Bigtree

Hi Don. I know Scott from my valley days and did a couple of hikes with him. He's an ordained minister now back east. I'll try and contact him through a friend who knows his exact whereabout and see if I can provide some specific leads on how to get ahold of the guidebooks.

Bernd, I lived and owned a cabin in the Bella Coola Valley for a number of years in the '90s. Grizzlies can be problematic anywhere in the valley bottom (i.e., from tidewater up to the Antnarko River at the bottom of the "Big Hill") but in particular when the salmon are running (pretty much spring through the fall months). My favourite place by far for day and multi-day moutaineering adventures was the Noeick Meadows/Ape Lake Trail area which you access from the Nusatsum Forest Service Road (~ 20 km from tidewater then a ~ 15 km drive to the pass). Another spectacular place better for hiking than mountaineering is up on the plateau in Tweedmuir Park. If you haven't seen it already, check out the following web site: http://www.bellacoola.ca/index.html. There's a couple of basic maps and some good information to get you started. As for guides, there's so much to see and do and if time is limited I strongly urge you to spend some money and hook up with a local. I noticed on the web site referenced above that Doug Baker is now now guiding. I worked with Doug a few years back and recall him being a decent and talented fellow (Doug Baker, Box 313, Hagensborg, BC, V0T 1H0, Phone: 250-982-2537). Gary Shelton is also a fellow worth tracking down - he's a bit older than Doug but ran a hunting guide service so knows the mountains extremely well. 541075-BCoolaMap.pdf

Could one of you folks be so kind as to post the web link to the cam. I wasn't aware there was one - most helpful.

MEC is sort of a canuck's version of REI. Hard to vouch for the quality of MEC brand packs these days since I don't currently own one. I can say I've been buying gear/clothing/sleeping bags etc from them for years and have been consistently pleased with my purchases, particularly their warranty/customer service.

Treknclime, my wife and I were there a couple of winters ago for a combined week-long gambling and climbing vacation. We bought a very economical package deal (airfare/hotel) and rented a cheap car to drive out for climbs daily. Might not be what you are looking for but it sure was a nice treat to have a bed/warm shower each night. Sounds like other posters have covered possible routes well. We spent most our time in the Panty Wall area given our lack of exprience with multi-pitch climbing. Its a short hike from the 1st pullout with a good selection of single-pitch climbs ranging from 5.5 - 5.12+. Also, suggest you stop in at Desert Rock Sports on Charleston Blvd (en route to RR in approaching from downtown) to pick up a guidebook ("Red Rocks - Sport Climbing Guide" for $16 is what I picked up/was pleased with).

I've had a Serratus 7000+ pack that has performed admirably for years for winter/summer use. Just bought an Arc'teryx Bora from MEC and am extremely pleased with engineering and features. A bit on the pricy side but well worth it. Check out the following site and then link to "Packs": http://www.mec.ca/. Note that if you are on a budget or are not interested in the Arc'teryx line the MEC packs struck me as pretty good value for money when I was checking them out a few months back.

Thanks for the informative responses - much appreciated. Note that I was noodling around in another string and folks there seem to speak highly of the Shuksan's. Cheers.

I've decided to take the plunge and buy some new AT gear this season; however, before doing so I thought I would cast about for some advice to see if anyone has anything good or bad to say about the Dynafit Tourlite Tech AT binding coupled with a Scarpa Matrix AT boot (3-buckle). Based on my current appetite, I suspect that I'll be doing more touring/climbing that skiing so weight and mobility were primary considerations in selecting the setup. I'm not interested in spending a wad of dough on skis but would welcome views on what's been working as a decent all-rounder these days (I'm 6' 2" & ~ 205 lbs).