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Ski The Wapta Traverse over 5 Days

Improvement District No. 9, Alberta

Description

Added by Tam McTavish

The Wapta Traverse is a internationally renown ski mountaineering classic. Over five days skiers cover 65 kilometres over ice, snow and rock, hopping between multiple conveniently placed huts that allow peak bagging side trips on nearly every day of the trip.  

The Wapta traverse is both in Avalanche terrain and on glaciers. It frequently can white out completely. If you are travelling without an ACMG ski guide the following is recommended: Skiers must have their AST 1 minimum, and formal crevasse rescue training. At least one member of the party should be a skilled map and compass navigator and a GPS unit is highly recommended. 

The Wapta is not a particularly challenging ski, but it posses many environemtnal challenges. With an ACMG ski guide a confident blue run skier should find this trip doable particularly they have tried ski touring before. experienced backcountry skiers with knowledge of crevasse rescue should find much of the terrain manageable. The main challenge is the fourth day. 

I recommend consulting Chic Scott's Summits and Icefield: Volume 1 for further information.

There are a couple different ways to the traverse. There is the Bow-Yoh traverse, that heads westward towards the Stanley Mitchell hut, but this adventure is looking at the North to South classic traverse. The easiest way to do this trip is to leave one car at the Great Divide lodge west of Lake Louise, to be retrieved at the end of the trip, and shuttle up to the beginning of the route on the Icefield parkway. Many people will also hitchhike back up to where they left their car at the beginning as final days skiing is normally over by noon. 
 
The first stage of the trip begins at the Peyto parking lot, about 2km North of the Bow Summit on the Icefields parkway. A word of warning: Cars have been broken into at this lot. Its advisable to leave nothing of value in your car. 

From here a skin track leads down the hill towards the lake itself. This section can be a little precarious as your packs are at their heaviest, and you find yourself working through narrow trees, and sudden sharp drops as well as deadfall and other hazards. While there is a fair bit of downhill, I prefer to keep skins on for this section. 

The route carries on across the middle of Peyto Lake offering some spectacular views. Heading for the canyon to the west you eventually reach what is  normally a open river crossing. Be warned this is often the most treacherous section of the whole route. 

Past this you begin to make your way through scree fields up steeper ground, gaining a moraine. There is some tricky Avalanche hazards here in some years, and a quick boot pack in others.  Gaining the moraine you head south west towards a little shack. The shack is an excellent lunch spot where you can observe the Peyto Glacier. After roping up here it's  a straightforward shot up the glacier to 2500metres. While it may look easy on a map to make a straight shot for the hut, it's easier and safer to make a big arc, approaching the hut from its southwest side. 

The Peyto hut is a cozy one room affair with all the usual ACC hut amenities. It can be a little chilly as there is no heating, though if it's full to its 12 person capacity it warms up very quickly. 

The second day is either very straightforward, or immensely challenging. Depending on preference and conditions roping up at the hut is advised as for the rest of the trip you are in glacial terrain.

The traverse goes up a short hill, gaining the wide gentle plain where the Peyto and Bow glaciers converge into the mighty Wapta Icefield. Once over the Jimmy Simpson- Rhonda Col, you gently descend towards the very prominent St Nicholas peak in the distance. On a clear day it is possible to take a few excellent ski runs off of Rhonda, or skin and scramble up to its summit. It is also possible, to ski to the top of Mt. Gordon on this day, though it is a bit of extra distance. I have only ever done the section between the Peyto and the Bow in a complete white out. Because there are no geographic "handrails" it can be very disorienting. Skillful map and compass navigation is essential and a GPS unit can be helpful. 

Below St Nicholas Peak lies the Bow Hut. The biggest hut in the area it can accommodate 30 people between two separate buildings. In winter, spring and summer high season it is always busy with all sorts of people. Keeping your gear organized and contained to one spot makes everyone's lives easier. This hut is heated in both the common area, and in the sleeping quarters making it a very cosy place. It also has connected washrooms so you don't need to go outside. 

The third day is often the busiest getting out of the hut. Once you're out you push up the glacial hill. This can be a bit of a slog as its a very rounded hill and it can feel like you are going nowhere for a over an hour. Once at the top you are at a interesting apex. Mt Gordon, Mt Olive, and St Nicholas peak are within range. It is possible to do all three in a day, though this is a big physical challenge. Gordon is skiable right to the summit. The route follow the gentle bench that heads westward connecting to Gordon's Northern face, where there is a slightly exposed Avalanche slop with a nasty terrain trap. If make your assessment yourself on this section. Above its a simple ski up to a wide ridge to gain the summit. 

My Olive looks very intimidating from the base, but if you approach it piece by piece its very simple. Ski up the ridge until it gets to steep, as always with ridges, beware cornices.  Boot pack up 40* slopes. There is one slope that is often much steeper, but it's is fairly simple moving up the deep snow. There is about three metres of exposure, before getting back on the wide ridge. Here you encounter a stout cliff face, and path on the western side heading south. One slightly exposed 3rd class move gets you onto a trail and back on a fairly good path that takes you to the summit, about 160 metres further along. You can go for the North Summit as well, but the ridge is considerably narrower, and more exposed.

St Nicholas Peak is the most challenging of the potential objectives for this day. In summer its a fair but more challenging with very narrow ridges that can be done au cheval. In winter, thanks in large part due to traffic, a solid boot track is often in place allowing a expose,d but firm ridge scramble up to a gulley that attains the summit. Conditions being variable, there can often be loose rock, poor quality snow, and other dangers. 

From the St Nicholas - Olive col its a straight show down the culture glacier. While there are a couple good turns, conserve your speed. It flattens out on the way to the Balfour hut, so if you've got momentum you can often make it to the hut without having to transition back to skins.  The Balfour hut is pretty similar to the Peyto Hut. It is also committing as there is no way off the icefield from this hut like there is at Bow and Peyto. 

The fourth day is the crux of the route, both technically and physically. This day has over 800 metres of elevation gain. Mt. Balfour is the biggest peak in the area, and present challenging route finding. There are some big crevasses that are very hard to see in low light, it's easy to get turned around in a couple places. The route follow a the widest section weaving between the crevasses, staying close to the prominent cliff face, before head climbers right around a number of Seracs. 

Past this it evens out, but there are two or three huge lipped crevasses that are very hard to spot in flat light. Be vigilant, or if the light is very poor, do some yo-yo turns on the Diableret glacier west of the hut, then pack out via the Bow hut.
  
Once you gain the Lilliput- Balfour col, you can either climb Balfour, a challenging, exposed boot pack with terrific views of the whole Icefield, or start heading down towards the Scott Duncan hut. The travel towards Scott Duncan is tedious and precarious, you don't want to go too far left or right as you could easily end up going over a cliff if the light is poor as has happened on a number of occasions. 

The final day your packs are light, and you only have to get downhill. But be warned you aren't out of the woods yet. Literally. Sling down the Niles glacier, you make your way down to Sherbrooke creek, eventually reaching the Sherbrooke lake skin track, or finding your own path through the woods. It can be tricky skiing down this section as the woods get pretty thick and there is lots of deadfall. Eventually you pop out behind the Great Divide lodge. From here it
is either hitchhike or shuttle back to your vehicle at Peyto. 

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