Uto to Eagle Peak Traverse: 13 Hours In Paradise

Fred and I planned on completing a traverse from Uto Peak to Eagle Peak We would hike up the Sir Donald Trail to its famous col, ascend the southwest ridge of Uto Peak, traverse from Uto to Eagle Peak and scramble down the chossy southwest ridge of Eagle Peak back to the Avalanche Crest Trail.

Exposure rating: FIRE. Edit: The Uptrack

Report from September 3rd, 2019

After a short hour drive to Rogers Pass from Revelstoke, Fred and I stepped out of my CRV and were greeted by the smell of fresh pine and a cool morning breeze. We organized our small 25-liter packs having decided to go fast and light on our ambitious mission.

climber gearing up for the uto to eagle peak traverse — A recollection of our gear on this long adventure. Photo: The Uptrack

The morning hike was phenomenal. Temperatures were hovering just below the 20C mark which allowed us to move at a brisk pace. Fred bravely carried our 50-meter 7.5mm rope up the Sir Donald Trail.

hiker heading to the sir donald col — Fred hiking along the Sir Donal Trail to the Parks Canada campsite. Photo: The Uptrack

After less than two hours, we reached the Sir Donald campsite, basically, a small clearing surrounded by boulders and a plastic toilet. We found a small pond 100 meters west of the campsite where we filled up our water bottles and enjoyed the surrounding vista.

alpine lake by the sir donald campsite — Small pond by the Sir Donald campsite. Photo: The Uptrack

After a short break, we proceeded up a scree slope to the col between Mt Sir Donald and Uto Peak. Fred and I aren’t very fond of scree slopes after too many twisted ankles, but this specific trail was in good shape. After all, climbers use it day after day in the summer to complete one of Rogers Pass’ most popular climbing route, the northwest ridge of Mt Sir Donald.

view of the sir donald col path overlay — Path taken to ascend Uto Peak from the col. Photo: The Uptrack

As we reached the top of the col, we gazed at our first objective, Uto Peak rising 2927 meters above sea level. From our angle, the route seemed pretty complex. It revealed its true nature once we found ourselves clinging to the rock slabs with potentially fatal falls below us.

two climbers taking on the first pitch of uto peak southwest ridge — Matt, Freddy and Kaitlin negotiating the first of many slabs on the Uto to Eagle Peak Traverse. Photo: The Uptrack

The rock was solid, blocky quartzite, the kind that provides ample friction and huge jugs. Our route led us through a collection of 4th class scrambles with thrilling fifth class pitches consisting of exposed slabs and corners.

uto peak climb — Slab city midway up Uto Peak. Just trust your shoes’ rubber. Photo: The Uptrack

We soloed the entire climb, in part due to the added confidence of wearing fitted rock shoes. In addition, the rock quality was supreme and holds were plentiful. The exposure made this classic climb an epic. We bolted passed a couple of giddy Albertan climbers placing protection.

two climbers on uto peak — Fred, followed by Kaitlin, negotiating a corner slab on another ascent of Uto Peak. Photo: The Uptrack

After only two hours of climbing, we summited Uto Peak at an elevation of 2927m. We gazed at the ridge leading to Eagle Peak, a long way to go. It consisted of 3rd and 4th-class scrambles and a few sketchy pitches with rappel anchors. To speed things up, we choose not to rappel as we felt comfortable on the steep face. As I heard from friends, the rock quality wasn’t as good and we constantly had to double-check our holds after a few close-calls further down the ridge.

moutnaineer scrambling on ridge to eagle peak — Fred scrambling past the rappel anchors on his way to Eagle Peak, terminating the ridge. Photo: The Uptrack

As we approached Eagle Peak from the south, our progress grinded to a halt. We were blocked by a mighty obstacle, a large talus hill that had to be circumvented.

mountaineer looking at the avalanche glacier from uto peak — Fred looking at a way down ridge nearing the large talus hill, Avalanche Glacier on the right. Photo: The Uptrack

With careful route finding, we downclimbed a super-exposed ledge system, passing below the talus hill and watching out for rockfall from above. In retrospect, roping up would have been the safe decision.

climber walking along a ledge near eagle peak — Fred shimmying along the ledge system below a seemingly impassable talus hill. Uto followed by Sir Donald in the back. Photo: The Uptrack

Exhausted from the long climb, we crawled up yet another scree slope leading to Eagle Peak. We gained the summit at about 4PM and snacked on our usual trail mix.After far to short of a break, we headed down the SW ridge past “The Eagle”, a prominent rock formation in the animal’s shape. We didn’t dare to sit on the edge. We already had our fair share of exposure for the day.

climber looking at the uto to eagle peak traverse — Top of Eagle Peak. Photo: The Uptrack

As a hyper-saturated pink glow engulfed the mountaintops, we found a chute skier’s right of the ridge which led to a talus field 100 meters below the Avalanche Crest Trail. Pressed for time, we choose to follow this path, preferring to avoid scrambling further down the ridge into what seemed like a solid bushwack. Around 8 PM, the last glimmer of daylight disappeared behind the mountains.

The chute was much steeper than expected. We descended the entire 150-meter on all fours grasping at what little rock and vegetation remained in the chute. I checked every single hold thrice and cursed every now and then when my foot would slip. A fall would have been fatal. By the time we gained the talus field, it was nightfall. After stumbling around the precarious rock debris, we paved way up a side-hill groaning as we blindly stepped in an unexpected glacial stream. We could barely make out the trail in the distance. At 9:00 PM sharp, we made it back to the car. Total elapsed time: 13 hours in paradise.