Two veteran backcountry enthusiasts are looking to share their knowledge.
Athlete and race director Eric Carter and Zenith Mountain Guides owner Evan Stevens are launching the Sea to Sky Backcountry Map, which documents the Stawamus Chief and Shannon Creek Basin areas.
"It really just stems from the fact that both Evan and I have spent a ton of time up in that area," Carter said. "Between the two of us, it's impossible to count how many days we've got in that zone.
"We've been on all the trails. We've been on every line that's marked on there, so we do know it really, really well."
Stevens said that with the Sea to Sky Gondola creating easier access to the terrain, it's an important time to offer such a resource. As well, combining his notes with Carter's made for a smooth process.
"People have been exploring it forever but with gondola access, it's opened up to a whole new level for folks. There's not a lot of documented information about it," he said. "I'm a bit of a map geek and I like keeping track of everything I do and all the places I go."
Stevens took inspiration from past mapmakers such as John Baldwin, who has created several maps all over the province, including ski touring for Duffey Lake and the Whistler Backcountry.
"There's a lot of local knowledge. It's kind of like a cheat sheet for finding the good places to go," he said. "We love Squamish and everything it has to offer.
"Here's one of the crown jewels of Squamish, go explore it."
The map, Carter explained, contains high-resolution satellite imagery with topographical lines and route lines overlaid on top, essentially bringing the topographical map and Google Earth into one document.
"You see where the trees are. You see where the gullies are," he said. "It's almost like Google Earth, so I think that's a really big advantage to it."
With the growth in the number of people accessing the area, Carter acknowledged that some might be displeased to see the map further document the region. However, in addition to providing a resource for those people to explore it safely, he and Stevens also took care to clearly establish access points and define ascents and descents in the area.
"I'm anticipating that there are people that are going to be not psyched about sharing the ski lines and all that," he said. "What we wanted to do is focus on the safe up tracks and try to get some consistency in where people are setting the skin tracks when they're touring and maybe not climbing up some of the lines where people are skiing down.
"There was a big focus on making sure those access routes were in the right places and really well described. That's a key portion of each section of the map, and then we've got a mix of the existing descent routes."
Though the map only covers 24 square kilometres, Carter said the possibilities in that area are boundless, with ski mountaineering, hiking, alpine climbing and mountain running on offer.
"When you compare it to a paper map of any comparable areas in the Sea to Sky, it's tiny, but there's so much to do up there," he said. "We get a lot of questions about where to go, how to access [it] and all that. It was wanting to share that and get it down on paper."
With Squamish SAR being called upon regularly this summer, Stevens emphasized that while the map will help people stay safe, it is just one tool that those entering the backcountry should employ. In addition to bringing along all necessary items to stay safe, travellers should also leave a detailed trip plan.
"We're really encouraging people that information is power and it helps you make better decisions and be safer, but we also need to plan and be prepared in the backcountry," he said.
Pre-orders of the map are available at a reduced price at www.seatoskybackcountry.com from July 22 to Aug. 12.
