icefall traverse Guided Ski week

This information package is for those who have already signed up for the Icefall Traverse through Mark Klassen/alpinism.com. This trip is run independently from Icefall Lodge. If you have joined a trip run by Icefall Lodge please contact them for information: Email Icefall Lodge

Our 2024 Icefall Traverse trip is fully booked. You may contact me if you want to be put on a waitlist, or you can see if other dates are available on trips organized by Icefall Lodge.

If you are on my trip please read this carefully, it should answer all your questions but if not you can contact me.

risk

It is important to understand that no matter how well prepared we are there is still an element of risk to backcountry skiing. Although this traverse is within our operational risk band, it may carry more risk than many of the other days we have spent together in the mountains.

You will all need to sign two waivers that will make you well aware of that risk. One waiver is for the lodge and the other waiver is for the guides – you will sign them when you arrive. Please have a look at the waivers at the links above so you understand what the risks are and what you will be signing when you get here.

Safety is our number one priority, from the time we start driving up to the helicopter staging area to the moment we all head our separate ways at the end of the trip. You all trust the guides to be dialed in and to be able to rescue you in case of an accident, but it goes both ways. We need to trust you to be able to do the same for us! Our risk is shared, and if you prepare even just a little bit beforehand it is very helpful and the guide’s families thank you.

There are a variety of ways you can help me and the other staff reduce the risks on this trip:

• Listen to the guides’ instructions and if you are uncertain of what is expected of you please ask!

• Be very fit coming into the trip. There is at least one day that is as big as anything we have done together before, and our packs will be heavier than normal.

• Pack light! Don’t carry more than is on the equipment list.

• Take an avalanche course with me! Click here.

• Take the online avalanche course at the Avalanche Canada website. Click here.

• Practice with your avalanche beacon prior to the trip – at the very least understand all of its functions and how to use them. We would really appreciate if you practice with your transceiver, shovel and probe before the trip. A full rescue practice where you work as a team and recover a couple of buried packs with transceivers in them would be best, but even working in the backyard doing a simple transceiver search, and making sure your shovel and probe are in good working order is helpful.

• If you have the equipment and previous training you could also review crevasse rescue before the trip.

• Bring hand sanitizer on the trip and use it often – this will help keep any bugs we bring into the lodge at bay and we will be able to keep skiing!

Skiing together as a group is all about trust. The more we trust each other the more fun we will have because that means that we can ski the most interesting terrain available to us with the current conditions. The more prepared you are, the more the guides will trust you and the more comfortable we will be to get us into the best terrain.

If you get nothing else from this information package, please do the following:

• Read the guiding waiver and Icefall Lodge waiver carefully ahead of time. You don’t need to sign the waivers now, you will do that once you arrive for the trip.

• Have a look at the gear list here and make sure you are able to bring everything on the list.

Altitude

We fly directly to Mons Hut, which is at 2300 m. The next day we walk to Lyell Hut, which is at 2950 m (almost 10,000 ft). Some people will feel the altitude, especially if coming from sea level. You may consider asking your doctor about using acetazolamide prophylactically to offset altitude sickness. I have used it before and find it helpful. You would need to start taking it a few days before the trip.

what the trip price includes

Your payment includes:

• Guiding

• Helicopter transfer in and out of the lodge

• Hut and lodge accommodation

• Food

• All taxes

It does not include:

• Your travel to the meeting place

• Pre- and post-trip accommodations

• Equipment rentals if required

• Alcohol

• If conditions do not allow us to travel to Alexandria Cabin or Icefall Lodge from Lyell Hut, we may be required to ski to a lower elevation and get a pick up from the helicopter, which would be in the area that day dropping off a new group at Mons. This would be a small additional cost, about $50-100 per person. If another group is coming from Mons to Lyell we need to move regardless of conditions as there is not enough room at Lyell for two groups.

equipment

Click here if you are looking for a gear list. Note that for this trip we will need to carry a bit more than on a normal lodge trip:

• Some fresh food.

• Our personal items that we want in the evening, EG toiletries. A bit of spare clothing for the evenings would be optional.

• A lightweight sleeping bag liner.

• We will need a slightly larger pack than for our normal lodge trips. 40-45 L capacity is optimum.

• A ski helmet and ski crampons are REQUIRED for this trip.

• You will need to have enough room in your pack to carry three lunches for yourself and a bit of group gear.

• There is bedding, hut slippers, and most food stocked at the huts.

It is imperative that you pack as lightly as possible for this trip!

Your pack should include your regular day trip ski touring equipment, with only a little bit extra along as described in the gear list.

Schedule

All times are Mountain Standard Time (same as Calgary)

DAY 1, morning

We will meet at 8.15 AM at the Tim Horton’s on the Trans-Canada Highway at the west end of Golden (NOT the Tim’s at the east end of town).

At Tim’s you will sign the guide waiver and we will discuss gear to make sure everyone has what we need.

After this we will go to the helicopter staging area in the abandoned town of Donald, about 15 minutes away. At staging we will do the following:

• Sign the Icefall waiver.

• Make lunches for the first three days.

• Distribute the group equipment and group food. Expect to add 1-2 L in volume to your pack with extra equipment/food.

• Participate in an initial mountain safety briefing including transceiver check.

• Participate in a helicopter safety briefing.

We will start flying into the lodge around 10.45 AM. If all goes well we will be able to get everyone in to the Mons Hut by noon.

FOR THE FLIGHT YOU NEED TO BE DRESSED FOR SKIING INCLUDING SKI BOOTS.

In good weather we are able to get dropped off right at the Mons Hut. If the weather is poor there are two other options to get dropped off in spots with better visibility, but which require walking to get to the hut. One option is about a 45 minute walk from the hut (200 m elevation gain), the other is 3 hours or more (700 m elevation gain and 400 m descent). So be prepared to travel on day 1.

If we are able to fly directly to the hut we should be able to finish our safety briefings and do a short run.

The Mons Hut is at 2300 m and sits at the toe of the glacier near the base of Mons Peak and is a simple mountain shelter with a sitting area and kitchen on the ground floor and a sleeping loft. There is a propane heater. We will cook our own food here. From the door of the hut you get a view of the Icefall on the Lyell Glacier. The traverse will pass above this icefall the next day.

Day 2

After a night at the Mons Hut we travel to the Lyell Hut. A few route options are available to get there, all of which include extensive glacier travel. After a short ascent we may be able to do a long run down to the edge of the Icefall Canyon, a 700 m deep hole ringed with sheer cliffs and filled with frozen waterfalls; then it is a 1000 m walk up to the hut. Alternatively we can ski a scenic high route along the continental divide which involves less elevation gain, before skiing down to the hut.

The Lyell Hut sits on a rock outcropping at 2900 m and is surrounded on all sides by glacier. It is the same design as Mons. This is the highest elevation ski touring hut in Canada. You can watch alpenglow sunsets on the north face of Mt Forbes out the front window.

Day 3

Again, there are a few option available to us. Which one we take depends on the conditions and weather.

Plan A is to make a long descent to Alexandria Cabin, which is at 1200 m elevation. There are two different runs we can do: Deep End is downhill the entire way from Lyell, and Wild West involves a 600 m ascent before a massive 2100 m descent down a very crevassed glacier. There may be an opportunity to ski up one of the Lyell Peaks along the way.

The Alexandra Cabin is more comfortable than the previous two huts and has a wood stove, sauna, and chef.

If conditions are not right for the descent to Alexandria then we can travel to Icefall Lodge. We cross the Lyell Glacier and up and over the steep Crampon Col. Then it is mostly downhill to Icefall Lodge, with one short ascent along the way. This route is about 400 m elevation gain and 7 km distance.

If conditions do not allow us to travel to Alexandria Cabin or Icefall Lodge from Lyell Hut, we may be required to ski to a lower elevation and get a pick up from the helicopter, which would be in the area that day dropping off a new group at Mons. This would be a small additional cost, about $50-100 per person. If another group is coming from Mons to Lyell we need to move regardless of conditions as there is not enough room at Lyell for two groups.

Day 4

Again, there are multiple options here.

If we made it to Alexandria Cabin then we head for Icefall Lodge. The route to the lodge climbs up out of Lyell Creek by either The Portal or Shark’s Gate cols. It is a difficult and long climb of 1500 m before a 700 m descent, over 12 km distance. This is the toughest day of the trip and and you will be glad that you packed light and are in top fitness. This day will be one of the hardest we have done together and you need to be prepared for it.

If we moved to Icefall Lodge directly from Lyell Hut then day 4 is a ski day, with plenty of options for runs.

Once at Icefall Lodge you are treated to a sauna, bucket shower, electricity, double rooms, running water, and chef. The lodge sits at treeline and if the weather is snowy there are tree skiing possibilities here.

Day 5

We will be at Icefall Lodge and do a day trip from here. We usually try to ski up Mt Kemmel, a 3000 m peak with amazing views of the Rockies and Selkirks (1100 m elevation gain and descent). It is a great run back down to the lodge, where we spend an additional night.

Day 6

We climb up to Ice Pass (700 m gain) and cross it to the Rostrum Valley. Once in the valley it is possible to climb up the spectacular Diamond Glacier (500 m gain) and get a fantastic ski down to the cabin. Alternatively we can ski directly to the cabin from the pass.

The Rostrum Cabin sits at treeline with a view of the blue ice and tumbling glaciers draping Rostrum Peak and Bush Mountain. While it is smaller than the lodge, it is more comfortable than Mons or Lyell. There is a wood stove and indoor pee toilet.

Day 7

The last day consists of an 800 m run down to the valley bottom for a helicopter pick-up. There may be an option to do a climb first thing in the morning to get an even longer run in. We will fly back to Donald by early afternoon.

Options

The weather or conditions may not always permit us to complete the traverse as outlined above. We may adjust the trip according to the conditions.

Delays

There is always the possibility of helicopter flight delays at the beginning or end of the trip. Be prepared for this, especially on the last day of the trip. I don’t recommend you try to make a flight out of Calgary that day!

Getting to Golden

You can easily get to Golden from Calgary by renting a car. You may park your vehicle in Donald for the week.

For directions on how to get from Calgary airport to Golden click here. Note that construction closures in the Kicking Horse Canyon may necessitate a detour via Highway 93 if coming from the east. Consult the construction calendar for long term plans or Drive BC for last minute updates.

There are no public transport options to get to Golden.

Golden Accommodations

There are many hotels in town and a Google search will get you the best deals. If you are not fussy I have found the Rondo Motel to often be the cheapest option.

Food and medical issues

If any of you have food allergies, medical conditions or specific food requests I need to know about, please let me know as soon as possible. We need to know food issues well ahead of time so we can plan the menu.

Mountain Rescue

In nearly thirty years of guiding we have only had three evacuations from the field for minor injuries or illness.

Mountain rescue in British Columbia may not be free. If a rescue is required it could cost many thousands of dollars. Rescue insurance is recommended.

Here are some options for coverage. Make sure to research options carefully to make sure they are appropriate for your situation:

• American Alpine Club Global Rescue package. For the cost of a membership in the AAC (US$80) you get US$7,500 mountain rescue insurance. This would probably cover all or most of the cost for many incidents.

• Global Rescue. US$500,000 coverage. You need to be more than 100 miles from your home for this to kick in so it is not appropriate for clients on Canadian trips who live in proximity to Alberta or British Columbia.

• Tugo. This may be less expensive than the Global Rescue $500,000 package and may be appropriate for trips in Canada. You will need the optional adventure sport coverage.

The huts, cabins, and Lodge

There will be a variety of styles of accommodation on this trip. Mons and Lyell are very basic, high altitude huts. Alexandria and Rostrum are more comfortable, with a sauna and indoor pee toilet. Icefall Lodge is more like many of the other lodges we ski, with more space and creature comforts.

The only spot with electricity will be Icefall Lodge. Bring a battery pack for charging phones and devices.

food

We will prepare the food ourselves, except when we are at Alexandria and Icefall, where there will be a cook. The various huts are stocked with the basics, and we will carry a small amount of fresh food on the trip.

Special diets are difficult to accommodate on this trip. If you have any allergies or strong preferences please let me know as soon as possible.

Communications from and to the lodge

We will have radio communications during the day between other guides in the area.

Satellite communicators like SPOT or InReach devices work well if you would like to keep in touch with your family.

In case of an emergency we will always be able to get word out by radio or satellite text message. But all backcountry communications can be subject to disruptions so there is a chance your personal communications while on the trip may be sporadic. It is best to tell your families “no news is good news”!

You can tell your families that in an emergency they can contact you by calling the Icefall Lodge base and they can contact us on the radio.

Icefall Lodge – 1-403-678-7027, info@icefall.ca

Booze

If you bring alcohol, we are able to fly empties out after the first night but after that you will need to carry any empty cans and bottles. Whisky might be the best bang for your buck!

Beer is available to purchase on the two nights we spend at Icefall Lodge - $5/can. Please bring cash (small bills).

Luggage

For your incoming luggage you will need two packages:

• Your skis and poles (strapped together) . Two ski straps work best to keep skis and poles in one tidy package. No ski bags.

• Your pack with all your gear for the ski days and evenings in the huts/cabins/lodge.

The bottom line

• Read the guiding waiver carefully ahead of time. You don’t need to sign the waiver now, you will do that once you arrive for the trip.

• Have a look at the gear list here and make sure you are able to bring everything on the list.

Questions?

If you have any questions let me know! Email me.