2,266m
Thirty years ago Yellow Aster Bute and Tomyhoi felt like our family's private mountain refuge. No longer. Since the last time I was there (a couple decades ago) it has been discovered by everyone and their dog. Not a big deal. It remains a fantastic spot, and the crowd thins considerably in the evening when all the day hikers head home. The Okanagan, Vancouver and Hood River branches of our family met in Glacier (lunch at Graham's of course) for one more outing to cap off a great summer in the mountains. Some of us had to lug ludicrously big packs up to the lakes below Yellow Aster Bute (some in our party are still not carrying their share), but we managed to get up before sunset. The following morning we lounged about the lakes and did a short jaunt up to Yellow Aster Bute for lunch. Tomyhoi itself was our destination for the next day. I'd forgotten how involved this scramble is; it's not to be taken lightly. For those of us who made it up (Oliver, Eloïse, Guy and Pip) it was an all-day affair, and getting across the top of the glacier was a proper hassle with one ice axe and no crampons (crampons are probably overkill, but both adults should've had ice axes at the very least, and crampons certainly wouldn't have hurt). The other key issue is rockfall, which is a particular hazard when hiking with a six-year old. None of which is to say this wasn't an awesome adventure – it was – but there's always room for improvement and we could've been a little better prepared for this one!
Jos and I have a lot of memories of this place as kids, and bringing our own kids here for the first time was really neat. I think we'll be back again soon (hopefully with Gillian – who injured herself the day before this trip – and Lisa next time).
Participants: Luca, Sparrow, Oliver, Eloïse, Jocelyn, Andrew, Lisa, Guy and Pip.
Guidebook: Matt Gunn (Matt has also added his route description to Bivouac.com).
Photos Strava GPX KML
