We completed the classic N-S Wapta traverse over 5 days 14-18 April 2026:
Peyto Hut: 2 nights
Balfour Hut: 1 night
Scott Duncan: 1 night (why don't we call it the Daly Hut?...)
The cold front on 14 April into overnight arrived with strong-extreme primarily SW winds in the ALP and up to 30 cm of snow on sheltered aspects resulting in windslabs on specific lee terrain features. We found excellent knee deep cold powder skiing on north aspects on Mt. Habel and Mt. Olive. Mt. Olive was in prime bucket step condition for a straightforward ascent.
As extensively reported, the glacier coverage is exceptional this season with depths exceeding our 3m20 probes. This is leading recreationalists to ski heavily crevassed lines without awareness the bridges in those locations are likely under safety threshold. An example would be wrapping too closely the east ridge of Mt. Olive when skiing onto the Vulture Glacier toward the Balfour Hut.
The Balfour High Col is the full package: heavily crevassed, ascents of avalanche slopes, overhead avalanche hazard, and serac hazard from Mt. Balfour. Our trip over on 17 April was amongst the easiest I've experienced. Great visibility and a deep snowpack made for easy navigation of the crevasses. There had been extensive windslab propagations on the 14-15 April layer, diminishing our overhead avalanche concerns. However the active serac fall was just that with a large release sometime on the 16-17 April as the ice debris covered the windslab debris (see photo).
We exited via the classic direct canyon route on 18 April. We had a cold morning with an excellent freeze and there wasn't much snow left in the massive start zones above the many terrain traps on the route. Last month's Pineapple Express did a big number in there with debris piles many metREs deep and destruction of some mature forest (photos).
The huts are getting loved to death. At each one our group did some extra cleaning. If we all do the same, they'll be in much better condition. Scott Duncan in particular is pretty rough and showing its age.
