Researched route, Yoho
Yoho
Up the Lake O'Hara road and into northwest-facing glades on Narao Peak's north shoulder: climb to treeline, then lap.
Narao Trees are the forested west and northwest slopes of Narao Peak's north shoulder, above the Lake O'Hara road in Yoho National Park, between Lake Louise and Field. You skin 1.7 km up the road from the lot, then 1.3 km up through the trees: 3.0 km and about 560 m of climbing to the top of the trees at about 2,160 m, then as many laps as you like. Ours is the common, well documented way into the glades. Where you go and what you ski there is up to you. A trip report calls the area busy, more so when the avalanche danger is high, and a guidebook warns that the trees are no refuge when the danger climbs. The glades hold steep pitches and cliff bands, open slopes rise above them, and people have set off slides at treeline here. We built this route from research and haven't skied it ourselves.
We built this route from our own extensive research. All resources are cited on the dashboard. We haven't skied it ourselves, the routes illustrated may not be the best line choice, use your own judgement when planning. Remember you are still responsible for your own tour.
Last checked October 20, 2026.
| Distance | about 3.0 km to the top of the trees, then laps; about 6.0 km for one lap and back to the car |
| Elevation gain | about 560 m to the top of the trees; a guidebook gives laps of 300 to 400 m |
| Slope angles | nearly flat on the road; mostly 15 to 28 degrees on our line through the trees, with short pitches of 30 to 33 between about 1,920 and 2,040 m; the glades around it are mostly 20 to 30 degrees, with pitches in the mid to high 30s; the open slopes above the trees run 30 to 35 and more; terrain data reads low |
| Trailhead | 1,597 m on terrain data, at the Lake O'Hara lot |
| Top of the trees | about 2,160 m, where the trees thin out at treeline; terrain data reads 2,156 m. Reports to Avalanche Canada put treeline here at about 2,150 m |
| Nearest town | Lake Louise or Field |
| Pass required | Parks Canada |
| Skied by us | Not yet |
Drive west from Lake Louise on the Trans-Canada, over Kicking Horse Pass into BC. About 12 km from Lake Louise, just past a wildlife crossing, the Lake O'Hara road turns off to the left. A guidebook mentions a turning lane that drifting snow can hide. Cross the railway tracks and the lot is just past them on the right. Parks Canada names it as the start of its Ross Lake and Great Divide winter trails.
The road past the lot is closed to vehicles. Parks Canada's shuttle bus to Lake O'Hara runs only in summer and early autumn (19 June to 4 October in 2026), so in winter you skin the road. Parks Canada doesn't allow cycling on it. Leashed dogs are fine.
A guidebook says the lot is plowed in winter, but storms can bury it. In December 2019 a mountain guide needed four-wheel drive to get in and out because it hadn't been plowed recently, so come ready to dig.
You need a Parks Canada pass. When we checked Parks Canada's Yoho bulletins in October 2026 we found no closure on the road or the slopes above it. The nearest avalanche closure zones are across the highway on Mount Bosworth, closed every winter for highway avalanche control, and on Cathedral Crags above the Spiral Tunnels, west of the road. Neither covers the lot, the road or the glades, though a 2024 report heard control blasting from the trees. Parks Canada also posts signed No Stopping zones and small wildlife closures as needed in Yoho. Cell service isn't reliable in the park, so leave your plan with someone who isn't coming. DriveBC has the road reports for the BC side of the pass.
A guidebook and trip reports go up the Lake O'Hara road from the gate at the end of the lot. It's wide and climbs gently through forest, about 100 m over 1.7 km. It's also the way to Parks Canada's Ross Lake winter trail, to Lake O'Hara Lodge (open to winter guests from late January) and to the Alpine Club's Elizabeth Parker Hut, so expect people on foot, on snowshoes and on skis. A January 2025 report describes a dog sled operator on the road as well.
There are a few places to leave the road. A trip report leaves at about 1.7 to 1.8 km, at an open, slightly bare bank on the left just before the road bends left, and that's where our line goes. A guidebook puts the heart of the glades around the 2 km mark and says most people leave earlier, at a short, steeper open slope just past 1 km, where there's usually a set track. Another report followed the road to the Ross Lake trail at about 2.1 km, then walked that trail a few minutes before turning uphill. All three get you into the same trees. We draw one.
From the road our line heads southeast into the forest, crosses the Ross Lake trail after about 200 m, and climbs steadily: about 1.3 km and 455 m to the top of the trees. A trip report followed small gullies or earlier skin tracks up, and found the trees spaced widely enough for easy skinning. Reports to Avalanche Canada describe a set track on busy days. Under the track it's mostly 15 to 28 degrees on our data, with two short steeper pitches at about 1,920 to 1,940 m and 2,000 to 2,040 m, where the trees open out a little. Above about 2,050 m the trees thin, and our line ends at about 2,160 m, where they give way to open slopes rising to the shoulder. The skiing. The route gets you to the skiing. What you ski is up to you. A guidebook describes the area as one big zone of glades rather than separate runs, with runs of 300 to 400 m back down to your track for laps, and says it takes a few days on the ground to find the best spots. It has steeper ground and cliffs toward skier's right (north), with the most cliffs and some thicker trees in the part you reach before the 2 km mark on the road. Toward skier's left the glades open up. A trip report describes wide, open glades with drainages that can hide holes and rocks. Toward the east side of the shoulder it found rolls and open trees above tighter trees, cliff bands of several sizes, and a big convex roll that has avalanched before. On our terrain data the glades face northwest in the north and middle and turn west to the south. They're mostly 20 to 30 degrees with pitches in the mid to high 30s, steepest in the north near the shoulder's end and along the south edge near treeline. Slopes are steeper than they appear. Above treeline, a guidebook, trip reports and reports to Avalanche Canada describe going higher on the shoulder, around to the couloirs on Narao Peak, or on toward Popes Peak. That's bigger terrain, and wind-loaded.
The way out. The glades all run down to the road. From wherever your laps end, ski down to it. Most parties ski their up-track or the glades beside it, as a guidebook and reports describe. One report lapped down as far as the Ross Lake trail, which crosses the lower slope and runs southwest to the road. On the road, turn right and follow it north back to the lot, about 1.7 km from where our line leaves it and gently downhill all the way. A guidebook expects some skating. If you come out on the road farther south than the Ross Lake trail, at about 2.1 km, you're on the stretch Parks Canada says crosses avalanche paths. Follow the road north to the lot from there too.
Busy when the danger is up, and still avalanche terrain. A trip report calls Narao one of the busier zones, especially when the avalanche danger is high, and reports to Avalanche Canada show parties here on days the forecast rated High in the alpine. A guidebook warns that the trees aren't somewhere to hide when the danger climbs, and that people have had near misses here. Trees anchor some slopes, not all. Our line climbs short pitches over 30 degrees on our data, the glades beside it reach the mid to high 30s, and those slopes are steeper than they look. You're exposed to them on the climb, on every lap and at the top.
Treeline, and the open ground above it. Where the trees end, open slopes rise to the shoulder. A trip report warns that the upper ridge, especially its north and east side, is open and prone to wind loading. Reports to Avalanche Canada put most of the area's slides here, around treeline at about 2,150 to 2,200 m. In January 2024 a whumpf spread from the trees into a wind slab where the trees meet the alpine and released a size 2 that ran about 100 m. A few days later another party found a size 1.5, its crown about 50 cm deep, at the edge of treeline. In March 2026 a skier set off a size 1.5 wind slab on facets from about 40 m below, on a west-facing slope near 2,200 m just south of the glades, under a wind-scoured ridge. It carried one person about 50 m.
Signs in the trees. Reports describe whumpfs and shooting cracks near treeline, cracking while breaking trail as low as 1,700 m, and wind slabs reaching well down into the trees. Pits through the glades often find weak, sugary facets near the ground, which make for a shallow, punchy snowpack early in the season.
Cliffs, drainages and tree wells. A guidebook and a trip report describe cliff bands through the glades, most of them toward skier's right in the north part. Some are easy to ski over without seeing them first. A trip report warns of open drainages with water-filled holes and rocks that are hard to see, and of tree wells. Early in the season, reports describe brush, rocks, open creeks and fallen trees under thin snow.
Farther along the road. Past the Ross Lake trail, Parks Canada says the road runs through avalanche zones and asks you to look for its warning signs. Its winter trail report says the road crosses the runout of several avalanche paths, and a guidebook describes one large path reaching the road at about 3 km. Our line leaves the road before any of that, but laps that finish far to skier's left come out on that stretch.
In the trees and on the climb: whumpfs, shooting cracks or cracking from your skis, fresh slides, heavy new snow or rain, strong wind moving snow into the trees, or a quick warm-up. Reports describe each of these here.
At the top of the trees, look up. Wind slabs, wind-scoured or loaded slopes above you, or recent slides off the open ground. Going above the trees or along the shoulder puts you on that open, wind-loaded terrain.
These count the whole way, on the climb, at the top and on every lap. Turning around is easy: from anywhere in the trees the road is downhill, and the car is about 1.7 km along it.
Whether to go is your call on the day. Read the forecast and decide from what you find.
About 560 m of climbing, then laps in steep trees with avalanche terrain at the top. The road is easy, and the climb is steady and often tracked. But the glades have steep pitches, cliff bands and hidden holes, and the open slopes above treeline are where most of the reported slides were. We'd bring full avalanche gear and the training to use it, go with partners who have both, and with tree wells about, keep each other in sight in the trees.
What we can't tell you yet. How it skis on the day, how long it takes you, and where the best trees are. One older report took about two hours from the car to a bench near the top, and three laps took 6.5 hours. The dashboard's estimate uses your own pace.