By Claire Wright
With the field crew off to Jasper for the second part of the MLP 2025 field season, this seemed like a perfect moment to publish Claire Wright’s latest blog post regarding the effort and time that goes into field season preparation.
The Mountain Legacy Project is known for intense field seasons filled with ambitious alpine missions and technical camera work. Our intrepid team members have produced many reflections on their experiences in the mountains—most recently, from Darcy Benham’s adventures in summer 2024. However, less attention has been paid to the months of planning that precede a field season. Here, we explore the elements of preparatory work that go into organizing a four to eight week stretch of repeat photography missions in the mountains.
Step 1: Research Permit
Many of the Mountain Legacy images were captured in areas that are now part of parks or protected areas which require permits for research activities. Other permissions are required for photostations on reserves or private property. The bureaucratic process of acquiring a research permit can be quite long, so the field lead should aim to submit all necessary permit requests in the fall or early new year before the next field season (i.e., October to January).
Step 2: First Aid
For safety, at least one team member (ideally all) must be certified in Remote or Wilderness First Aid. Fortunately, the folks at Occupational Health, Safety & Environment at the University of Victoria usually organize free Remote First Aid over the February reading break. If not, it is important to find a private course, although this should be factored into the budget. Remote or Wilderness First Aid courses typically take 20 to 40 hours and can cost upwards of $350.00 per person.
Step 3: Field Safety Plan(s)
On the topic of safety, the university requires a Field Safety Plan detailing safety considerations, emergency contacts, and emergency response procedures. Field safety plans ought to be submitted in March or April at the latest. The forms will need to be signed by the Director and Dean which can take some time. When working with Parks Canada, and potentially other land managers, a separate safety plan is often required.
Step 4: Accommodations
One of the key requirements for a successful field season is a comfortable base of operations. While teams have camped in the past, the extra wear and tear (both mental and physical) of sleeping in tents and cooking on camp stoves creates a significant added challenge, let alone the need to charge camera batteries and laptops. As well, Mountain Legacy teams are often in the field during periods of intense haze from wildfire smoke. This can become a health risk when staying in tents.\
Thankfully, it is often possible to stay in researcher accommodations within national parks. The team lead should reach out early (March to May) to the park to ask about booking a research apartment or house as the schedule can fill up quickly with other groups. A research permit is usually required for booking.
Step 5: Training
Field crews with the Mountain Legacy Project must overcome a wide range of physical and emotional challenges working in intense mountain terrain while also collecting precise data. Safety is paramount. Team members must receive training to prepare for repeat photography fieldwork. While training sessions typically do not occur until May or June, it is important to start organizing several months in advance.
There are three main elements covered in Mountain Legacy training:
- Mountain travel
- Group dynamics and EDI
- Repeat photography
Luckily, the Mountain Legacy Project has developed its own Field Safety Plan in partnership with internationally recognized mountain guide Ken Wylie. The safety plan covers the Mountain Legacy Safety Philosophy, mountain hazards (terrain, weather, escape routes), personal and team hazards (working under pressure, risk management, etc.), communication in the mountains, appropriated equipment, trip planning, and self-care. The safety plan feeds directly into morning and evening safety briefings/debriefings that are required for each repeat photography mission during the field season.
Crew leaders may also choose to organize alpine skills training with a registered guide prior to the field season. While this is an added element for the budget, it is valuable for team members to practice working together, recognizing terrain elements, and using technical gear.
Finally, it is important to familiarize field crew members with the process of taking repeat photographs. The team must learn how to set up a tripod, read the azimuth (direction the camera is pointing), and compose the photograph itself. While many people come to the project with experience hiking, fewer have a grasp of the balance between ISO, F-Stop, and shutter speed. Station procedures also include collecting location information (GPS point and photos of the camera set up), writing a station narrative to describe access for future crews, and reading weather data.It is vital to rehearse these steps before finding yourself up a mountain with the wind howling and a turnaround time fast approaching. The art of finding a station location can also be learned and practiced.
Step 6: Beta
Mountain Legacy crews do not hike to photostations unprepared. Many hours are spent searching for beta (specific information about how to ascend a route) before the field season starts. Beta is sourced from mountaineering guide books, local experts, and past trip reports.
Sometimes, a camera station may be located on a high point that is seldom visited. In this case, team leaders may need to plan their own route using maps and terrain knowledge. But make sure to check all available sources – even the original survey reports may be helpful!
Step 7: Travel
Usually, field crews travel by rental car to their various field sites. Luckily, the University of Victoria provides discount rates for certain rental agencies. Field leaders are encouraged to request a hybrid vehicle to reduce emissions (and fuel costs) over the long drives to and from mountain locations. While it may be tempting to save money by renting a smaller size class, field gear takes up a lot of space and crews have struggled in the past to fit it all into the car. For teams travelling from Victoria over to the mainland, a BC ferries reservation is also required. It is advisable to book tickets as soon as field season dates are determined as space fills up quickly.
Step 8: Image Prep
Each repeat photograph captured in the field is based on a historical image. The Mountain Legacy Project does not use the historical images in their original form during the field season. The images are downloaded from the Explorer page and then edited for clarity. A grid is applied which is later used to align with the camera’s field of view. A field season may involve upwards of 200 images, so image preparation can be quite time consuming, although a custom Python script for image gridding and labelling has made the process more efficient.
Bridgland 1915 – Mt. Greenock b512
Step 9: Gear
The final step in field season prep is gathering and assessing gear. The Mountain Legacy Project keeps a detailed gear inventory with over 300 items listed, down to lens cloths, pencils, and garbage bags. The field leader should use the gear inventory to check whether all necessary gear is available and in good condition, including verifying expiry dates on first aid supplies and bear spray canisters. At this point, the team lead should also confirm that all crew members have personal safety gear or that spare harnesses and helmets will fit.
Some brands offer pro deals for our crew and this should be pursued early in the planning. While this may seem trivial, it can be important for new crew members who do not own all the necessary personal gear.
We often get asked how many hours go into each repeat photograph collected with the Mountain Legacy Project. While it may take 5 to 15 hours to visit a survey station and press the shutter button, each mission is preceded by months of preparation to ensure the work is carried out safely and efficiently. That’s why, when we finally press the shutter, we also back everything up onto multiple external drives, our online repository, and local storage. Every image tells a story, and we make sure it’s one we can keep.