Little Yoho Valley – Twenty Years of Hiking, Scrambling and Skiing

20+ years of trips to the Little Yoho Valley

I am in love with the Little Yoho Valley. Strong words? Not nearly strong enough. For me, it is magical. It’s big terrain, towering peaks, and massive glaciers. I’ve explored in the summer and winter, and I can’t decide if I prefer one over the other. I’ve never had a bad day here, even in pouring torrential rain.

2006 was my first first trip. We backpacked into the Little Yoho Campground from Laughing Falls. We set up our tent, got bored, went for a walk, and ended up summiting Mount Kerr. The next day, we packed up our tent, hiked over the Whaleback, and down to the base of Twin Falls, then hiked back out to Takakkaw Falls. I loved it. I was hooked!

More important than the terrain, this is family history. It’s history for my father-in-law Franz and the early days of ski guiding in Canada, but it’s also history for me and my kids as so many important memories were made here. One of the reasons I’ve taken forever to write about this area, is sorting through the many trip photos and stories. What to include. What to leave out. It’s not easy.

My first winter ski into Little Yoho Valley was 2012. The year before, I had completed the Wapta Traverse. While leaving the Scott Duncan Hut, I looked across to the Iceline Trail, and I knew I needed to ski here. It was calling me. I organized a Dream Team of skiers – Ferdle Taxbox, Lloyd “kiwi” Gallagher, Chic Scott and a new apprentice ski guide TJ Nault (who then co-wrote the Bow Yoho Traverse map), plus friends from Canada and the US. We spent a week skiing, sharing food, and swapping amazing stories.

Little Yoho Routes

With my years of experience, I feel very confident sharing the various route options for the area. This includes routes for hiking in and out, and hikes from the campground / hut. I’ve also included summits, scrambles, ski areas, and some mountaineering routes.

I’m writing these trip reports over the next few weeks. If the link is not yet live, it will be soon.

• Hiking in – Takkakaw Falls via Laughing Falls
• Kiwetinok Pass – hike
• Mount Kerr – scramble
• Whaleback Pass, optional trek to Twin Falls – hike
• Whaleback Mountain Traverse – scramble
• Mount McArthur to Mount Pollinger – scramble
• Mount McArthur – mountaineering
• The President – mountaineering

My Twenty Years of Trips

Okay, I’m a little shy of a full 20 years, but with all my other experience, I’m rounding up. Besides, blogs last forever, so in time, this will be MORE than twenty years 🙂

2006 Backpack – Little Valley Campground

We spent the night at Laughing Falls campground, and got up early to backpack into Little Yoho. Just outside of camp, I heard a familiar voice coming towards me. It was non-other than Lloyd Kiwi Gallagher. He was training a group of military folks from the UK, and was on his way to do some climbing training.

Once at the campground, we set up our tent, and then climbed Mount Kerr. The next day, we packed up our camp, and hiked up and over the Whaleback to Twin Falls. After hiking down to the valley, it was a long 8 km to the parking lot. We were both pretty tired, and moving a LOT slower than we thought.

2008 Backpack – Stanley Mitchell Hut

Two years later, I joined the Alpine Club of Canada so I could take my six year old daughters to the Stanley Mitchell Hut for three days. My little troopers hiked in carrying backpacks with their own clothes, a toy, food for the day, and some water. We thought they’d be so tired, but after a 30 minute rest at the Hut, they were wired and ready for more. We took them to the rock across the river to clamber up. We’ve been back many times since, and always have the best (mis)adventures.

The second day we hiked up to Kiwetinok Pass and played for hours in the snow and rocks. The third day we hiked out via the Iceline Trail, but got hit by a torrential rain storm. We had to toss the girls across the small streams, which were now flooded. They loved it. Mom and dad… not so much. Unfortunately, my camera stopped working after our first day, so all these precious memories are lost.

2012 Winter Ski – Stanley Mitchell Hut

I organized a trip for 16 people to ski into the Stanley Mitchell Hut for a week. We had amazing weather, and were blessed with so many experienced people to help lead day trips. This included ACMG Ferdl Taxbock, Lloyd Gallagher, Chic Scott and TJ Nault. Plus numerous friends from Canada and the US. We skied every day, shared excellent food, and heard many interesting, scary and epic stories. What a week!

2013 Backpack – Little Yoho Campground

My girls were growing up. At eleven years old, they were able to do multiday backpacks, so off we went to the Little Yoho campground.

We again headed to Kiwetinok Pass, and got most of the way up Mt Kerr before Mike cut his finger. It was a small cut, but the sight of blood freaked out the kids, so we cut it short. The next day we did the Whaleback ridge over to the top of Twin Falls.

The final day, we hiked out via the Iceline Trail. Kayla took a tumble and hit her head on a rock, right in front of another family eating lunch. The cut on her forehead bled pretty good, but I pulled out the first aid kit and got it under control. However, the dad of the other group gave her his handkerchief to hold the dressing on tight. She still has this scarf, and uses it almost every hike.

2014 Backpack – Stanley Mitchell Hut

Mike was very busy with flying, so I took Kayla and Mackenzie to Stanley Mitchell by myself. This was the start of the Mom Adventures. The first day, we hiked in, dropped our gear, and headed straight for Kiwetinok Pass, where we played in the snow above the lake for hours. When we got back to the hut, none other than Barry Blanchard was pulling in with his group of mountaineers.

Over dishes, he suggested I do the Whaleback Traverse, and gave some directions. I thought why not? We had a couple of missteps, but made it back and have a great story to tell.

I was going to stay another two nights, but someone brought up an infant who, not surprisingly, was up all night. I’m all for kids at huts, but ideally they need to be able to sleep through the night. If not, then a private tent in the campground is a better solution for you and the other hut users. After not sleeping for days, I had enough and we hiked out via – you guessed it, the Iceline.

2017 Ski Traverse – Bow to Yoho

This was so much fun! After skiing in via Takakkaw Falls, I’ll gladly spend three days crossing a glacier instead of eight hours on that road. Once at the hut, we took an extra day to ski the President. We got to the col, and we were all ready with ropes, gear, etc., but then the clouds descended and Mike couldn’t even see where the top of the col was, never mind finding our way to the summit.

2022 Backpack – Stanley Mitchell Hut

I lead a group of 18 Rocky Mountain Section ACCers for four days of hiking and scrambling. Despite the rain on Day Two, we still managed to complete the Whaleback Traverse, and summit Mount McArthur and Mount Pollinger via the summer scramble route. We again exited via the Iceline Trail.

2023 Winter Ski – Stanley Mitchell Hut

Ivan Dixon convinced me to once again ski into the Stanley Mitchell Hut via Takakkaw Falls. It was somehow better this time, but still a long slog. As this was our fifth ski trip in two months, Mike was pretty sick of my ambitious schedule. He was so mad, he threatened that “next year, we’re going to Hawaii!” He thought about that for a few moments, and quickly realized it wasn’t much of a threat.

We had a great week, and did some new routes. Ivan and I found a great way to access the meadow behind the hut, and the whole group traversed the des Poilus Glacier to Mt McArthur. The final 20 metres to the summit was unfortunately too sketch, but as I’d summited the summer before, I was good.

The group also made it up to the President Col, with several brave souls summiting the President.

We tried to ski out via Emerald Lake, but we had a bad bit of hot solar heating, followed by a day of cloud. This turned the potential route into solid ice. Drat! Good thing we were conservative, because anytime we hit a south facing slope, we hit ice.

Thanks for Reading

I hope you enjoy this guide. I still have more routes to do, so stayed tuned for more.