CR2011: Climbing to Wiwaxy Gap

The next day was another sunny one. This meant that between yesterday and today most of the snow should be gone from the alpine routes. We decided it was a good day to hike a favorite route, up to Wiwaxy Gap and then along the Huber and Yukness ledges.

The trail to Wiwaxy splits off the lakeside trail close to the north end. This photo is taken towards the north end of Lake O'Hara, not long after leaving our cabin.

There's a sign where the Wiwaxy trail begins. Note the two different images used for alpine routes -- Wiwaxy Gap is walkable, if steep, while Abbot Pass, at bottom, requires climbing.

And the Wiwaxy route goes up from the very first step. It's steeper than it looks; we'll see a later section in profile.

The path quickly leaves the wooded section seen above and starts a series of rapid switchbacks along the side of a gully, out in the sun. You can see some hikers ahead of us, upper center, in this image.

Here we have paused partway up the gully to look back at the lake. The people in the previous photo are now behind us; we leapfrogged each other several times this morning. There are many reasons to pause besides catching your breath, including taking off the jackets or gloves that seemed necessary down by the lake. At this point your inner furnace is  running at 100%.

Near the top of the gully the trail becomes more gentle and heads into woods on the right. The model in the next photo, with the blue shirt and yellow daypack, is Joan.

In this stretch there is a grand old tree, a grandfather or grandmother tree, eking a living from a precarious site and rocky soil. We touch his bark and greet him each time we pass.

The trail then arrives at rock ledges, where hikers slow down and watch their footing. There are a couple of switchbacks which require keeping an eye out for the alpine blazes.

Although the path may be narrow, it's not always steep. Just most of the time.

I was able to persuade Joan to pose for the next picture without much difficulty. The green carpet in the center, higher up on the far side of the lake, begins the Opabin Plateau.

In rocky country, the alpine trail blazes are necessary to avoid false turns, and to take the correct ones.

The Wiwaxy trail is varied. Now the rock ledges are left behind and the trees thin as we emerge into more open slopes.

The path steepens and becomes looser under foot, and all shade is lost.

There are, inevitably, more switchbacks.

Finally we are getting near the top.

Now I can show you a trail profile, with a picture I took later from the Yukness Ledges. Click to enlarge and watch the trail rise from the lower left corner to upper right.

Finally I was at the top, 2532 meters or about 8,300' above sea level. As soon as I stepped into the windy pass I rolled my shirtsleeves back down.

I couldn't resist taking a video from the gap, even if my camera lens was a bit dusty. I scanned about 330° of some of the most gorgeous scenes in the world.

It was too early for lunch. So it was time to walk along the Huber Ledges to Lake Oesa -- in the next post.