After months of excitement, anticipation, and ‘rona dodging; the season’s big trip to the Canadian Rockies had, at long-last, arrived! Jackson, Matt, and myself made our way up to Field, British Columbia to embark on a 6 day hut-to-hut ski traverse between Bow Lake and the Yoho Valley, crossing both the Bow and des Poilus glaciers.

Despite an epic battle against some severe food poisoning almost immediately upon arrival in Field (those Americans can’t seem to put down the poutine, huh?), the boys pulled it together and we set off on what would become a truly legendary week.

We met our guides and the rest of the crew over dinner, exchanged our awkward introductions, and then quickly settled into the classic banter and good-humored-fun that seems to follow ski culture across borders. The following morning we threw on the packs, grabbed a quick breakfast, and hopped into a truck to be shuttled up the Icefields Parkway. The first day consisted of a quick skin across Bow Lake followed by a pleasant ascent towards the Wapta Icefield to link with the Bow Hut. After getting settled in the hut, Matt and I were able to steal away our guide for some bonus afternoon skiing. We hadn’t expected much; perhaps a few nice turns to be had above the hut?

2 hours later, we were standing on the North Summit of Mount Olive scoping our potential ski lines. Shooting the gap between Saint Nicholas Peak, and a massive cliff at the eastern toe of the icefield, we found seemingly endless and effortless powder turns all the way back to the hut. With expectations just absolutely blown out of the water (on the first day, no less) we could hardly contain our excitement later that evening at dinner – it was on!

The night at the Bow Hut was pretty brutal… I think I managed maybe 3 hours of sleep through the cacophony of snores and weird noises. All was not in vain, however; as we woke up to somewhere between 15-20 cm (what are inches?) of new snow the next day. We packed up the gear, adjusted for the new load of food that had been stashed for us at the hut, and set out to the south in search of the next stop in our traverse; The Richard and Louise Guy Hut.

Snow showers tapered on and off as we crossed the Wapta Icefield and climbed towards the saddle below Mount Collie. It was a pretty surreal experience to move across the glacier with clouds and squalls roaring through – it felt like we were somewhere in the Arctic (not that I have been…). Moving through this new type of landscape felt similar to the first time I made a trip out to the Utah desert; just in total awe of the beauty.

We had a few blissful moments of skiing during the traverse to the Guy hut, but it was mostly a heads down, skin-track-therapy, sort of day. As we rounded out the trek we got some of our first, epic views of Mount Balfour and the massive Western Rockies. We arrived at the Guy Hut after some careful navigation of the shark-infested, south-facing scree field that marks the final descent into the hut. We claimed beds, dropped gear, marveled at the upgraded facilities and infrastructure (this is a relatively new and modern hut) and before we knew it we were chasing our guides up Yoho Peak for some afternoon powder skiing. At this point in the day, the weather had improved quite drastically. With the sun shinning, we continued on to ski some cold & dry, north-facing powder. This was some of the most unbelievable touring I have ever done. It felt like we were on top of the world, in the middle of nowhere, with a panorama of massive mountains in any direction you looked.

After a couple great runs, we made our way back to the hut where the rest of the crew had prepared dinner while we were out skiing. We pulled our weight by taking point on clean-up crew; our go-to group contribution for the majority of the trip. We enjoyed the additional space and comfort this hut offered with some “late night” card games, watched as night fell on the surrounding peaks, and got ready for the next day’s adventure.

Our third day was our first day without any traversing; this was a day devoted to just skiing. We woke up to bluebird conditions, not even a hint of wind, and warming temps. At this point, we had gotten into a morning rhythm – 6:30 wake up, heat up water for coffee, try to beat the rush to the outhouse, help out with breakfast – but because we would end the day at the same hut, it was nice to have a slightly slower morning. We divided into the Classic vs Relaxed pace groups (though, anytime Christian was guiding I would hardly call the pace “classic”, let alone “relaxed”…), and made our way down to the des Poilus glacier.

Our first objective for the day was a relatively tame sub-peak of Mont des Poilus. The group pushed on to the summit quite quickly, enjoyed the incredible weather and views, and then ripped endless powder turns down the shoulder of the glacier. We regrouped at base of the run, ate a leisurely lunch, and chatted about our next move for the day. The group decided to go for a summit push of Mont des Poilus despite uncertainty from our guide on whether we could realistically manage the glacier and avalanche hazard; especially in light of the warm temps. A few hours later we were gingerly making turns down the summit ridge, psyched to have safely made it to the top!

After 2,000+ vertical feet of glacier skiing, we were back on flats headed for the hut. We arrived, heroes, with our lines on Mont des Poilus lit-up in the soft, evening sun. Dinner with the gang, cleaning duty, reading/card games, enjoying the alpenglow – we had gotten the hang of the evening routine. By this point, we were all buddies and the group was getting along so well; it was just a blast to hang out together in this unbelievable place.

Sleep generally got easier as the week progressed; probably a result of both finding comfort in routine and a physical need to rest with all the ski touring we were doing. Day 4 was another traverse-forward day; Guy Hut to the Stanley-Mitchell Hut, over Isolated Col. We made our way across the frozen lake that sits underneath the des Poilus glacier and up to the col. The snow in the couloir leading to the col was quite dry and cold… so we opted for a quick lap on the north-facing shot. We quickly scampered back up to the col and dropped onto the south aspect of Isolated Peak. We didn’t get too far down before we regrouped, stashed our heavy gear in a snow pit, and changed course with light packs towards the day’s ski objective: Mount McArthur.

The approach to the summit of McArthur took us through big glacier fields, under the massive, rocky south-ridge, and up an exposed, snowy scramble. We skied dry snow on the east-face and then painted some creamy turns down the glacier; dodging crevasses as we made our way back to the gear stash. Legend has it someone took their line a little too far outside, danced a little too close to the sun, and managed to find some air above a crevasse…

We dug out our gear and continued down towards the Stanley-Mitchell Hut. After several days in the alpine, trees were a welcomed sight and our Colorado-based trio felt right at home! The Stanley-Mitchell Hut is a legendary, rustic wood hut that sits at tree-line near the base of the towering Presidents. Quite a drastic change from the high-alpine, modern feel of the Guy Hut – but we soon settled into the cozy, quite vibes.

Day 5 was our second day fully devoted to skiing. The obvious objective for the day was the President or Vice President; both peaks had been dominating the horizon (and our minds) since we crossed the Bow Glacier. We met some folks at the hut that had made it up to President Pass (the saddle between President and Vice) the day prior. Although they did not have the conditions for a summit push, they said that the skiing from the pass was solid. With that in mind, we set off for the day.

After a seemingly endless amount of switchbacks and kick-turns, we made it to the saddle. Wind scoured and faceted, neither ridge line seemed particularly appealing (especially without any ice gear… fool me once!). Despite the questionable conditions, the group continued up the ridge of the President. I stayed back and watched as the others snaked up. After a couple hundred feet, our guide decided it was, in fact, too risky and turned the group around – solid effort and show of bravery nonetheless! Back on the saddle, we ate lunch, enjoyed the epic views, and prepared for the ski down. Ah, powder turns on glaciers… am I sounding like a broken record? It doesn’t really get old…

Lacking a true summit push, we figured we had to go find a peak to stand on before calling it a day… right? We dutifully obliged and were soon marching along another skin track headed towards Mount Kerr. After more than a few wildly exposed kick-turns and a spicy ridge-walk, we arrived at the (skier’s) summit. The day had been avenged! The ski back to the hut provided a couple deep turns up high. However, after several core shots and a few major wipe-outs, we were all relieved to be back on solid ground. For a historically low snow year, I figured we made it out relatively unscathed!

We settled into the last night of the trip and enjoyed our final moments off the grid. That said, it was hard not to think about the major slough we had to contend with the next day. Group dinner, a dart (Canadian for “cig”) or two, another peaceful sunset – what a way to spend the last night.

We opted to take the Iceline Trail over the valley bottom for our last day’s tour back to Field. Navigating some interesting snow conditions, we paralleled the Yoho River until we reached Takakkaw Falls. At this point, we were still high above the valley on the Iceline, so we contoured down and found some surprisingly awesome tree-skiing. Even with our 60+ lbs packs, the skiing was fun and responsive; the trees nicely spaced and peppered with small pillow drops to keep things interesting. Once at the base of Takakkaw Falls the rest of the day consisted of a mixture of skinning, skin-skiing, skiing, skating, and really any method possible to keep moving. This turned out to be a much more physically demanding day than I expected, and I was definitely relieved to finally arrive at the parking lot where our shuttle was waiting for us.

Back in Field (at the legendary Truffle Pigs Bistro & Lodge) the group got together for a final happy hour, debriefed the trip, exchanged contact info, and before you knew it our car was packed and we were off just as quickly as we had arrived. Jackson, Matt, and I spent an extra night in Banff and celebrated with a proper meal before traveling back to Colorado.

In the end, we spent more than 124 hours on our skis, covered 60.70 miles, and climbed 21,723 vertical feet. I am pretty excited about the physical accomplishment, it was a huge week! That said, the connection to the wilderness, my friends, and the strangers-turned-friends was something that, while expected, felt especially profound and special as I reflect on the week – how lucky are we to be able to do this!

Until next time, BC – cheers!