Hostels
For those who don't want to camp or bivouac, there is an excellent option to distant and expensive mountain park hotels.Hostelling International runs a chain of excellent, low-cost hostels which provide accomodations at several convenient locations close to popular climbing and touring sites. Five hostels, four open year-round, are located near the icefield. These hostels are clean, well-kept and managed by full-time custodians. The hostels are extremely economical in comparison to the costs of mountain park resorts and area hotels, as well as being surrounded by some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the world.
Check-in at hostels starts at 3:00 p.m. and check-out is by 10:00 a.m. the next morning. Self-cook kitchens are the rule, featuring gas and wood stoves, outdoor water pumps (well water) and cleaning up after yourself is a rule as well. The facilities range in description from "rustic", with bunkhouse-style sleeping quarters, to "very comfortable", with private family rooms (Lake Louise). Hostels close to Mt. Athabasca are located at Athabasca Falls, Beauty Creek, Hilda Creek and the town of Jasper. Reservations should be made well in advance. Payment by cash or credit card (Visa) is accepted, upon checking in.
Photo by Eric Klaszus
For those who don't want to camp or bivouac, there is an excellent option to distant and expensive mountain park hotels.
Check-in at hostels starts at 3:00 p.m. and check-out is by 10:00 a.m. the next morning. Self-cook kitchens are the rule, featuring gas and wood stoves, outdoor water pumps (well water) and cleaning up after yourself is a rule as well. The facilities range in description from "rustic", with bunkhouse-style sleeping quarters, to "very comfortable", with private family rooms (Lake Louise). Hostels close to Mt. Athabasca are located at Athabasca Falls, Beauty Creek, Hilda Creek and the town of Jasper. Reservations should be made well in advance. Payment by cash or credit card (Visa) is accepted, upon checking in.
Mt. Wilcox - Miscellaneous Information
It is advisable to descend and return to the trailhead by the same route you came up, as a longer hike down Wilcox Pass will leave you hiking down steeper, difficult, unpleasant scree-covered slabs or dirt surrounding the basin of the creek which flows downhill into Wilcox Campground.
There is approximately 2500 feet of vertical gain from the trailhead to the summit of this peak.
Topographic and GPS coordinates
The Google Earth website lists topographic and GPS coordinates derived by satellite measurement for Mt. Wilcox as follows:
52 deg 14 min 44.02 sec N / -117 deg 14 min 33.76 sec W
(GPS) 52.245561 N / -117.242711 W
Note: The actual topographic coordinates listed for Mt. Wilcox by the Government of Canada Natural Resources Geographical Database are 52.25N -117.2333W.
One last bit of information............You are in bear country here, so act appropriately with respect to the indigenous grizzly and black bears, and even the odd mountain lion you may happen to bump into at the trailhead or up along the approach and especially at Wilcox Pass, where grizzlies have been spotted in the past.
Photo by Colin Hiebert
It is advisable to descend and return to the trailhead by the same route you came up, as a longer hike down Wilcox Pass will leave you hiking down steeper, difficult, unpleasant scree-covered slabs or dirt surrounding the basin of the creek which flows downhill into Wilcox Campground.
There is approximately 2500 feet of vertical gain from the trailhead to the summit of this peak.
Topographic and GPS coordinates
The Google Earth website lists topographic and GPS coordinates derived by satellite measurement for Mt. Wilcox as follows:
Note: The actual topographic coordinates listed for Mt. Wilcox by the Government of Canada Natural Resources Geographical Database are 52.25N -117.2333W.
One last bit of information............You are in bear country here, so act appropriately with respect to the indigenous grizzly and black bears, and even the odd mountain lion you may happen to bump into at the trailhead or up along the approach and especially at Wilcox Pass, where grizzlies have been spotted in the past.
Disclaimer - Hazard Warning
The Alpine Club'sEdmonton Section and Calgary Section both conduct an excellent mountaineering orientation program, which prepares novices for their initiation to mountaineering, and also features three days of practical instruction on the lower slopes of nearby Mt. Athabasca, Parker's Ridge, and Hidden Valley. Instruction is done by top-notch volunteer members with many years of experience. The program includes theory and practical training in crevasse and rock rescue, subjective and objective hazards, mountain conditions and weather, clothing, ropework, use of technical equipment and personal gear, mountain safety and other relevant subjects. Avalanche awareness courses are available, as well as both summer and winter trips for members. Avalanche reports can be obtained as well. In addition, the Canadian Avalanche Association is an excellent source of current avalanche information.
The Association of Canadian Mountain Guides can provide information regarding guide services for those who wish to retain a guide. Several guide services, such asYamnuska Mountaineering, Inc. , also provide a three-day on-site mountaineering orientation program, highlighted with a guided ascent of either the North Glacier or the AA Col routes on nearby Mt. Athabasca.
Climbing is dangerous. Climb at your own risk.
The Alpine Club's
The Association of Canadian Mountain Guides can provide information regarding guide services for those who wish to retain a guide. Several guide services, such as
Climbing is dangerous. Climb at your own risk.
The Columbia Icefield Centre
Tourism
TheColumbia Icefield Centre , located on the Icefield Parkway at the base of Mt. Andromeda and Mt. Athabasca, was built in 1996 to replace the much smaller center previously found there. There is a small coffee shop stocked with quick snacks, and a dining lounge with more sophisticated dining, for those who feel a culinary treat is in order. Both are open only during regular business hours. Modern washrooms provide the last civilized toilets many climbers will see for days. There are ATM machines and tourist shops with souvenirs of the Columbia Icefield and the Rocky Mountains. The Columbia Icefield Chalet on the top floor of the Icefield Centre is a modern, if expensive hotel for those who don't want to camp, bivy or stay in nearby hostels.
On the main floor near the entrance is an Interpretive Center with videos and models of the Icefield, featuring the history of the area's glaciology, geology, and early mountaineering exploration and history. A huge fiberglass relief model of the Icefield, mountains and glaciers is fascinating and helps greatly in appreciating the topography and sheer size of the Columbia Icefield. There is plenty of helpfulColumbia Icefield information available at the Icefield Centre and on their various web pages, featuring movie clips and slide shows from the Athabasca Glacier, and information regarding the Icefield Parkway. A huge parking area ensures plenty of free parking for tourists, travellers, climbers and other backcountry users who happen to stop at the Icefield Centre. There are several pay phones in the parking area, available for use even during the months when the centre is closed.
Snocoach glacier tours onto the Athabasca Glacier can be arranged at the Icefield Centre. Privately led hikes are also available onto the glacier, under the supervision of local licensed guides. Veteran climber and ACC member Marcus Kellerhals leads glacier ski tours onto the Athabasca Glacier. Telescopes are mounted out on the terrace, and can be used to examine the various mountains in the area at close range. You can stand at one of the scopes, have a relaxing beverage and watch the intrepid adventures of climbers working their way up the North Face of Mt. Athabasca, or the Skyladder on Mt. Andromeda. It is not at all unusual for climbers near the Athabasca Glacier, the Icefield Centre or the Snocoach road to be the subject of photographs by hordes of awed tourists visiting the icefield for the first time. (So remember, if you are ever climbing one of the peaks close by....Smile! You're a tourist attraction!)
Photo by Brewster Transportation
Tourism
The
On the main floor near the entrance is an Interpretive Center with videos and models of the Icefield, featuring the history of the area's glaciology, geology, and early mountaineering exploration and history. A huge fiberglass relief model of the Icefield, mountains and glaciers is fascinating and helps greatly in appreciating the topography and sheer size of the Columbia Icefield. There is plenty of helpful
Park Wardens
In addition to Ranger Stations at Sunwapta, Pobotkan Creek and the town of Jasper, park wardens are based at the Icefield Centre. Route information, climbing conditions, weather reports, perusal of logbook entries, and a voluntary climber's check-in and check-out are among the services offered. Park Wardens, in addition to frequently climbing in the area themselves, have a full view of the two most frequently-climbed peaks, Mt. Athabasca and Mt. Andromeda. Remember, climbers: if you check in, you must remember to check out, or a costly search operation could be conducted, for which you could end up stuck with the bill. A helicopter search based out of Golden, B.C. will be expensive.
Photos by:Travel Alberta
In addition to Ranger Stations at Sunwapta, Pobotkan Creek and the town of Jasper, park wardens are based at the Icefield Centre. Route information, climbing conditions, weather reports, perusal of logbook entries, and a voluntary climber's check-in and check-out are among the services offered. Park Wardens, in addition to frequently climbing in the area themselves, have a full view of the two most frequently-climbed peaks, Mt. Athabasca and Mt. Andromeda. Remember, climbers: if you check in, you must remember to check out, or a costly search operation could be conducted, for which you could end up stuck with the bill. A helicopter search based out of Golden, B.C. will be expensive.
Photos by:
