THE WAPTA TRAVERSE

AST Courses

The Wapta Traverse is a high level, hut based ski and splitboard traverse north of the ski town of Lake Louise. During the trip we traverse 40km along the spine of the continental divide over broken glaciers and aesthetic ski accessed peaks. This trip commonly takes 6 days to complete. For those with a tighter schedule, we also offer a condensed 4 day package as well.

Check out our TRIP PHOTOS from the 2014/15 Season!

Alpine Hut based accommodation makes it easy to stay warm and dry throughout the trip, and keeps our packs lighter for the duration. Meals, hut accommodation, and technical equipment (excluding ski and board setups) are included in the cost of the booking.

 

The glaciation on the Wapta Icefields is not generally complex (compared to other hut based ski touring weeks), and the difficulties on descent comparable to blue square rated runs at your local resort, making this an excellent choice for those looking for their first high alpine, multi-day ski adventure. The majority of the quality powder skiing and riding takes place around either the Peyto or Stanley Mitchell huts with numerous ski mountaineering objectives in between. While travelling between huts, we aim to climb and ski from a number of easily accessible summits over 10'000ft, including Mount Saint Nicholas, Mount Olive, Mount Baker, Mount Habel, and Mount Gordon.

 

We offer our Guided Wapta Traverse Programs in either 4 or 6 day trips, though strongly encourage our guests to consider our 6 day option as this allows you to include a stay at the Peyto Hut, an area known for it's higher concentration of longer good quality descents. Join us this season for one of the most classic ski trips in the Canadian Rockies, The Wapta Icefields Traverse. 

 

Want More Info?

For both the 4 and 6 day programs, we will arrange to meet in either Canmore or Lake Louise on the first day. Our meeting time and place will be dictated by where the majority of our guests are arriving from, balanced with the required start time on our first day. Your guide will discuss this with you well in advance of your departure. If you have a preference, let us know. Meeting in Canmore, we commonly meet at the Bill Warren Training Centre on site at the Canmore Nordic Centre. If we're set to meet in Lake Louise, we meet at the Canadian Alpine Centre which also has private and hostel style accommodation we're happy to book for our guests (extra cost). This facilitates an easy meeting and departure the following morning for the trip.

Required Equipment

Equipment:

  • AT Skis or Splitbord + Climbing Skins *Please see special note below re: rental equipment
  • Poles
  • Boots
  • Ski Crampons

  • Avalanche Transceiver

  • Avalanche Probe

  • Avalanche Shovel - Metal, no plastic blades please

  • Lightweight Ice Axe

  • Backpack - 55L to 65L should be sufficient depending on the bulk of your personal items. ie: sleeping bag
  • Sunglasses
  • Ski Goggles + Spare Lenses
  • Water Bottle 1L
  • Thermos Bottle ~750ml
  • Small Leatherman Type Multitool with driver bits fit to your bindings (optional)

  • Sleeping Bag rated between -10˚C & -15˚C should be suitable. Down insulation is preferable.

  • Headlamp with fresh batteries + spares
  • Insulate Booties or Hut Footwear

 

Personal Items & Blister Prevention

  • Personal Toiletries and Medications - Keep these to a bare minimum, we're all going to smell the same up there!
  • Ear Plugs
  • iPod / Kindle
  • ​Roll of white athletic tape
  • Band Aids
  • Tensor Bandage
  • SPF 60+ Sunscreen
  • Lip Balm with SPF
  • Personal Medications
  • Blister Prevention (Padded & Medicated Gel Type Bandages, Hypafix, Leukotape)
  • Anti Inflamitories
  • Antihistamines
  • Camera + Batteries and Spares

 

Clothing

  • Wool or Synthetic base layers - top and bottom (multiple pairs is ok, usually around 150-200g/m2 in weight is ideal)
  • Midweight Layers - synthetic or wool is fine
  • Warm Hat / Toque
  • Buff Style Headwear / Neck Tube
  • Sunhat
  • Soft Shell Pants
  • Soft Shell Jacket
  • Gore Tex Pants
  • Gore Tex Jacket
  • Warm Insulated Jacket - down, or synthetic insulation is best. Think light and packable.
  • Warm Ski Gloves
  • Lightweight Ski Gloves
  • Socks - wool blend is best, no cotton, multiple pairs
  • Casual Clothing for apres ski