I guided a 3-day traverse on the Wapta this past Friday-Sunday starting at Bow Lake and finishing at Peyto Lake trailhead.

The access to Bow Hut is still in fairly good condition with a handful of spots requiring skis off. The route between the Peyto Lake trailhead and the Peyto Glacier however is in fair to poor condition with lots of sections of hiking and hunting for snow patches. Particularly the sections below the moraine and in the woods below the highway are a bit of a drag right now.

Conditions in the alpine were ideal, with decent overnight freezes and a very well settled, stable snowpack with north aspects providing good dry snow skiing. Even steep solar aspects Sunday were still holding together and no new avalanches were observed throughout our trip. By Sunday afternoon and certainly by today (Mon April 18) things have heated up to change that high into the alpine (freezing levels of 3800 m!)

The attached photos give a better idea of how much we've moved into spring time by now.

I'm heading up for a 6 day trip in the same area later this week -- looks like our stellar weather will break down by the weekend with cloudy skies, cooler weather and snow (hopefully not rain) in the forecast.

Tom Wolfe
Mountain Guide ACMG/IFMGA
Guided Heli-accessed Ski Touring Lodges and Avalanche Skill (AST) Courses - www.sawback.com/current-trips/