The Stanley Mitchell hut is an alpine hut located at an altitude of 2,060 metres (6,759 ft) in the Little Yoho Valley in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada. It sits in a small meadow not far from the base of a mountain called The President. It serves as a base for hiking, scrambling, ski-touring and climbing the nearby mountains. The hut is maintained by the Alpine Club of Canada.
History Along with A.O. Wheeler and Elizabeth Parker, Stanley Mitchell was responsible for founding the Alpine Club of Canada in 1906, and from 1907 to 1930 he served as its Secretary-Treasurer. He had a great reputation as a gentleman among his fellow founders and the executive of the club, as well as the members he met at the club house in Banff. He died in 1940, shortly after the hut which bears his name was completed. The Little Yoho Valley has long had a reputation as an excellent alpine climbing area as well as a magnificent skiing area. The Canadian military used the area during the summer of 1943 as a training site for mountaineering techniques. From 1954 to the mid-70s mountaineering legend Hans Gmoser used the hut as a base for his ski touring operation – a company which eventually became the heli-skiing operator Canadian Mountain Holidays. The hut has undergone a few renovations, but is relatively the same as it was in 1940. It is presently in excellent condition; a comfortable facility set in beautiful meadow and mountain terrain, and a fine memorial to one of the Club's founders. The Stanley Mitchell hut was designated a Federal Heritage Building in 1997.
Access The Little Yoho Valley is located on the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway, 21 km west of Lake Louise, Alberta and 3.7 km east of Field, British Columbia. The turn-off to the trailhead is signed as Takakkaw Falls on the highway. Follow the Yoho Valley Road to the Takakkaw Falls parking lot (13 km from the highway). In summer, park at the most northerly point (closest to the Parks Canada campground). In winter, follow the Yoho Valley Road for approximately 1 km and park at the locked gate. The rest of the road is unplowed in winter.
Summer routes
The two common approaches to the Stanley Mitchell hut are the Little Yoho Valley trail and the Iceline Trail. Both originate at the Takakkaw Falls parking lot and follow well-developed National Park trail systems. It is more common to approach the hut on the former trail, and to hike the Iceline on the descent, to avoid the immediate grueling uphill of this trail. Descending the Iceline allows a visitor to hike toward, rather than away from, the scenery surrounding the trail. Approaching the hut from the Little Yoho Valley Trail then descending the Iceline Trail places the hiker about 1 km from the parking area. The Little Yoho Valley is the most common way of getting to the hut. The trails are well developed, maintained and signed (follow the signs for Little Yoho or the hut). The route is well graded, and (including a few short optional diversions), very scenic. The standard hiking time in the summer is three to four hours but, because a lot of parties use this hut as one of their first backpacking trips and as an introduction to backcountry adventures, it can be underestimated. Begin hiking on the Little Yoho Valley and Twin Falls trail (signed). The trail passes the Takakkaw Falls campground almost immediately. The trail is mostly level for about the first 4 km, and begins gaining elevation at "Hollingsworth Hill" after passing the junction for Point Lace falls. A little further at Laughing Falls there is another campground and the trail divides with Twin Falls to the right, and the Little Yoho Valley to the left. The left trail climbs into the Little Yoho Valley via a series of switchbacks (the longest climb of the hike). There is another trail junction for Marpole Lake about 0.5 km before reaching the top of the Laughing Falls hill. Stay left on the trail which continues to climb the hill. Half a kilometre further, at the top of the main elevation gain, is the junction for the Whaleback trail to the right, and the Little Yoho Valley to the left; in another 100 m there is another junction for the Iceline trail via Celeste Lake to the right. The hut is approximately 3.5 km further situation in an open meadow near the Warden Station. The 'Iceline Trail' provides views of Takakkaw Falls and the glaciers above on the slopes of the Vice President as well as beyond. The glaciers and the peaks of the Waputik Icefield are visible; with the Scott Duncan hut lies north of Mount Daly on the southern end of the Waputik Icefield. The Iceline trail is more commonly used descending from the hut, making a great loop trail. Early in the summer, the trail can be difficult to follow and an ice axe might be required to safely cross some of the steep snow slopes. From the Takakkaw Falls parking lot, the trail rises about 600 m (2,000 ft) and descends about 100 m (330 ft) over 11 km. Most of the elevation gain takes place within the first couple of kilometers. It usually takes 3–5 hours. Drive up the Yoho Valley Road as described above. A visitor can leave their car at the parking lot beside the Whiskey Jack Hostel, just before Takakkaw Falls. The trail starts a couple of hundred metres north of the hostel. Climb the trail up the hillside above, through the forest to the left of a giant avalanche slide path. After 1 km there is a junction for a side trip to Hidden Lake to the left, and a couple of hundred metres further, a junction for Yoho Pass and Yoho Lake to the left. Keep right at both of these intersections. The trail continues rising, then levels out and follows well-developed trails on moraine on the northeast side of the President Range, before dropping down to the Little Yoho River and the Stanley Mitchell hut.
Winter routes
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