Join us on the Wapta Icefields for Our Body Inclusive Mountaineering Program

The objectives of this camp is to provide an opportunity for plus size and fat femme, transgender, woman, and non-binary (FTWN-B) folks to learn the skills to be able to embark on their own independent alpine adventures, and to get up some cool summits in the process!

Skills covered include: 

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• Evening Prep Session: Meet the group via Zoom a 7 PM (MST) the night before to review gear, the plan for the trip, and have any questions answered.
• Day  1: Drive to the trailhead at Bow Lake, then hike to Bow Hut. Once you've had a chance to get settled and refuel, you'll have time in the evening to explore the area around the hut or relax in the hut.
• Day  2 & 3 : Head onto the glacier and explore the nearby peaks.
• Day 4: Maybe sneak in a final excursion before lunch and hike back to trailhead at Bow Lake.
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Introductory

This camp is designed for plus-size and fat FTWN-B hikers with little to no glacier travel, climbing, or mountaineering experience.  All skills (roped glacier travel, basic knots, snow and ice travel) will be taught from an introductory level, and you will have plenty of opportunity to practice in an encouraging and inclusive environment with like-bodied people.  

Pre-training

 You should be interested in and capable of moving around outside all day in a mountain environment. This includes being comfortable carrying a heavy pack (30-40 lbs) for hours a day, feeling comfortable gaining elevation and traveling uphill, and being able to find your footing on loose ground.

The hike to Bow Hut is approximately 7.5 km and 350m gain with some light scrambling. Summit hikes can include gains of 100m / 1km. Here is a link about training for mountaineering if you are interested: https://www.mountainguides.com/rainier-training.shtml

We are available to help you decide whether this camp is right for you. Email the Mountain Adventures Coordinator at [email protected] or Di Ships at [email protected]

Food

Once at the trailhead, all of the logistics are taken care of to allow you to focus on the climbing. Porters carry your group’s food into the hut to keep packs light on the ascent. You can expect nutritious continental-style breakfasts, packed lunches and 4 course dinners with soup, appetizer, meat-based entrees (with vegetarian option) and a scrumptious dessert. Check out our sample menu for full details of catering on ACC Adventures camps and courses.

Accommodation

The Bow Hut is fantastically scenic, perfectly situated and is an excellent base for exploring further onto the Wapta Icefields in winter or summer. It is the easiest and most natural route onto the Wapta and gives access to the Peyto Hut to the north, and the Balfour and Scott Duncan huts to the south. The peaks of the Wapta are an attraction for summer mountaineering as well and many climbers have learned or honed their glacier travel and crevasse rescue skills within sight of the hut. The hut itself is bright, spacious and fantastically scenic. It is the largest, best equipped and most accessible of the four huts on the Wapta with a wood burning stove!

Guiding

Our guiding ratio will be a maximum of 5:1 to give you plenty of one-to-one learning time with our excellent guides. The small groups also mean that you can split up based on objectives and pacing, and get the individualized attention needed to tackle more challenging alpine rock routes.  

This camp is guided by Association of Canadian Mountain Guides-certified Alpine and Apprentice Alpine guides.

Gear

If you don't have everything on the gear list and aren't ready to invest in your own, there are many awesome local businesses that rent out all of the equipment you will need.  Be sure to reserve your rentals ahead of time to make sure everything you need is available for you when you need it.

• Coming from the Bow Valley? Check out GearUp in Canmore. ACC members get 10% off all gear rentals!
• Coming from Calgary? We recommend renting your gear from MEC, the University of Calgary Outdoors Center, or the Norseman.
• Coming from the Revelstoke? Give Revelstoke Powder Rentals a try.

We know that finding plus-size climbing and mountaineering gear can be incredibly challenging and expensive.When you sign up for this camp, you will be invited to a private Facebook group organized by Di Ships as a platform to share recommendations for gear and clothing with other camp participants.