Fannin Traverse, North Vancouver, BC

A year and a half ago I dreamt up a point to point route across the Fannin Range in North Vancouver that I dubbed the Fannin Sweep. As a part of the local annual peak baggers challenge (thanks to David Crerar & CFA), people get water taxi dropped at the end of Indian Arm in Deep Cove, to bushwhack up to Dickens Peak and back. I thought, what if instead of approaching it as an out and back, I was to go point to point, topping as many other Fannin Range peaks as possible along the way. So the idea was a start and finish in Deep Cove, water taxi out, and then return over the mountains via the hardest possible route. The line looked to be in the 20'ish mile range, with up to 15,000ft of climbing, depending on how many peaks you could hit along the way, and much of it would be bushwhacking or on goat path caliber "trails". In late October 2018 I booked a water taxi departure & then promptly got sick for a few weeks, and winter arrived shortly thereafter. This idea had been in the back of my mind ever since though. In June of 2020 I was chatting with a friend and somehow this topic comes up, and low and behold we ended up with a group of 4 committed to the idea within just a few days. At 5am on Wednesday, July 15th, myself, Jeremy Burrows, Wing Taylor and Steve Fassezke hopped onto a water taxi and into the unknown. We'd planned for a 15 hour return outing over the Fannin Range, after the water drop...for just 20 miles of terrain. We ended up going Dickens, Fannin Lake (for a swim of course), Presbyter, Deacon, Bishop, Vicar, Curate, Rector, Elsay, Seymour, Tim Jones & Pump. After 19 hours of slogging it out in the Fannin Range, we arrived back in Deep Cove to complete our version of the Fannin Traverse. There were so many highlights that I don't even know where to begin, but spotting the Neowise comet, having Jeremy's incredible wife Liza stash some cans of coke for us to find on Mt. Seymour, and just spending an incredible & incredibly challenging day with such a great crew has left me filled with a sense of joy and accomplishment. It's so fun to spend hours looking over maps & terrain, and to then find a way to bring that vision to life. Final = 23 miles w. 13,000 feet Steve Fassezke was kind enough and talented enough to piece together a stellar edit of the day. Huge thanks to him for producing this nice recap of our memorable outing. Give Steve a follow on YouTube via    / @treetosky   Also, thanks to my sponsors for their incredible gear and food that helps fuel all of my outings. Salomon, Suunto, Drymax Socks, Princeton Tec Headlamps, Squirrel's Nut Butter, Trail Butter, Endurance Tap.