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.