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Hiking in the Rockies
Grant Tomlinson and Jan Rooks
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We are drawn to the mountains again, this time to our own Canadian Rockies. We have hiked in a number of areas in the Rockies over the years, and in September 2009 we chose to return to two favourites spots, Mt Robson and Lake O’Hara.
Mt Robson lies northwest of Jasper, Alberta (and is actually in British Columbia), and at 12,970’ is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Two Vancouver friends, Stella and Paul, joined us; we’d trekked in Nepal with them in 2001, and they were again great company.
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The hike to the campground at Berg Lake is 21 km, which we chose to divide into two days. At 5 km we arrived at Kinney Lake, with its still, turquoise waters reflecting the steep forests and cliffs.
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Halfway is Whitehorn campgound. It marks the beginning of the Valley of a Thousand Falls, where water cascades off cliffs fed by glaciers above.
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The waterfalls culminate in the 197' Emperor Falls, all the more spectacular as one can walk right up beneath them. After 16 km and 2500’ of elevation gain, we were definitely ready to put down our 40-pound packs and set up camp for the night.
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Courtesy of Paul Cech
Courtesy of Paul Cech
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The next morning, the remaining five km of comparatively flat trail to the Berg Lake Campground felt easy. The weather is notoriously changeable around Mt Robson and it was exciting to have clear views of the peak rising 7000’ above the lake. The Berg and Mist glaciers shift, rumble and groan, and huge chunks of their lower expanses break off into the water (hence the lake’s name).
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The 22-km day hike to Snowbird Pass from Berg Lake infuses one's senses with spectacular views of rivers, stone, glaciers and alpine meadows. Much of the trail traverses the moraine of the Robson Glacier, a massive flowing sheet of ice that curls around Robson’s southern and eastern flanks to spawn the Robson River at its base.
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One climbs 1000’ to travel along the top of the moraine, following it for several kilometers before the trail enters lush alpine meadows. At the eastern edge, yet another 2 or 3 km away and 800’ higher, beckons Snowbird Pass.
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Courtesy of Paul Cech
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Well worth the climb, the immense Reef Icefield and its offspring the Coleman Glacier spread out beneath you at the Pass. Grant has tried twice before to reach this site, and we could all understand why this place has a reputation of such splendour.
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The return journey brought equally thrilling views.
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We spent 6 days at Mt Robson, loving every minute of it.
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After a hot shower, delicious dinner (not dehydrated!) and a warm bed at the hostel in Lake Louise, we set off for Lake O’Hara. Lake O’Hara is a jewel of the Rockies. It is in Yoho National Park, on the BC side of the Continental Divide, and is literally just “over the hill” (Mt Victoria) from Lake Louise. One has a choice of staying at either a rustic (but exclusive) lodge, an alpine-club hut, or the campground, and a limit is set on the number of hikers allowed in the area at one time.
When we arrived, it was snowing – “but it’s not staying on the ground….yet!” said the bus driver who took us in to the campground. Such as the weather was, we set up our tent and then headed out for a hike. It was magical.
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Unique to the Lake O’Hara region is the Alpine Circuit, a series of “ledge” routes that after an initial strenuous 2000’ ascent, leads you around the high slopes overlooking the lake. The day after our arrival at Lake O'Hara, the snowline was low but there was no precipitation, and we had a fabulous hike along Wiwaxy and Yukness ledges.
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Abbot Pass, at 9958’, is the high mountain ridge between Lake Louise and Lake O’Hara. It is approached by glacier travel from Lake Louise, or via a 3000’ scree slope from Lake O’Hara. Though less technical, the latter is a strenuous climb – relentlessly steep with loose rock that defies firm footholds. But at the top is the Abbot Hut, built by Swiss guides in 1922 and managed by the Alpine Club of Canada. For mountaineers, the stone hut is a base for climbing Mts Victoria and Lefroy; for us, it was the goal.
Surprisingly, after a night of rainstorms, the day of our hike to Abbot Pass dawned clear and offered transformed views of Lake O’Hara and its environs.
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We left the established trail at Lake Oesa to tackle the alpine route to the hut. Lunch over, climbing helmets on, trail mix at hand, we headed off over the rockwall and up the notorious scree slope.
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The route is marked with a painted symbol on the rocks, and was clear to follow if you were paying attention and looking ahead. But steep!!! Three hours later we finally reached the ridge and arrived at the hut.
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What a reward! Breathtaking views of mountain ranges in all directions, the green curve of the Bow Valley in the distance, the slippery slope of the Victoria glacier sliding away below the hut. And miraculously, we were the only ones up there – except for two ravens and a flock of water pipits overtopping the pass, we had the hut, the view and the splendour all to ourselves.
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To be two little specks in the immensity of all that space, rock, ice, sky and stars was humbling, uplifting, grounding, and awe-inspiring. It was a profound experience.
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Once again, we return to Vancouver with memorable experiences of our time in the Rockies.
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