Guided trip: Hiking the Kokanee Traverse
Ever wondered if the snowy peaks pictured on the Kokanee beer label are real? Well, they are, and here’s your chance to see them up close. Mountain Sense, a guiding company based in Nelson, B.C., plans to pioneer a traverse across Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, where the scene actually exists. But the four-day trip is not for the mountain rookie: With plenty of elevation gain and loss, glacier travel and scrambling, participants need to have previous mountaineering experience and be in good hiking shape. Nights are spent in three different backcountry cabins, all with stunning views. Like most traverses, this one begins with a vehicle shuttle, and then it’s baptism by elevation gain, with a 3,000-foot climb over five kilometres. The highlight is Day Three, when participants cross the Kane Glacier, climb its peak and then drop down before climbing onto the Kokanee Glacier. An easy descent on the last day ends with a cold can of Kokanee.
When: August 3 to 6
Cost: $720
Company: Mountain Sense
