March 19-23, Wapta Traverse, Alberta
3/15/07
2408
1
Wapta Traverse
March 19- 23, 2007
AKA Lost Horizons
Due to prior commitments as well as limited availability of the huts during other time periods, Sonya, Lee, and I decided to do the Wapta Icefields Traverse in spite of a less than stellar forecast. We drove up Sat., March 17, in a driving rain that reportedly had reached up to 6000 ft as far north as Lake Louise, so we were definitely questioning our decision even then. A rockslide that closed the Trans Can highway east of Golden for most of the day did nothing to cheer our spirits, although luckily we were still able to make it to Lake Louise late Saturday night. We had planned to do a short ski somewhere around Lake Louise on Sunday before starting the tour on Monday, so we settled on Mt Field as a reasonable objective to stretch our legs after the long drive. It was quite warm down low on the long slog up the road towards Takaha Falls, but as we turned onto the North side of Mt Field and started climbing, we were able to reach a distinct transition zone around 6000 where the snow turned to something more closely resembling powder and our spirits finally began to lift. We climbed as high as the saddle just below the summit and were quite happy to get around 1300 feet of decent turns in soft snow before hitting the mank below. :) Things were starting to look up, since we knew that we were going to be well above the transition zone along the traverse and we began to look forward to the tour.
The next day, we awoke to colder temperatures and precip in the form of snow flurries on the way up to the trailhead at Peyto Lake. Once again, however, our initial good spirits sank when we arrived at the pull-out to find that a car that was there had been broken into and glass and snow covered the interior. We couldnt believe how inconsiderate and rude some people could be breaking into a car along the Icefields parkway causing some poor skiers to ride home without a window in the middle of winter. >:( It appeared to be fairly recent and we debated for a time whether or not to leave the car instead at Bow Lake where there was more skier and lodge activity. The arrival of two groups of folks intending to do the traverse as well, however, caused us to reconsider and we finally decided to give it a go. The weather forecast for the week called for a mix of sun, wind, clouds, and snow, so basically no matter what happened the forecast would be correct!
The initial march across Peyto Lake was fine although it was obvious that the visibility was going to be quite limited up high and the wind that would be our constant companion for the next four days began to blow. Andrew, Chris, and Tara from Nelson, BC, and their friends Paul from Ottawa, and Marty from Toronto made up one of the two other groups we started playing hopscotch with; and Raphael, Andrew, Brad from Calgary, and Mat from Vancouver made up the other. We ended up spending some quality time in the confined huts with these two groups, and despite the weather, traveling with these folks made the trip truly enjoyable.
Andrew and Chris had done the traverse once before, and their knowledge of the route was particularly helpful especially when the visibility went to hell. Rather than heading up climbers right onto the Moraine as suggested in Chic Scotts Summits and Icefields, they suggested heading straight up the drainage until you get to an impassable gorge just past a summer trail log bridge. At this point, we climbed up about 20-25 meters up the right side to an indistinct bench. By side-hilling at this elevation for about 200 meters, you can bypass the gorge and then continue up the center of the valley straight up onto the Peyto Glacier. This turns out to be a much more direct route than the one described in the book and saved us quite a bit of time Im sure. As we came to the glacier research station, the visibility went to hell and we had to navigate by GPS and compass the rest of the way to the hut. We followed the right side of the glacier to about 8000 ft and then contoured high around directly to the Peyto hut to get out of the elements for the night in comfort.
The next morning, although visibility wasnt quite like the inside of a ping-pong ball like it had been the day before it was still pretty bad. The three groups had different travel plans for the day, and we toured to the Bow hut while the Nelson group traversed all the way to the Balfour hut in one stretch and the Calgary group had plans to climb Baker and to stay at the Peyto for another night. After touring across the flat Wapta Glacier we arrived at the slope above the Bow hut in full view of the well photographed Saint Nicholas peak. Our initial excitement at seeing the slope down to the Bow hut was dashed as the visibility went to hell just as we slipped off our skins! Nevertheless, we were still able to get the best turns we had yet and the snow was of pretty good quality. The Bow hut is quite spacious as long as it isnt crowded, and we had originally planned to spend two nights there. Although no one was officially booked, there were still nine other folks whose own travel plans had been interrupted due to the weather. We huddled around the woodstove in the common area that evening, and listened to the wind howling around outside as we decided what to do for the next day.
The next morning brought the only sunshine that we had for the tour, but the wind picked up as well as if to make up for the increased visibility! With gusts up to 50-60 mph we decided to take advantage of the slim weather window to travel on to the Balfour hut rather than risk getting skunked should the weather turn bad again. This turned out to be for the best, since as we toured up and through St. Nicholas- Mt. Olive col the visibility once again went to hell in spite of a forecast that had predicted sun for most of the day! We made it to the Balfour hut just as the weather closed in again and it turned out the two groups we had originally met up with at Peyto ended up both being there as well.
All three groups were planning now on traveling over the Balfour high col the next day to the Scott Duncan hut should the weather be conducive to travel. Chic Scotts book cautions against traveling through this section in poor visibility since this area is heavily crevassed and is probably considered to be the crux of the trip. The next morning once again brought limited visibility although the wind had abated quite a bit, so we decided to at least head up to the icefall in hopes that the weather would clear as we approached the col. As luck would have it, the visibility was just good enough that we could make out the crevasses, and we found ourselves high near the pass by around 12:30 or so. Anticipating bluebird powder and sun for the run down to the Scott Duncan hut, we hurried across to the col just in time for the visibility to go to zero! The rest of the trip down to the hut was an excellent exercise in route finding by GPS and we made it down finally by 5:30- once again denied any turns, but happy to have made it to a warm hut to play yet another round of cutthroat gin rummy with the boys from Calgary!
The next morning, Friday, showed signs of some clearing and we hurried out of the hut before it closed in on us yet again! As luck would have it, this was the best day of the trip and we had some great turns all the way down to Sherbrooke lake. :)
All in all, it was about what one would expect for the Wapta in March- its a traverse on an icecap after all- but it was still great to get out and we met some terrific folks along the way. Thanks again, Andrew, Chris, Tara, Paul, Marty, Andrew, Raphael, Brad, and Matt!
March 19- 23, 2007
AKA Lost Horizons
Due to prior commitments as well as limited availability of the huts during other time periods, Sonya, Lee, and I decided to do the Wapta Icefields Traverse in spite of a less than stellar forecast. We drove up Sat., March 17, in a driving rain that reportedly had reached up to 6000 ft as far north as Lake Louise, so we were definitely questioning our decision even then. A rockslide that closed the Trans Can highway east of Golden for most of the day did nothing to cheer our spirits, although luckily we were still able to make it to Lake Louise late Saturday night. We had planned to do a short ski somewhere around Lake Louise on Sunday before starting the tour on Monday, so we settled on Mt Field as a reasonable objective to stretch our legs after the long drive. It was quite warm down low on the long slog up the road towards Takaha Falls, but as we turned onto the North side of Mt Field and started climbing, we were able to reach a distinct transition zone around 6000 where the snow turned to something more closely resembling powder and our spirits finally began to lift. We climbed as high as the saddle just below the summit and were quite happy to get around 1300 feet of decent turns in soft snow before hitting the mank below. :) Things were starting to look up, since we knew that we were going to be well above the transition zone along the traverse and we began to look forward to the tour.
The next day, we awoke to colder temperatures and precip in the form of snow flurries on the way up to the trailhead at Peyto Lake. Once again, however, our initial good spirits sank when we arrived at the pull-out to find that a car that was there had been broken into and glass and snow covered the interior. We couldnt believe how inconsiderate and rude some people could be breaking into a car along the Icefields parkway causing some poor skiers to ride home without a window in the middle of winter. >:( It appeared to be fairly recent and we debated for a time whether or not to leave the car instead at Bow Lake where there was more skier and lodge activity. The arrival of two groups of folks intending to do the traverse as well, however, caused us to reconsider and we finally decided to give it a go. The weather forecast for the week called for a mix of sun, wind, clouds, and snow, so basically no matter what happened the forecast would be correct!
The initial march across Peyto Lake was fine although it was obvious that the visibility was going to be quite limited up high and the wind that would be our constant companion for the next four days began to blow. Andrew, Chris, and Tara from Nelson, BC, and their friends Paul from Ottawa, and Marty from Toronto made up one of the two other groups we started playing hopscotch with; and Raphael, Andrew, Brad from Calgary, and Mat from Vancouver made up the other. We ended up spending some quality time in the confined huts with these two groups, and despite the weather, traveling with these folks made the trip truly enjoyable.
Andrew and Chris had done the traverse once before, and their knowledge of the route was particularly helpful especially when the visibility went to hell. Rather than heading up climbers right onto the Moraine as suggested in Chic Scotts Summits and Icefields, they suggested heading straight up the drainage until you get to an impassable gorge just past a summer trail log bridge. At this point, we climbed up about 20-25 meters up the right side to an indistinct bench. By side-hilling at this elevation for about 200 meters, you can bypass the gorge and then continue up the center of the valley straight up onto the Peyto Glacier. This turns out to be a much more direct route than the one described in the book and saved us quite a bit of time Im sure. As we came to the glacier research station, the visibility went to hell and we had to navigate by GPS and compass the rest of the way to the hut. We followed the right side of the glacier to about 8000 ft and then contoured high around directly to the Peyto hut to get out of the elements for the night in comfort.
The next morning, although visibility wasnt quite like the inside of a ping-pong ball like it had been the day before it was still pretty bad. The three groups had different travel plans for the day, and we toured to the Bow hut while the Nelson group traversed all the way to the Balfour hut in one stretch and the Calgary group had plans to climb Baker and to stay at the Peyto for another night. After touring across the flat Wapta Glacier we arrived at the slope above the Bow hut in full view of the well photographed Saint Nicholas peak. Our initial excitement at seeing the slope down to the Bow hut was dashed as the visibility went to hell just as we slipped off our skins! Nevertheless, we were still able to get the best turns we had yet and the snow was of pretty good quality. The Bow hut is quite spacious as long as it isnt crowded, and we had originally planned to spend two nights there. Although no one was officially booked, there were still nine other folks whose own travel plans had been interrupted due to the weather. We huddled around the woodstove in the common area that evening, and listened to the wind howling around outside as we decided what to do for the next day.
The next morning brought the only sunshine that we had for the tour, but the wind picked up as well as if to make up for the increased visibility! With gusts up to 50-60 mph we decided to take advantage of the slim weather window to travel on to the Balfour hut rather than risk getting skunked should the weather turn bad again. This turned out to be for the best, since as we toured up and through St. Nicholas- Mt. Olive col the visibility once again went to hell in spite of a forecast that had predicted sun for most of the day! We made it to the Balfour hut just as the weather closed in again and it turned out the two groups we had originally met up with at Peyto ended up both being there as well.
All three groups were planning now on traveling over the Balfour high col the next day to the Scott Duncan hut should the weather be conducive to travel. Chic Scotts book cautions against traveling through this section in poor visibility since this area is heavily crevassed and is probably considered to be the crux of the trip. The next morning once again brought limited visibility although the wind had abated quite a bit, so we decided to at least head up to the icefall in hopes that the weather would clear as we approached the col. As luck would have it, the visibility was just good enough that we could make out the crevasses, and we found ourselves high near the pass by around 12:30 or so. Anticipating bluebird powder and sun for the run down to the Scott Duncan hut, we hurried across to the col just in time for the visibility to go to zero! The rest of the trip down to the hut was an excellent exercise in route finding by GPS and we made it down finally by 5:30- once again denied any turns, but happy to have made it to a warm hut to play yet another round of cutthroat gin rummy with the boys from Calgary!
The next morning, Friday, showed signs of some clearing and we hurried out of the hut before it closed in on us yet again! As luck would have it, this was the best day of the trip and we had some great turns all the way down to Sherbrooke lake. :)
All in all, it was about what one would expect for the Wapta in March- its a traverse on an icecap after all- but it was still great to get out and we met some terrific folks along the way. Thanks again, Andrew, Chris, Tara, Paul, Marty, Andrew, Raphael, Brad, and Matt!
Nice report Rob and Sonya, thanks for posting. Glad you had a good trip and made some new friends along the way. Sounds like you made the best of the visibility and got some excellent GPS practice!
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