The Elk Lakes cabin is an

alpine hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club ...

located between the French and Italian Military Groups in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies () or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, w ...

. It resides near the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

Elk Lakes Provincial Park Elk Lakes Provincial Park is a provincial park in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located west of the continental divide (the British Columbia/Alberta border). It is located adjacent to Height of the Rockies Provincial Park and is about 1 ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. It is 62 km south of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

Kananaskis Country, Alberta Kananaskis Country (abbreviated: K-Country) is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Its western edge borders Banff National Park and the Alberta-British Columbia border. The ...

and 104 km north of

Sparwood, British Columbia Sparwood is a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the second-largest community on the Elk River (British Columbia), Elk River. Located approximately 30 kilometres from Fernie, British Columbia, Fernie, the Di ...

. The area has

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trails, and provides access to

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

objectives. In winter, ice climbs and skiing terrain with much

powder A powder is a dry solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and ''granular'' are sometimes used to distinguish se ...

abound. Elk Lakes terrain is similar to that near the

Elizabeth Parker hut The Elizabeth Parker hut is an alpine hut located in Yoho National Park near Lake O'Hara in British Columbia. The hut is maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada. History The hut was named after the journalist Elizabeth Parker, one of the fou ...

. The hut is maintained by the

Alpine Club of Canada The Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) is an amateur athletic association with its national office in Canmore, Alberta that has been a focal point for Canadian mountaineering since its founding in 1906. The club was co-founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler, ...

. The cabin offers easy access and a wide range of hiking, skiing and climbing opportunities. In 2019, BC Parks created a competitive bidding process for operating the cabin.

History

The cabin was built in 1992 to house

BC Parks BC Parks is an Government agency, agency of the British Columbia British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy that manages all of the, as of 2020, 1,035 List of British C ...

rangers. In 2003, BC Parks issued a request for proposals to convert the cabin to public use. The

(ACC) was selected to expand its extensive

system, and began operating it in the summer of 2004.

Facilities

The kitchen area and living room offer tables and a wood-burning

stove A stove or range is a device that generates heat inside or on top of the device, for - local heating or cooking. Stoves can be powered with many fuels, such as natural gas, electricity, gasoline, wood, and coal. Due to concerns about air pollu ...

. The sleeping quarters are in a

loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

. Sleepers occupy two long bunks and one shorter one. The hut offers water buckets, axes, saws and shovels. A tributary of Elkan Creek runs nearby. In winter, water is there and from

snowmelt In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced. Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many part ...

. Water must be purified before drinking. Sinks are connected to the sump. It occasionally freezes, in which case grey water (strained of food particles) should be dumped within a three-metre radius of the outhouse. The

outhouse An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket ...

is located 10 m east of the cabin. All paper garbage and food scraps should be burned, and all other garbage and unused food carried out.

Necessary supplies

* Sleeping bag * Toilet paper * Newspaper for lighting the fire * Matches * First aid kit * 9 volt battery for the smoke detector

Activities

Located within the western ranges of the southern Rocky Mountains, Elk Lakes Provincial Park is an easily accessible

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

park characterized by

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

landscapes, remnant

glaciers A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

s and

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s. The area has many

options. Options for hikers of all abilities and interests are available, including family friendly

backcountry In geography, a backcountry, back country or backwater is a geographical area that is remote, undeveloped, isolated, or difficult to access. These areas are typically rural or mountainous and sparsely populated. Terminology Backcountry ...

hiking. Other trails are longer, more exposed and involve some route-finding. Several

objectives and

scrambles ''Scrambles'' is the fifth studio album by Bomb the Music Industry!, released digitally and physically on February 15, 2009. The album was released a year and a half after '' Get Warmer'', making it the longest gap between the release of two chr ...

are available. Mounts Fox, Aosta, Petain, Nivelle and Castelnau can all be summited in a moderate to long day from the cabin. Mount Joffre is accessible from the Elk Lakes side, although a high camp is recommended for climbers. The cabin supports

backcountry skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, freeriding or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine s ...

in winter. It is one of the few Canadian

Alpine hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club ...

s that can be reached on cross country skis by advanced skiers.

Ski touring Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the ...

ranges from flat tours to advanced

ski mountaineering Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipment ...

. The area has several waterfall ice routes and a established mixed climb.

Nearby

* Elk Lakes * Elk River * Mount Aosta * Mount Castelnau * Mount Fox *

Mount Joffre Mount Joffre is a mountain located on the Continental Divide, in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Alberta, and Elk Lakes and Height of the Rockies Provincial Parks in British Columbia. The mountain was named in 1918 by the Interprovincial Bo ...

* Mount Nivelle * Mount Pétain * Petain Falls

Parks Information

is a BC park. Access from the Alberta side is through

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is in Kananaskis Country about west of Calgary, along the Kananaskis Trail in Alberta, Canada. This park is within Alberta's Rocky Mountains. The park was originally named Kananaskis Provincial Park, but was ren ...

. Parks have rules about dogs, fishing, bicycles and other things. Dogs are not allowed on ski trails, nor inside the cabin.

Bikes A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...

are allowed on the trail to Elk Pass (in Peter Lougheed Park) and along the

power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and Electric power distribution, distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more electrical conductor, conductors (commonly mu ...

to the cabin, but not elsewhere in Elk Lakes Park. Campgrounds are available in both parks, including one a kilometer from the cabin.

References

External links

Elk Lakes cabin
at th
Alpine Club of Canada

Elk Lakes cabin at bivouac.com
* Shows access to cabin, but not the cabin itself * Cabin is 1 km west of lower Elk Lake
Weather forecasts from Environment Canada
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070118050954/http://weather.ec.gc.ca/ , date=2007-01-18 Click on ''BC'', then scroll down to ''Sparwood''. The weather forecasts are updated 3 times daily.
Public avalanche bulletins
from

Avalanche Canada Avalanche Canada is a non-government, non-profit organization whose vision is to eliminate avalanche fatalities and injuries in Canada. Avalanche Canada is Canada's national public avalanche safety organization. Based in Revelstoke, British Columbia ...

. The avalanche forecast is updated daily throughout the winter season.
Google Earth

Top cabin rentals in BC
Canada. List of the top cabin rentals available in British Columbia with mountain views. Mountain huts in Canada Elk Valley (British Columbia) 1992 establishments in British Columbia Buildings and structures completed in 1992 Buildings and structures in British Columbia