It has been both an exciting and busy few months planning and training for our expedition to Patagonia. Between working, skyping, scoping out routes on Google Earth, and creating endless lists we have taken some time to get out and complete a few shorter adventures closer to home. Last week we were lucky enough to complete the Wapta Traverse located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The Wapta Icefields are a series of glaciers that run along the continental divide in Canada from Peyto Lake to Sherbrooke Lake, found both in Banff National Park and Yoho National Park. The first recorded exploration of the Wapta Icefields was in 1932 by McCoubrey, the Neave brothers, and Secord. The Wapta Traverse is one of the most popular ski traverses in North America with 4 Alpine Club of Canada huts to stay at along the way. It is just over 40km long and has approx. 2200m elevation gain; most people take 4 days to complete the traditional route from Peyto Lake to Sherbrooke Lake. This traverse has been high on my list for a couple years and did not disappoint; we were treated with stunning views, amazing company, good food, great huts, and some excellent snow. When Nicole mentioned a few months ago that she was planning to do the traverse with a few of our friends from NZ, I did not hesitate to book the days off work and join. Leading up to the trip we palnned our route out carefully leaving ourselves plenty of time along the way. Despite mindful planning, we were reminded that things can change at a minute’s notice in the mountains and that flexibibility is key. In the span of 6 days we experienced everything from sunny spring weather, winds gusting up to 80km/h, whiteout glacier navigation, to blower Rocky Mountain powder. We took 6 days and 5 nights to complete the traverse with an additional night at Balfour Hut in the hopes of climbing a few of the surrounding mountains. When our extra day of climbing rolled around we made the decision to ski conservative lines rather than summiting something due to the unstable snow conditions. This was a good reminder that it is just as important to enjoy the process of skiing and climbing as it is to get to the top of a mountain. We were rewarded instead with some creamy low angle turns and truely breathtaking views. Every section of this traverse brought new and unique scenery and moving a short distance each day gave us time to experience the never ending glaciers, massive icefalls, and stunning peaks. Speaking to people we met in the Alpine Club of Canada huts gave us an insider’s view to how this traverse has changed over the years. According to the Western Canadian Cryospheric Network, the glaciers in the rockies have lost 20% of their area since 1985 and are continuing to shrink at an alarming rate. The glaciers once extended out to the base of the surrounding peaks and the morphology of the glaciers has changed due to increasing temperatures and changes in weather patterns. Not only will the receding glaciers have an impact on those who recreate in this area on the future, but will also immedialy impact the amount of water run-off in the spring and summer. The Wapta Icefields feed four primary Wapta river systems: the Bow and the Mistaya rivers to the East, and the Yoho/Kicking Horse and the Blaeberry rivers to the West. The amount of water in these rivers directly impact ecosystems accross Western Canada. Our time on the Wapta Traverse was a very real reminder of the need to make some serious changes so we can continue to experience these wild places as they are now for years to come.
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AuthorMarian Krogh Archives
August 2019
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