Dear editor:
Re: Upscale Huts Pitched For Backcountry, North Shore News, Feb. 15
I have hiked, skied and climbed southwest B.C.'s mountains for more than 40 years.
Regardless of views on backcountry huts, I think this proposal is not viable for other reasons. Chief among these are the short season and the steep, complex terrain involved.
There is an enormous difference between hiking along a well-marked trail with a plainly visible foot tread on a warm sunny summer day, and trying to navigate the same route in blinding windy winter snowstorms in limited visibility with deep unconsolidated snow blanketing the "trail". We have a short summer season here, especially at treeline or in the alpine. That is type of terrain the crest trail traverses and is the reason portions of the route are snow covered until late July or early August many years.
Those looking for snow free summer hiking will have about three or four months (roughly August through October) each year. Trips any other time are going to encounter varying types of weather and snow-covered terrain. It's easy to envision the huts as lively places in summer. The remainder of the year there would likely be very low levels of use and not enough annual occupancy to support a successful business.
The Howe Sound Crest Trail travels through a lot of steep, bluffy country especially the Unnecessary Mountain to the Lions to Magnesia Meadows section. Safe travel there when the route is covered in snow requires more than putting one foot in front of the other. Winter travellers need to know how to read terrain, evaluate hazards (avalanche, cornice, steep snowslope slip/fall hazards) and make good decisions.
They also need to carry and know how to use equipment like crampons, snowshoes, poles, ice axe, or touring skis. Safe passage in snowy conditions requires skill, experience and good judgement. Even in summer, sections of the route are no walk in the park. There are steep drop offs and hand lines in several places.
Many hikers have expanded their season by taking up snowshoeing and use the marked winter trails at Dog Mountain, Hollyburn Mountain and Red Heather Meadows. These are relatively safe and predictable routes for all to enjoy. Providing the same level of route marking and safety on the Howe Sound Crest Trail in winter conditions would be extremely challenging to impossible. There is good reason that the route north of St Mark's Summit remains essentially a summer-only trail.
Steve Oates
North Vancouver
