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Resources

Preparation Inspires Confidence

Even the most experienced scramblers and mountaineers put considerable time into researching an objective before heading out the door. Whether it's reading multiple trip reports to collect a variety of perspectives, consulting avalanche conditions, checking for park advisories, or carefully examining weather forecasts, there's a lot of prep work that goes into a perfect day in the mountains. The following links cover the websites and resources I turn to in my preparations.

Know of any great resources that should be listed? If so, be sure to let me know.

Trip Reports

Andrea B. (Flickr) ›

Although not to most detailed reports, Andrea regularly posts galleries from her ascents in the Rockies and South America.

Ben There Climbed That ›

The scrambling blog of guide author Ben Nearingburg includes a broad variety of trip reports including many in Jasper.

Bob Spriko ›

One of Alberta's most prolific scramblers, Bob has covered the entire Kane and Nugara lists and many other mountains.

Eric Coulthard ›

Now the admin of SummitSearch.org, Eric's original scrambling site has many trips from Jasper and David Thompson Country.

Explor8ion ›

Vern's one of the most prolific trip reporters out there. He has hundreds of reports, and they're all top notch in quality.

Golden Scrambles ›

Based out of Golden, Josée and Fabrice post many reports from the Canadian Rockies and less frequently visited areas of BC.

Marko Stavric (Flickr) ›

Aside from posting amazing photos from mountains throughout the Rockies, Marko also provides a number of GPS tracks.

Matthew Clay ›

Matthew's site has awesome photos, GPS tracks and trip reports, and also covers a number of great hiking destinations.

On Top ›

Follow the amusing adventures of Matthew Hobbs and his dog Crux across a large collection of great scrambling reports.

Raffinator's Summits ›

It has a viable route in Alberta, there's a chance that Raff's (a.k.a. Mountain Ninja) knows it or has been up it.

Running Mountains ›

Jamie Junker is a fan of making fast ascents and has a bunch of reports from the southern section of the Canadian Rockies.

So's Digital Diary ›

Great photos, GPS tracks, and detailed difficulty information help make So's site an excellent resource.

Sonny Bou ›

Sonny has a number of very useful trip reports on his site, particularly for Glacier and Waterton National Parks.

Steven Song ›

A mountain climbing machine, Steven will soon have reports for every mountain in Alberta and BC.

14ers.com ›

If you're looking to climb in Colorado, this site (and its sister site 13ers.com) is all you'll need. Amazingly comprehensive.

Research & Learning

General Reference
Atlas of Canada ›

An excellent repository of topographic map data and official mountain names from the Government of Canada.

Bivouac.com ›

Bivouac is an archaic, but highly useful, website. The main selling point is access to reports on obscure objectives.

Club Tread Community ›

A great site that gets a lot of published reports from B.C., some from Alberta, and plenty of scrambling-related discussion.

Flowers of the Canadian Rockies ›

Rachelo's site is incredibly helpful for identifying the many wildflowers one encounters in the Canadian Rockies.

GemTrek Maps ›

Excellent printed topographic maps with useful notations. I get mine from MEC, but they're available at many places.

Gmap4 ›

An enhanced version of Google Maps, allowing you to easily shift between a variety of basemaps.

Mountain Obsession ›

Spencer's website is a celebration of mountain culture featuring the contributions of numerous Albertans.

 
Mountaineering Calendar ›

For those with international ambitions: a calendar showing when mountain regions of the world are in peak shape.

Parks Canada ›

Their trail conditions tend to lag behind reality, but great for camping/road/fire/animal info and advisories.

Ranier Mountaineering ›

A guiding company that offers excellent, cost-free, technical skill guides and fitness program information.

Rocky Mountain Books ›

Publishers of the best mountain guides for the Rockies, such as those by Kane, Nugara, Corbett and Scott.

SummitPost ›

Can be one of the best resources for some mountains, sometimes. Many decent reports from Dow Williams.

SummitSearch ›

A vast database of mountain stats, photos and route beta with a Canadian focus from numerous contributors.

Wild Species of Alberta ›

A Provincial guide on all species of wildlife one could encounter in the Canadian Rockies, from birds to mammals.

Clubs & Course Providers
Alpine Club of Canada ›

While some sections aren't as good as others, most offer affordable training opportunities and hut access.

CSMC (Calgary) ›

With many training opportunities and weekly trips the CSMC is a great place for beginners and intermediates.

MEC Club Directory ›

While not exhaustive, it does a great job of listing established groups across the country including many Alberta mountain clubs.

Mountain Skills Academy ›

Based out of Canmore, MSAA provides a variety of training programs from avalanche safety to advanced mountaineering.

University of Calgary ›

The UofC offers affordable mountain training programs (such as crevasse rescue) and equipment rentals.

Yamnuska Mountain Adventures ›

The Rockies' leading guiding company offers a suite of excellent mountain training programs and camps.

Weather & Conditions

SpotWX (Weather) ›

An awesome forecast site which allows you to compare numerous weather models at a specific location with hourly breakdowns.

Avalanche.ca ›

Vital avalanche condition reports to consult before any winter alpine travel! Considerable conditions or higher should give you pause.

MCR Reports ›

Targeted mostly at mountaineering destinations, these reports provide useful information on regional conditions.

Supplimentary Weather Forecasts and Webcams
Banff (Town Area)

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcams

Canmore (Town Area)

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcams

Castle Wilderness Area

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcams

Cranbrook (Fernie)

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcams

Crowsnest Pass

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcam

Glacier National Park (USA)

WU  /  MF  /  WC  /  Webcams

Golden B.C. (Roger's Pass)

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcams

Jasper (Town Area)

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcams

Kananaskis (Village Area)

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcams

Lake Louise

MF  /  WN  /  Webcams

Nordegg (David Thompson)

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcam

Saskatchewan River Crossing

MF  /  WN  /  Webcams

Valemount (Robson)

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcam

Waterton (Village Area)

EC  /  MF  /  WN  /  Webcam