Eohippus Lake

BOU AVENUE
Eohippus Lake

On 27 January 2024, Brandon Boulier joined Zosia Zgolak and me for a ski tour to Eohippus Lake located in British Columbia's Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. Our approach would be via Healy Creek in Alberta's Banff National Park. Years ago, Zosia had attempted to ski to the lake but never made it due to route-finding complications. Although we both reached the lake during our epic ascent of The Monarch in 2021, Zosia still yearned to try a visit on skis. For this trip, we opted to use AT gear since there was a possibility to return via Sunshine Ski Resort.

Starting from the parking lot at Sunshine Ski Resort's lower gondola station, Brandon, Zosia and I skinned up the familiar and popular trail to Healy Pass along Healy Creek. About 5.4 kilometres from the trailhead, we turned off the main trail to cross Healy Creek and head toward Simpson Pass. As we climbed away from Healy Creek, the ski tracks we were following appeared to be heading in the wrong direction, and we decided to abandon them and break our own trail. Fortunately, we did not go far before stumbling across another set of tracks which led us more or less to Simpson Pass. From the pass, we headed west along the connector trail to Healy Pass and climbed up a very steep slope before leveling out on a plateau east of the Monarch Ramparts. We then turned southward to cross the provincial border, and we somehow managed to find an uncomplicated route across several snow-covered tarns before gently descending a shallow drainage all the way to Eohippus Lake.

Had the weather been nicer, Brandon, Zosia and I might have considered exploring some of the nearby slopes surrounding Eohippus Lake, but instead, we just snapped a requisite group photo and turned around to retrace our tracks back to the plateau. Instead of returning via Simpson Pass, we continued northward along the connector trail and ultimately intersected the trail to Healy Pass. More than 7.5 hours after starting out, we finally stripped off our climbing skins to descend the trail along Healy Creek. My boots were killing me by this point, and I did not have as enjoyable a ski descent as in previous trips here. Brandon was also apparently having issues but mostly with his glide (residue skin glue). In any case, we all managed to make it back to the Sunshine Ski Resort parking lot none the worse for wear. In retrospect, I think this ski tour would be much more enjoyable with light touring gear.

	Zosia watches as Brandon carefully crosses the bridge over Sunshine Creek.
	Zosia and Brandon cross Healy Creek at the turnoff to Simpson Pass.
	Zosia and Brandon arrive at Simpson Pass.
	West of Simpson Pass, Brandon climbs up probably the steepest section of the whole trip. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Sonny is about to do a face plant as his skis get stuck in a dip. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Brandon and Zosia head toward Monarch Ramparts after turning off from the connector between Simpson and Healy Passes.
	Zosia and Brandon prepare to cross an unnamed frozen tarn.
	Healy Pass Peak is visible behind Sonny as he crosses the unnamed tarn. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The terrain is still mostly open as Brandon and Zosia begin to descend toward Eohippus Lake (not visible).

We made it. Yay.

Brandon and Zosia arrive at snow-covered Eohippus Lake.

	Sonny, Brandon and Zosia pose for a group photo at Eohippus Lake.
	Zosia and Brandon head back across the unnamed tarn with Monarch Ramparts at left.
	The trail to Healy Pass is just in the trees at the far side of this open area.
	Sonny expresses what he thinks of skiing to Eohippus Lake with AT gear. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Total Distance: 23.9 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 8 hours 43 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 613 metres GPX Data