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Head to Canada’s spectacular Bow-Yoho Traverse together with for a week of conquering peaks, running awesome slopes, and enjoying fantastic nature. Spend your nights in rustic and cozy flagship huts, and your days traversing and shredding British Columbia’s stunning powder. An experienced backcountry guide will be there to show you the best that the Bow-Yoho has to offer!
NOTE: The exact dates for this trip are subject to huts availability. Once the guide books the huts, you will be notified about the exact dates, which may change by a day or two.-
Meet your guide and team over dinner in Field, BC, at the Truffle Pigs Bistro. After dinner, retreat to your room. Your guide will take you through an equipment check and distribution of group gear and food.
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After a leisurely breakfast, pick up your lunches provided by the Kicking Horse Lodge. Make sure your backpacks and ski gear are packed and ready to go. At 9:00 AM, depart for the trailhead at Bow Lake from the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge parking lot. The ski tour from Bow Lake to Bow Hut takes anywhere from 3 to 5 hours depending on conditions and group speed.
If there’s enough time, run a quick lap on the awesome slopes above Bow Hut at the end of the day.
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Traverse day! Set course west for the Guy Hut, traversing over the Gordon-Rhondda pass and the Yoho Glacier’s gnarly icefall, below the spectacular Mt. Collie, and a short distance down to your hut below Yoho Peak.
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Peak bagging day! The Guy Hut is not only the premiere hut on the Wapta, it’s also an excellent staging point for many of the great ski runs in the area, including Yoho Peak N and SE faces, Des Poilus SE face, the subpeak to the north of Des Poilus, Mt. Collie! While most of the objectives are ideal in fair weather, there’s a tree run that provides amazing storm skiing.
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Pick one of two ways to get to Stanley Mitchell Hut, both equally exciting. The first takes you over Isolated Col.It is steep and relentlessly exposed to avalanche hazards on both the north and south sides. The second is over the Whaleback, which is less exposed to avalanches and which, in the right conditions, offers a good ski descent through a lightly treed avalanche path to the valley bottom and then a trudge up-valley to the famous and ancient Stanley Mitchell Hut. If avalanche hazard is low, drop your load at the top of Isolated Col for a hot lap on the amazing 300 m (950 ft) north-facing side for an outstanding powder run, and complete the day in style with a long descent down the south side!
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If you’re in the Little Yoho Valley with the wood stove crackling then you will definitely want to stay for at least one more night. Take the chance to bag the Presidents, Mount MacArthur, Isolated Peak, Mt. Kerr, or use the opportunity for some loop trips or storm skiing on the Vice President trees or glacier.
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The ski out from Stanley Mitchell Hut is best if you can head up over the Iceline trail and out via Yoho Pass and Emerald Lake Lodge. This requires good stability and cool conditions, so you might have to slog out via Takakkaw Falls road. Your guide will aim to have you back in Field by early afternoon. Kick back by the shores of the Kicking Horse for another night, or just jet back home.
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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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