Abbot Pass Hut was built in 1922 in the pass between Mount Victoria and Mount Lefroy, literally on the border of BC and Alberta, as well as on the Continental Divide. Imagine standing at Lake Louise gazing at the glacier beyond. If you could look up and to the left of the glacier you would see this hut. It is truly a spectacular alpine setting and sitting close to 10,000 feet is the second highest hut in Canada. Brian had been to the Abbot Pass Hut in Yoho National Park 8 years ago, and his spectacular pictures and vivid memories have lived on. It has been on our bucket list for some time, yet the plans fell together quite quickly when we realized we had the last weekend in August free of plans.
In order to stay at the Abbot Pass Hut, one must reserve a space with the Alpine Club of Canada, obtain backcountry passes, and reserve space on the shuttle bus for the ride to the trailhead in Yoho National Park. You will however need to purchase a Park Motor Vehicle Permit in order to park in the parking lot in Yoho. These can be purchased as you enter most of the national parks, as well as National Park visitor centres; we picked ours up in Field. The shuttle bus carries you in 12kms along a service road and drops you at Lake O’Hara. If the idea of a shuttle makes you feel lazy, banish that feeling. The service road would be a tedious and unrewarding hike. Save your energy for the beauty that lies ahead. The hike starts at Lake O’Hara towards Lake Oesa. If you’ve noticed any of the pictures on this page, you will already have a sense of the epic beauty surrounding the area. The brilliantly blue lake featured in the photographs is Lake Oesa. Many day-hikers head to this lake for lunch and photos, thus it is bit busy, but undeniably worth stopping to admire up close. There are plenty of opportunities to admire it from afar! At Lake Oesa, the trail heads north up the talus slope, well marked by cairns and blue and yellow markers painted onto the rocks.
This section of trail takes you to the main scree slope that takes you up to the hut. It is obvious that this is the point at which helmets should be worn, the rocks become loose, and there are occasional rock slides to remind you that they are not stable. The goal at this slope is to make it to the top along any route you wish. Cairns and blue triangles continue to indicate the general direction, but the shale and scree is very loose, and there is no correct path. We found that the larger rocks tended to be more stable. Usually. This section is a slog, gaining over 1,150 feet of elevation. There are a few points from which you can actually see the hut, and this helps spur you forward.
Once you crest the skree slope, the hut is immediately to the left, though you almost forget this as you are overwhelmed by the view laying ahead over the Victoria Glacier and Rocky Mountains. For the entire hike you are accompanied by the view of Lake Oesa and surrounding mountains behind you, making it difficult to imagine that another view could compete in awesomeness. However, when you arrive at the pass and gaze at the 360 degrees around you, it is impossible to pick a favourite direction, and truth be told, at that point you aren’t trying. Cameras can do no wrong, and would churn out fabulous photos regardless of where they are aimed. This is definitely a place where words fail, and pictures barely capture the beauty. We did not do any mountaineering from this point, but it is easy to see why summiting Victoria and LeFroy is so popular.
The hut itself is worth mentioning. It was built in 1922, with rocks found in the area. The remaining materials were carried by horse to the Victoria Glacier (from Lake Louise), and carried by hand to the hut location. It is unbelievable to imagine the dedication in building a structure under those conditions! The hut is beautiful to look at, but is also comfortable to stay in. It is well maintained, has a fireplace, a kitchen with propane hotplates, propane lights, and sleeps 22 on sleeping mats. There were only 5 of us the night we were there; Huts are always a great place to meet people, but we felt fortunate that it was both a quiet night, and that we got along well with the other hikers!
Our advice: If you are uncomfortable on ledges or on loose steep slopes, this is not an appropriate hike. We have heard numerous stories of groups turning around when they realize the degree of difficulty. Not all is lost however, as these groups were still able to enjoy the stunning Lake Oesa. If the above mentioned are not major concerns: Do this hike!!! Pick a night in late summer, ideally midweek to avoid the crowds. Even if you like to be social in the remote wilderness, you would rather not scramble up the scree slope while groups are above you causing mini (or not so mini) rock slides. Bring bear bangers (there are Grizzlies in the lower areas), your camera and a large memory card to capture the hundreds of pictures you will take.
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