| Ref: Gillean Daffern's Kananaskis Country Trail Guide,
4th Edition, Volume 1 |
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Trailhead to Buller
Pass. |
| Ski touring: RT 8.5; 5.0 up.
I've wanted to do this outing as a ski tour the moment I saw Andrew
Nugara's
trip report. The snowpack was stable and the forecast called for
somewhat unsettled, cool weather; that seemed appropriate as there are
numerous south facing slide paths off of Mount Buller's east ridge, on
the way to North Buller Pass. Charles was keen to do another ski trip,
we met him at the Buller Pass trailhead. We followed an uptrack; it
appeared some skiers and a person on snowshoes had encountered
isothermal snow on
their way out, the track was dotted with postholes. The snowpack was
rotten
lower down but improved drastically as we proceeded further up the
drainage. We lost the track at the fork; we aimed for North
Buller Pass and followed the path of least resistance. Travel on the
firm snow was pleasant; it wasn't cold and the wind came and went. It
was impossible for me to drive my poles with skinny baskets through the
snowpack, 10 cm of new snow refreshed the terrain. The pass was
wind-scoured at the top; as we neared, the angle seemed manageable for
a
safe ascent. Fab broke trail to the pass, we stayed well spaced. Near
the crest the snow got firmer, we opted to bootback the last
bit to the pass. We left our skis there and turned our attention to
reaching Red Peak's south ridge. Once over the wind-packed snow lip it
is a pleasant walk on the connecting ridge to the top. The view was
reduced but I've come to appreciate the cloud layers and the mood of
the mountains surrounding me. We left the top after a good stay. The
sun started to make an appearance. Back at the pass, we hiked down to
the snow and strapped on the skis for a quick descent. As we continued
down the drainage, the snow transitioned into isothermal snow. Near the
valley bottom, we had to stay on the uptrack or we would punch through
the shallow snowpack... I liked this outing as a ski trip, we didn't
have to put our skins back on for the return; another sweet day in the
Canadian Wilderness. |
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Approaching the fork
that separates North Buller Pass from Buller Pass. |
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Looking back. |
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North Buller Pass
ahead. |
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Numerous
cross-loaded south facing slopes off Mount Buller's east ridge. |
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Heading up the pass. |
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Bootpacking the last
bit to the pass. |
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Climbing to a
highpoint to reach the connecting ridge. |
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Negotiating a
wind-packed snow lip. |
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Traversing a scree
slope beyond the snow lip. |
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A very neat cornice
along the connecting ridge. |
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Looking back. |
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Red Ridge (left) and
Red Peak in the center. |
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At the top. |
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Leaving the summit. |
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The neat cornice
again. |
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Crossing the snow
lip. |
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Our skis await at
the pass. |
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Decent ski down on
firm snow. |
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Celebrating another
good day in the mountains! |
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