Wapta Mountain Scramble

Lat/Lon: 51.45°N, 116.4792°W - CLICK FOR TOPO MAP
Wapta Mountain is located between Emerald Lake and the Yoho Valley in Yoho
National Park, one of four connecting national parks making up the central Canadian
Rockies. Wapta Mountain and Mount Field make up a spur on the south end of the
President Range. Wapta means “running water” in Cree and Wapta Mountain
overlooks the second tallest waterfall in western Canada, Takakkaw Falls (1247’)
which means “magnificent”.   On the approach trail, you will get views of the falls all
the way up the switch backs to Yoho Pass and then you won’t see them again until
you reach the summit, which is quite a unique perspective.   Wapta Mountain was
first ascended by Outram and Scattergood guided by Bohren in 1901.

Wapta is immediately north of the ridge which contains the famous Burgess Shale
fossil beds I discussed regarding Mount Burgess. Burgess Shale fossils appear as
lithographic pictures on fine-grained shale. Even the soft parts (gills, legs, and guts)
of some animals are preserved, which is very rare, since usually only hard parts of
animals (their shells, bones, or teeth) are preserved as fossils. In 1984, UNESCO
declared Yoho, Banff, Kootenay and Jasper National Parks, along with Mt. Robson,
Hamber and Mt. Assiniboine Provincial Parks, as the Rocky Mountain World Heritage
Parks. Thus, the Burgess Shale is a protected area of international importance,
within a World Heritage Site.   Over 65,000 fossil specimens have been delivered to
the Smithsonian Institute from this bed.

Serving as the steep eastern backdrop to Emerald Lake, Wapta Mountain’s western
slopes are bare of trees because of massive snow slides that deposit tons of snow
next to the Emerald Lake road well into August.   Obviously this makes for great
wildlife habitat.

The only published route up Wapta Mountain is the difficult scramble. I have read
several accounts on line where parties were more comfortable taking rope for
different sections. I did it solo and found it no more difficult than the average difficult
scramble for the area. I also did a traverse of Yoho Pass versus a return which was
nice, but you would need to hitch or have someone drop you off.   It would not be
plausible to ski ascend Wapta’s slopes. This is a real avalanche prone area with
several vertically exposed sections.

The views are spectacular from the summit including The President, V. Pres. and the
Emerald Glacier (photo), Mount Daly (photo), Mount Stephen, Mount Carnarvon and
Mount Burgess.   Wapta is a centrally located mountain in Yoho National Park.

Getting There
The Trans-Canada Highway runs from Calgary through Banff and Yoho National
Parks on its way to Vancouver. Pass through Lake Louise heading westbound and
continue on the Trans-Canada entering British Columbia. Take a right on the Yoho
Valley Road right before Field. Drive to the Whiskey Jack Hostel and either park there
or if you are not allowed, park another half of a kilometer down at the Takakkaw Falls
trail head. Either way, you are starting at the Whiskey Jack trail head. The visitor
center for Yoho National Park is located in Field another kilometer or two west on the
TransCanada.

Red Tape
You will be required to purchase a national park pass as you enter Banff National
Park coming from the east on the Trans-Canada. This pass is good for all four
national parks. If you plan many visits to Canadian National Parks within one year,
you should purchase an annual pass. There are no permit requirements to climb in
Yoho National Park, but all camping is regulated. There is also a backcountry permit
required if you plan on spending a night in the backcountry versus the town
campsites. This can be obtained via the parks website which is included in the
camping section below. Yoho National Park headquarters are located in Field, BC
and you will drive through the manned national park kiosks as you enter Banff
National Park on the Trans-Canada.

This is active grizzly country, therefore, you should always have bear spray on your
person. I advise checking with Parks Canada for any area and/or trail closures.

When To Climb
As with most scrambles in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June
through September. I climbed Wapta Mountain in August. You will want to carry an
alpine ax with you no matter what time of the year you go.

Camping
The closest conventional camp sites would be the Kicking Horse and/or Monarch
campground(s) back at the turnoff for Yoho Valley Road. The closest backcountry
site is Yoho Pass #3. This is a great camp site for this scramble. It is on the shores
of the small Yoho Lake at a pretty sweet spot. You can go on line at Yoho National
Park to pick a camp site and obtain your camping permit. You will also be required
to obtain your backcountry permit which is separate, but can be obtained
simultaneously if you plan on camping at a backcountry site like Yoho Pass. You
cannot camp outside of the marked specific camping areas.

Field has one inn and several B&B’s. Of course you could stay where you parked at
the Whiskey Jack Hostel as well.

Mountain Conditions
Yoho National Park has weather, wildlife reports, trail closures, etc. Outside of the
parks web site, Canadian Avalanche Association is also useful, particularly for winter
travel. Canadian Alpine Accident Reports are also extremely helpful.

Route
I did a unique route on Wapta since I had transport. I was dropped off at the Whiskey
Jack- Yoho Pass trailhead.   I hiked in to Yoho Pass, then proceeded onto the
Burgess Highline trail, ascended Wapta and at the end of the day came out at
Emerald Lake. It makes for a slightly longer day then return to Whiskey Jack.

Drive 12.6kms down Yoho Valley Road to the Whiskey Jack Hostel, less than a
kilometer before the road ends. There is trail head parking either at the hostel or
further down at the end of the road. Hike up to Yoho Lake (campground location as
well) via the Yoho Pass trail. About 10 minutes west of the lake you will come to a
trail intersection. Head left on the Burgess Highline trail.

This is a 4100'+/- ascent day. I took the first rock water course (drainage) on the left
after the very steep cliffs that guarded the left side of the trail gave way (beware of
rock fall in this area). This topped out at some more steep cliffs.   If you wait farther
on the Burgess Highline Trail to ascend, you can avoid this area, but I rather enjoyed
it. I then traversed south to some very interesting washed out rock cliffs (read
smooth and worn rock texture). Up to now all you are seeing is the western false
summit of Wapta Mountain. Ascend the dark rock bands towards the center while
slowly traversing right. You have another pale rock band to ascend and then you are
actually into the bowl. This rock band can be challenging. It offers at least two
locations to break through. I ascended an icy waterfall gap (photo) to the right,
but descended a broken gap that was dryer to the left.

Once you move up into a bowl you will be able to clearly see the eastern true summit
block. Its western headwall appears impenetrable. I ascended scree to gain the
right hand ridge that runs out to that false summit to the right. Then I traversed below
the southern face to reasonable climbing on the summit block at its southeast
corner. As I made this traverse, small scree would slide down south shoots for an
extreme vertical drop, making quite the dust clouds (photo). By reasonable on the
southeast corner, I mean, less dangerous than other opportunities. This final climb
is loose, steep and exposed terrain. Some belay stations do exist if you prefer
to take a rope, which is never a bad idea on a difficult scramble.

The views are spectacular from the summit including The President, V. Pres. and the
Emerald Glacier (photo), Mount Daly (photo), Mount Stephen, Mount Carnarvon, and
Mount Burgess. Wapta is a centrally located mountain in Yoho National Park.

On descent, I made a beeline straight down to the Burgess Highline trail. This
involved some experienced down climbing and route finding through those
water worn sections, but was a pleasant challenge. Once back on the trail, I
returned to the Yoho Pass trail and descended west onto the Emerald Lake Loop.
Take a left to get to the lodge and parking area. Enjoy the waterfalls, on descent of
the Yoho Pass trail, that drain the Emerald Glacier thus forming Emerald Lake.

Essential Gear
Definitely wear a helmet on this one. Some would be more comfortable taking a
rope. Read other reports of this scramble via your browser search. I thought it was
just moderately difficult. An alpine ax would be handy most any month on Wapta.
Prepare for ice if you had any cold weather before your ascent. Bear spray, map and
compass. There is usually good drainage on this route if you want to treat water
instead of pack it.

Trip Report
I did a traverse via Yoho Pass. We tried to get our horse trailer up Yoho Valley road to
drop me off and then my wife would ride in on Yoho Pass trail from Emerald Lake to
meet me. But we could not make that switchback with the trailer (signs warn of no
trailers for this reason). So I hitched in to Whiskey Jack and did the full traverse. Met
dog, horse and wife at the Emerald Falls area on descent. Wapta Mountain is one to
put high on your list. Centrally located, thus great views.