Mons Hut

This is the newest mountain hut in Canada and offers some of the best high alpine skiing anywhere. The hut sits at the toe of the Mons Glacier and has quick access to at least 8 different glaciers including the North Glacier of Mount Forbes. Ski mountaineering includes peaks such as St Julien, Cambrai and of course Mons Peak. Many of the runs and ski lines have yet to be skied. This is the winter to explore.

The Hut sleeps 12 dorm style, has a propane oven, heater, hut shoes and solar powered lights. It has a full kitchen set up, mattresses and blankets. Guests will need to bring a sleeping bag liner and food. It is similar in design to the Lyell Hut but about 30% larger.

It is located at the toe of the Mons Glacier at 2370m (7800'). The grid reference is 97048

Hut Access:

The Mons Hut can be accessed from Icefall Lodge in a 8-9 hour day, or from the Lyell Hut in about 2 hours. To access it from Icefall Lodge you pass through through Crampon Col GR913503. Although you may need crampons in the summer, it is not normal in the winter. The south west side of this Col is a steep narrow couloir that normally has to be boot packed for the last half. The north east side (picture to the right) has a bergschrund directly below the Col. Although this is often filled in during the winter, it is usually best to ski down this slop on the skiers left. Once down the north east side of Crampon Col, ski down the SW Lyell Glacier to the rim of the Canyon. From here it is about 1100' of climbing up to the Mons Hut. There is a steep headwall about halfway up that may present problems in times of high avalanche hazard.

Alternate Acceess:

An alternative winter access is to ski over Tivoli Shoulder (small saddle GR926486) and down the east facing Tivoli Glacier. There is a steep just below the toe of the Tivoli Glacier after which it is an easy ski around the corner to the Southeast Lyell Glacier. The traverse to Tivoli shoulder is steep and exposed to cliff below. This is a more serious winter route than Crampon Col. The winter route is shown in blue and the White Ledge summer route in red. Once on the SW Lyell Glacier, you will need to traverse above the icefall to reach the rim of the canyon.

The last method of getting into the Mons Hut in the winter is to helicopter in. If it is poor the helicopter may not be able to get all the way up to the hut. Be prepared to ski the last 300m up to the hut with your gear.

Summer Access

The summer route on the west side of Mons Peak is Not recommended until late spring when the snow has melted off this side of the mountain. It traverses 1.5 km on a ledge with cliffs above and below. Once the snow has melted off this ledge and the ledges above this is a reasonable approach or descent to the Mons Hut. This is usually late spring. It offers a fairly direct route to the hut but it is exposed and there are a couple of rock steps to climb. Although much work has been done on it, there are sections that are not a “hiking trail”.

 

Mount Forbes

The summer route o It may be possible to do a late spring ascent of Mout Forbes from the Mons Hut. Doing Mt Forbes on skis offers the advantage of much easier glacier travel, especially going down at the end of the day. It will depend on conditions as to how far up the mountain you can ski, but expect to do some climbing without the skis. Ideally by late spring, the logging road will be drivable and the summer access route snow free accroos the ledge. You can hike, then ski up to the hut the first day, climb Forbes the second and out on the third. This option is far easier than the standard approach via Glacier Lake.