Planning A Ski Tour At Rogers Pass: The Online Tools

Knowing where to look for information is crucial to planning a ski tour at Rogers Pass (Glacier National Park). After all, those weather and avalanche forecasting tools will help you choose the right line for the day, the conditions and your crew. I use those tools almost every day throughout the winter to get a solid grasp of the overall seasonal weather and avalanche conditions, all supplemented by my observations in the field. I’ve outlined below most of the online tools I use when planning a ski tour at Rogers Pass.

two skiers traversing the illecillewaet glacier on their way to forever young couloir — Fred and Joe, on the way to the Forever Young Couloir at Rogers Pass. Photo: The Uptrack

You’ll find both a quick and more in-depth list of resources to get an update on the conditions within Glacier National Park. Some of those websites can be used across any region across Western Canada.

For terrain research:

Ski touring and mountaineering routes at Rogers Pass and Revelstoke

For a quick weather and avalanche overview:

Mountain Weather Forecast | Weather forecast summarized by meteorologists

SpotWX | 48hr Point Weather Forecast from the Canadian model

Avalanche Canada Forecast | Canadian avalanche bulletin

Parks Canada (Glacier) Winter Restricted Area Status

For some more insight:

Rogers Pass Winter Permit System. For accessing restricted areas in Glacier National Park in the winter
Fidelity telemetry data. For snow amounts and temperature over the last 24 hrs at treeline (1900m)
Round Hill telemetry data. For wind speed/direction and temperature over the last 24 hrs in the alpine (2100m)
Rogers Pass telemetry data. For all variables at Rogers Pass highway elevation (1305m)
Rogers Pass webcams
DriveBC road conditions

For Some Of The Best Lines In Rogers Pass:

In the near future, I’ll release a series of posts detailing how to use those online tools effectively when planning a ski tour at Rogers Pass. For a little more detail on a few of those resources, check out my intro post on How To Get Into Ski Touring. Some of the more in-depth resources require a deeper understanding of the atmospheric conditions and avalanche hazards. A recreational avalanche safety course (AST 1 & 2) is a great hands-on way to further your education in the matter.