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"Little Wapta Glacier Trek" Trip Description

Little Wapta Glacier Trek, Daily Itinerary:

Day 1:
Meeting in morning with your guide either in Canmore, Banff or Lake Louise. Trip briefing, distribution of rental equipment and food. Drive via Icefields Parkway to the trail head at Bow Lake (20 min from Lake Louise). We start out with a gentle stroll on the lake shore trail along the turquoise waters of Bow Lake. After 1 hr we depart from the main tourist trail, cross a deep canyon on a spectacular natural rock bridge and head into the moraine landscape below Bow Glacier. A last steeper climb takes us to the Bow Hut, located at 2350m = 7700 ft just off the head wall of Bow Glacier, overlooking Bow Lake and other glaciers surrounding the Wapta Icefields. (6km = 3.75 mi, 550m = 1800 ft climb, 4 hrs walking). Should there be time remaining In the afternoon, we familiarize ourselves with the glacier equipment, brief you on glacier travel and take a short hike to the tong of Bow Glacier.

Climbing to from Peyto Lake to the Peyto Lake Overlook - the end of our Wapta Horseshoe Glacier Trek

Just of the Peyto Glacier descending down to Peyto Lake

Day 2:
Early start for a spectacular day on the glacier. Roped together with your guide, we will ascend the gentle glacier towards the continental divide with magnificent views of the surrounding high peaks like Mount Gordon, Mt. St. Nikolaus and Mount Collie in the distance. En route, there will be the opportunity to drop our packs and climb either Mt. Rhonda North or Mt. Thompson, peaks around 3000m = 10 000ft with great views all the way to the Columbia Ranges and the Bugaboos.

If the group is interested, we will also have time to practice some ice climbing or do a crevasse rescue exercise en route.

A first gentle, then steeper descent takes us to the newly renovated Peyto Hut (a.k.a. Whyte Hut) located just of the glacier at 2560m = 8400ft. (6 km = 3.75 mi distance, 550 m = 1800 ft climb, 450m = 1500ft descent). For peak ascent of Mt. Thompson add 400m climb and descent, total walking time with peak ascent 7 hrs.

Day 3:
For really keen & fit group members, there is the option of an early morning ascent of Mount Rhonda south (460m = 1500ft up and down over 4 km = 2.5 mi distance, 3.5 hrs for a fast group in good conditions). After that, it is mostly downhill from the Peyto Hut. The route takes us down the usually barren Peyto Glacier past countless glacier creeks and glacier mills – vivid documentation of the glacial retreat in this area. After walking down the glacier tongue, we traverse through the moraine landscape (optional side trip to Cauldron Lake (2 additional hours), descent some steep moraines, cross the glacial outflow on a bridge and reach finally Peyto Lake, one of the postcard features of Banff National Park. As so often, the toughest part of the day comes in the end: A 300m = 1000ft vertical climb takes us back again into the real world: Hordes of tourists will be waiting for us when we top out at the Peyto Lake overlook. We usually deposit the guide's car here in order to get back to the Bow Lake trail head. (370m = 1200 ft climb, 800m = 2600ft descent, 7km = 4.37mi)

Please Note: This itinerary can be nicely combined with other mountaineering activities that we offer (rock climbing, scrambling, classic peak ascents) or other mountain sports activities (rafting, caving, horseback riding, mountain biking etc.) to make for an excellent introduction to mountaineering, family or multi-sport week. Please inquire for a custom trip proposal.