Field cards · 11 backcountry zones · checked 16 Oct 2026
Start here · West Vancouver and Cypress
Black Mountain and Bowen Lookout in West Vancouver's Cypress Provincial Park suit a first snowshoe or ski tour on Vancouver's North Shore, because Avalanche Canada rates both marked BC Parks trails simple, and the price of entry is a free tag and a walk…
Carpool on winter weekends, when the lots fill fast.
Painted after a photo by keepitsurreal, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Where they are
Brandywine and Brew Hut, Duffey Lake Road, Spearhead Traverse, Whistler Blackcomb backcountry access
Black Mountain and Bowen Lookout, Hollyburn Peak, Mount Strachan
Diamond Head and Elfin Lakes, Garibaldi Neve Traverse, Sea to Sky Gondola backcountry and Sky Pilot
Black Mountain and Bowen Lookout in West Vancouver's Cypress Provincial Park suit a first snowshoe or ski tour on Vancouver's North Shore, because Avalanche Canada rates both marked BC Parks trails simple, and the price of entry is a free tag and a walk through a busy ski area on the backcountry access corridor.
Carpool on winter weekends, when the lots fill fast.
Brandywine and Brew Hut, south of Whistler off Highway 99, suit ski tourers who want a deep-snow hut trip, because the VOC's first-come hut sleeps up to 16 above mellow slopes around Brew Lake, and the trade-off is a long approach on cat-skiing roads and a whiteout-prone final climb with no markers.
Faces N NE E W SW S
Diamond Head and Elfin Lakes, above Squamish in Garibaldi Park, suit a first hut trip on skis or snowshoes, because BC Parks poles the 11 km route to a heated, bookable 33-bunk shelter, and the trade-off is an open ridge where whiteouts make the route hard to find.
Ascent 600 m
Bring your own light, since the shelter's solar lights can fail.
The Duffey Lake Road east of Pemberton suits experienced ski tourers who want a hut base under Joffre Peak, because Keith's Hut sits at 1,650 m at the foot of the Anniversary Glacier, and the trade-off is a landslide-scarred approach up Cerise Creek with avalanche paths overhead and no cell service.
Guide Recommended
The Garibaldi Neve Traverse crosses the glaciers of Garibaldi Park from the Diamond Head area above Squamish to Garibaldi Lake in 2 to 3 days, so it suits ski parties with glacier travel and crevasse rescue skills, and the trade-off is a heavily crevassed névé where a whiteout can pin you in your tent.
Guide Recommended
Hollyburn Peak in West Vancouver's Cypress Provincial Park gives snowshoers and new ski tourers a BC Parks winter trail from the Nordic area to a 1,325 m summit, and the catch comes near the top, where Avalanche Canada maps the last slopes as challenging avalanche terrain.
Bring avalanche gear for each person and practise with it.
The Mount Seymour backcountry in North Vancouver suits a first ski tour or snowshoe on Vancouver's North Shore, because BC Parks poles a winter route from the P4 kiosk to the saddle below Second Pump, and the trade-off is how quickly the ridge past the poles turns into complex avalanche terrain.
Ascent 450 m
The marked route ends at the saddle below Second Pump.
Mount Strachan sits at the edge of the Cypress Mountain ski area in West Vancouver, and its slopes put riders straight into complex avalanche terrain with no marked BC Parks winter route, so it suits experienced, fully equipped parties or a guided group.
Guide Recommended
Carry a spare phone battery up here.
The Sea to Sky Gondola near Squamish lifts ski tourers and splitboarders to the edge of more than 1,300 hectares of complex, uncontrolled avalanche terrain around Sky Pilot, so it suits trained, self-sufficient parties, and the operator says it is no place to learn on your own.
Guide Recommended
The Spearhead Traverse links Blackcomb and Whistler mountains across 35 km and 13 glaciers of Garibaldi Park, so it suits fit, glacier-trained ski parties with a stable spring forecast, and the trade-off is complex alpine terrain with no good escape from the Spearhead Range side.
Ascent 2,000 m
Whistler Blackcomb's lifts and signed uphill routes put ski tourers and splitboarders at the edge of unpatrolled backcountry in Garibaldi Park, so they suit trained parties who want short approaches to Singing Pass and the Blackcomb peaks, and the trade-off is a strict set of ticket and gear rules on top of complex avalanche terrain.
Guide Recommended
11 backcountry zones
