Yellow Aster Butte & Tomyhoi Peak - September 10th-11th 2022

September 14, 2022

Yellow Aster Butte & Tomyhoi Peak - September 10th-11th 2022

I had wanted to do this over the long weekend after Mt. Rexford but I was too tired and I figured it was a good family trip so I suggested it to Sam and she agreed.

On Saturday AM, Jebby, Sam, Coen and I hopped in the truck at 10 and headed out. We went to Valhalla first to check for a bear canister (they didn't have any) and then crossed the border. The wait wasn't too long and we stopped for gas and made it to the trailhead at ~12. The access road up was awesome by BC standards and really any car could make it up. Its nice because you drive to about 1100m which saves you a ton of effort. When we parked there was quite a few cars, probably at least 20-30 parked along the switchbacking road near the trailhead. We parked near the top and got ready and hit the trail.

The first kilometer was very hot with no shade. It was also quite smokey because of the nearby wildfires. after a kilometer you enter the forest for a while, the slope is quite gradual and before long you emerge in to an amazing sub-alpine bowl. From this bowl you go up and around and it takes a while but its very nice terrain. Near the end of the bowl we came to the first water source, a patch of melting snow and we happily filled up. This was about 4 kilometers in to the hike and with a thirsty dog and 3 people we were glad for the water

After the water source it wasn't too long to the tarns below Yellow Aster Butte (YAB) where we would make camp. When we got there we were blown away by how beautiful it was. We set our gear down at a nice shady spot and headed down to a tarn to relax with some snacks and our books. Coen and I took off our clothes (except our underwear) and went for a dip, although only for a minute, it was quite cold.

Next we headed back and set up camp and made dinner from around 4:30 to 5:30. We had brought ingredients to make quesadillas, a recommendation I had read online and they were amazing. Definitely something we will make again. I wanted to hike up to YAB before it got dark so we set off. I had estimated it would take us 30 minutes each way but it ended up taking a while longer. When we got to the top of the west butte Sam and Coen decided they were happy there so I quickly ran over to the east butte (took me about 10 minutes) and then walked back. We walked back down to our camp around 7. We had a little time before dark and we used it to pick a ton of blueberries and eat some dessert (lemon tarts).

We went in to the tent as it got dark and watched the rest of the Dr. Strange movie we had downloaded before retiring to bed around 9:30.

I woke up at 6 and had a quick breakfast and some coffee before heading to tag Tomyhoi by myself. The trail up was great, very nice and well maintained through some awesome scenery. I made excellent time even with a ~50m descent and ascent I wasn't aware of and before long I was at the last scramble. I saw 2 mountain goats on the way as well.

The last scramble was difficult to tell where I had to go. I had foolishly not studied the route before and only had a vague idea of where to go. I remembered reading I had to cross the glacier a little bit so I scrambled down some rocks and jumped both feet on to the glacier, mistake! I instantly started to slide and grabbed some rock on my right and managed to arrest my fall. That definitely shook me up a bit. I was upset because I hadn't brought my crampons because some reviews had said it was short and you could kick steps. However I had made the mistake of going in the morning (it was only 8am) and the glacier was still rock solid. The slope wasn't terribly steep but it did runout very far below and I didn't want to take my chances.

I decided to try and scramble on the rocks around the glacier and find a way up. I did this for a bit and tried two to three ways up but they all felt sketchy. There were fingers of glacier I needed to ascend that I couldn't without traction. Eventually I decided it wasn't worth the risk and I was happy with where I had got so I headed down.

The way back was uneventful but quite pleasant. I chowed down a big sandwich I had brought and it rained a bit so I wore my rain jacket. I made it back to Sam, Jebby and Coen by 9:15. We had a nap for an hour and packed up and hiked down. We made it to the car by 12:30, back to the border and home by 2. Awesome day and a lot of fun. I would definitely go back to this area in the future.