Arriving by midday we chatted with a couple from Lake Louise before they departed and left us alone at the hut. Since we were expecting company (there were only a few spots available when we booked) we set up in the tiny Wiwaxy Cabin next door and went for a ski up to McArthur Pass. Returning at dusk to a still empty hut we stoked the fire, drank gallons of tea, put a serious dent in the wine, cheese, and cracker supply ("Skiing for cheesus!"), and just enjoyed a quiet Christmas Eve to ourselves.
On Christmas morning ours were still the only skis outside the hut. It was kinda weird.
A few small gifts exchanged, we skied over Mary Lake up to Opabin Plateau and Hungabee Lake. It snowed heavily for much of the day but there was surprisingly little snow on the ground in most places; it felt like Rogers Pass in early November. The potential for turns around here seems pretty limited.
Returning by Lake O'Hara I pointed out the peaks I had climbed here over the years, mainly with Ross, but also with Martin, Tim, and others. Brenda was very patient as I re-told the same stories that she has already heard a hundred times before. Like the time on Grassi Ridge when Ross lead a pitch that went way, way left from the belay. I watched him disappear from sight diligently clipping the left rope. Some time later he reappeared, directly overhead surprisingly, and much closer than expected considering all the rope he had out. Now he was forging a line way, way to the right and equally diligently clipping the right rope. By the time a shout of "on belay" came down from above and the ropes came taught I had two almost horizontal ropes leading away from my harness in opposite directions. Couldn't move an inch.
Grassi Ridge at center left behind the Elizabeth Parker hut
That evening we were joined by Yves, Katja, and Genevieve from Canmore, and Lauren and Rob from Calgary. We were glad for the company and they were such interesting people. Yves and Katja had recently finished a cycling trip from Mexico to Peru. Rob and Lauren are urban beekeepers among other things and had brought a bottle of fine mead with them. This helped ease the pain for poor Lauren who had begun the ski in rented AT boots. She was in so much pain by kilometre five that she had abandoned the boots and walked the remaining seven kilometres in her hut booties, towing a sled! We felt pretty boring compared to these guys.
An uneventful trip overall. It took us 4 hours to ski in from the road with full-on backcountry ski gear using wax rather than skins. Others on lighter cross country gear easily made the trip in 3 hours or less. Perhaps I'm too quick to judge but it doesn't really seem worth the trouble of hauling in heavy ski gear with the idea of getting some turns in this area. At the risk of stating the obvious Lake O'Hara is simply a stunning place to visit and well worth the short journey in winter.
