Peyto Hut – December 29-30, 2007

Hut height:                    2480 m
Elevation gain:               550 m
Ascent time:                  7:15
Descent time:                5:00

Snowshoe mountaineering with Mark.

The purpose of this trip was twofold: firstly, to see if snowshoeing, as opposed to skiing, was a viable form of travel for bigger peaks in glaciated areas; secondly, to attempt a summit around the Peyto Hut. The weather forecast for Saturday was pretty dismal, but there was a glimmer of hope for Sunday, so we set out anyway.

We started the trip from Bow Summit, as opposed to the usual staging area, a few kilometres further north. This necessitated an elevation loss of about 240 m that was not going to be fun slogging up on the return trip. Getting to the moraine was fast and easy, however, getting up the moraine was soul-sucking. The snow was deep and unconsolidated and we would sink to the ground even with the snowshoes. Skis probably would have equally awkward for us. Soon, the deep snow gave way to the upper wind blasted slopes of the moraine and we traded the snowshoes for crampons.

Unfortunately, the surprisingly good weather was to quickly deteriorate, making way for a classic Wapta whiteout. Once onto the glacier, the remainder of the ascent to the Peyto Hut was much easier, but getting up and over the moraine had taken far more time and energy than anticipated and we arrived at the hut more than an hour behind our predicted e.t.a. There, we were warmly greeted by 5 other guests at the hut.

After a somewhat restless sleep, we awoke at 5:30 am to check out the conditions and pick a potential objective. Even in the dark it was easy to tell that the icefield was still in a whiteout. A couple of hours later the conditions had not changed and so we decided to head home. For the return trip we followed Peyto Creek out instead of re-ascending the moraine. This was a very interesting route, though I wouldn’t want to be there when the slopes above the canyon are fully covered in snow. Several small, but interesting icefalls lined the canyon.

Though we didn’t make it to a summit, the trip was a good learning experience. For the most part, the snowshoes worked very well and the scenery was great at least for the first few hours of the day.       

Day 1

Hiking up the road to the Peyto Lake viewpoint

 

The classic view of Peyto Lake seen all too often in calendars 

 

At the end of the lake

 

The snowshoes actually made the creek crossing much easier

 

Heading towards the moraines; Peyto Peak on the right

 

Peyto Peak

 

A brief glimpse of the sun  

 

Trading the snowshoes for crampons

 

Hiking up the moraine

 

Same as above; here come the clouds

 

Descending to Peyto Glacier

 

Slogging up the glacier in a whiteout

 

Looking back down the glacier; the north flank of Mount Thompson to the right

 

The last few metres to the hut, as darkness sets in

 

Exhausted 

 

The long exposure time of this photo in the Peyto Hut made it appear as if I'm disappearing

 

Day 2

It's a whiteout

 

Looking back towards the hut and Mount Thompson

 

On the frozen glacial lakes at the foot of Peyto Glacier

 

Mark descends slopes on the south side of the canyon

 

Part of the canyon

 

A low-angled frozen fall

 

Approaching another icefall

 

Looking back

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