Another route onto the Wapta Icefields is from the Yoho Valley.   This is also a challenging route and also should be attempted in good conditions.   We had to camp out along the route (most skiers do) and so you need to bring full winter camping gear.

The route starts at the head of the Yoho Valley near the campground.   The road up to Takkakaw Falls is not ploughed in the winter, so skiers put on their backpacks, ski up the road to the falls, then carry on to Laughing Falls and then climb up the hiking trail route to the Stanley Mitchell Hut in Little Yoho Valley.    This is 13 km and quite enough for the first day.   The Stanley Mitchell hut is one of the largest in the Rockies and is a fine destination in any season.

Feeling rested, we climbed out from the back of the hut up the bowl toward Isolated Peak.   This is  steep switchback to the col to the east of the peak, an exhasusting route.   There are splendid views from the top and skiers need to rest before skiing down the steep sploes on the other side.  With a forty pound pack on, I mistimed one telemark turn and drove my head 3 feet under the cold, powdery snow.   It was a struggle to get back up and I had snow in every possible opening.    Thoroughly humbled,  I worked my way down to Waterfall Valley.

The route then climbs up onto the des Poilus Glacier.   From here the route is not obvious.   It looks like a long climb up the glacier, but the correct route is to find the least steep route up the headwall to the east.   We had to backtrack and then kickstep our way up the slope.    In poor weather this section and the next will be a challenge.   Once over the headwall, angle northeast, then north, following the middle of the glacier, climbing higher until you are up on the Wapta Icefield.   Once up on the flats, the route to Bow Hut is reasonably easy.   This is a long route and unless you have perfect conditions and  strong group, you will be forced to camp overnight along the way.   Most parties do this in Waterfall Valley, which is a less exposed spot than upon the ridges or on the glacier.   We found the spot we chose to set up camp to be cold, but we made a cosy camp inside our tent at -20 temperatures.   I drew the short straw and did the cooking outdoors in the dark…..

On the next day, Bow Hut is a welcome improvement to camping out.

On another trip, we couldn’t make the traverse over to the Wapta Icefield in poor weather, so we camped out in lower waterfall valley, very close to the top of Twin Falls.   Anyone who has been there will remember that this is at the top of cliffs.   We worked our way northeast until we could find a way down the cliffs.   This last summer we hiked up by this route and I recognized the gully we came down.   The word kamikaze comes to mind.   We swooped down with telemark gear, finishing each turn with a bid uphill arc, then kick-stepped and repeated all the way down to the Yoho River.   The lower slopes were thick with trees so we stopped and put on our skins to make sure our downhill speed was dead-slow.   Once down, we skiied down the Yoho River bed and hiking trails all the way to Takkakaw Falls.   The route from Waterfall Valley down to the Yoho River is not  recommended .      🙂