The Beta Version is our rendition of travel tips and ideas for prospective adventurers to the areas we have been. In other words, what we wished we had found in a blog before we went there and what we want to make sure we remember the next time we go. Email us if you want to share some beta. Tally-ho!

Night-before campsites: Nairn Falls was the closest campground and offered your basics: pit toilet, hand pump for water, and enough space at the site to sort gear. $20 for the site, $10 for an extra vehicle. They close the gate from 10pm to 7am.

Showers and Internet: Pemberton Community Center had a reliable and free internet connection. Showers were about $3.50 with no time limit and great water pressure. There’s a café around the block that was okay, but noisy and busy.

Hiking in/out and backcountry campsites: We opted for the trail and it was in great shape and being improved while we were there. The Northwest Ridge up Joffre looked good, but would probably take longer and a little more bushwacking at the beginning. We hope to do that next time.

There were a number of campsites available at the upper lake where the trail ends and before the stream crossing, but be prepared to be bombarded with hordes of day hikers throughout the day.

This is also where the last pit toilet stands.

We forged the stream, gained the ridge through really demoralizing muddy scree, and then went up the slabs to the left side of the icefall, which had some dicey sections with a full pack on but was do-able without a rope. There were some great bivy sites when the slabs leveled out just a few hundred feet from the flat glacier, and excellent water source.

On the way down, we stuck to the ridge down to the upper lake hoping to traverse along its north side and avoid the stream crossing. That way looked better from afar. It was bogged down with marsh and hidden rivers up close and we opted again for the painfully cold stream crossing and cruiser trail back to the cars.

A random, cool bivy: There was an awesome bivy site half-way up the North Buttress of Matier next to the snow patch on climber’s left (a great water source), although I’m not sure why you’d haul up there for the night. It would be fun just to perch up there for an evening and watch a sunset.

Climbing Info: The traverse to the bases of the peaks was a great beginner introduction to glacier navigation, with upwards of 80 steps or jumps over the open crevasses, almost all very small and easy to identify. There were bigger crevasses that required navigation and decent knowledge of how to read the glacier. We stayed roped up for the entire crossing.

Slalok: We were there late August and there was more ice than we anticipated getting the few hundred feet from the snow to the rock at the base. We used a picket and two ice screws for pro. Once on the rock, it was a solid scramble up the ridge – no need for rock shoes or protection. The snow patch before the summit had a little steep hard ice before leveling off for a mellow jaunt to the final summit pyramid. We used ice screws for pro on the way down. The final summit pyramid was slightly steeper scrambling, but hiking boots were still just fine and no pro needed, up or down.

Matier: Great rock in places. We scoped out the southern ridge and, while it looked awesome, it did not appear to offer many places for protection. We hope to tackle another route when we go back and any suggestions or beta on protection would be much appreciated!

Hatzell and Spetch: Both mellow scrambles with good rock and great photos opps. Hiking shoes were enough and no pro needed.