Outdoor Video Magazine

Length: 44km
Time: 3 days
Elevation gain: 1380m
Difficulty: Moderate (in good conditions, harder in snow!!)
Rating: 9/10

So the Thanksgiving weekend is another great oppurtunity to escape to the mountains for 3 days, if only to avoid the turkey. This time, I was on a University of Alberta Outdoors Club trip to the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park. After much confusion and careful organising by VP of the club, Ian Curran, 10 people remained on the trip. It was very important that we knew the capabilities and preparedness of the people we had on this trip, as we knew tackling the Skyline in October would be quite the undertaking, given the recent snowfall. The decision was made that all group members should carry snowshoes.

I think this is a GREAT time of year to do the normally busy and over-used Skyline trail. We didn’t expect to see anyone else on the trail, and we hoped that the huge expanses of rock above the treeline would look a lot prettier than the do in summer, given the recent snow. The downside of doing it this time of year, is missing out on the gorgeous alpine meadows and flowers.

We set off from Edmonton around 5ish, and after a quick pitstop at the super-express-gourmet-fastfood restaurant that is Wendy’s in Edson (that is sarcasm. Don’t ever stop there. It took nearly an hour of waiting, and the only entertainment to pass the time was admiring the skill of the staff who had one person to take the orders, and another person whose only observable job was to knock the orders over as they became ready.) we arrived at the campground in Jasper at 10pm for a few beers and a not so early night.

Day 1 - Trailhead to Snowbowl - 12km

We hiked this trail from North to South, to reduce the total elevation gain. After dropping one car off at the Northern traihead on Maligne Lake road, we all headed to Maligne Lake where we would start our hike. After much faffing (I’ve decided that time to get ready increases proportional to number of people squared, although in theory it should take 10 people no longer than one!!) we ready to start hiking at around noon. We started off with 1cm or so of snow on the trail already. The trail winds through spruce and pine forest past some pretty lakes, gaining elevation only gradually, for the first 5km to Evelyn Campground.

After an extended lunch stop (Ian needed to have a full on cooked affair) we were ready to climb the switchbacks to the first pass. This climb wasn’t too bad at all, and we quickly gained elevation and arrived at Little Shovel campground at 8km, where your first views of snowy peaks and valleys open up. It really was looking like skiing season was here! We were now in a good few inches of snow, and as we pressed on up the gradual incline to the pass it quickly deepened to a good foot of snow. The luring ascent to Sunset Peak on the right of the pass caught my eye, and I suggested a quick sidetrip. With three of us capable of leading the group, we decided to split the group into two as not everyone was feeling up to the rather strenuous elevation gain to the top of Sunset Peak. A quick game of rock-paper-scissors determined I was the poor soul who would lead half the group to the campsite, while the others would take the sidetrip. A well worthwhile one from the sound of it, you can ascend the first ridge to the summit from well before the pass, and then drop down a second ridge that brings you out on top of the pass where you can rejoin the trail. The views (from the photos they showed me!) looked fantastic.

Meanwhile, my group bust out the snowshoes as we headed over the pass and down into the snowbowl. A very apt name on this particular day. Gorgeous sun and a stiff breeze provided excellent conditions to enjoy the wintery terrain and stunning vistas in all directions. We reached Snowbowl Campground at 12km, and set up camp. Boxed wine and backcountry cooking provided the entertainment for the rest of the evening.

Day 2 - Snowbowl to Watchtower (skyline aborted) - 12km

One of the group was struggling with the cold and the extra effort the snowshoeing with a big backpack was putting on her, so it was decided the group would again split into two. Ian and Nicole would head out via Watchtower and the rest of us, led by me, would try and finish the Skyline. My group got a (slightly) earlier start at 9.30am (despite the first people being up at 7am…again the person squared law applies to the getting ready time). A rather dark, threatening sky provided an awesome backdrop to sun-lit snowy peaks, and we plodded on towards Big Shovel Pass at 17.5km. The time we were making was pretty bad, and I began to doubt we would have time to make it all the way to Tekarra Campground at 30km. Especially as we still had the Notch, the hardeest part of the trail, still in our way. As we crested the pass in extreme winds, I had my first view of the Notch. It looked impossibly steep, and very, very snow clad. With a large cornice at the top. I didn’t like the look of it at all. Anyway, we had a quick and cold lunch, and then headed on toward Curator Lake through some barren, rocky ground. The wind by now was getting incredibly strong, and the smaller members of the group were having trouble staying vertical! As the wind got stronger, and I had more time to contemplate the Notch, I realised to go on would be foolish. The group wasn’t strong enough to make it over the Notch to the next campground, and the thought of falling short and having to camp out in the exposed ridge beyond the Notch in gale force winds was not very attractive. Not to mention the avalanche risk on the Notch itself..it looked pretty sketchy to me. After a quick discussion we decided to head out via Watchtower too. A steep climb up to Watchtower Pass, and we soon had a view down the picturesque Watchtower Basin. With excess time on our hands now, we decided to frollick in the snow for an hour or so, before heading on to Watchtower Campground, where we joined soon afterwards by Ian and Nicole. The group was reunited.

Very wet snow conditions were worsened when it started to rain, and people retired to bed early. 6 of us squeezed into a Tarn 3 to play several hours of cards.

Day 3 - Watchtower CG to Maligne Lake Road - 10km

When I awoke in the morning, I discovered the rain had turned to 4 inches of snow over night, and everything was frozen solid. A temperature somewhere between -5C and -10C coupled with the rain the night before meant people had to resort to licking tent poles to get them to collapse, and I had to spend nearly 10m de-icing the bear hanger before we could get our food down.

Because we were exiting the trail in the middle of where our two cars were parked, 3 of us went on ahead to get the road first so we could hitchhike and get the cars for when everyone else arrived. The 10km out was a fast, but enjoyable hike along a pretty trail. The fresh snow really added to the gorgeous view of the impressive wall formed by the Colin Range that dominated most of the view ahead. Arriving at the trailhead at around 12.30m, we were suprised to find we had apparently travelled back in time from winter to autumn. It was warm, sunny, dry and there was no snow on the ground for the first time in 3 days. The trees were even still yellow.

It didn’t take me long to get picked up, and we were soon all on our way to Miette hotsprings for the last day of the season.

Good times.

Length: 21.8km, car shuttle needed
Time: Two days (on snowshoes)
Details: David Thompson Highway - A hiking guide book
Date Done: April 7th-8th 2007
Effort: High (snowshoes)
Elevation: 1400-1900m
Rating: 7/10
Map: 83 C-1 Whiterabbit Creek, 83 C-2 Cline River.

Easter long-weekend is traditionally becoming the first backpacking trip of the year for me. Well, I have been both Easters I’ve been in Canada….I’m not sure you can call it a tradition QUITE yet. Last year took me on Jasper’s Big Bend or Fortress Lake trail. This year, the destination was picked to be Nordegg..specifically the Mount Stelfox Loop trail or some of the Littlehorn Meadows trail, depending on snow levels.

Both the Stelfox trail and the Littlehorn Meadows trail starts from the waste disposal site, 42km West of Nordegg. The Stelfox loop finishes at Coral Creek, 47km West of Nordegg. You can hike back on a trail to make it a full loop if y ou wish (27km in total). Once in the car park we had a group discussion on whether to take snowshoes or not. I helpful hiker just returning from Vision Quest said we would probably not have any snow on the trail. I thought we would encounter some on the passes for sure, and so we decided on bringing 3 pairs of snowshoes between 7 people. Enough to break trail, but few enough to keep the weight down for people. We decided against Littlehorn Meadows, because I was sure it would be impassable with deep snow and avalanche risk.

Well, 1km down the trial we hit fairly deep snow. And it just got deeper. We would have had to turn round pretty quickly if it wasn’t for a packed trail by a snowmobile. Off trail, snow was around 1.5m deep. For future winter hikers, this trail should always be snowmobile packed because it lies on a trapline. Going was hard through the snow, and we made slow progress on a relatively boring trail that sticks mostly in the trail, with a few creek crossings providing a welcome change of scenery. We missed the notoriously hard to find turn off for the Stelfox Loop trail (the tell-tale 2m long log probably well buried in snow!) and ended up camping where the creek from Stelfox Pass joins Whitegoat Creek. In winter this option works very well, as the creek provides nice, easy access up to Stelfox Pass. It is around 6km from the trail head.

In the morning, we made the effort to start really early to escape the warm weather that was forecast to minimize avalanche risk and make maximum use of the early morning snow crust. Four people opted to return to the car the way we came, leaving three people and three pairs of snowshoes to go over Stelfox Pass. The trail up to the pass, and indeed the pass itself, are both quite unremarkable. There are some OK views, but nothing that spectacular. You never really get out in the open, it’s a very low pass. To spice things up we decided to scramble up the ridge on the south side of the pass, the ridge that leads up to Mount Stelfox. It was steep on loose rock and talus, but it was well worth a 1hour side trip for some excellent views.

Continuing on the hike, we struggled with sinking in the snow with our overnight packs, and also battled with the ever changing crust on the snow. Picking our way down from the pass we followed the creek bed (being unable to locate the trail proper). This quickly developed into a technical snowshoeing exercise avoiding ice, rocks, the stream and many logs and bushes. Urgh. Eventually we got out of the steepening stream bed, and followed along the edge of the deepening gorge bushwacking through fairly open forest.

Once we reached Coral Creek, the going never really got easier. More rough terrain, many stream crossings, snowshoes on and off every 10mins, lots of rocks underfoot, some bushwacking all made for a tough hike with big packs on. We never really located the ‘trail’ which is not that consistent or easy-going either. Eventually we gave up rock-hopping across the semi-frozen creek, and opted for the wet feet approach. A wise decision considering the 20 or so crossings we undertook in total!

Nearing the car we picked up the trail, and the going got easier as we battled mud back to the car we left at Coral Creek access area (we did a car shuttle at the start).

Overall it was a fun hike, a hard hike in winter with the multitude of tough terrain, but easily do-able in one short 6km day, and a longer 15km day. The scenery is pretty nice, and you get a good wilderness feeling. I would definitely do this again in winter, probably on skis in one long day.

Well last week I went on a trip with some people from the University of Alberta Outdoors club. 10 of us in fact. The intended destination was Edith Cavell hostel on cross-country skis. With one member of the group never having skied before. Fun!In winter, HI Mount Edith Cavell is only accessible by skiing or snowshoeing. This means it is the only backcountry HI Hostel in Alberta (if only for a few months a year). It also means its a pretty cool place to go for an ‘easy’ taste of staying in a backcountry environment in winter. Oh and did I mention it’s in an AWESOMELY beautiful location? To get there, take the Marmot turnoff from Highway 93 south of Jasper, then after a few minutes carry straight on at the junction where all the other traffic turns right to the ski hill. It is signposted for the Hostel. You can drive 3km along here to a parking lot, where the fun begins. It is now a 12km ski/snowshoe along a road into the hostel. Nearly all uphill. Its good fun though…honest!

You should book the hostel and let them know you’re coming just to ensure they have adequate water for you and that the road is packed.

The Road to the Hostel
The trail is normally packed by snowmobiles, if not actually groomed. The gradient is such that the beginner skier of the group (literally his first time on cross-country skis was in the parking lot at the bottom of the road for a quick lesson) made it up to the hostel in no problem. It is a fairly long slog for a beginner, but perfectly manageable. The ski takes from 2 1/2 hours to 5 hours dependent on ability and how much stuff you’re taking. After around halfway there are some great views of surrounding mountains, a taste of more to come.

Coming down is nice….it is fairly quick all the way and can nearly all be double poled (except I had a stupid large pack and stuck to the snow like I had crampons on not skis). Beware though…the beginner of the skiers really struggled coming back down. Many falls. For intermediate skiers the descent is good fun though. It takes from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours to come down.

The Hostel
There is a main cabin with kitchen, tables, sofas and a stove. There is no running water though. There are then two more cabins for sleeping, holding around 30 people in all (I think, can’t find exact numbers). You need to bring a sleeping bag, a fairly warm one so you don’t have to get up and stoke the fire all night.

Things to do from the Hostel in winter:

From the hostel it is just a short 5min walk down to a bridge that crosses the outlook from a lake. The view from here of Mt. Edith Cavell is superb and an excellent place for some photography. See below. From the bridge you it is possible to snowshoe round the lake itself (although not on a trail). This is an entertaining hour long outing.

Edith Cavell Meadows
From the hostel it is another 2km further up the road to the parking lot for Edith Cavell Meadows. This is not packed by snowmobile, and would be an effort for someone on nordic skis. We managed however because other group members had been out on snowshoes the day before and packed a nice trail for us. Thanks guys!

Once you get to the parking lot, skis should be swapped for snowshoes (unless you’re on touring gear of course). It is then another 15mins (broken trail) to 45mins (non-broken trail) until you are right underneath Angel Glacier. Well obviously not right underneath, that would be plain stupid and dangerous! Stick to the opposite side of the small valley on higher ground. You don’t wanna be avalanched on. This is a fun area to explore.  

Tonquin Valley Trail/Astoria River
From the hostel you can explore the Tonquin Valley/Astoria River trail, this baby deserves it own small post. Check it out here!

The hostel is often used as the first access point and night of accommodation on the way to the ACC (Alpine Club of Canada) hut, Waites-Gibson which is 18km further along the Tonquin Valley trail.

Palisade Lookout - Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Nordic Skiing with snow shoeing OR ski touring
Length: 22km
Time: 6-9 hours
Book: Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies (by Chic Scott)
Elevation Gain: 890m
Effort: High
Rating: 6/10 - Good hard work but not spectacular scenery.
Map: NTS D/16 Jasper, GemTrek 1: Jasper-Maligne Lake
Date: Feb. 19th 2007
Note: Can be ridden on mountain bike in summer.

Well, me and my friend Mark found ourselves in Jasper with cross-country skiing gear and snow-shoeing gear and a day to spare. We had to find a trail close to Jasper, and we wanted it to be LONG. So we happened upon the Palisade Lookout trail that starts from the Pyramid Lakes parking lot, 7km from Jasper. It is actually a road the whole way, so don’t expect an interesting trail, but then we are talking cross-country skiing in the mountains so it’s to be expected.

Unsure of the snow conditions, but knowing there was a lot of up (890m) we decided to take snow-shoes with us, and start off on skis. The first 6/7km of the trail were actually groomed/packed by snowmobile. I THINK this is done every year, but just not very regularly. It would be good to check with the Parks people, because you don’t want to be snowshoeing all 22km. So anyway, the first 6/7km were a good uphill slog on an OK trail. The gradient is such that with some sticky wax there is no herringbone-ing needed. There is not much in the way of views, just a few glimpses of Pyramid Mountain.

Just before the junction to the Pyramid Mountain trail…the groomed trail stopped and we were left with untouched powder. After struggling manfully for all of 5mins we gave up sinking and switched the cross-country ski gear for snow-shoes. The trail seemed to steepen at this point, and it was pretty hard going to finish the last 4km to the viewpoint. But we were going fairly fast. I think it took us two hours on skis to do the first 7km, then around another 2 hours of snowshoeing to the top. That includes all breaks and lunch.

It was fairly dull and cloudy on top…but I have a feeling the view isn’t THAT spectacular anyway. Nice…but not amazing. So then we quickly headed of downhill…with a couple of faceplants as we tried to run/make shortcuts. In no time we were back at our skis (moral learnt: snowshoeing downhill on broken trail = fun. Snowshoeing uphill in fresh snow = hard).

After hopping back on our skis it was a fast, fun easy descent for Mark and a terror filled hour of concentration for me as we made our way backdown. Competent cross-country skiers will have no problems…but I am far from competent and found the downhill difficult in places because of the packed snow (couldn’t snowplough). I had a couple of impressive wipeouts…but anyone above total beginner standard will certainly manage the way down for the most part.

It took us 6 hours all told…which left us another hour and a half before we would be picked up. So under pressure from our intense sugar craving we managed to hitch a ride into Jasper where we happily pigged out at the Bear Paw Bakery (highly recommended, and they didn’t give us free cookies to say that I promise!).

This can be done as a mountain bike ride (in summer obviously). Check out this site for a review from a mountain bikers perspective.

This book, Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies, is an excellent purchase for cross-country skiers and ski tourers who want to get out in the Rockies. It has trails from beginner level Nordic skis to expert 10 day ski tours involving glacier travel and mountaineering experience.