“Located in a remote and inaccessible corner of the Rockies, the Whitegoat Wilderness Area holds great attraction for committed backpackers. There are no established trails or facilities of any kind. Hiking groups must be completely self-sufficient.
From August 2 to 7 a hardy group of souls traversed the uplands of this fantastic area with it’s vast meadow uplands and quartzite peaks. This was a Yamnuska trip designed for folks who wanted to explore, test their limits and basically enjoy being far off the beaten path.
We entered the Whitegoat from Banff Park via 2500m high Cataract Pass on a glorious mid-summer day. Camping in the headwaters of Cataract Creek we found ourselves on the edge of an enormous area of alpine meadows.
The next day saw us heading across to Cline Pass to sidle high above the Brazeau River to a camp under the north side of Afternoon Peak, named for the rosy glow of its quartzite rock in the setting sun. An unnamed high pass led us south into the headwaters of MacDonald creek and yet more vast meadows.
After waiting out a day of wet weather we crossed back to the Brazeau and Jasper Park via two more unnamed high passes in clearing weather. On a final and beautiful day we headed back over Nigel Pass to complete our circuit.
Next year we will offer another wilderness trip featuring off-trail hiking and high camps, probably to the Highwood Region in the Southern Rockies, again targeted to those of you wanting a more demanding experience.”
David Begg – Mountain Guide and Director of Yamnuska
