Rob Ritchie (Balfour) Hut

Rob Ritchie (Balfour) Hut

Built 1989

The Rob Ritchie Hut, also known as the Balfour Hut, is found on low, rocky hills at the toe of the Vulture Glacier, approximately 28 km northwest of the town of Lake Louise, AB. It is east of Balfour Pass and the Continental divide, just inside the Banff National Park boundary. This is the half-way mark for the Wapta Traverse and is usually used in conjunction with the other huts in this chain while attempting this classic cross-glacier ski trip.

Hut Facilities

Rob Ritchie (Balfour) Hut Features

Open All Year

Features

Middle of the Wapta

There are not as many mountaineering objectives accessible from the Balfour Hut as from the northern huts on the Wapta. Mt. Balfour, however, is one of the most challenging peaks on the Icefield, and is a great objective in both summer and winter. The North Ridge and the Northeast Face Routes are best accessed from the Balfour hut; the Southeast Ridge is best accessed from the Scott Duncan Hut The ascent of Mt. Olive is also a popular outing from the Balfour Hut.

Trail Access

The approach from the North is the most popular access route to the hut in both winter and summer. Under good conditions Balfour can be reached easily in a day from either the Bow Hut or from the Peyto Hut further north.

Approach from the North

From the Peyto Hut the route ascends the Wapta Icefield to the southeast, and passes St. Nicholas Peak on its west side. From the Bow Hut, the route ascends onto the glacier in a northwesterly direction and circles back to the south around the west side of St. Nicholas, where the two approaches from the north join and follow the same route. From the west side of St. Nicholas, the route ascends to the St . Nicholas-Olive Col, crossing onto its east side before descending the Vulture Glacier to the hut at its terminus. Refer to Chic Scott’s guidebook Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies or Summits and Icefields in the Canadian Rockies for a detailed route description.

From the Peyto Hut you will gain 430 metres to the Olive-St. Nicholas Col, before descending another 1,400 (430 metres) to the Balfour Hut. In the summer, six to eight hours are required for the whole trip from the Peyto Hut and about three to five if you are starting from the Bow Hut. In the winter, five to six hours traveling from the Peyto Hut should be sufficient in good conditions.

Approach from the South

The Scott Duncan Hut is located some 10 km south of the Balfour Hut. It is not common to access the icefields from the south, and the route between the two huts is usually done from north to south (from Balfour Hut to Scott Duncan), but the trip is occasionally done in the other direction. This section of the Wapta/Waputik is one of the most demanding from both a terrain and navigation standpoint. It is recommended that this trip (or the reverse trip) only be undertaken in favorable conditions with stable snow and good visibility.

Access to the Balfour Hut in both summer and winter is via the same routes. Both the south and the north approach routes travel over the same terrain in the winter and the summer, with route adjustments for crevasses, avalanche hazards, and so on. For winter access, a summary of these routes is given below.

Leaving the Scott Duncan Hut, proceed across the Waputik Icefield to the northwest and up to the Balfour High Col. From the col, continue for a kilometre or so in a northwesterly direction parallel to the ridge line of Balfour (potential danger from icefall from above) until the terrain steepens and it is possible to turn right and pass a large cliff via a steep and narrow ramp on its left. From the bottom of the ramp, proceed north to the toe of the Vulture Glacier and the Balfour Hut. Refer to Chic Scott’s guidebooks, as mentioned above, for a detailed description of this route in the winter.

From Scott Duncan the route ascends about 245 metres to the Balfour High Col, and then descends 520 metres to the Balfour Hut. This route can be traveled in five to six hours in the winter, but expect it to take a few hours longer in the summer.

Rates

Member Rates

  • Standard $50

Non Member Rates

  • Standard $60

Features

Middle of the Wapta

Though most people will spend one night at the R.J. Ritchie (Balfour) Hut before continuing on to Scott Duncan, there is potential for good skiing here, especially on the Diableret Glacier which sits northwest of Mt. Balfour and makes for a fantastic run on a clear day! There is also an optional route to the summit of Mt. Gordon from this hut, which would be an excellent loop trip if combined with the normal route back towards Bow Hut. Use your imagination and some neat trip ideas will present themselves!

The ascents of Mt. Olive and Mt. Balfour offer some excellent ski mountaineering objectives in the winter. Mt. Blafour requires a good deal more climbing after you have taken you skis off and is more challenging than most of the peaks accessible from the Wapta huts. Refer to Chic Scott’s guidebook Summits and Icefields in the Canadian Rockies.

Trail Access

The approach from the North is the most popular access route to the hut in both winter and summer. Under good conditions Balfour can be reached easily in a day from either the Bow Hut or from the Peyto Hut further north.

Approach from the North

From the Peyto Hut the route ascends the Wapta Icefield to the southeast, and passes St. Nicholas Peak on its west side. From the Bow Hut, the route ascends onto the glacier in a northwesterly direction and circles back to the south around the west side of St. Nicholas, where the two approaches from the north join and follow the same route. From the west side of St. Nicholas, the route ascends to the St . Nicholas-Olive Col, crossing onto its east side before descending the Vulture Glacier to the hut at its terminus. Refer to Chic Scott’s guidebook Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies or Summits and Icefields in the Canadian Rockies for a detailed route description.

From the Peyto Hut you will gain 430 metres to the Olive-St. Nicholas Col, before descending another 1,400 (430 metres) to the Balfour Hut. In the summer, six to eight hours are required for the whole trip from the Peyto Hut and about three to five if you are starting from the Bow Hut. In the winter, five to six hours traveling from the Peyto Hut should be sufficient in good conditions.

Approach from the South

The Scott Duncan Hut is located some 10 km south of the Balfour Hut. It is not common to access the icefields from the south, and the route between the two huts is usually done from north to south (from Balfour Hut to Scott Duncan), but the trip is occasionally done in the other direction. This section of the Wapta/Waputik is one of the most demanding from both a terrain and navigation standpoint. It is recommended that this trip (or the reverse trip) only be undertaken in favorable conditions with stable snow and good visibility.

Access to the Balfour Hut in both summer and winter is via the same routes. Both the south and the north approach routes travel over the same terrain in the winter and the summer, with route adjustments for crevasses, avalanche hazards, and so on. For winter access, a summary of these routes is given below.

Leaving the Scott Duncan Hut, proceed across the Waputik Icefield to the northwest and up to the Balfour High Col. From the col, continue for a kilometre or so in a northwesterly direction parallel to the ridge line of Balfour (potential danger from icefall from above) until the terrain steepens and it is possible to turn right and pass a large cliff via a steep and narrow ramp on its left. From the bottom of the ramp, proceed north to the toe of the Vulture Glacier and the Balfour Hut. Refer to Chic Scott’s guidebooks, as mentioned above, for a detailed description of this route in the winter.

From Scott Duncan the route ascends about 245 metres to the Balfour High Col, and then descends 520 metres to the Balfour Hut. This route can be traveled in five to six hours in the winter, but expect it to take a few hours longer in the summer.

Rates

Member Rates

  • Standard $50

Non Member Rates

  • Standard $60

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Hut History

The Balfour Hut has seen significant changes over the years – changes in location and jurisdiction and changes in operators, as well as in style and facilities of the hut itself. Conceived by guide Peter Fuhrmann, paid for by Vici and Lucho Modolfo and constructed by the Calgary ski club and the Alpine Club of Canada, the original fiberglass igloo at Balfour Pass was the first hut on the Wapta Icefields. During the igloo’s life from October of 1965 to the summer of 1971 it withstood many storms, was totally dismantled and reconstructed with Swiss Army Knives, and crashed into a moraine while being airlifted whole to a new location on the Yoho side of Balfour Pass. Marauding bands of wolverines eventually looted and plundered the hut and reduced it to worthless stench-filled fiberglass, effectively ending its useful existence.

The second-generation Balfour Hut was constructed of cedar Pan-Abode logs rather than fiberglass and was located at a new site on the south side of Mt. Olive to the west of the Continental Divide in Kootenay National Park. The hut serviced ski tourers in this location for almost 18 years, but was eventually replaced with the existing structure at another new site at the toe of the Vulture Glacier, back in its original home of Banff National Park.

Today, with a durable metal exterior, the Balfour Hut could be compared to the brick house in the story of the three little pigs; fiberglass and cedar would be straw and sticks against the vicious storms which howl over the Wapta. The hut was built in the fall of 1989, using a reliable design which had tested successfully with the Whyte Hut and Neil Colgan Hut, two other locations operated by the Alpine Club of Canada since its reconstruction in Banff in 1989.

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Additional ski week availability on a per bed basis at Bill Putnam (Fairy Meadow) and Kokanee Glacier Cabin just released for the 24/25 season!

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