Wapta

A steep black diamond run on the Front Side of Whitehorn, serving as a technical link for advanced skiers descending from the upper ridges toward mid-mountain and base. Situated among intermediate blue runs such as Meadowlark and Eagle Flight; faces south/southwest and is subject to the typical front-side freeze-thaw cycle; soft “hero snow” on sunny days, firm and icy in cold or windy conditions.

Etymology. “Wapta” is Stoney Nakoda for “river” or “running water.” The run is named for the Wapta Icefield; the interconnected glaciers in the Waputik Mountains whose meltwater feeds the Bow and Kicking Horse rivers. The same root appears in Wapta Falls, Wapta Lake, and the Burgess Shale fossil Waptia fieldensis (Walcott 1912).

Wapta vs. Wapiti. Tourists often confuse “Wapta” with “Wapiti” (elk, Cervus canadensis); both Indigenous terms, phonologically similar. The run refers to the icefield and the river landscape, not the elk.