Do I still need to read to the avalanche bulletin every day? group’s ability to navigate through avalanche terrain - consider hiring Absolutely - terrain is only part of the picture. When the avalanche a professional, ACMG certified guide. conditions are poor, you should select very conservative terrain. Complex (Class 3) terrain demands a strong group with years of Alternatively, when the conditions are good, this might be the time to critical decision making experience in avalanche terrain. There can AVALANCHE TERRAIN RATINGS consider that next level of terrain you have been contemplating. The be no safe options on these trips, forcing exposure to big slopes. A two must be used together for understanding the big picture of how to for backcountry touring recommended minimum is that someone in your group should have manage your risk in the backcountry. Daily avalanche information is taken an Avalanche Skills Training Level 2 course, and has several available at Park Information Centres, 1 800-667-1105, or on the web in the Mountain National Parks years of backcountry experience. Be prepared! Check the avalanche at: www.avalanche.ca. bulletin regularly, and ensure everyone in your group is up for the When should I use this system? task and aware of the risk. This is serious country - not a place to consider unless you’re confident in the skills of your group. If you are These ratings are intended to supplement pre-trip planning material. uncertain - consider hiring a professional, ACMG certified guide. This means reading guidebooks, studying maps and photos, talking to friends, checking weather and avalanche conditions, and referring Disclaimer to the ATES ratings while planning the trip. All of these resources There are inherent risks in backcountry travel, and most of the routes described together will give you a better sense of the route you are choosing. here will at times be unsafe due to potential snow avalanches. The Parks How do I use the scale? Agency has done its best to provide accurate information and to describe the terrain characteristics typical of each general region. However, it is up to the The list of rated trips represents the most common destinations in the users of this information to learn the necessary skills for safe backcountry travel, Third edition Mountain National Parks. Don’t use this scale alone – you’ll need access additional trip planning materials, and to exercise caution while traveling Brad White Brad additional material to learn about the trip you are proposing. The through the backcountry in any national park. Avalanches are part of life in the mountains, an integral piece of following guidebooks are recommended: Users of this information do so entirely at their own risk, and the Parks Canada the winter cycle. Anytime snow and steep slopes are combined, Summits & Icefields, Columbia Mountains Agency disclaims any liability for injury, injury resulting in death or damage to 1. – by Chic Scott anyone undertaking a trip into any of the regions described. This information is no avalanche potential results. If you wish to travel through Summits & Icefields, 2. – by Chic Scott substitute for experience and good judgment. backcountry terrain that is exposed to avalanches, you must 3. Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies – by Chic Scott accept that you’re taking a risk. You need to understand these 4. Ski Touring in Rogers Pass – by J.P. Kors, John Kelly & Eric Dafoe risks before taking them, and the information included here will Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES) help give you a better sense of the type of trip you are planning. These publications are widely available at local mountain specialty stores. For further information on specific trips visit any Parks Traditional models for rating avalanche danger are based on the Canada information centre in the Mountain National Parks – or check Description Class Terrain Criteria stability of snow, which changes regularly with the weather – from with a local professional guide service. Exposure to low angle or primarily forested day to day, or even hour to hour. Terrain however, doesn’t change Simple 1 terrain. Some forest openings may involve much. The angle and shape of the ground, or the number of How much experience do I need for these trips? the runout zones of infrequent avalanches. Simple (Class 1) terrain requires common sense, proper equipment, established avalanche paths won’t vary from day to day. By using Many options to reduce or eliminate the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES), you can begin to first aid skills, and the discipline to respect avalanche warnings. exposure. No glacier travel. measure your skills, experience and risk tolerance against the Simple terrain is usually low avalanche risk, ideal for novices gaining landscapes through which you choose to travel. backcountry experience. These trips may not be entirely free from Exposure to well-defined avalanche paths, avalanche hazards, and on days when the Backcountry Avalanche Challenging 2 starting zones or terrain traps; options exist AVALANCHE TERRAIN RATINGS AND Advisory is rated ‘Poor’, you may want to re-think any backcountry to reduce or eliminate exposure with careful AVALANCHE BULLETINS MUST BE USED travel that has exposure to avalanches – stick to groomed x-country routefinding. Glacier travel is straightforward trails, or within the boundaries of a ski resort. but crevasse hazards may exist. TOGETHER FOR EVALUATING HAZARDS AND MANAGING PERSONAL RISK IN THE Challenging (Class 2) terrain requires skills to recognize and avoid Exposure to multiple overlapping avalanche BACKCOUNTRY. avalanche prone terrain – big slopes exist on these trips. You must Complex 3 paths or large expanses of steep, open also know how to understand avalanche bulletins, perform avalanche terrain; multiple avalanche starting zones Également offert en français self rescue, basic first aid, and be confident in your routefinding skills. and terrain traps below; minimal options to You should take an Avalanche Skill Training Level 1 course before reduce exposure. Complicated glacier travel traveling in this type of terrain. If you are unsure of your own, or your with extensive crevasse bands or icefalls. SIMPLE – CLASS 1 CHALLENGING – CLASS 2 Patricia Lake loop Kiwetinok Pass Mt. Patterson Asulkan Valley Practice Slopes Poboktan Creek Banff National Park McArthur Pass Mt. Rhonda North Avalanche Crest bowl/slidepath Pyramid Bench loop Odaray Plateau Mt. Wilson Baker Creek Boom Lake Balu Pass Opabin Plateau Mystic Pass Baker Creek powerline Shangri-La to Snowbowl only Bow hut to Balfour hut via Nic/Olive col Bonney Glacier Ottertail Valley Fire Road Observation Peak (summit) Bath Creek -7 km from Hwy 1 Stutfield Creek (valley flat only) Bow Summit area Bruins Pass Oyster Lake Bow Riverside loop Summit Lakes/Jacques Lake Castlegard Mt. Glacier National Park Cougar Valley Packers Pass Brewster Creek to Sundance Lodge / Cirque Peak Dome Glacier Avalanche Crest - to treeline Pat Sheehan Traverse Bryant Creek Valley of the Five Lakes/Wabasso Crowfoot Pass Flat Creek slidepaths Cheops Glades approach Cascade Fire Road Lakes Diablaret Glacier Fortitude Flat Creek valley trail Plain of Six Glaciers trail Cave and Basin trails Whistlers campground loop Elk Lake Summit Glacier Circle Grizzly Shoulder Ptarmigan Peak Grizzly/Little Sifton Traverse Fairview loop Forty Mile Creek Hermit Meadows Pulpit Peak area Illecillewaet Practice Slopes Glacier Lake Fossil Mountain loop Chickadee Valley (valley bottom only) McGill Shoulder Pumpkin Traverse Illecillewaet Neve access Goat Creek Gibbon Pass Dog Lake Sifton Col Surprise Pass Lily Glacier Great Divide Trail Haiduk Lake via Shadow Lake Dolly Varden The Hourglass White Pyramid Lizards Tail Healy Creek - Sundance to SSV road Healy Creek – SSV to Healy Pass East Kootenay Lookout Col Johnston Creek to Inkpots Hidden Bowl region Mt. Revelstoke National Park Jasper National Park Hector Gorge McGill Bowl - McGill Pass Lake Louise shoreline trail Hilda Ridge Balsam Lake to Eva & Miller Lakes past first icefall Simpson River (to KNP boundary) Mt. Rogers Merlin Valley from Skoki Katherine/Helen Lake circuit Balsam Lake to Mt Revelstoke Summit Diadem Creek West Kootenay Mt. Swanzy Minnewanka lakeshore Lake Louise resort backcountry Lindmark Trail above Parkway Mt. Columbia Mt. Tupper Traverse Yoho National Park accessed from ski area Intersection Mt. Kitchener Moraine Lake road trackset NRC Gullies Campground Mt. Gordon (YNP) Summit Trail above 8 Mile Crossing North Twin Mosquito Creek to MO5 Perley Rock Emerald Lake designated nordic trails Mt. Olive Woolsey Creek Road Natural Bridge from Skoki Sapphire Col Field to Emerald Lake nordic trail Mt. Rhonda South South Twin Pharoah Creek Waterton Lakes National Park Smart Ridge Ice River fire road Mt. Thompson Stutfield Peak Pipestone Trails Steps of Paradise – Youngs Pk Kicking Horse trail Observation subpeaks Akamina Pass to Wall Lake Redearth Creek Kootenay National Park Terminal Peak Lake O'Hara Circuit (avoid the north Paradise Valley Bertha Lake Skoki via Boulder/Deception Passes The Cone shoreline) Parker Ridge Forum Ridge Chickadee Valley - above valley Skoki via Pipestone River The Mouse Trap Lake O'Hara road to EP hut Peyto hut to Bow hut Lakeshore bottom Spray River Trail The Ravens Morning Glory Lakes Summit Knob to Cameron Lake Stanley Glacier Valley Sulphur Mt. backside road Ursus Major Ross Lake circuit Skoki Mountain loop Summit Lake Storm Mt. Sulphur Mt. trail under gondola Ursus Trees Sherbrooke Lake (to lake only) Sunshine to Healy Creek Tokkum Creek Sundance Pass COMPLEX – CLASS 3 Vaux Moraines/Sir Donald/Uto Col Wapta Falls Sunshine Village backcountry Yoho National Park Taylor Lake Trail Vent Shaft slopes Yoho Valley road trackset accessed from ski area Banff National Park Telemark Trail Emerald Pass West Nile Video Peak Tower Lake Glacier National Park Balfour to Scott Duncan Huts /Slide Path Youngs Pk via Illecillewaet Tramline Trail Jasper National Park Ball Pass Isolated Col Mt. Revelstoke National Park Twin Lakes from Hwy 1 Rogers Pass Ski Hill (forest cuts Amethyst Lakes/Moat Lake Bath Glacier exit to Hwy 1 Little Yoho Valley approach Hamilton Creek Upper Meadows Upper Lk Louise Nordic Trails behind hotel) Athabasca Glacier to first icefall Bonnet Icefield Mt. Cathedral Bow Hut approach Clachnacudain Creek Jasper National Park Wheeler Hut approach and vicinity Bald Hills area Mt. Collie Fraser Glacier Castle Mt. - to summit Mt. Des Poilus Clachnacudain Creek east fork Astoria River to Tonquin/WG hut Mt. Revelstoke National Park Fryatt Creek Cirrus Mountain Mt. Field Saint Syr Creek Loop 2km & 5km Loop trails Little Shovel Pass Crowfoot Mt. Mt. McArthur Coursier Creek Athabasca Falls/Meeting of the Inspiration Woods Maccarib Pass to Tonquin Dolomite Peak circuit Opabin/ Wenkchemna circuit Woolsey Glacier- Coursier Peak Waters Lindmark trail to Parkway Intersection Maligne Pass Drummond Icefield Popes Peak Clachnacudain Glacier-Inverness Bald Hills Lookout Trail – to hitching Meadows in the Sky Parkway Marmot Basin backcountry accessed Hector Lake Wapta access President Pass Peaks rail only Summit Trail to 8 Mile Crossing from ski area Mike Wynn circuit Schaefer Basin Mount Klotz above treeline Cabin Lake Fire Road Mt. Baker West Woolsey Creek Waterton Lakes National Park Shangri-La past Snowbowl Scheisser/Lomas route Edith Cavell road - to hostel Skyline Trail Mt. Balfour Sherbrook Lake Wapta access Maunder Creek Akamina Pass Lorraine and Mona Lakes trail (to The Brazeau Icefield Mt. Coleman Yoho Traverse Waterton Lakes National Park Akamina Pass to Forum Lake Evelyn Creek campground) Whistlers Creek Mt. Fairview Bear's Hump Glacier National Park Rowe Lake Marjorie and Caledonia Lake Wilcox Pass Mt. Hector Mina Lake Loop Cameron Lake trail to lake only Mt. Jimmy Junior 3 Pass Traverse Lineham Lake Alderson-Carthew C Her Majesty the Queen Moab Lake Crandel Lake Yoho National Park Mt. Jimmy Simpson 8812 Bowl in Right of Canada Dipper Asulkan Hut/Tree Triangle Catalogue No: Moose Lake trail Amiskwi Fire Road Mt. Mistaya R62-369/2005E Palisade Lookout Wishbone Mt. Niblock via Divide Creek Asulkan Pass ISBN: 0-662-42089-6