Alpineering Atlas

Disclaimer

Although the goal of this website is to provide information to plan, decide, and navigate on trips, while introducing and educating people that are new to the mountains, no amount of reading can ever be a substitute for experience. However, it may help, which is why we aim to keep any information, especially in our trip reports, as accurate and descriptive as possible. This being said, routes may change or look very different over time due to weather, erosion, snow, and many other factors, so our trip reports and any related information should never be relied on as absolute fact.

Any activity in the mountains is inherently dangerous. We take absolutely no responsibility for the inaccuracy of any information provided on this website or on any of our social media accounts. It is completely up to the users of this website and all of our social media accounts to learn all necessary skills for every aspect of a safe trip for themselves. People using any of the information that we provide do so at their own risk and we disclaim any liability for any injury, death, or other damage that may result from anyone utilizing any of the information that we provide on all platforms.

It should also be noted that although we try to be as safe as possible during our trips, some of our practices may be considered as questionable or even dangerous, and ideally should not be attempted. You must be able to decide your own risk to reward for your trips and travel prepared for the terrain and conditions. Photos and reports may also show us unroped on technical or glaciated terrain, or without a helmet where one should be worn, which is far from the ideal safety practices in the mountains. More on safety below. 

Safety

Mountain safety is an incredibly broad topic that we could research and ramble on about endlessly, but that wouldn’t be so helpful would it? Instead, below is a shortened but information packed guide to the basics of many different aspects of safety. This includes: mitigating hazards, packing necessary equipment, what to do in case of an emergency in the mountains. Many articles are soon to follow and will be linked to each section for a more in depth look into each of these important aspects of safety, but here are the basics to get you started.

Mitigating Hazards

Weather

Mountain weather such as extreme heat on a scree slope, rapidly descending temperature, extreme wind, hail, snow, and low visibility can all pose a danger to you at any time of year while you’re on your trip and you must prepare accordingly. Ensure that you pack properly (see necessary equipment below) for a multitude of conditions because the extreme conditions can and will happen even if the forecasts say they won’t. Forecasting in the mountains (especially the Rockies) is tricky and questionable at best, but here are the forecasting tools that we have found to be the best suited for the job.

Firstly is Mountain Forecast, a great resource for wind speeds, temperatures at different elevations, freezing level, and more.

Next is Spot Wx, which has a variety of different models. 18 hour to 16 day models, Spot Wx really has it all. There is plenty of information in each of the models, a lot of it that you will probably find useful, and some that you may never have heard of before.

For the Canadian Rockies, Avalanche.ca is a great tool for weather forecasts, providing access to real time conditions from weather stations, along with a radar type map visual for a multitude of conditions.

An honorable mention goes out to the other forecasting services such as Apple Weather, Accuweather, Environment Canada, Weather Underground, etc. They are all okay for weather, and can help when compared to other more reliable forecasts to prepare for a large variety of conditions.

A thunderstorm rolling in after a completely clear day, bringing snow and a day of intermittent rain in August.

Wild animals

Bear spray. Bring it everywhere you go, learn and know how to use it, and keep it accessible within a moment's notice at all times. 

Yelling and talking. On trails with few people this is very important as this lets bears know that you are there, which makes it less likely for you to surprise them. And trust me, you do not want a surprised bear. If you do happen to run into a bear, first identify if it is a grizzly or a black bear. Grizzlies are bigger, more brown, and have a hump on their back, black bears are smaller and more black. This is important because if you are attacked by a grizzly, the best way to survive is to curl into a ball and cover your neck, but in the case of a black bear, the best method is fighting back with any means possible. All of this assuming you don’t have bear spray or have already used it.

Other general rules with wildlife are to stay as far away as possible (30 m for non predators, 100 m from predators). Calving Elk and Moose are known to be aggressive, so do yourself a favor and steer clear.

When it comes to backcountry camping, anything smelly must be stored in bear proof bins or hung 5 m up on a tree (or rock) and 3 m away from the tree trunk (in bear proof containers). If in the alpine, don’t automatically think you are safe. Bears, marmots, and gophers may still be in the area and likely can smell your stuff. The best method if there are no trees available is to hang your stuff off a big rock with a stick or hiking pole. Otherwise, bury your stuff under a large pile of rocks.

Bear spray is accessible at all times on my top strap on my chest.

Rockfall

Wear a helmet when you are on steep, rocky terrain. This is a must.

All mountain ranges of the world have loose rock. It’s a danger everywhere, and especially in the Canadian Rockies. Beyond pulling out a loose hold and falling or having your feet taken out from under you by “marbles on ledges”, dislodging rocks that fall far below is a serious issue.

Rockfall caused by humans is probably the most common danger that you will come across if you try to get to the top of a mountain with rocks on it. Ensure to always carefully travel while minimizing the rockfall on potential parties below or members of your own party. If you do happen to dislodge a rock at any point, yell as loud as you can “rock” multiple times, to make sure that you let people know before a missile smashes them in the face.

On more complex and steep terrain, natural rockfall can also pose an issue and the safest way to mitigate this is to avoid the terrain altogether, or to pass through it as quickly as possible. This is an objective hazard (you cannot control it) that is more common on very hot days or when snow and ice are melting.

We saw and heard frequent natural rockfall coming down the glacier on Watermelon Peak during a hot September day.

Avalanches

Avalanches are another serious, deadly, and common occurrence on mountainous terrain. Generally, if there is a significant amount of snow covering a steep surface, there is a chance of an avalanche occurring. Big faces and gullies are very dangerous avalanche terrain throughout most of the winter and spring, whereas some ridges may remain completely windswept throughout the entire year. It is worth noting that traveling in avalanche terrain on very firm snow before the sun rises in spring and summer is a good way to limit this objective hazard, but it doesn’t 100% eliminate it.

Some basic snow travel guidelines are to assess slopes for any sluffing or recent slides and to note the solidity of the snow layers that you break into (powder under a lot of snow is not good). If anything is unsafe, do not venture on to avalanche terrain.

If traveling on to avalanche terrain, each member of the group should always have a transceiver, shovel, and probe.

Possibly the most important part of this section is that you know how to properly assess snow slopes and know how to use all your equipment to perform a rescue. This is beyond the scope of this section, so taking an avalanche course is highly recommended. There is a great course at Yamnuska (Canadian Rockies).

The snow slopes of Mount Joffre are commonly climbed before the sun hits them in spring and early summer.

Glaciers

Generally, hikers and scramblers will never have to deal with the complexities of glacier travel, although if you are attempting to cross or ascend a glacier for any reason, it does involve serious risks. The biggest risk here is likely falling into a crevasse. This may happen if a snow bridge breaks or if you somehow manage to fall and slide into one big enough to gobble you up.

Unroped glacier travel is always a risky business. Before traveling over any glacier, big or small, it is highly recommended that you have all the equipment necessary to perform a crevasse rescue. There is plenty of necessary equipment that you will need to cross glaciers and perform a crevasse rescue that includes but is not limited to: crampons, mountaineering boots, an ice axe (or two), rope, harness, ice screws, locking carabiners, and an ascender, along with cold weather gear.

As with avalanches, this is simply an introduction and it is highly recommended that you take a course on glacier travel and glacier rescue before heading out on your trip. A great hands-on, introductory course can be found at Yamnuska (Canadian Rockies).

The two contrasting sides of the Haig Glacier. It is still a good idea to be roped up when crossing any glaciated terrain no matter how benign it looks.

Bodies of water

Rivers and lakes are commonly looked at as beautiful places in nature and often are absolutely spectacular. If you’ve ever been hiking you’ve probably been up close to them, crossed them, or even swam in them. There are a couple good reasons why bodies of water are included in this list, firstly, many trails and routes involve creek crossings or hiking beside lakes. The risk of falling in these bodies of water is somewhat significant and can result in drowning or hypothermia even in a very small amount of water. Typically mountain water is extremely cold and your body may go into shock if you fall in. Make sure you are aware of this risk and if possible choose the least risky route to avoid at best a cold, wet day or at worst a fatality.

Fording rivers and creeks is also a risky business. When trekking deep in the wilderness, this may be a common activity and can be very dangerous. Some very basic but useful advice is to unbuckle your pack before crossing (so that if you fall it doesn’t fill up with water and drown you) and to cross by facing upstream, shuffling across and slightly downstream and using 1 or 2 poles for balance.

For fast moving water, ensure that it is no more than knee deep and for slow moving water, not more than waist deep. Generally, crossings will be the easiest during the morning and harder during the afternoon. Spring and early summer snow melt will also likely make creek and river crossings more difficult.

The waters of Moraine Lake would be quite the shock if you went for a swim, often never reaching above 5° Celsius.

Drinking water

If you’ve ever been out to the mountains, you may have realized that it can be quite the workout and you need to drink a lot of water. Luckily enough, as mentioned above, mountains generally contain many bodies of water. But there’s a slight problem, you usually can’t just drink directly from water sources as they may contain many stomach bugs that could make your trip or the next few days incredibly unpleasant. More remote wilderness such as northern Canada, Alaska, Antarctica, Greenland and Russia are likely remote enough that you would probably be safe to drink water directly from the source, this also goes for water melting directly from high snow or remote and generally unclimbed glaciers, however, it is always a good idea to filter and/or treat your water before drinking it. This eliminates almost all potential for any complications and the good thing is that it’s cheap and easy.

Our preferred method is to simply use 1 iodine tablet per 1 L of water and wait 30 minutes before drinking. Aquatabs is a great place to find these. A water filter can also be useful especially for silty or murky water and can be found at many outdoor stores, but you’ll want to make sure you treat the filtered water with purification tablets as well. Another more expensive, but convenient option is to use a UV light water filter.

Drinking water straight from this remote, alpine tarn would probably be fine, but it is still a good idea to treat it.

Insects

Insects can be extremely unpleasant when in the backcountry in literally any mountains. Horse flies take chunks out of you and mosquitoes leave you with itchy bumps all over. Bugs may be incredibly annoying, but they can often carry deadly diseases, especially ticks and mosquitoes. 

Although sometimes it is just left up to chance how bad the bugs will be, there are some great ways to limit your potential to being bitten. Firstly is to wear clothes that fully cover your body, water proof is best and thick clothes should work too. This is probably the best advice. Second would be a good quality bug spray that has Deet in it, although be careful as this can mess up certain plastics. Deet bug sprays are great for mosquitoes and ticks, and when combined with water proof clothing, you shouldn’t have too much issue with the bugs, although you may be soaked in sweat by the end of the day.

Ezra lounging in his rain jacket by the third Picklejar Lake. He likes to put it on even when there's a slight hint of bugs.

General Equipment

Every time you are packing for a trip, there is always going to be a battle between saving weight and “what if” scenarios. Some people prefer to be super lightweight and they find it advantageous to be able to travel quickly in order to escape conditions. Others choose to bring enough gear to spend the night in winter, but in the middle of summer. It’s really up to you how you pack, but certain trips, such as overnight, will require a lot more equipment and climbing/glacier/ski winter overnighters will have you carrying a ton of stuff. Backpacking and technical excursions do have their own specificities, so down below are necessities and considerations for non technical day trips, more specific articles for each type of trip are coming soon.

Necessities

Proper hiking shoes, poles, backpack, water container and plenty of water (or a water source and treatment tablets), rain jacket, extra layer (or two), sunscreen, sunglasses, plenty of food, a fully charged phone that will not run out or a power bank with charger, and a first aid kit.

Considerations

Crossing a river or snow slope may require an extra pair of socks or shoes, as well as a traction device for the snow. Always plan your route in detail and research conditions before heading out. Packing accordingly can turn what could’ve been a disaster of a day into something that is a minor nuisance. 

A couple guidelines that may help are as follows. A day with anything above a 0% chance of rain needs a rain jacket. If you are sure of a storm and still want to head out on your trip (not recommended), overpack and account for anything that could possibly go wrong. Any temperature at any time of day below 15° Celsius necessitates an extra layer (could be the rain jacket). Any snow crossing would be beneficial with a traction device such as micro spikes and gaiters so that your feet aren’t soaked. Creek crossings require an extra pair of shoes.

My dad likes to carry a large 30L backpack with excessive gear during winter whereas our friend Geoff just uses a tiny run pack.

What to do in the Event of an Emergency

Before we describe some helpful tips in emergency situations, just know that we are not medical professionals and are not giving medical advice. These are tips to help you out if you run into trouble or to help you avoid trouble in the first place.

The biggest and most important point here is to always go with someone. Yes, it may be annoying to have to always make plans, but from a safety perspective, this is probably the best thing that you can do to limit your risk of not making it out alive. An add on to this is to always leave a detailed trip itinerary with someone you trust, just in case you don’t come home. They will then be able to contact authorities to send out a rescue party and may save your life.

Secondly, first aid kits should always be carried no matter what kind of trip you’re on. They can be heavy, but if you get into trouble, they could save your life. We recommend buying a pre-made safety kit (like this) that best suits your needs. It is important to read the instructions before heading out, so that you know how to use everything. In the heat of the moment, having to read instructions is not going to help your friend stop bleeding out any quicker.

If a serious injury occurs, one party member may not be able to make it out and a rescue might need to be called. Newer phones have satellite communication that is incredibly useful when out of service. SOS calls on iPhone involve pressing and holding the power and volume buttons until the SOS appears. Drag the SOS slider to call. For most Androids, press the power button 5 times in a row and then follow the directions on the screen. Otherwise, it’s a very good idea to have a satellite phone in case you need to call for help. 

Conclusion

Hopefully now you have a basic idea of how to navigate the alpine safely, as this article was designed to be an introduction and not a comprehensive guide to safety. Further and more comprehensive reading on the subject matter is coming soon. It is also recommended to take a course on any activity that you choose to do in the mountains before attempting it. Once again, experience is the best teacher and there is no substitute for it. Great courses and guides to get some of this so-called experience can be found at Yamnuska Mountain Adventures (Canadian Rockies) or any other reputable guiding company with ACMG certified guides.