PaulB

There are Bugs accidents mentioned in the two most recent weekly incident summaries on the BC Provincial Emergency Program website. One on the Kain Route and another on Lion's Way.

Tricouni is a popular and easily accessed peak. I would suspect that just about everything has been climbed at some point, but you never know.

This is true in National Parks like Banff or Jasper where, as long as you have paid for the appropriate day or backcountry pass, rescues are included in the price of admission. For an area like the Bugs, which is a provincial park, SAR expenses could be passed on to those being rescued, but this rarely happens. Technical rescues in the Bugs are often handed off to the Parks Canada wardens and Alpine Heli as they've got long line rescues dialed. Check out this video for a first hand view.

Have a look at the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. It can display Garmin's street maps, topos or nautical charts and has turn by turn navigation. Not sure if it has a voice function.

FYI, they sometimes ban tent camping in the parks when the resident bears are out in force.

What's there is just what folks have left behind (i.e. it is not supplied by BC Parks or the ACC), but there is usually plenty to go around. The last time I was there the parking area was full to overflowing and there was still wire available. That being said, I've always taken some with me just in case.

Quick internet search reveals: In 2004/2005 Banff National Park received 3,927,557 visitors In 2004, Yellowstone received 2,868,316 visitors. I was referring to the park systems overall, not individual parks, which puts the numbers at about 428 million versus 26 million visitors per year. Really, is spending $18 so your family can enjoy a day in one of the most beautiful places in the world so unreasonable? Have you researched the price of gas in Canada yet? If anything, that should put a damper on any vacation plans north of the border.

As Murray has explained, it is a business, as is the government itself. Yes, parks are for all to enjoy, but that doesn't mean that they're free. I can assure you that the number of Canadians who have never visited a national park in their life is far larger than the number who have. Why shouldn't those who do visit pay for it like any other service? I certainly don't have a problem with it. I suspect that US parks get far more visitors per year than Canadian parks. High volume leads to low pricing. That's funny. Do you think Bush would do better than Polk?

Aside from descending the spires, if the condition of the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col is such that you want to rap it, I would recommend two ropes. It's rigged so that you can do it with one, but it's much faster with two. If you only have one rope, try to team up with another group. Descending the col scares the crap out of me when there's a lot of people coming back through it at the end of the day. The faster you can get out of the line of fire, the better.

I biked by shortly after 1PM, and there must have been a couple hundred people standing in line. It started raining 20 minutes later, so that might help move the Gore-Tex.

Watch Jordop rip it up! xC3aIKu3Q1s

I've had a Bora 80 for about 6 years, and would also say that it is the most comfortable large pack that I have ever used. The only features I'm not crazy about (which add weight) are the side access zipper and the ability to wear the lid as a fanny pack. Otherwise, it's a relatively simple pack that carries a load well whether hiking or skiing.

I've crossed the Neve twice in early May, both times in years with much less of a snowpack than we currently have. On both trips the lake was frozen and passabale, but in many places had a layer of unavoidable slush that would rush into your boots when you hit a deeper than expected pocket. Shouldn't be quite at that point yet this year. I'd recommend going north to south. Skiing out from Elfin lakes is much more pleasant than going down the Garibaldi Lake trail at this (or any) time of the year.

I've got a pair of Garmont Ferratas which are essentially a leather version of the Tower. They're great for approaches and I've climbed lots of 4th class and low 5th in the alpine with them. Their only real downside for me is that they are not water resistant at all. Traveling across a slushy galcier in the afternoon quickly results in damp feet. I believe that this is what the Tower GTX was meant to address.

I've heard it'll be an extra $10 per trip. I've also heard talk that the next step in the master plan is to build a lift up from the Cheakamus valley (a logical place to develop real estate) to the summit of Whistler.

No problems with the trail and/or routes to the summit. Given the snowpack this year, I'd recommend skis even in June. In good conditions you can skin right up to the summit plateau. You can check for updated trail conditions on the BC parks website. The Clubtread forums are a good resource for more up to date info.

I suppose it could get turned on in your pack, but I think the chances are small. I've only taken my Icon out on a couple of short trips, so more use may prove otherwise. I will say that the chances of the Icon getting turned on in my pack are much less than for my old Zoom, which it has replaced. With my Zoom, I always left one battery lead disconnected until I needed to use it.

That would be my only complaint against the Altimax (and I assume the Vector as well). The alarm is too quiet, but at least there are three that you can set in series.

I've been very happy with my Suunto Altimax. It's pretty much a Vector without the compass function. Note that GPS altitude measurements can be somewhat inaccurate. From the bit I've read, I don't get the impression that the SiRF technology will improve that.

Check out the ACMG's Mountain Conditions Report.

No one in/around Vancouver offers this service. On Sight in Squamish used to, but not anymore. I got mine done by Yates this summer.

Ingress Protection (IP) ratings denote how well electrical equipment will resist ingress by solid objects (the first numeral) and/or water (the second numeral). The higher the number, the better the protection. An "X" denotes no protection. e.g. IPX4 indicates no resistance to solid objects, but resistance to splashing water. IP ratings explained here.

If possible, you should try them both on, and buy whichever fits your foot the best. Many people find that if they have a "Scarpa" foot, the Garmont's don't fit so well, and vice versa. In terms of performance, the T2X will be much burlier than your old T2s (2-buckle I assume), almost like the three buckle T1s from a few years ago. I've never skied in Garmonts, so can't comment on them. As an aside, if you're buying new boots to have a "performance" setup, size them nice and snug, and keep your packed out and comfy T2s for long tours.

I'm looking at the Icon as a replacement for my old Petzl Zoom. The Zoom still does the job, but I want something more compact, but brighter than my Tikka (original, 3 LED). Would the Icon be comparable to the Zoom with a halogen bulb?

The Royal Canadian Mint makes coins for many countries. Currency as well as commemorative stuff.