It had been miserably smoky in Banff for 2 weeks leading up to our trip, so we had low hopes and were prepared to turn around if it wasn't viable and safe. But there was a perfect little pocket of clarity over Yoho that day, and the ascent would go ahead.
Our assault began from Takakkaw Falls campground, where we slept the night before. Takakkaw Falls drops from an impressive height of 373 metres total, making it the 2nd tallest in Canada. "Takakkaw" translates to "wonderful" in Cree; rightfully so. It was a bonus to eliminate the drive in the morning, and wake up right at the trailhead. We met up with our 2 friends, Freddy and Loz, at nearly 8pm, and were still able to find a decent spot on the east side of the campground. The campsite is a great semi-walk-in area, with carts to help truck in your gear on the 10 minute walk from the parking. Although you're unable to reserve, there are many options, requiring a modest $18/site.
Takakkaw Falls glowing, the golden dusk sunlight, amplified by the haze of smoke from wildfires.
We awoke at 2:30am, anticipating a 3am departure. Since Marty and I are so sick of oatmeal, we are trialing protein- and calorie- rich meal supplement drinks. We both brought 2 for breakfast to have along the way. At 3:15am, off we go speeding the Yoho Valley trail in darkness. We were all chatty surprisingly - as Freddy said: 'Waking up super early doesn't even hurt if you never really fell asleep'. Egad!
At Laughing Falls campground we hooked left onto Little Yoho Valley (LYV) trail, which would eventually lead to the Stanley Mitchell hut. There's always a tad more uphill than you expect climbing up to LYV, especially when it's dark. We got to Stanley Mitchell in probably 3 hours and took a little snack break. Then we quietly passed through LYV campground, hopped over the Little Yoho river, and continued up and right towards a large lateral moraine. There are two options here; take the high road and hike along the pointed ridge of the moraine or; take the low road, following the glacial run-off creek and surmount the small waterfall, and reach the very toe of the glacier. I blindly chose the high road for all of us and after a little anxiety about it not actually connecting to the glacier, we got high enough on a bump to confirm it did. It was 7am approximately halfway along the moraine top. So we picked over small rises and loose rock, bee-lining towards a flatter entry point of ice.
Starting up the moraine path. Just visible at the right of photo is the low road, and the creek which one would follow.
Towards the end of hurdling lots of little rises and falls leading up to the glacier ice. Smooth water runnel looks like a slide.
I brought my mountaineering boots on my back, so I switched over from hiking boots and left them at the base, marked by a cairn. The glacier was steep, bare ice - a brilliant calf-burner. Having to navigate a few open crevasses kept our minds focused. Visibility is one positive about little to no snow. Freddy and Loz were fresh off a glacier travel course, but even for me, leaping over gaping, bottomless ice chasms will never fail to excite.
In the process of traversing hard right. A good perspective on the slope angle.
Taking a breath, girt by big crevasses on either side.
Travel was fast and quite simple - it's not a large glacier so the safest line is not hard to navigate. We cut hard right once on the ice, and then started ascending, veering somewhat left as we went. At 9:45am, we'd reached the first bergschrund. It was wide open for a view of all its holey glory to the left, but still solidly bridged 3/4 of its perpendicular span. A small wind lip hides the next bergschrund until the last minute. This one was in worse condition, making us more cautious when crossing it. At the pass at 10am.
Jagged schrund to the left.
Our path. A sound crossing over supportive snow. Just over the lip on the horizon is the next crevasse, and you're on top of the pass.
Contradictory to food, never save the best till last while peak-bagging. We scrambled up the President first because we didn't know how long it would take and time was of the essence for glacier safety. There is one moment of potential confusion; a short scramble up through a gap between two big rocks is the way to go. Before breaching the last rise before the summit, we were concerned about the growing patch of ice coming closer and closer into view. Should we have brought crampons? But no, upon reaching the summit cairn at 11:10am, it was all dry - but the ice was higher, so we walked the extra 5 vertical metres to the proper summit. It was cool, and quite safe without crampons.
Loz coming down through the rock step mentioned. Very minimal difficulty just not the most obvious way.
Freddy walks across the top of the glacial ice summit blob, the "true" summit of the President.
Returned to the pass and had a sandwich for lunch. The route up VP looked less inviting, especially with knowledge of the rock quality being much worse. Loz's feet were suffering a bit so the other 3 of us set out for VP.
The second bergschrund is well portrayed in this picture. Freddy, Marty and I en route to VP. We took the gully just slightly left of our direction of travel in the photo.
Can confirm rock quality is awful. It is much steeper than the President. Two steps forward, 10 steps back. But it only took 35 minutes to get up, which was a consolation. It was 12:30pm at the summit of VP. An incredibly speedy descent got us back to the pass in 10 minutes, where we geared up again and started on the way down.
Typical terrain ascending VP. Stick to climber's left, as you'll be out of the way of the worst loose rocks.
Soooo crumbly. Looks cool though.
Summit of VP. The Emerald glacier really accentuates the beauty of being high on the Presidents. I'm sure on a clearer day the view of Emerald Lake would be a gem.
Taking a more direct way down the ice was a lot more stress on the knees, ankles and toes, but thankfully didn't take longer than an hour and 15 minutes. Very glad to put the hiking boots back on. Reversed our route through the rocky mounds and then back across the moraine tightrope. Just about at the end of the moraine, it was 3:15pm. Back down LYV trail, then Yoho Valley trail couldn't finish fast enough. Finally, the falls came into view, confirming we were close. At 5:20pm, we were sitting at a picnic bench, with cold beers and chips to celebrate. Nearly exactly a 14 hour day.
Hiking back down the moraine, Isolated Peak in the background, a summit we did last year. It felt really awesome to get both of the Presidents done - a very rewarding day.
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