Wapta Icefield
The icefield is one of the most studied in the Canadian Rockies and all evidence supports the conclusion that the icefield is shrinking in area, especially near the lowest altitudes of its outlet glaciers, including Peyto Glacier, in which the glacier has become both shorter in length and thinner in thickness. In the 1980s the icefield covered an area of approximately 80 km (30 sq mi).
The glaciers popular with climbers accessible in both summer and winter. Both ski trips in the winter and glacier hiking trips in the summer often combine a traverse of this icefield with a trip across the Waputik Icefield directly to the south.
The Burgess shale animal Waptia takes its name from these features. Their meltwater feeds the nearby Wapta falls.
Glaciers
These are the glaciers that are part of this icefield:
The Crowfoot Glacier which was once connected to this icefield is no longer part of the Wapta Icefields.
Huts
There are five huts which provide accommodation to mountaineers on the Wapta Icefield that are operated by the Alpine Club of Canada.
- Bow Hut
- Peter and Catharine Whyte Hut (Peyto Hut)
- Balfour Hut
- Louise and Richard Guy Hut
- Scott Duncan Hut
See also
References
- ^ "Unknown". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ "BCGNIS Query Results".
- ^ "Wapta Icefields Ski Mountaineering/Touring". dowclimbing.com. Archived from the original on 2006-05-20.
- ^ Gould, S.J. (1989). Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History. W.W. Norton & Company.
Bibliography
- "Wapta Icefield". bivouac.com. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
- "Peyto Glacier Case Study". Past Variability of Canadian Glaciers. State of the Canadian Cryosphere. Archived from the original on 2006-02-15. Retrieved 2006-07-03.