Location: Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park
Distance: 12km
Description: A snowshoe trek up to Mount Edith Cavell hostel along a summer road. Gradual upslope; commonly done with cross-country skis. Day trip to Angel Glacier recommended (~5km return from hostel).
Together with some great friends, Tim and I ventured on a snowshoe trek up to Mount Edith Cavell hostel after Christmas to shake off those extra pounds gained from the holidays. The road up to the hostel and Angel Glacier is closed during winter and only accessible by snowshoes or skis. It’s a beautiful hike in the snow topped forest; and the valley is incredibly silent. Everything just feels so dormant; if I were a bear, I’d sleep throughout the winter too! All that was heard was the crunch of the snow underneath your snowshoes and the your laboured breathing from the hike.
Luckily the weather warmed up just in time for our trek- with temperatures ranging from about minus 5 to 15 degrees C during the day. Because it was warmer, we were able to take rest stops when needed. If it was any colder, you really wouldn’t want to stop to even pee! So yes, there were no catastrophes and no frostbitten extremities. The only thing we suffered from was sore achy muscles.
I helped organize the group meals and surprisingly portioned enough food for the six of us. Take a look at the menu I drafted menu. I highly recommend chili and beef barley soup for a winter trek- so hearty and filling, but most of all, fairly cheap to make!
Anyway, here are some photos taken of our trek. I highly recommend it, particularly for first time winter trekkers/snowshoers/skiers. It’s fairly short and there’s a rustic cabin at the end of the trail to warm up and recoup, so there are no worries of freezing during the night. All my friends I went with said that they’d do it again, it was THAT much fun! Next year, I’m going to try and convince Tim to ski into an alpine hut with me but he’ll have to train quite a bit this winter though 
Happy New Year everyone!
(Left to Right: Me, Tim, Sarah, Mike, Craig and Jenny)
(Tim, the cool trekker)
(Cozying up in the cabin)
(On a day trip to Angel Glacier)
