Gear
Backcountry travel is made possible through many things: access through land-owners, knowledge, experience and gear. Often times many new back-country travellers focus on accumulating the gear and not the knowledge. The North Shore is an amazing place, with instant access to the backcountry for anything from mountain biking to back-country skiing, this is the best place on earth. What makes it dangerous is it's adjacency to another amazing place, Vancouver. In less then 30 minutes, access to the North Shore mountains is possible. It's for this reason that Vancouver has some of the best gear retailers and services to choose from. From companies like Rocky Mountain Bikes and the birthplace of Canada's famous Mountain Equipment Co-op anyone can get whatever they need to embark on an adventure. It's this combination that my good friend and colleague James Dahmer coined the phrase, "All the gear and no idea-r."
The gear is important, if not essential, it's prerequisite is still knowledge. Hiring a guide or taking a course is a far more valuable then upgrading a component, purchasing a new pair of bindings or getting a fresh Gore-tex jacket. The next time you shop for gear make sure that you have the experience to use it properly but most of all safely.
The gear is important, if not essential, it's prerequisite is still knowledge. Hiring a guide or taking a course is a far more valuable then upgrading a component, purchasing a new pair of bindings or getting a fresh Gore-tex jacket. The next time you shop for gear make sure that you have the experience to use it properly but most of all safely.