It was a great day of ski touring in the mountains - with blue skies, no wind and surprisingly good snow. This was a new winter trip for the Ramblers. Nine Ramblers skied up the Burstall Pass Trail for 3.3 km and then cut left up an old skid trail. We cut off the trail and followed an old ski track which headed up through semi open trees and joined the skid road higher up. For future winter trips I would recommend using the skid trail all the way.


Ed starting up the creek bed

Upon entering the hanging valley, we followed the broad u-shaped creek feature for about 20 minutes, before exiting right out of the creek bed to a broad flat area safe from avalanche risk.


David with Mount Burstall in the background

Piggy Plus Col with as single animal track descending from the col

Kevin and Cathy touring in the upper valley

After travelling through the valley below Piggy Plus Col, we stopped for a short snack break below the final slope.


Our snack stop in the upper valley

A single animal track (goat or solitary ram) descended from the col into the valley.


Bob and the gang reaching the col

Continuing on, the group soon found themselves at Piggy Plus Col, where we took a long lunch break to enjoy the warm sun and spectacular views.


Looking North towards Smuts and Commonwealth from the col

The French Glacier from Piggy Plus Col

The col provides superb views of the French Glacier and a number of nearby peaks, both to the North and to the South.


Happy Ramblers at Piggy Plus Col

We were pleasantly surprised by the snow quality, which provided some great turns back down into the valley.


Inge making turns down the slope below the col

David adding a last set of turns to our tracks

We then followed the broad creek bed all the way back down to the trees at the mouth of the valley.


Damian exiting the creek bed at the valley entrance

The snow in the creek was also great for skiing - giving everyone another set of enjoyable turns. We followed the skid trail down from the valley entrance back down to the Burstall Parking lot trail. A quick ski out saw everyone back at the vehicles by 3:30PM. The Burstall-Piggy Plus Col trip is a great mid Spring trip - easy short access, spectacular views and the opportunity for good turns on the way out. Given the avalanche hazard off Burstall for the lower part of the creek portion, I would recommend good snow stability and moderate to low avalanche risk when doing this trip. Thanks to Ed, Damian, Robert, David, Inge, David, Philip and Cathy for joining me Kevin (S/C) on an overall excellent April day of back country skiing in the mountains.

Total trip distance was 15 km and total elevation gain was 650 m.