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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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!
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What you get in this adventure:
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- An experienced, certified ski guide with extensive knowledge of the area
- A pre-trip meeting and gourmet dinner at the Truffle Pigs Bistro (for the 7-Day Tour)
- Five or six days of backcountry ski touring
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- For the 6-day tour, you get…
- Permits
- Huts
- Food starting with lunch on Day 1
- For the 6-day tour, you get…
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- For the 7-day tour, you get…
- Hotel stay and restaurant meals in Field at the start of the trip
- Food during the tour
- Huts
- Parks Canada backcountry permits
- Shuttle drivers (to bring guest vehicles back to Field for the end of the trip)
- Porter service (food will be waiting at the first hut)
- Group equipment
- For the 7-day tour, you get…
What’s not included:
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- Technical backcountry ski touring equipment
- Transportation
- Vehicles for the shuttle (bring your own or carpool)
- Pre and post-trip accommodations
- Guide gratuities — optional
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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.
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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.
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For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:
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- Alpine touring skis, preferably with tech-style AT bindings, 150-185cm in length, wide (can be rented)
- Ski crampons (mandatory, can be provided by guide)
- Touring boots and poles with powder baskets (can be rented)
- Climbing skins
- Climbing harness
- Prusik cord and 120 cm sewn sling
- Avalanche safety equipment (can be rented):
- Digital, 3-antenna avalanche transceiver – a modern digital unit
- Lightweight snow shovel
- Collapsible avalanche probe
For personal items, we recommend bringing:
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- Backpack (at least 65 L) — can be rented
- Helmet
- Sunglasses and ski goggles
- Long wool or synthetic underwear
- Extra warm shirt (not cotton)
- Medium weight fleece sweater
- Softshell or fleece jacket
- Softshell pants
- Insulated jacket (down preferred)
- Insulated pants (fleece or other synthetic) — optional
- Waterproof jacket with hood (Gore-Tex or equivalent)
- Waterproof pants with side zippers (Gore-Tex or equivalent)
- Socks (wool or synthetic)
- Wool or fleece hat
- Waterproof ski mountaineering gloves or mitts
- Lightweight ski gloves
- Neck tube or balaclava
- Sun hat
- Two conventional locking carabiners and two non-locking biners
- Repair kit and Leatherman for your equipment (can be shared between several people)
- Water bottle and 1L of water
- Thermos with a warm beverage — optional
- First aid kit and small blister kit
- Personal toiletry kit and toilet paper
- Large stuff sack for carrying food
- Sunscreen and lip balm
- Pocket knife
- Sleeping bag — three-season bag rated between -7 and -9°C
- Stuff sack — optional, but recommended
- Insulated booties or sandals
- Camera — optional
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All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. You can rent:
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- Avalanche safety pack, including backpack, beacon, shovel, and probe can be rented in Lake Louise, Field, and Banff
- Alpine touring or telemark skis, touring boots, and poles can be rented in Lake Louise, Field, and Banff
- Splitboards can be rented in Lake Louise, Field, and Banff
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. -
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Group sizes:
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- These tours are not private. For the group tours, the max guest-to-guide ratio is 6:1.
- Cost is per person and it doesn’t decrease as the group grows.
Ski touring in the Bow-Yoho Traverse can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements:
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- If you are older than 18, you’re good to go.
- Minors may be permitted to join private tours on a case-by-case basis. If you plan to ski tour with anyone under the age of 18, please contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
If your group has ski tourers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
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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.
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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!
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