{"id":279917,"date":"2025-11-13T07:30:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T07:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/279917\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T07:30:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T07:30:11","slug":"all-backcountry-users-require-a-permit-in-b-c-s-glacier-national-park-this-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/279917\/","title":{"rendered":"All backcountry users require a permit in B.C.’s Glacier National Park this winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Parks Canada has expanded its backcountry winter permit system in Glacier National Park, to ensure avalanche control can be carried out swiftly and safely.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beginning Nov. 15, all people wanting to access the backcountry of Rogers Pass in the 2025-26 season will require a permit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A permit system for winter use has been in place since the ’90s, but some unrestricted areas were previously excluded and could be accessed without a pass.<\/p>\n

However, in the past few years, Parks Canada has had issues with non-compliance, said Shelly Bird, the visitor experience manager for Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks.<\/p>\n

In the past, when people could access the unrestricted areas without a permit, they would sometimes venture further \u2014 skiing, sledding, hiking \u2014 into the restricted areas, Bird said.<\/p>\n

Parks Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces operate the largest mobile avalanche control program in the world in the Glacier National Park corridor, she added.<\/p>\n

\"AShelly Bird from Parks Canada says a permit system was needed to ensure vital avalanche control work could proceed. (CBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we suspect that there’s people in an area when we need to do avalanche control, it can prevent us from doing timely avalanche control, which puts motorists on the highway at risk,\u201d Bird said.<\/p>\n

Further, postponing avalanche blasting and mitigation may force Parks Canada to keep the highway closed for longer than necessary, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It’s] a huge hit to the economy as well as an inconvenience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AA webcam shows a snow level measuring device at Glacier National Park in southeast B.C. on Nov. 12, 2025. (Parks Canada)<\/p>\n

Sneaking into the backcountry without a permit is considered a contravention of the National Parks Act, and can result in a fine of\u00a0 $25,000, Bird said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Association hopes for adoption<\/p>\n

Adrian Bostock, a director with the Shuswap-based Gorge Ski Touring Association and the Shuswap Trail Alliance \u2014 which advocates for safe, non-motorized winter recreation in the Gorge Creek area \u2014 said getting a permit to ski Rogers Pass is not a big deal.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt does take a little bit of reading and some time to do, but, it’s not that onerous,\u201d Bostock said.<\/p>\n

\"manAdrian Bostock is a member of the Shuswap-based Gorge Ski Touring Association \u2013 which advocates for non-motorized winter recreation in the Gorge Creek area. (Submitted by Adrian Bostock)<\/p>\n

To apply for either a day or annual pass, adventurers must score 100 per cent on an online quiz.<\/p>\n

Then, proof of the completed quiz is submitted online, as part of the annual pass application. Passes are also available in-person upon the completion of the quiz, at the Parks Canada visitor station.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Applications for annual passes can take a few days to a week to be authorized so people are encouraged to apply in advance of their trip.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Day passes are available in-person, on the day of the planned trip, at the national park\u2019s temporary visitor center called Summit Station.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this permit system is a good thing and, hopefully, very well adopted,\u201d said Bostock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-279917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}