First published November 12, 2014 in the Vancouver Sun (link)
Over the course of the last decade, Douglas Sproul has been taking photos, drawing maps, and writing descriptions for a guidebook on one of Canada’s best, but most seldom travelled backcountry areas: Rogers Pass.
Sproul, who has lived in nearby Revelstoke for more than 20 years, wants to share his extensive knowledge of the area with the ski-touring community, because he is grateful for living in the snowy paradise, surrounded by inspiring and like-minded people. All Sproul needs now are a few more backers to help him fund the final stretch of his Kickstarter project, GeoBackcountry Rogers Pass.
“I just want to give back to the world,” Sproul said in an interview. “When I first came to the Rogers Pass area, I was welcomed with open arms and people in the ski-touring community have been extremely supportive of me. I’m very lucky to call this place home and ski here every day, so I just want to give back and show people this amazing area.”
Backers have already funded more than 85 per cent of the $22,000 goal and Sproul, an Association of Canadian Mountain Guides' certified skier, is anxiously waiting for the day when he will be able to raise enough money to support production, shipping, and packaging costs to deliver the book into skiers’ hands.
Sproul’s motivation isn’t to make a profit, but simply to provide an invaluable resource to an area deep in history, but short on available information.
“Rogers Pass is the birthplace of Canadian mountaineering,” Sproul said. “But for some reason, there is a shortage of information about the area. Technology in ski equipment has progressed, so skiers have been travelling farther and faster than before, and there has been a resurgence in the popularity of backcountry skiing with people rediscovering the exciting lifestyle, but information about Rogers Pass hasn’t kept up.”
Besides recognizing there is a need to fill a gap, Sproul’s unique combination of knowledge of the area, extensive experience in backcountry travel, scrupulous attention to detail, and strong mapping skills makes him an exceptional backcountry guidebook author.
Featuring 100 backcountry ski tours, GeoBackcountry Rogers Pass is a 304-page, soft-cover book with 262 photos and 14 custom illustrated geo-referenced maps. The book is meticulously detailed with GPS data, available in three different formats (UTM, DD, and MGRS). GeoBackcountry Rogers Pass also includes information on parking locations, elevations, GPS co-ordinates, and Parks Canada Parking Permit requirements. Data is displayed in both imperial and metric units, ensuring audiences from different parts of the world will be able to understand important details.
Backers who pledge $55 or more receive a GeoBackcountry Rogers Pass book, with shipping included. Those who pledge $70 or more receive the hardcopy book as well as a mobile optimized guide, while backers who pledge $420 or more receive the book, plus packages that include personalized ski touring trips with Sproul.
For more information about the Kickstarter campaign, go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geobackcountry/geobackcountry-rogers-pass-backcountry-skiing-guid