WHY DID I WRITE THIS BOOK?

I wrote this book to collate and bring together all the information on both hiking and climbing in the West Kootenay—a spectacular area in south-central British Columbia, part of the southern Columbia Mountains.

The West Kootenay is the home of the Kootenay Mountaineering Club. The KMC was founded in 1964 and has been the primary focus of climbing and off-trail hiking in the West Kootenay. This book includes all the places the club has visited over the last 60 years, on a regular (sometimes irregular) basis. 

The club published an annual journal, the Kootenay Karabiner, until 2000, and many local trips were described in it. Since 1974, the club has also produced a Newsletter, the only publication of the club since 2000. Over the years, virtually every mountain has been climbed by club members and described in one of these ways. Reporting has been of variable quality, but some members have made significant contributions to writing about our mountains. They are a wealth of information.

The data is scattered and an index is essential to retrieve all the information. I have maintained an index for many years making this easy. I have used these trip reports and personal information collected over 40 years of hiking and climbing in the area to produce the individual trips.

Visit www.kootenaymountaineeringclub.ca, where all volumes of the Karabiner and the KMC Newsletter up to 2020 are available. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any additions or corrections at rvperrier@gmail.com. 

WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS BOOK?
1. Hikes, Routes and Climbs. I include hikes with and without trails, as well as climbs.
I have organized the trips by range and road access. This should be easy for locals, but may be difficult for others to understand.
2. It is encyclopedic. I include EVERY trail, hike, and climb, including those that are not particularly popular or may no longer be used.
I have paddled all the lakes and include a section on the water trails in the WK.
The railways were an integral part of early travel, and most have been converted to rail trails suitable for walking, running and cycling. They are also described. 
3. Formatting. The trip reports are formatted the same – Summary, Statistics, Driving instructions, the trail or route description, and what to do in the area. I plan on adding maps based on Google Earth.
4. Paucity of words and photos. My writing is concise with no extra words, only the information necessary for the hike or climb. Photos are lovely but may not add much.
5. Trip Reports. I have included articles extracted from the KMC Newsletter and Karabiner and added them to the trail and mountain reports. These trip reports are designated by a superscript capital letter.
6. Publication. After one writes a book, there are three options to publish it. I believe a webBook is the cheapest and most effective way to publish. A significant difficulty is promoting your book. Most people make no profit. Everyone wants to write a book, but most shouldn’t see the light of day. 
a. webBook. 1. A webBook is entirely free to produce and read. 2. The size and number of photographs are unlimited (websites have no limit on quantity). 3. They can be edited at any time. Change text, add new hikes and climbs, add maps, update roads or routes or do anything you want. 4. Print out the hike or climb and take one page with you. 
Few see a webBook as a viable publishing option when it has only advantages. 
A significant issue for me is plagiarism. Hiking and Climbing the West Kootenay has used many sources and books for which permission was not obtained. I think the reference should be made when known. I also wrote High-Functioning Aspergers – The Source of Genius, and I have virtually copied three books. It would never be published, even as an e-book, as it would not meet plagiarism guidelines.
A disadvantage is that one doesn’t have something to download to keep personally.
b. Paper books can require a significant financial investment with no guarantee of a profit, are onerous to publish, promote and distribute, can’t be edited, are limited in size both by cost and weight, photos are limited by space and cost, and a paper book requires a purchase. They can be a lot to carry on a hike or backpack.
The main advantage is when you die – someone (maybe a second-hand bookstore) will have your physical book on their shelves. You are immortalized!
c. eBook. Amazon and many publishing companies offer eBook publication. They are usually priced below US$9.99, and this is shared as a percentage by the publisher depending on several factors.
They are work-intensive. I use Grammarly Pro to edit the book. Each chapter needs to be deformatted entirely in Word to produce a PDF. Formatted bullets and number lists, wrapping photos, and page numbers are not allowed. Carefully format the header (it is how you form a Table of Contents later) and paragraphs. And then you have to reformat each chapter manually. 
A significant issue for me is that they can’t be edited after the PDFs are submitted for publication. With a hiking and mountaineering book, it should be possible to add new routes and update old routes as conditions and roads change. 

Boundaries of the West Kootenay
The West Kootenay extends from Badshots and Trout Lake in the north to Creston and the US/Canada border in the south. I have also included a significant section on the Columbia Mountains in the US, an area with some excellent hiking opportunities.
On the north, the Badshots and the north Purcells are best accessed from the West Kootenay.
The west and east borders are more nebulous – many trips cross the watershed crests of both the Monashee and Purcell Mountains. Many access points from the “far side” are included for completeness’ sake. Many mountains in the south have had little interest in mountaineering, but they are regular destinations for KMC trips, and nothing has been collectively written about them before. Grand Forks in Boundary Country is not explicitly located in the West Kootenay, but it is within the member area of the Kootenay Mountaineering Club and is included. 

Production
I have utilized information from notes made on the margins of my maps over the years, as well as Earl Whipple’s guides, the KMC newsletters, John Carter’s “Hiking the West Kootenay,” Copeland’s two books, Janice Strong’s “Mountain Footsteps,” and other guidebooks from the Okanagan and East Kootenay.
Road information is in constant flux as roads, especially bridges, wash out with spring storms and run-off, logging patterns change, and forestry deactivates roads with little industrial use. Water bars are a necessary evil to save these roads.
The Backroad Mapbook – Kootenays is an invaluable source for roads, as it names them,  indicates their size, and often provides mileages at junctions. It also includes virtually every trail, historic or not, that has ever existed, as well as campgrounds, etc.
Formatting
1. A summary of the trail or mountain. The Rating is my estimation of the general value of any trip.
2. Statistics. Every trip has a list of basic facts: Location, Difficulty, Elevation Gain, Key Elevations, Distance, Time, Season, Access, and Map (1:50,000 topographic maps are available, but not on this site yet).
3. Driving Instructions. A complete guide to driving access – only significant junctions are given their line; minor side roads are not. It tries to abbreviate the multipage descriptions of the Copelands.
4. Route/Trail info. As road access changes, so does trail use. Kokanee Glacier PP is a classic example. As a result of road closures, there is no access to the north-third of the park on Keen Creek Road. As a result. Joker Millsite to Joker Lakes, Joker Millsite to Slocan Chief Cabin. Access to the west side of the park was also previously impossible for many years, as Enterprise Creek Road was blocked; however, it was finally reopened in 2022. The Enterprise Creek trails were not maintained and were probably rarely, if ever, used. Coffee Creek FSR, never used much anyway, is also washed out. All these trails are becoming progressively overgrown. Lemon Creek Trail has perennial problems with one crossing of Lemon Creek, and this trail is no longer maintained or used to access Glory Basin and the Sapphire Lakes. The Nilsik Trail, although it had another access point, was always more of a route than a trail.
Park funding has plummeted, and trail maintenance has suffered to the point that volunteers play a greater role than parks.
First ascent information is retained, but I have removed all references except those I have used.
5. What to do? When the trail ends, there are often many possibilities of places to go and explore. Here, I have tried to meld the trail information with the climbing information supplied by KMC climbers in the KMC Newsletter and Earl Whipple’s guidebooks.
6. Trip Reports. Indicated by a capital letter and superscript. 

If digital, it is easy to search, update and for everyone to access, Most importantly, it is free for anyone to use. It is also much easier to organize, navigate, and find what you want. Books may be outdated when they arrive on bookstore shelves. Heavy books are a thing of the past – go to the website, print off the map, and you have everything you need, and only one page to carry.

By making this information available, I aim to share all the special places in the West Kootenay region. The resulting increased use will be more than made up for by you discovering this truly magnificent area. There will always be secret places that some don’t want to be advertised. As I have endeavoured to make this encyclopedic, I have also attempted to feature posts on all these secret gems. 

HISTORY of MOUNTAIN WRITING in Southern BC
The oldest publications are by the famous explorer Walter Moberly, one of whose men was the original discoverer of Rogers Pass, before Rogers. A copy of his book is in the Archives of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff.

Two famous and indispensable books for the guidebook author and the historian of these mountains are those by Arthur O. Wheeler (1905) and Howard Palmer (1914). Both are now collectors’ items, found in mountaineering libraries. The atmosphere of the early exploration of the Columbia Mountains (then known as the Interior Ranges) is well conveyed; the two authors were active mountaineers, and Wheeler was also a skilled mapmaker. An outstanding group of companions in the early history of these mountains was Holway, Butters, and Palmer. Today, their climbs are nothing unusual, but in their day, their ascents were done in such isolation that they were bold indeed, and an accident could mean a serious threat. The biography of Holway is given by his friend, Howard Palmer (1931). “The Guiding Spirit” is essentially a biography of the well-known mountain guide Edward Feuz, Jr. and is quite entertaining. Little reference is made to the West Kootenay area in this guidebook.

J. Monroe Thorington was the first of the modern guidebook authors (preceded by Wheeler and Parker, 1912) and produced 1937, 1947, and 1955 editions of the “Climber’s Guide to the Interior Ranges of British Columbia”. His book on the Purcells (1946) recounts his adventures there and is another collector’s item. Thorington sometimes climbed with the superbly competent guide Conrad Kain, whose autobiography is titled “Where the Clouds Can Go”. Roland Neave’s book about Wells Gray Park is not a traditional mountain guidebook, but it does include a few descriptions of mountain routes.

The internet also provides information on access, including the Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia and www.bivouac.com.

But most of these books did not include much about the area the Kootenay Mountaineering Club frequents most – the southern portion of all the ranges. Most of the early mountaineering happened around Rogers Pass. Most mountains in the West Kootenay were probably climbed by the early 1900s, primarily by miners, and these individuals were not well known for writing guidebooks.

MODERN SOURCES
Hiking Guides
Several books have been written specifically about hiking in the West Kootenay. I believe the first was “Exploring the Southern Selkirks” by John Carter and Douglas Leighton. Published in 1980, it had many of the trail hikes that we do today in the Selkirks, but excluded the Monashees and Purcells.

In 1993, John Carter published “Hiking the West Kootenay”. Two sections on the Purcells and many smaller trails were added for 84 described hikes. But, just as a second edition was to come to press, in February 1996, John Carter died in an avalanche. The book was never published, and a new trail guide was needed as many new trails had been built.

That void was filled by the Copelands, an American couple who make their living by writing hiking guidebooks. In Canada, they wrote their controversial “Don’t Waste Your Time” books on the Canadian Rockies, Cascades, and BC Coast Mountains. They then moved to Riondel and wrote “Don’t Waste Your Time in the West Kootenay,” published in 2000. It gives reliable road access information and trail descriptions and is well-liked by many locals. Hikes were rated from one to four boots, reflecting their opinionated views.
To quote them: “Asking locals for trail information led us to mountaineers who bushwhack like baboons and climb like lizards and whose advice emphasizes vertical, trail-less terrain. What’s a hiker to do? Our precise, comprehensive directions will guide you to a transcendent mountain experience!”
They were referring to the members of the Kootenay Mountaineering Club who showed them many of the routes, of which I am a proud member. Of course, we use all the same trails described in their guidebooks.
Sixty-eight hikes were covered, including several in northern Washington and Idaho. Many were minor, including 16 on lakes that nobody goes to. I find them very wordy. Going past the end of the trail is only for experienced mountaineers, and no information is given. Virtually every KMC trip climbs a mountain. They renamed things – the “Old Growth Trail” was changed to “Cedar Grove”. Some hikes were duplicated – Kokanee Glacier is both a day hike and a backpacking trip (admittedly to Lemon Pass). In 2005, they followed up with “Where the Locals Hike in the West Kootenay”. Now with colour pictures but only 50 hikes, this was another economic venture for the Copelands. These two books were the only ones available for purchase in 2015. Amazingly, they are still the go-to information sources for many. This is despite having up-to-date, free, and accurate hiking guides, such as Abby Wilson’s “West Kootenay Hiking”. 

The Purcells were first written about in 1978, in “Exploring the Purcell Wilderness” by Anne Edwards, Patrick Morrow, and Arthur Twomey. Janice Strong continued with “Mountain Footsteps – Hikes in the East Kootenay of Southeastern British Columbia”. My last copy is its third edition from 2011, and it has probably been updated since then. It covers some of the hikes on the west side of the Purcells.

None of these books discusses anything past the end of the trail. Little is mentioned of the mountains, whether walk-ups, scrambles, or technical climbs. They also don’t include the many mountains we climb with no trail access.

Sources include:
Exploring the Purcell Wilderness by Anne Edwards, Patrick Monroe, and Arthur Twomey
Hiking the West Kootenay by John Carter
Where Locals Hike & Don’t Waste Your Time in the West Kootenay by Kathy & Craig Copeland.
Hiking in the Okanagan and the Southern Monashees by Paul S. Phillips
Hiking Trails enjoyed by the Vernon Outdoors Club
Mountain Footsteps – Hikes in the East Kootenay of Southeastern British Columbia by Janice Strong

Climbing Guides
The American Alpine Club published A Climber’s Guide to the Interior Ranges of British Columbia, covering the Bugaboos, Cariboo, Monashee, Purcell, and Selkirk mountains since 1937. Earl Whipple was the principal editor of these guides since 1971, and new editions were produced in 1975, 1977, 1982, 1987, and 1992. In 1975, the guidebook was divided into two volumes: North and South. The title was changed from Interior Ranges to Columbia Mountains. As of 1992, it was published in three volumes: North, West & South, and East. I have only seen the second volume and doubt the others ever existed. It covers the entire Cariboo, Monashee, and southern Selkirk ranges.

Climbing Guide: The Columbia Mountains of Canada: West & South by Earl Whipple, Roger Laurilla, and William Putnam. Published by the American Alpine Club, the seventh and final edition was released in 1992. A new edition was to be published, but conflicts arose between the ACC and Mr. Whipple, and future editions will probably never see the light of day.

David Jones of Revelstoke has written excellent climbing guides to the north Selkirks.

The only information published on the South Purcell Mountains is in “Climbers Guide to the Interior Ranges of British Columbia – South” by Robert Krnszyna and William L. Putnam, which formed the backbone of the Southern Purcells.

Kim Kratky climbed almost every mountain in the West Kootenay. His goal was to climb every one in the Kokanee Range, a more difficult task than one might think. Several of these are remote and protected by the famous West Kootenay brush. He reportedly climbed over 500 mountains in his life. He was an English professor at Selkirk College and, more importantly, he wrote elegant descriptions of every climb. He should be writing this book, but unfortunately, Kim died prematurely before any of his notes were collated. They formed the backbone of all the KMC publications, but not all his routes were published. Kim coauthored Earl Whipple’s digital guidebooks. 

In 2017, Earl Whipple made his guidebooks available digitally. http://kootenaymountaineeringclub.ca/mountain-info/guidebooks.html.
I will be forever indebted to Mr. Whipple. Earl has been active in the Columbia Mountains all his life and is a member of the Kootenay Mountaineering Club. He has made them free and can be linked through the club website.

Backroad Mapbook Volume IV, the Kootenays. This outdoor recreation guide provides information on trails and maps of all the roads.

The Canadian Alpine Journal, the official journal of the Alpine Club of Canada, features articles on the West Kootenay. The Canadian climbing magazine “Gripped” likewise includes some. With the advent of the Internet, numerous online forums, such as bivouac.com, Trails.com, and AllTrails, have emerged as additional sources.

West Kootenay Hiking. Founded by Abby Wilson, it has become the go-to source of information on hiking in the West Kootenay. She has good maps, a wealth of photos, accurate trail information, and is avidly adding new hikes constantly. Ultimately, she wants to self-publish a book. 

One disappointment is that the entire e-book will be hosted on my website, making it less accessible than it could be. It would be much better and more accessible to have its website or to be on the Kootenay Mountaineering Club website. Hopefully, it will become open source, allowing anyone to write trip reports and edit past reports. Until that happens, please copy and paste what I have written, make any necessary additions and suggestions, and email them to me at rvperrier@gmail.com. I would appreciate all of your input.