The Gym
Seven Bays Bouldering
With over 100 years of history, it’s no wonder the Elizabeth Parker Hut is one of the most popular, and busy, mountain shelters in North America. With a wait-list over a year-long and a bus that can take you directly to the front door, if you want to stay in this luxurious cabin then you better book now.
Lake O’Hara sits at just over 2,000 metres in the alpine of Yoho National Park. To access the lake from the Trans-Canada Hwy, you can either take the bus shuttle or hike the 11 km road. Most visitors use the area for alpine hiking, so limits have been placed on the number of people the bus shuttles every day to preserve the sensitive environment. The lake was named after Col. Robert O’Hara, an Irishman from Derryhovle, Galway, who heard about the area from the famous land surveyor, James McArthur.
The Elizabeth Parker Hut is about 500 metres from the lake and consists of two buildings, the hut and the Wiwaxy cabin. The hut was named after the journalist Elizabeth Parker, who was one of the founding members of the Alpine Club of Canada ( acc). The Wiwaxy cabin was built in 1912 by the Canadian Pacific Railway ( cpr) and in the same year, the acc was granted a two-acre lease for a future hut. In 1919, the cpr built the present Elizabeth Parker hut, and by 1923 had built a further 11 huts in the meadow. From 1923 to 1924, the cpr moved all but the first two huts down to the lakeshore, and seven years later donated the last two in the meadow to the acc. The club exchanged its lakeshore lease for a lease on the meadow, and in 1931 reopened the Elizabeth Parker hut to its members.
There have been a number of renovations over the years, including a new f loor, roof, timbers and foundation logs. The interior has been redesigned and there are modern stoves, outhouses and the area where the previous cabins stood has been rehabilitated. The Canadian government designated the Elizabeth Parker Hut a Federal Heritage Building in 1997.
In the summer, hikers and alpinists use the cabins and in winter, skiers and snowshoers. There are even a few ice climbs that can be accessed easily from the hut. Some of the biggest attractions to climbers are the many famous mountains within a few hours from the lake. These are some of the peaks that first lured European climbers to Western Canada and opened up the Rockies as a destination for climbers. Most of the mustclimb routes are easy to moderate and see regular ascents. The hut is a popular starting point for climbers heading to the Abbot Pass Hut.
Gaining elevation above the lake gives you views of the jagged peaks, big glaciers and pristine alpine lakes. Early summer will provide you with an abundance of wildf lowers and raging waterfalls and autumn displays of the famous golden larch trees. Lake O’Hara is most famous for the alpine rock climbing and mountaineering classics such as the esthetic rock climb called Wiwaxy Ridge 5.7, the snow and ice routes up Mount Odaray and Mount Hungabee and the low-fifth class route up Mount Huber. There are also a number of scrambles, such as Wiwaxy Peak via Wiwaxy Gap, Mount Yukness, Mount Shaeffer from McArthur Lake and Little Odaray.
While there is no guidebook to the area in print, the hut has a variety of resources, from topos to photographs, for climbers to use. Due to high demand, the hut is booked by lottery during the summer and is already booked for 2015. If you want to stay at the hut in 2016, and it’s recommended that you stay at the hut at least once in your life, then reserve a spot as soon as possible.–