Wilson Major, III, WI 3-6

Lat/Lon: 52.01944°N / 116.8°W- CLICK FOR TOPO MAP
Mount Wilson is located off of the Columbia Icefield Parkway just north of the
Saskatchewan River crossing in Banff National Park, one of four connecting national
parks making up the central Canadian Rockies. Mount Wilson was officially named
in 1898 by Norman Collie after Tom Wilson, an early explorer in the Canadian
Rockies. Mount Wilson was first ascended by Outram and Kaufmann in 1902, the
final of eight first ascents put up by Outram that summer. Mount Wilson is directly
across from the Lyell Icefield which affords you some incredible views of this remote
section of the park. Mount Wilson has its own icefield aptly named the Wilson Icefield
that can be seen in its entirety from the David Thompson Highway 6 miles east of the
Columbia Icefields Parkway.

In my personal experience on Wilson Major, with avalanches coming down to my left
(photo) and right, crossing early bear tracks (photo) and the incredible large leaning
quartzite towers (photo) make this one of the most wild and scenic amphitheaters I
have ice climbed in. Avalanches coming off of a very large leaning quartzite tower
were blowing snow onto us as we set up to climb the left side of Wilson Major. I have
included a very interesting photo sequence of one of these events (before I picked up
my tools and got to work).

Route(s)
Mount Wilson is best known for the ice routes fed by the Wilson Icefield on its
northwest flank that include the following, some of which are serious climbs. Of
course there are many other hanging daggers, etc. that form up and down the
approaches at various times of the year. These routes are inherently dangerous of
course, three veteran Cascade climbers died on Midnight Rambler in 2004, the
easiest route listed below. An avalanche swept over Lady Wilson’s Right Tit (photo)
as we were climbing Wilson Major.

Mount Wilson is not featured in the Selected Alpine or Alpine Ski Tour book. However,
summer and winter ascents are attempted on occasion.

Wilson Major 50 m III, WI 3-6 (wide curtain)
Lady Wilson’s Right Tit 60 m III, WI 4
Lady Wilson’s Cleavage 300 m III, WI 3
Totem Pole 200 m IV, WI 5
Midnight Rambler 240 m III, WI 3
Suntori 1900m VI, M6 A2 WI 6
Skinny Puppy 50 m II, WI 5
Living in Paradise 160 m VI, WI 6+
Phil Spectre’s Nightmare 80 m V, WI 6

Getting There
The Trans-Canada Highway runs from Calgary through Banff and Yoho National
Parks on its way to Vancouver. As you pass through Lake Louise heading
westbound, you want to exit onto the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93) towards Jasper.
Pull off at a drainage area 8.9kms past the David Thompson Highway. This is a
several hour drive from Canmore. This drainage is known as Lady Wilson’s
Cleavage when it is frozen and gives access to several ice routes.

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
Banff or Yoho National Parks, but all camping is regulated. There is also a
backcountry permit required if you plan on spending a night in the backcountry
versus the conventional campsites. This can be obtained via the parks website
which is included in the camping section below. The huts are managed by the Alpine
Club of Canada versus the Parks. The Alpine Club of Canada headquarters is
located in Canmore, AB, the Banff National Park headquarters is located in Banff, AB
and Yoho National Park headquarters is located in Field, BC. You will drive through
the manned national park kiosk as you enter Banff National Park on the Trans-
Canada. You will drive through a kiosks area again as you gain the Icefield Parkway.
However, it is normally not manned in the winter.

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

When To Climb
I climbed ice on Mount Wilson in May. You can obviously climb all winter, but
avalanche danger is real on Mount Wilson. Several experienced climbers have
died on its routes in recent years as a result of ignoring high avalanche conditions.
Example

Camping
Due to frequent avalanche activity, camping would not be advised close to any of the
ice climbs on Mount Wilson. The Rampart Creek Hostel is close by and serves as a
good base for these climbs. Rates for dorm style were $23-$27 in 2006. It has 24
beds and reservations are recommended. (866) 762-4122

Mountain Conditions
The Yoho National Park and Banff National Park websites have weather, wildlife
reports, trail closures, etc. Outside of the parks websites, Canadian Avalanche
Association is also useful, particularly for winter travel. Canadian Alpine Accident
Reports is also extremely relevant.

Route
This is a 2000’+/- ascent day. The ideal time to climb Major Wilson is during the
winter months when Lady Wilson’s Cleavage is in shape so you can practically strap
your crampons on from the car. We were looking for the last ice in May up and down
the parkway and noticed Wilson Major was still in when coming back from Shades of
Beauty farther north. What we failed to recognize or think much about was the
bushwhack approach on either side of Lady Wilson’s Cleavage which was running
falls on any steep sections. (photo) I went right and Adam went left to give us a better
chance of failure I guess, but in the end climbers left had much less deadfall and was
easier to navigate.

They both allow you to come back into the drainage just below the narrow terrain trap
that leads up and out to a large bowl where you find Wilson Major and Lady Wilson’s
Right Tit (photos). It is imperative that you scoot through this terrain trap in a
minimal amount of time. Your view of what is above is limited and during our
approach we were basically maneuvering through huge ice debris that had been
deposited by previous major avalanches (photo). Once through the canyon like
section, ascend to your right to the base of Wilson Major, a 500’ wide section of ice
curtain in the WI 3-6 range (photo). To the right is a smaller section of ice, Lady
Wilson’s Right Tit (photo). During our climb, an avalanche did run over Lady Wilson’
s Right Tit, so I advise perfect conditions to be climbing to the right or pursuing
Phil Spectre’s Nightmare further up to the left. The large quartzite towers let go of
snow to our left no less than a half a dozen times as we were climbing Wilson Major
(photos). Basically we felt we were in the only safe location for the time of year we
were climbing, mostly due to a good size tree bench above Wilson Major.

You could climb this curtain all day and not climb the same line twice. Most are just
full 60 meter pitches. We did a route to the left that required one full pitch and one
short pitch to reach the trees. It starts out above a rock band (photo) and gradually
steepened to grade 4. The very last meters at the top were steep enough that I did
not want to take the time to put any screws in. Once you top out of the curtain, you
have to meander through snow and rock over to some nice hard ice to place a
station. This route uses every mm of 60 meters. There is thick ice to build a bomber
station among some short ice pillars (photo). The second pitch gives a few meters of
steep ice and then tops out on the tree bench. We found a rappel sling on a tree at
this level, but assumed the rap was probably longer than 60 meters. We lowered
and traversed skiers left to use rap slings on trees that were just above steeper WI 5-
6 sections of Wilson Major (photo).

Essential Gear
Two Ice Tools, Double 60 meter Ropes, 12+ Ice Screws and Draws, Crampons,
Helmet, Warm Clothes, Full Shank Boots (avalanche gear would be a smart addition
for this one).