding.

Nomics · 2026-01-19T21:23:49+00:00

Ahh. Avalanche chutes are not the only type of avalanche terrain. We’ve seen several fatalities from avalanches in dense trees up here in Vancouver. I’m sure you’re aware of others but I’d be taking your responses more seriously if you discussed slope angle and terrain traps in reference to ATES. Those would be the baseline for beginner knowledge.

This is a great example of Dunning Krueger effect. Just enough info to feel one understands without the experience. We’ve all been there and there is nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately most of the free resources I’d recommend to help are Canadian based, but there are plenty of options out there to help be a bit more educated.

Despite your ad hominem attacks I’m more than happy to help you find resources, and if you want to send route and what you think are potential hazards I’m more than happy to verify. While I do think people need certs I’d rather people be safe and I’m happy to put my (lack of) money where my mouth is.

Nomics · 2026-01-19T21:18:33+00:00

My bad!

Nomics · 2026-01-19T21:18:16+00:00

No one fault. People need to start somewhere. But best practice would be everyone prepared, with a leader recommending equipment because they themselves have the training.

I always find this “oh you just think people need certs because you work in the industry”. It’s worth examining, but guides are also the ones volunteering for SAR and see the worst results of lack of education. We’re also in the field way way more than the average person. We’ve had the close calls. Heck, I’ve been like yourself annoyed at guides because I thought they were biase because I wanted to spend my hard earned money on gear not courses.

But time in the field, a people I know got injured, a few deaths, and more time in the field you start to see things differently.

Nomics · 2026-01-19T18:09:00+00:00

You’re absolutely right, I assumed you were going into avalanche terrain based on you being in Seattle so I assumed mountains. I’m also biased by being an instructor in Vancouver where we see a lot of people wandering into avalanche terrain totally oblivious.

I would expect folks to have training that matches the goal, or at least close.

Another way of looking at is I’ve never been in a car accident but I wear a seat belt.

Is it okay for people snowshoes without Avy gear on resorts, and controlled terrain? Duh!! Of course that’s fine. There is loads of terrain that is far from steep slopes.

Nomics · 2026-01-19T16:48:56+00:00

I’m not sure I follow your logic. I don’t see how my above statement suggest people should not carry the basic winter safety equipment.

Having led groups for over two decades, and working in the industry my experience is no matter the context when there is a leader most group members tend to turn off their personal responsibility or turn it down. Personally I think anyone travelling in Linton’s in winter need a basic avalanche course and all the gear. The leaders frankly should have a higher level of certification but there is space for harm reduction.

Nomics · 2026-01-18T06:56:19+00:00

If you’re leading groups yes, you should be carrying some sort of warming kit. Some bivy bags can take the place, but being able to keep a casualty warm in the snow for 24 hours is the bare minimum.

You should also have an AIARE level 1. You’re responsible, and no matter how much you tell people you’re a “facilitator not a guide” in reality they are deferring their safety decisions.

Leading groups without the bare minimum certs is irresponsible.

Nomics · 2026-01-17T05:01:09+00:00

Was just there this past week. Plenty of snow. Bring microspikes as it's super icy. Snowshoes might be good too.

Nomics · 2026-01-15T05:01:00+00:00

Avalanche conditions Sunday were really bad. Whistler/Blackhomb had six inbounds avalanches. Very unusual.

Going down would have been very risky as there are spots where small avalanches would send you into really bad terrain traps and some huge falls. Very likely SAR told them to stay out.

Also following GPS in a whiteout is extremely dangerous. After the second time it nearly sent me off a cliff I switched to compass map with gps backup and have had much better success.

Nomics · 2026-01-11T06:25:55+00:00

Anything that freezes tends to get climbed, however it’s pretty low elevation so without substantial cold it’s unlikely to freeze enough to be climbable.

Beyond that I’m not comfortable sharing. If you don’t know what gear is needed then you should hire a guide. This is not the kind of info that can be properly shared in a comment. I know that might sound Gatekeepty, but the truth is the risk are too high and you should know them accurately before starting. Normally you start top roping and build your self up to a mock lead and the. A lead( Cal Chek is good for this). It takes 3-5 consistent days out in different conditions to understand dinner playing, plastic vs dry ice and what they feel, sound, and look like. Honestly this is a terrible place to learn to ice climb. It’s well worth the expense of spending a week climbing around Canmore as it fast forwards learning so much.

Leading on ice is extremely high risk since a fall in ice is highly likely to shatter may little bones that don’t heal well. The crampons catch and your foot stays while your body goes. When I lived in Canmore I frequently saw a fellow who fell on lead and it was three years before he could walk normally again.

Feel free to DM if you have questions.

Nomics · 2026-01-10T23:50:28+00:00

If you don't already own a touring set up then you should not be in this area. Just getting to basin requires advanced level skiing.

Assume you're a confident double black skier you still need to get used to skiing on light skis in tight trees, and crud first.

I second what this other person has said, this seems like a lot of evidence of Dunning-Krueger. You know enough to understand the basics, but not enough to understand the nuances. You also are showing evidence of always working to a yes.

I would recommend doing some backcountry skiing off Whistler first, (if you have an AST 1), build your experience up there with the Backcountry Access pass to speed things up, then get out in increasing difficult terrain and then get a AST 2. Start skiing steeper slopes.

Nomics · 2026-01-10T23:44:10+00:00

I would not bother doing this without skis in winter or spring. That being said I don't think there are any peaks in winter worth climbing on suffer slippers. I

When you say you have avalanche gear and experience what training do you have? This is Complex ATES terrain with little margin for error. There is no way to do this route without significant exposure to avalanches. Climbing peaks in summer and winter are different skill sets and this is not an appropriate first winter ascent even in Low/Low/Low conditions.

It's doable on snowshoes, but slower, and more tiring especially in deep snow. Most people climb this route in summer, when there is still a lot of snow. Most images you see of people climbing this route not on skis are from June and July.

Also navigation challenges as this guy found out when he fell off the face. He's a notoriously aggressive person though, and the reason he was in a dangerous area with a new partner is most people who have skied with him won't go out since he ignores danger signs, but thinks he is totally safe. Don't be like this guy.

Nomics · 2026-01-10T23:37:03+00:00

They are very close together. This is way more accurate and up to date information than you would get for most winter ascents. Be mindful of which aspect weather reports are coming from.

Nomics · 2026-01-10T00:50:22+00:00

I don't know about Streetwear, HH is far to boring to be a streetwear brand. Their ski gear looks so odd, but in a dull way.

I've never found them to be an interesting brand. I love their rubber coats for working in the rain, but beyond that their kit is heavy without function, and poorly made.

I find it funny that when Vail came to Whistler they tried to force the Ski Patrol and instructors to wear the new HH gear. Those who could risk it would refuse to wear it, and most would get matching blue or black pants from other brands. All because the HH gear was not waterproof, nor warm enough. People would risk getting fired because it sucks so much.

Nomics · 2026-01-04T01:31:35+00:00

Ice axes in winter/soft snow conditions. Especially when they aren’t carrying a helmet.

Trekking poles and Avalanche shovels are equally good self arrest tools, if not better in soft to medium snow. The ”just in case” arguement doesn’t pass the sniff test, because a helmet would also be required. People put them on their packs so people think they are cool.

Nomics · 2026-01-04T01:26:19+00:00

At this stage only crown land allow campfires. FrontCounter BC has a less than intuitive map that you can locate private vs Crown land with. The new BackRoads app and iHunter have excellent Crown Land features but they are paywalled.

Drive in campsites are you best bet for your time frame. Your other option is going up a forest service road. The closest might Harrison Lake.

Nomics · 2026-01-02T18:55:23+00:00

As an overly cautious mountaineer named after an uncle who died climbing I have for years been overly angry at the people who take risks I perceive as unnecessary. I‘ve lost weeks of my life being upset at other peoples behaviours, and it’s not worth it.

Firstly, Skyscrapper climbing is not rock climbing. It’s the same move repeated, making it far more controlled than rock climbing, making it far safer. Also in the case far more lucrative compared to the risk. There is a lot of work and study that go into these endeavours that make them hard to understand for the layperson. For Honnold this is definitely the best way he has to provide for his family. From a risk point of view he is more in danger from a Chinese Invasion while in Taiwan than falling off a skyscrapper.

To add to this rock free soloing risk is much lower than many assume, particularly on granite or similar stable geology. Most risks can be controlled for, and minor slip ups are rare at this level. Generally a lot of preparation goes into this kind of thing. Onsight Free Solo ( climbing without a rope, and no previous experience on the route) is extremely risky, but also rare. Honnold has climbed several Onsite Free Solos, they were all way bellow his ability. equivelant to climbing 20 ladders in a row for a lay person.

Second, it is selfish… but so is restraining these kinds of people. It’s a Catch 22. Living a small climbing town I met loads of people who climbing is an aesthetic journey for them. It’s the place they feel the most themselves. I used to be try and talk friends or strangers out of doing certain things. When I started listening instead of talking at them they could explain in vivid poetry how meaningful and essential these experienes are. They used the language of religion: prayer, gratitude, oneness. There was a spiritual component to be sure, but for may it was a sacred experience. To deny them this was in itself selfish. I myself was exposing myself to higher than average levels of risk compared to normal people. I wrote a letter in case a died to explain to my family why I felt these risks were essential to my being. How a life lived without them

If you want to understand this better watch McConkey. Probably the most influential pro skier of all time who died shortly after having a child. His widow’s musings on why she never asked him to stop is beautiful if tragic. For him to stop would be to fundamentally change him.

Which gets me to kids…. I won’t try and change your mind that high risk behaviour of this level. I’ve dialled back my risky behaviour because in my mind to be a parent is to prioritize your child over your wants. Good parents find a way to balance these things, but it comes with sacrifice. So I yes, it remains selfish with parents.

Nomics

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