Outdoor Video Magazine

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.