Mount Lillian via Buller Pass
October 1, 2016
Mountain
height: 2890 m
Elevation gain: 1100 m
Ascent time: 3:40
Descent time: 2:25
Solo
scramble
Since
my ascent of Mount Lillian, 13 days earlier, I had been chomping at the bit to
repeat the ascent but via a completely different route – Buller Pass. And so,
with a decent weather forecast in hand, I started along the Buller Pass Trail.
A recent glut of snow was going to make this trip quite different from the
earlier ascent and so crampons and an ice axe made it into/on my backpack.
Thankfully
the snow was not deep and allowed a fairly rapid ascent to Buller Pass. I was
surprised, however, at the amount of snow covering Buller Creek Peak and Mount
Lillian. The view at Buller Pass was everything it has been advertised to be –
in other words stunning! – great views towards the two peaks of Mount Kidd,
with Ribbon Lake below, Mount Bogart and a whack load of others.
As
expected, ascending Lillian from this side was considerably easier than the
ascent from the Upper Galatea Lake. The snowy views were awesome throughout.
Reaching the ridge, granted me outstanding views of The Tower and mounts
Galatea and Engadine. The snowy ridge which I had traversed on September 18 to
reach the summit looked phenomenal!
As
for the summit block – a different story! From the ridge to the summit is no
more than 20 metres of vertical gain, but with all the new snow it looked
particularly daunting. I was certainly glad at that point to have my crampons
and axe and ascended the step with relative ease, though there is some
noticeable exposure.
Not
surprisingly the snowy summit view was absolutely breath-taking – far better
than on the earlier ascent. I stayed up top for as long as I could tolerate the
cold, but cold it was and my hands and feet started to complain. A few careful
and delicate moves were required to get down the summit block, but after that
it was smooth and easy sailing back down to Buller Pass and out.
An outstanding day on one of the better unnamed mountains in Kananaskis.
Mount Buller gets some early morning sun
Approaching Buller Pass (just right of centre), with Mount Lillian on the right and Buller Creek Peak on the left
A plane over Buller Creek Peak
Buller Creek Peak. Most of the snow would be gone by the time I returned this way.
Mount Bogart from Buller Pass
The view to the north from Buller Pass
Guess who makes an appearance?
Mount Sparrowhawk looks quite unique from this angle
Looking up the ascent ridge of Lillian
Mount Kidd South and the beautiful valley below
Same as above, with the Mount Kidd North and Lillian
More of the scenic ridge
Red Peak and Mount Sparrowhawk
Bogart again
A picturesque panorama to the north
Low clouds move in to the west
The Kidds again!
Approaching the summit ridge. Note the hole in the rock
The east ridge of Old Goat Mountain (right skyline) looks very steep .... that's because it is!!!
On the ridge, looking west. The snowy ridge on the right is the one you need to traverse if ascending from Upper Galatea Lake.
Same as above. The Tower at the left.
More great views from the ridge
Same as above
.....and again
Mount Sir Douglas
On descent, an unnamed GR north of Lillian
Much less snow when compared to one of the first photos
Last of the larches
Close-up of a tree stump