Date(s) March 31st, 2023 - Apr 4th, 2023
Number of people
Enjoy five days of ski touring on the remote Wapta and Yoho glaciers with a seasoned local guide. Experience all the highlights of this renowned Rockies ski tour, including Mt. Collie, the descent to the Stanley Mitchell Hut, and Little Yoho Valley, as part of a more compact itinerary.
Meet your guide at the Alpine Center in Lake Louise at 8:30 AM. Get organized and head to Bow Lake where your adventure begins. After an hour-long avalanche companion rescue exercise, you’ll spend 3-4 hours ascending to the Bow Hut. If you get there early enough, you’ll have some spare time to go skiing in the afternoon before retreating to the hut for the night.
Rise up and early to traverse the Wapta Ice Field to Yoho Glacier and Mt. Collie (3,145 m/ 10,320 ft). Then, enjoy a fantastic ski run down to the Des Poilus glacier, where the brand-new Alpine Club of Canada Des Poilus hut awaits.
Ascend to the Isolated Col and enjoy an exciting ski descent to the Stanley Mitchell Hut in Little Yoho Valley. Take the opportunity to ski some of the fantastic glaciated runs in the area, as well as the flanks of the 3,015-m (9,890 ft) Mt. McArthur.
Spend the entirety of day 4 skiing in Little Yoho Valley. Tackle some of the area’s fantastic mountaineering objectives, such as the Presidents (3,140 m/10,300 ft).
Follow the Ice line trail, traversing the full length of the Presidents. Then, enter Yoho Pass and proceed to Emerald Lake, marking the end of your great adventure!
57hours is committed to providing safe outdoor adventure experiences. We require all guides using our platform to have a COVID-19 safety plan and to make the details of that plan accessible to travelers. In most cases, group sizes will be reduced, guides will avoid overcrowded locations, and other safety measures will be met depending on the location and activity.
We also expect clients to respect local regulations and take measures to protect themselves, their guides, and the communities they’re traveling to. For more information on COVID-19 measures in the Bow-Yoho Traverse, British Columbia, please refer to British Columbia’s Travel and COVID-19 website.
Please contact us if you have any questions or require further information. We are happy to provide you with the most up-to-date information!
What you get in this adventure:
What’s not included:
To enjoy this backcountry adventure, you need to be in excellent physical shape. You will be on your feet for 5-7 hours a day for 5 or 6 full days, covering 6-10 miles (10-15km) of terrain every day. Hut elevations are approximately 7,200ft (2,200m), with 2,300ft (700m) vertical, and you will be doing your hut-to-hut traverse carrying up to 45lbs (20kg) of equipment. You will need to manage controlled descents in variable conditions. All participants should feel comfortable on challenging blue or black-level resort runs and be able to carry a loaded daypack while skinning up variable degrees of terrain.
To participate in this tour, you need to have previous powder skiing and ski mountaineering experience. You will be skiing, touring, and summiting on glaciated terrain for 5-7 hours every day. Your guide will take care of the planning, oversee your technique, and teach you how to better manage the terrain. They also have the experience and avalanche training necessary to keep you safe.
For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:
For personal items, we recommend bringing:
All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. You can rent:
If you plan on using alternate touring systems such as telemark skis, frame-style AT bindings, or splitboards, please contact your guide in advance. Ski rental locations are in Field, Lake Louise, and Banff and should be picked up the night prior to your outing. If you need to rent gear, let us know and we can help make arrangements.
Group sizes:
Ski touring in the Bow-Yoho Traverse can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
If your group has ski tourers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
A deposit of 50% of the total price is due upon booking. Once your guide confirms your booking, your trip departure is guaranteed and second payment is due 120 days before the trip.
If you need to cancel a reservation, please do so in writing (best by e-mail). Once your booking is confirmed, you and your Guides enter into financial obligations and they cannot refund payments or release you from your contractual obligations. Therefore, it is highly recommended buying cancellation insurance to cover your losses for the case that you can’t participate or have to interrupt your trip “for any reason”.
Your Guides do reserve the right to change guides, particular lodging or the itinerary or venue should unforeseen circumstances (guide sickness, hut or route closing etc.) force them to do so or should the physical condition of the participants, weather or mountain conditions make a continuation as planned too risky. Your Guides will not be deemed to be in default for any delay or failure to perform their obligations under this agreement resulting from acts of God, the elements, war, acts of government, civil or military authorities, natural calamities, catastrophe, fire, flood, accidents, epidemics, shortage of transportation, or any other like events beyond our reasonable control.
To get to the Bow-Yoho Traverse, most people fly into Calgary International Airport 2,5 hours away. From there, you can rent a car or take a bus straight to Field or Lake Louise, depending on your chosen tour.
Once you and your guide agree on the details of your itinerary, your guide will suggest the best place to meet. This will be at the Truffle Pigs Bistro & Lodge in Field, BC, for the 7-Day Tour, or the Alpine Center in Lake Louise for the 5-Day Tour. From there, you’ll head to your tour.
