Home / Wapta Traverse 28
March-April 2013At the end of March 2013 I joined some friends from Toronto and Vancouver on the Wapta Traverse, a popular ski tour across the crest of the Canadian Rockies north of Lake Louise. The whole traverse has been done in a single day, but we took our time and spent a week in the mountains, staying at the Alpine Club of Canada’s backcountry huts. Special thanks to Dave Myles for organizing this trip and to Cyril Shokoples, our able guide.
- GoogleEarth.jpg
Google Earth image of the Wapta and Waputik icefields. The traverse starts at Peyto Lake on the Icefields Parkway and ends at Wapta Lodge on the Trans-Canada Highway . There are four huts en route – Peyto (Whyte), Bow, Balfour and Scott Duncan. Also marked are a couple of peaks that we climbed. - P1000373.JPG
Getting ready to ski across a frozen Peyto Lake. - P1000386.JPG
Hiking up moraines near the foot of the Peyto Glacier. This was the only part of the traverse that was too steep for skins. - P1000394.JPG
Skiing up the Peyto Glacier in the warm afternoon sun. - P1000399.JPG
Dave and Cyril arriving at the Peyto Hut. Cyril had promised us that this would be the longest day on the traverse, but it didn’t quite work out that way. - P1000404.JPG
Inside the Peyto Hut. - P1000414.JPG
Making turns on the glacier above the Peyto Hut. - P1000427.JPG
After two nights at the Peyto Hut we headed over to the Bow Hut, stopping for lunch on the slopes of Mt. Rhondda. - P1000429.JPG
On the way to the Bow Hut most of us made a detour to skin up the gentle summit ridge of Mt. Rhondda. - P1000446.JPG
Our only logistical error was to assume that the huts would be stocked with toilet paper. This wasn’t a good assumption. Cyril came to our rescue by paying a handsome fee to our porters to part with their modest supply ($20 for two rolls!). Here’s Karen Woo carefully dividing this precious commodity between the ten of us. - P1000450.JPG
The view from the dormitory window at Bow Hut. - P1000463.JPG
Skinning up the slopes above the Bow Hut, on our way to Mt. Gordon. The summit in the background is St. Nicholas Peak. - P1000465.JPG
Leo, Stefan Kloppenborg, Ian Myles and Karen Woo at the summit of Mt. Gordon. Alas not much in the way of views that day. - P1000476.JPG
On the way back from Mt. Gordon a few of us made a detour to scramble up St. Nicholas Peak. It’s really more of a knife-edge ridge than a peak. - P1000480.JPG
Down-climbing from the summit of St. Nicholas Peak. - P1000486.JPG
Leo Markle, Karen Woo and Karen McGilvray inside the Bow Hut. The hut can be accessed directly from the highway and we had arranged with porters to carry some food – and wine! – up here in advance of our arrival (no helicopter landings allowed in Banff National Park). The wine was supposed to last a couple of nights, but it all disappeared in a few hours. - P1000491.JPG
The Bow Hut at evening. - P1000494.JPG
Preparing to leave the Bow Hut for the Balfour Hut (or so we thought). From L to R: Stefan, Cyril, Dave, Ian, Karen Woo, Alex Perel, Leo, me, Karen McGilvray and Boris Kaschenko. - P1000502.JPG
Roping up above the Bow Hut en route to the Balfour Hut. - P1000505.JPG
At the col between St. Nicholas Peak and Mt. Olive. At this point a stiff wind was blowing and a storm was fast approaching. Cyril announced that it would be best to carry on past the Balfour Hut and try get to the Scott Duncan Hut ahead of the storm, since there’s a high pass on the way to Scott Duncan (the Balfour Col) that’s exposed to avalanches if it’s been snowing heavily. - P1000506.JPG
Stefan and Boris approaching the col between St. Nicholas Peak and Mt. Olive, on the way to the Balfour Hut. - P1000514.JPG
Shortly after passing the Balfour Hut the weather closed in, and we traveled in a whiteout up and over the Balfour Col and down to the Scott Duncan Hut. Fortunately Cyril knew the route well, and with GPS assistance he kept us away from the avalanche slopes and crevasses that lie in wait for the unwary. Here we are arriving at Scott Duncan Hut. Cozy accommodation for a group of ten. - P1000522.JPG
Dinner at Scott Duncan Hut after a long day. From L to R: Boris, a pair of green booties belonging to Dave, Leo, Alex, Karen McGilvray, a white cap belonging to Cyril, Karen Woo, and Ian. - P1000524.JPG
We thought we might have to spend a second night at Scott Duncan Hut waiting out the storm, but by mid-morning visibility improved slightly and Cyril decided we’d be able to continue the traverse out to the highway. Here we are skiing past Mt. Niles. - P1000533.JPG
Ian and Cyril at tree-line on our way down from Scott Duncan Hut. This section was the steepest skiing on the trip. - P1000540.JPG
Skiing across Sherbrooke Lake, with Mt. Victoria and Mt. Huber in the background. Not far to go now. - P1000543.JPG
At the Trans-Canada Highway, and the end of our trip. At back (L to R): Alex, Cyril, Stefan, me, Dave, Boris. In front: Karen Woo, Ian, Leo, Karen McGilvray. - P1050728.JPG
Alas the skiing on the descent from Scott Duncan was a bit too steep for Dave. He was using Koflach mountaineering boots and took a nasty tumble, injuring his ankle when his binding didn’t release. Cyril taped him up and he was able to hobble the rest of the way back to the highway, but the next day his ankle had swollen to twice its normal size. It later turned out that he’d sustained a minor fracture.