Burstall Outlier






 
January 30, 2025
 
Mountain height: 2480 m
Elevation gain:    590 m
Ascent time:        2:25
Descent time:      1:35
 
Solo scramble. 
 
Big shout out and thank you to Riad Ahmed and his band of Slow and Steady Hikers for breaking trail on this very cool northeastern outlier of Mount Burstall. I never would have thought of trying this route were it not for Riad’s post on Facebook. The group had broken the trail 11 days earlier and I hoped it would still be visible and somewhat supportive.   
 
After hiking the Burstall Pass trail for about 1.6 km I saw a broken trail branching off into the forest. I was prepared to proceed on snowshoes at this point, however, decided to see if the trail would support my weight without using the snowshoes. Eureka! To my utter surprise, I was able to complete the entire ascent on foot, following the group’s packed-down trail.
 
Above treeline the views were excellent, even under mostly cloudy skies. The ascent also became more of a scramble than a snowshoe. Had the terrain been more snow-covered and/or corniced, making it to the highest point may not have been possible without considerable risk. Thankfully, such was not the case, and the summit was reached with relative ease.
 
While there were some clear skies from the top, a bluebird day would have been required to fully appreciate and enjoy the magnificence of the view. After waiting unsuccessfully for any improvement, I started the descent. 10 minutes down, however, there was some improvement; not a complete clearing but enough blue to motivate me to return to the top. I did just that, retook all my summit photos, and then enjoyed a wonderfully easy and quick descent.
 
Awesome trip and again thank you to that wonderful group of snowshoers for breaking a terrific path to the top of a terrific objective.


The objective from near the Burstall Pass trailhead



The first of innumerable photos of the Birdwood, Pig's Tail, Commonwealth Peak, Commonwealth Ridge quartet



Typical travel on the lower part of the peak



The crux lower down was getting up a very steep forested section. Fortunately, the previous group had forged a good path alongside these fallen trees (that made great handholds).



Back onto more gentle terrain



A couple of old friends blending into one - Mount Nestor and Old Goat Mountain



Thankfully this snow slope was avoidable



First glimpse of the objective in the centre



The quartet



A pine tree trying to imitate a larch - and doing a pretty good job of it!



Out of the trees and approaching more serious terrain. It's steeper than it looks.



Passing a Big Rock - great Canadian Craft Brewery



Again, onto easier terrain



Here come peaks of the British Military Group



Mount Burstall and Burstall Outlier at the left



This would be an amazing pano on a clear day



Same as above



And again



A few scrambling moves were required here



Easy ridgewalk to the nearby summit. However, if there was more snow, this section could be very dangerous, as there are drop-offs on both sides of the ridge.



Summit view of Smith-Dorrien, Prairie Lookout, and Robertson.



The route up Mount Burstall looks straightforward, but it has some challenging terrain



Mount Galatea (left) and Gusty Peak



Mount Engadine and The Tower


Summit panos














Birdwood and Pig's Tail



Kent Ridge North and its outlier just left of centre



The only significant cornice I saw all day - not good for late January



The cornice from the other side



Snow Peak



Looking back to the summit



So many familiar peaks to the east



The Burstall Lakes beneath Commonwealth Peak and Ridge



Obviously I couldn't get enough of this view



Nor this one. Heading back to the summit at this point.



The quartet and Snow Peak may have been my favourite view of the day


Round 2 of summit panos


























The Fortress and Mount Chester



Gusty Peak



The south summit of Headwall Peak (left of centre) and Mount Chesmill (the little bump near the right)



Kent Ridge North (right) and Mount Inflexible (far left). Inflexible gets very mixed reviews!



Cegfns and Mount Murray



The Murray, Smith-Dorrien, Prairie Lookout trio rivaled the quartet, but was always in the shade



Same with Robertson at the right



Clear skies over Birdwood



Passing that steep snow again



The route goes into the trees in the centre and then follows the ridge down, going to the left



The other Big Rock



The other Big Rock from below



Last look at the quartet



Parting look at the objective. The clouds had rolled back in by the end.

The End

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