[MCR] Wapta Icefields & Descent to Peyto Lake

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

I was on the Wapta Icefield from 1-3 July and came out via Peyto Lake.  Weather was cool  & cloudy on the Wapta and so travel conditions were pretty good...ankle deep at most but a little slower because the layer underfoot was breakable. Coverage was good and crevasses weren't visible.  On the out, I crossed the stream issuing from Cauldron  Lake   very soon after getting off the long moraine slope and trended diagonally downward across moderately easy scree & boulders all the way to the edge of the feature which forms the canyon of the main Peyto stream.  About 50m above the valley bottom a bedding plane ramp leads back upstream (west) leads easily to the valley floor.  Downstream several hundred metres we crossed 4 or 5 shallow braider channels to gain the summer trail on the south side of the valley.  As runoff increases this will not be possible.  I would not bet on this option on the way into the Peyto as the water rises. Downstream from the canyon where the stream runs between the two wooded humps, the stream is hard agains the north with a very long stretch of sidehilling right beside the stream. Two groups at the Peyto Hut had come up the valley.  One took 9 hrs, crossing the channels at the lake and staying on the north side of the stream the whole way.  The other party came all the way up south side of the stream and had to do "some climbing" to get up the canyon and access the glacier.  Best to plan for more time on approach or descent as this is no longer straightforward hut access.  Our descent with a middle-aged, but fit and experienced group of 4 took 6 hours from the hut to the parking with the usual photo and snack breaks.


Greg Yavorsky  UIAGM/ Yamnuska
gp.yavorsky at gmail.com
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