At 6:30 pm, we’ll gather for introductions over dinner in Field, BC, at the renowned “Truffle Pigs Bistro” (dinner is included in your trip fees). If you haven’t heard of it, this is one of the finest restaurants in the Canadian Rockies! After enjoying our meal, we’ll head back to our rooms, where our guide will stop by for a brief visit to conduct an equipment check and distribute group gear and food.
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Make your way to Canada’s magnificent icefields for 7 days of unforgettable ski touring! Test your skills on the classic Wapta Traverse, with high-quality huts, phenomenal dry powder and breathtaking vistas. Your experienced local guide will make sure that your touring goes by safely and without a hitch.
The price of the tour is for ACC members only. Note that 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.
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At 7 am, we’ll have breakfast at the Truffle Pigs Cafe, with bagged lunches provided by Kicking Horse Lodge. Be sure to have your backpacks and ski gear packed and ready to go! At 8 am, we’ll drive to the trailhead at Peyto Lake, with shuttle drivers bringing our vehicles back to the trail’s end—how’s that for service? By 10 am, we’ll start skiing, and by 5 pm, we’ll arrive at Peyto Hut where our food will be waiting for us, courtesy of our energetic portering staff. The ski from Peyto Lake to Peyto Hut takes anywhere from 5 to 8 hours depending on conditions and group speed.
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The mountains around Peyto Hut provide excellent ski touring objectives. We will stay at the Peyto Hut for two days to enjoy the area!
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The ski over to Balfour Hut is spectacular and typically brings us up and over the Olive-St. Nicholas Col. A relaxing hot lunch stop at Balfour Hut is followed by an afternoon ski objective like laps on the Diableret Glacier.
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The trip over the Balfour High Col is usually the highlight and crux of the trip. We’ll ascend over heavily crevassed terrain adjacent to the stunning serac-fringed east face of Mt. Balfour. After attaining the col, if conditions permit, an ascent of one of the nearby peaks like Lilliput or even Balfour’s South Face is possible.
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All good things must come to an end. After a short run down from the Scott Duncan Hut, it takes about 30 minutes of gentle climbing to come to the Shark’s Fin. From there it’s mostly downhill to get to the intersection of Niles and Sherbrooke Creeks where gurgling of spring snowmelt, birdsong, and the smell of spruce trees presents a sharp contrast with the alpine world we settled into during the trip. About five hours of travel in total brings us back to the cars which will be waiting for us, courtesy of our shuttle staff! Expect to be back in Field for a late lunch, by 2 pm or so.
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What you get in this adventure:
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- Experienced, certified ski guides with extensive knowledge of the area
- 3, 4, or 7-day Wapta Traverse
- Permits
- Food during the tour
- Huts and fees
- And for the 7-day Wapta Traverse, you also get:
- Hotel stay and restaurant meals in Field at the start of the trip
- Shuttle service (to bring guest vehicles back to Field for the end of the trip)
- Porter service
- Group equipment
What’s not included:
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- Technical backcountry ski touring equipment
- Transportation to the starting point
- Accommodations before and after the tour
- Vehicles for the shuttle (bring your own or carpool)
- ACC membership (the price of the 7-day trip is member price only, you can get membership for $51/year)
- Guide gratuities — optional
- Travel and medical insurance — recommended
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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 3-6 full days, covering 6-10 miles (10-15km) or more 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.
If you’ve never backcountry skied before, we suggest joining a guide for a day of Intro to Backcountry Skiing.
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You need to bring all of the following personal equipment. Please don’t bring extra equipment. If you have any questions at all about gear please do not hesitate to contact us.
Ski crampons are a must for spring ski touring, and they can make a big difference even on a powder skiing week at times. If you have any difficulty obtaining these please let me know. We have some spares and can likely set you up with a pair. If you have telemark bindings, G3 crampons have an attachment system that works well for most tele bindings.
Clothing:
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- Wool or synthetic socks and liner socks
- Long underwear top (synthetic or wool)
- Light fleece or wool sweater
- Wind shell (nylon or ‘Schoeller’ type jacket)
- Waterproof breathable jacket
- Warm insulated jacket (down or synthetic)
- Long underwear bottoms (synthetic or wool)
- Multipurpose stretch nylon or ‘Schoeller’ type pants
- Waterproof breathable pants
- Warm hat (wool or synthetic)
- Brimmed cap for sun protection
- Face warmer (scarf, neck tube or balaclava) — optional
- Light gloves (wool, synthetic or leather)
- Insulated gloves or mitts with waterproof outer shell
- Spare gloves or mitts
- Handkerchief for blocking the sun — optional
Snow safety equipment:
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- Avalanche beacon with good batteries (and spares)
- Shovel
- Probe (2.4 m or longer preferred)
Snow touring equipment:
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- Skis or split board
- Ski crampons — must (they’re specific to your binding type, if you can’t find one to fit your binding, G3 crampons have an attachment system that works for many bindings)
- Ski strap
- Ski or snowboard boots
- Poles
- Climbing skins
- Skin wax (or a candle)
- Binding repair kit to fix your personal travel setup
- Ski helmet
- Ski scraper
Personal equipment:
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- Pack (30-40 liters will work fine)
- Sunglasses (both orange and dark lenses help a lot for travel in all conditions)
- Goggles (orange lenses)
- Sunscreen and lip cream (SPF 30+)
- Head lamp with good batteries
- Insulated water bottle or thermos (1-2 L)
- Lunch bag or container
- Personal blister kit (i.e. Leukotape-P and Compeed/Second Skin blister pads)
- Tincture of Benzoin or a medical product by 3M called Cavilon (these products help the
- Leukotape stick for the whole week if necessary)
- Pocket knife — optional
- Camera — optional
- Binoculars — optional
- Prussik cord – 5m x 6mm — optional, for contributing to emergency toboggan construction
Personal belongings
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- Duffle bag for your clothes
- Shoes
- Comfortable clothing for travel
- Personal medications and toiletries
- Ear plugs
- Reading material — optional
- Chargers and adapters for electronic devices
- Cash to pay for your beer tab, souvenirs, and gratuities
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All mandatory gear can be rented if you don’t have your own. In Lake Louise, Canmore, or Banff, you can rent:
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- Avalanche safety pack, including backpack, beacon, shovel, and probe
- Alpine touring or telemark skis, touring boots, and poles
- Splitboards
If you plan on using alternate touring systems such as telemark skis, frame-style AT bindings, or splitboards, please contact us in advance.
Ski rental locations are in Canmore, 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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- For the 3 and 4-day Wapta Traverse, the usual client-to-guide ratio is 6:1. It takes a minimum of 3 people for the tour to operate. The maximum is set at 12 people.
- For the 7-day Wapta Traverse, the max guest-to-guide ratio is 6:1.
- The price of the 7-day Wapta Traverse trip is member price only, you can get ACC membership for $51/year.
Ski touring in the Wapta 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 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 Wapta Traverse, most people fly into Calgary International Airport 2,5 hours away.
If you’re joining the 3 or 4-day Wapta Traverse, the starting point is Lake Louise on Day 1 of the tour—make sure to fly in at least a day prior to the start of the tour, as you’ll start the traverse on Day 1. You’ll meet your guide at the Alpine Center in the morning.
If you’re joining the 7-day Wapta Traverse, the starting point is Field on Day 1 of the tour. You’ll meet your guide sometime in the afternoon at the Truffle Pigs Bistro & Lodge in Field, BC, have dinner, a briefing, and you’ll start the traverse on Day 2.
You can rent a car or take a bus straight to Field or Lake Louise from Calgary Airport.
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We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with both medical and travel protection. To make your booking and traveling experience as carefree as possible, simply choose Redpoint—the official 57hours insurance partner!
Redpoint tailors their protection packages for adventure travel, offering a comprehensive travel program, even in remote locations. Trip cancellation, natural disasters, pandemic coverage, medical evacuation, primary medical expenses—regardless of the travel interruption that may happen, Redpoint will have you covered.
Once your booking is confirmed and your trip is paid in full, you will be offered to purchase Redpoint’s protection. If you need any help or require more information, let us know and we will be happy to help!
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