This July I assisted in leading a group of 16 participants (with 4 other leaders) on a 3 night mountaineering trip in Yoho National Park in BC through the ACC Columbia Mountains Section. We stayed in the backcountry Stanley Mitchell Hut, which is operated by the Alpine Club of Canada. The hut is located on the lands of the Blackfoot, Ktunaxa, Tsuut’ina, and Metis Peoples.

Getting to the Stanley Mitchell Hut starts with a drive up Yoho Valley Road to Takakaw Falls. From there we hiked nearly 10km with 550m of elevation gain along the Little Yoho Valley Trail, passing Laughing Falls along the way.

The hut is a large log cabin with a common space featuring a fireplace and dining tables with benches, a fully stocked kitchen with propane burners and a working propane oven, a large sleeping loft, and an additional bunk room. It has no running water or electricity, but there are propane lamps, a barrel outhouse with 2 stalls, a firewood shelter, and a river to collect water from.

Our first evening was spent getting settled and reviewing gear before our first group objective on Saturday. On Saturday all 21 of us completed the McArthur Pollinger Travers. It began with a substantial hike and a glacier crossing with a steep snow slope to get to the summit of Mount McArthur. From there we scrambled a ridge and climbed a 5.0 pitch to reach Mount Pollinger. Next we continued along a second ridge before making our way down a snow covered scree slope and finding our way across a maze of trail and river back to the hut. This day totalled 12km with over 1000m of elevation.

(click any of the images below to view them larger)

On Sunday the group split in two, with a small group of 4 experience climbers setting out for The President at 3am. The remainder of us travelled back up the McArthur Glacier before turning for Isolated Peak. It was a fun scramble to the top and totalled 8km and about 800m.

Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a slower pace and had a bit of a party for our final evening. One of the leaders organized an impromptu talent show where everyone shared various niche talents that had the whole hut howling. Would highly recommend this activity on your next hut trip. I tend to keep the camera off inside huts, so I didn’t take any photos of this extraveganza.

On Monday morning, after a bit of a sleep in and group clean of the hut, we made our way back to our vehicles via the Iceline Trail. As expected from the rest of the weekend, the trail was still snow covered in the alpine, but we enjoyed our final views and time together on this 11km hike.

Once again I am so grateful for the opportunity to get out in the alpine with such a spectacular group of people. Thank you all for such a life giving weekend!