Participants: Terry,David,Phyllis,Shirley,Inge,Ulrike,Gordon,Jenny,Gary,Brian.
It was a typical Burstall Pass day – snow, cloud, sun, and wind. Oh yeah and some fresh powder to boot! Thankfully we were not out on Friday when the winds were forecast in the 90 – 130 km/h range; however, the evidence of the high winds was obvious as we approached the pass. Ten Ramblers set out just after 9:30 and in spite of the roughly 30 cars at the parking lot (7 of which were ours), the trail did not seem too busy. We gained the high meadow and stopped for a snack break before heading further up towards the pass. The views were fleeting with some snow and the odd bit of blue sky trying to break through.
After a chance to scope out some of the slopes and conditions (impresive cornices on most features, Loading on lee slopes), we discussed options for the day. We decided to head to the pass and although it was a bit windy, the air temperature was quite reasonable. Needless to say with the exposure at the top, the first couple turns were on wind polished crust, otherwise known as “boilerplate”. Surprisingly, the snow yielded some soft pockets shortly after that, although with a light wind crust. After the initial pitch, we traversed skier’s left and managed to find some very soft powder on a moderate angle slope that had not been wind affected. I thought the “S” turns looked entirely respectable given that this was the first day on the heavy touring gear for most of the group.
We skinned up again to add another short pitch on a similar slope and through some well-spaced trees. After this slope, we descended and traversed through the trees pairing up for the last bit so as to not lose anyone in a short section of dense trees. Once at the upper meadow again, we had another refuel stop before pushing across the meadow and down to the flats. Some could not resist the gully on the ski out but most of us either gave it a pass or tried the top and then skedaddled back to the main trail. We re-grouped at the flats and steeled ourselves for the final 4 km back to the cars. It’s always hard to decide whether to skin up for this stretch and probably half did and half did not. Although I think we all de-skinned for the last kilometre or so where the snow was fast enough that you could double pole what was not downhill.
Overall, some good surprises with several cms of fresh snow and better turns than expected. Thanks to the group who were willing to be flexible about the day and what the conditions would present us. Many happy, smiling faces at the parking lot which we reached around 4 pm. Some of us who headed back towards Kananaskis Lakes, were greeted by an impressively large-antlered moose on the road. We took a couple quick photos but he didn’t seem too impressed with the interruption so we kept on truckin’! Hope to see you all out on the slopes again soon.
(Report by Jenny, Photos by Ulrike
On Trail to Burstall
Some Jackets just stand out
Approaching the top
Tele Old School
Discussing the route
Refugee from Jasper's new Salt Policy