Whaleback Mountain

BOU AVENUE
Whaleback Mountain

Taking advantage of a fantastic weather forecast for 16 September 2023, Houmaro Kone, Dorota Sokołowska, Zosia Zgolak and I climbed Whaleback Mountain in British Columbia's Yoho National Park. I have had Whaleback Mountain in my back pocket for quite awhile--I had not visited Little Yoho Valley since 2006--and this was the perfect day for this relatively simple objective especially in the company of good friends. Several trip reports for Whaleback Mountain are available online, but I drew my inspiration for our chosen route mainly from Brandon Boulier's entry in peakbagger.com. We would use a modified and shortened version of Boulier's multi-peak odyssey.

Starting from Takakkaw Falls parking lot, Houmaro, Dorota, Zosia and I made a brief restroom stop at the nearby walk-in campground before heading north along the well-maintained Yoho Valley Trail. It took us a little over an hour to reach Laughing Falls backcountry campground and the turnoff to Little Yoho Valley. We then hiked up to the signed T-junction with Marpole Lake Connector trail and turned left. About 580 metres past the T-junction, we veered right onto Whaleback Trail and began a long uphill grind through 25 switchbacks culminating in a superlative viewpoint topped with a memorial cairn. At this point, we abandoned the official trail and followed a beaten path which led us to the base of a steep and rugged slope near the southeast end of Whaleback Mountain. From afar, this slope looked a bit daunting if not impossible to ascend, but as we got closer, we spotted some reasonable ascent lines that we could tackle with confidence. Zosia expertly led us up a ramp that was steep but not too exposed, and we all made it up to the ridge crest without any mishaps. From there, the summit was still nearly two kilometres distant, but the intervening ridge walk was relatively easy and uncomplicated in spite of a few annoying dips along the way.

The summit views did not disappoint on this day, and Houmaro, Dorota, Zosia and I lingered for about an hour before reluctantly commencing our descent. Backtracking along the ridge, we tried to avoid one of the bigger dips by side-hill bashing, but this was probably more trouble than it was worth. Near the southeast end of Whaleback Mountain, we tried to follow the ridge crest all the way down but ran into increasingly difficult terrain which forced us to descend the same slope we had originally ascended albeit at a slightly different spot. The section we descended was alarmingly steep and loose, but we managed to get down safely without a slip. Shortly after, we regained Whaleback Trail and uneventfully retraced our steps all the way to Takakkaw Falls parking lot.

	Zosia, Dorota and Houmaro cross a boardwalk near the start of the hike into Yoho Valley.
	Mornings provide the best light for viewing Laughing Falls.
	Climbing the south end of Whaleback Trail entails 25 switchbacks with an elevation gain of about 300 metres.
	Zosia, Dorota and Houmaro arrive at a memorial cairn near the southeast end of Whaleback Mountain. The cairn commemorates Jean Sharp, vice-president of the University of British Columbia’s Varsity Outdoor Club, who perished in an avalanche in the park on 30 December 1962.
	The group abandons Whaleback Trail here and heads for the rugged ridge at left.
	The slope ahead looks a bit daunting to ascend.
	Zosia and Dorota find a reasonable line up the rugged slope.
	Houmaro scrambles against a spectacular backdrop.
	The group gains the crest of Whaleback Mountain's southeast ridge.
	The hike to the summit (not visible here) along the ridge is not technically difficult but is still long.

This would've been a perfect day to bag all the Little Yoho Kane peaks!

The actual summit of Whaleback Mountain is difficult to discern in front of Isolated Peak (right). The glaciated peak is Mount McArthur.

	At right, the Vice President and The President stand out across the valley.
	Sonny, Houmaro, Dorota and Zosia stand on the summit of Whaleback Mountain (2627 metres).

Mount Marpole looks like a sexy mountain--not a lot of beta on it!

Here is a more comprehensive view of the peaks to the south.

	Here is another look at Mount McArthur and Isolated Peak.
	A receding glacier and its resulting lake sit between Mont Des Poilus (left) and Mount Collie (right) to the north.
	The beautiful weather makes it easy for Houmaro, Dorota and Zosia to linger on the summit. Notable peaks in the background include Mount Balfour (far left), Mount Daly (right of Zosia), and Mount Niles (right of Mount Daly).
	Here is a comprehensive view of the eastern half of Whaleback Mountain.
	Zosia, Dorota and Houmaro side-hill bash across this slope in order to avoid extra elevation gain, but the loose terrain is not as easy to traverse as it looks.
	The group descends the steep and loose southeast end of Whaleback Mountain.
	Dorota, Houmaro and Zosia take shelter under a lonely larch tree.
	With Mount Balfour in the background, the group returns to easier terrain after exiting the ridge.
	The sight of Takakkaw Falls means that the long hike is almost over.
	Total Distance: 22.1 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 10 hours 37 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 1166 metres GPX Data