by Travis Warwick
About
The Cameron Lake Hut is a winter only hut for the ACC. It was first built in 1929. I chose this
location for a ski touring trip for several reasons. Having visited many times in the summer, I seen
the potential for some great skiing in the winter given the right conditions. Elevation of the cabin is
around 1800m with some nearby peaks around 2500m. The forest fires of 2017 have opened the
trees up around Cameron Lake which has made skiing the area more accessible than ever. This
location is not sought after yet for ski touring as it has traditionally been more appropriate for XC
skiing trips (similar to Jaques Lake). The area can get ample snowfall from time to time and could
become a well-known spot for ski touring in the coming years.
Itinerary
Day 1 – Friday Jan 17
Brad, Travis, Matt, Danette left Edmonton around 7am. Arrived at the Waterton Visitor center to check in at 12:30pm. Arrived at the Little prairie parking lot at 1:30pm. Arrived at the hut around 2:10pm. Left the hut for a short tour at 3pm. Arrived back at the hut at 5pm. Jacki and Jenna Left Calgary around noon. Were delayed slightly and arrived at the hut at 5:30pm.
Day 2 – Saturday Jan 18
Left the hut at 10am towards forum ridge. Broke trail up to around 2162m on Forum Ridge. There was a knob straight up the slope above the grizzly gardens. Group skied to the lake. Some of the group went back to the hut via the lake. The rest broke trail up to around 1948m for a second lap. Skied to the lake. Returned to the cabin via the lake around 4pm.
Day 3 – Sunday Jan 19
Left the hut at 9:20am towards forum ridge. Took the same skin track up to around 2154m on Forum Ridge. Brad and Travis skied the ridge for a short run. Jenna and Jacki skied the edge of the avalanche path down to the lake and retuned to the Cabin. The two of them headed out home around 1:30pm. Brad and Travis took the skin track back to the transition spot and skied the open trees (skiers left) of the avalanche slope. It was so good we did a second lap in the open trees before returning to the cabin around 4pm.
Day 4 – Monday Jan 20
We ate and cleaned the cabin, leaving it better than we found it. We left the hut around 8:45am. Left Waterton around 10am after stopping again at the visitor’s center. Made it home around 4pm.
Weather
Waterton, like much of southern Alberta, can get quite windy. We were very lucky to have had a near wind free weekend. We did not experience anything greater than 10km/hr while out skiing. The day before our arrival and the day we left the hut, winds were greater than 25km/hr.
The original forecast for the temperature was around -15 during the day and -25 at night. Thankfully we did not experience temps that cold for the most part. The sun was fully out on our arrival Friday (-6 and bluebird). Sun was out somewhat on Saturday and could be felt. Mostly cloudy and light snow on Sunday. Little cloud and windy on our departure. Overall had great weather. Avalanche Forecast Avalanche hazard rating was low (1) for below tree line (BTL), Low for at tree line (ATL), and low for Alpine (ALP). Problems were limited to wind slabs mainly caused by SW winds. We confirmed wind slabs were formed on anything exposed to SW winds and leeward aspects had snow loading effect. We only observed some small cornices collapsing on very alpine terrain.
Getting There
The hut was accessed via Akamina Road. The snow is not cleared all the way to the cabin. Snow clearing ends at the “little prairie” parking lot around 12.5km from the Waterton townsite. We skinned in with makeshift Pulk sleds approx. 2.7km. The road can close when there is a big storm. We did not have this issue; however, the road was icy and we were cautious on the drive in and out. You are required to check in with the visitor center the day of your arrival to register license plates/vehicles.
Hut
The hut has 8 green mattresses. 4 down and 4 up. The top bunk is tight and would not recommend 4 people up there. The hut has a propane heater that works well and is on a timer. We found the upper bunk area gets very hot, so it is recommended that you turn down the thermostat to 13C at night. Also recommend shutting all the window shutters to help keep the hut cozy at night as they leak a lot of heat (windows seem very old). The hut is well stocked with pots, pans, cutlery, cooking tools. Should not need to bring anything for cooking when visiting. There is an ample dryng rack above the heater. Keep In mind it gets very hot close to it. There is a water source very close to the cabin that is great. We used a platypus filter bag to filter the water. The water source is a spring that has some kind of concrete structure to it. There is a sign to indicate its location. It is constantly running and quite tasty.
Terrain
The areas I have heard of to ski are the two ridges of either side of the lake and Mt Rowe. Due to the how the wind affected the snowpack, we only skied Forum ridge (west side of Cameron Lake). Mt Rowe looks like it would make for some great skiing in the right conditions. This would be a bigger objective for sure.
To access Forum ridge, we went to the main Cameron Lake parking area, headed in on the left of the smaller (first) washroom on the west side, crossed the small creek, and headed up left of the larger drainage that is quite visible. On the start of the ridge top, there is a cut line separating Alberta and BC. Follow the cut line/ridge top to the top of the avalanche paths. It is clear the bruned trees thin out to near nothing. Be cautious going further up the ridge as there are many cliffs that cannot be seen from the ridge top.
Group
The hut has a capacity of 6 when booking. This is a good number due to the small size of the hut.
We had Brad, Travis, Matt, Danette, Jakie, and Jenna. It was a great crew. We enjoyed conversing
and playing games. Crib, Euchre, and code names were some we brought. There was some cards
and a crib board at the hut as well. I gave out unofficial awards for fun.
Jenna – Spirit award for having the most fun on and off the snow.
Jacki – Enthusiasm award for bringing a great attitude and being so positive.
Brad – Stoke award for finding the best snow.
Matt – Trail Breaker award for leading the charge up the mountain the most and doing the hard work.
Danette – Style award for her great skiing skills. Fun to watch.
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