Burstall Pass Peak Route Map (see link in desciption - or click here - for interactive version).

Absolutely stunning view of the morning light illuminating Mount Birdwood, Commonwealth Peak, and Commonwealth Ridge!

Prairie Lookout, Robertson, and Sir Douglas are also visible from the parking lot, peeking out over the forest

Starting out, along the Burstall Pass Trail. No, those skin tracks aren't from my dad...We couldn't make any if we tried! Our morning began by skiing up frozen slush, and I have to say, we were genuinely concerned for our skins! This start really wasn't helping my argument to climb Burstall Pass Peak...My dad suggested turning around multiple times, and once even took off his skis and started walking on the near-ice to make a statement... :|. I, on the other hand, was determined to persevere on this bluebird day, no matter the ski quality that awaited us.

See what I mean about bluebird day!! Snowy Mount Bustall stands out against a cloudless sky.

After about 3.7km, on basically level ground, we emerged to Burstall Flats, and were rewarded with this stunning view of Birdwood, Pig's Tail, and Commonwealth!

Birdwood's sheer east face! Too bad it's not a scramble :(.

But Commonwealth is :)!!

Our approximate route across the flats, and up to the upper valley.

The mighty Sir Douglas, along with Zeke's Peak and Whistling Rock, come into view as we cross the flats.

The day's barely even started and I can't stop taking pictures! Pig's Tail rises sharply across the clearing.

A minor avalanche comes down from Whistling Rock's east face.

This angle of Robertson, rising across Robertson Glacier (opposite Sir Douglas), is so neat!

The trail across Burstall Flats is well marked, and we were soon re-entering the forest on the opposite side, steeply gaining elevation to the upper valley. It was a relief to hit random patches of soft, fluffy powder in the sheltered forest, but even here they weren't commonplace.

We were lucky enough to have previous tracks to follow, taking route finding out of the equation. In the case of fresh snow, you would simply switch-back up through the forest, staying to climber's left of the drainage (used on descent) that we traverse above here.

Unlocking a whole new truck-load of views as we arrive at the open upper valley! Note how my dad's not leaving any tracks...Our objective for the day, Burstall Pass Peak, is still a ways off (far-left).

Snow Peak towers above, to our right.

Another angle of the breath-taking Mount Birdwood!

Now that's a BIG cornice!!

Looking back at our invisible tracks (lol) across the beautiful, open valley, as we enter the forest once more. Also note that those previous tracks no longer exist...They just randomly stopped in the middle of the clearing, and headed back down ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Starting through the relatively open forest. Not much to say here, except that we weaved our way through the trees, taking the path of least resistance, and making sure we stayed above (to climber's right of) a bit of a drainage coming down the valley.

Coming around to the south side of snow-plastered Snow Peak!

We angled to climber's right, and were soon gaining elevation up on the west side of the valley.

I have no words for this mountain :o.

Climbing past the treeline. Here, we would make a few switchbacks, before traversing the slope just above the trees.

Traversing. This slope would then conveniently lead us right to the open flats below Burstall Pass Peak.

Our first view of Sir Douglas, meeting the clouds, and absolutely dwarfing Zeke's Peak's height of almost 3000m!

Alone, in a white expanse. Our ascent line would take us up the short, steep slope, just below the cornice (DANGER) and up just right of the rock outcropping (far-right of frame).

This place is really something special. We were the only ones up here, and it felt so secluded and peaceful, with not even the slightest trace of previous human exploration all winter.

Starting up our chosen route, to gain our objectives north ridge.

Beautiful lighting on Snow Peak!

The slope steepened the higher we got, and with the sun beating down on us, we started to get a little nervous...Definitely the "crux" of the trip, hazard-wise!

Finding ourselves on terrain too steep to skin, we quickly strapped our skis to our packs, and bootpacked to safety. Photo credit: Dad

WOW! I've never seen this remote valley before! Mount Leman rises on the right, with Talon Peak and Mount Soderholm in the distance.

Circumventing the rock outcropping around the right side.

Back on the ridge, ascending to the lower bench.

Some BIG cornices loom above, overhanging the summit ridge! Luckily, the bench was wide enough to stay a relatively safe distance away, should one fail...Or at least we hope!

Looking back to the trio of Birdwood, Pig's Tail, and Commonwealth, with The Tower and Galatea distant right.

Sir Douglas' summit, sitting at 3406m, is completely freed from the clouds!!

Ascending the wide, lower bench. Snow Peak dominates the backdrop.

As we made our way along the bench, the view continued to open up to the south!

Zooming-in to another 11,000er, Mount King George!!

:o

Absolutely in awe of our surroundings, we must have missed the turn-off up to the summit ridge, and soon found ourselves at the end of the bench, looking down Burstall Pass Peak's far, south ridge...We backtracked a bit until it looked feasible to ascend to the summit ridge, aka the slope pictured here.

Snow chickens!

This slope was far too steep to even try skinning, so off came the skis for the second time.

There are definitely easier routes to the top...

Arriving on the summit ridge. Photo credit: Dad

Final steps to the summit!

Summit selfie!

Incredible, never before seen (by me) view of the remote peaks across Spray River! Mount Cradock, Back, Queen Elizabeth and King Albert, Leman, Leval, White Man, Vavasour, Warre, and finally, The Matterhorn of the Rockies, Mount Assiniboine, distant-right!

Spray River snakes far below.

Mount King Albert rises above the pointy Queen Elizabeth.

Highlight view to the south includes (from left to right): Zeke's Peak, Sir Douglas, Williams, King George (distant), Cradock, Back, Queen Elizabeth, King Albert, and Leman!

First clear shot of Mount Assiniboine all winter!

Three peaks from the Kananaskis Range: The Tower, Galatea, and Gusty, rise on the opposite side of the (now hidden) highway, where we started our day.

Talon Peak and Mount Soderholm peek out in the distance, beyond Mount Leman.

Back, Queen Elizabeth, King Albert, and Leman impress on the left, with Leval, Whiteman, and Vavasour joining the frame to the right of snow-covered Leman Lake.

We couldn't have asked for a better day! Absolutely jaw-dropping view of this incredible 11,000er!

Swirly cloud shadows and avalanche paths down Whistling Rock Peak.

Placed my first summit register! It's not big (just a film canister), but at least it's something :).

My dad stands proudly with his new skis (not proud of that part...) on Burstall Pass Peak.

Me, on the summit of Burstall Pass Peak, with Assiniboine rising in the distance. Photo credit: Dad

Mount Assiniboine towers distant center, dwarfing everything else visible...But I'll name them for ya anyways ;). Leval, Vavasour, Warre, Currie, Byng, Morrison, and Turner sit in the foreground, from left to right.

Some ultrawide angle fun :P.

The entire length of Whistling Rock's slabby west face.

This view is out of this world!

Some black and white action of Mount King George.

Sir Douglas, Williams, King George (distant), Cradock, Back, Queen Elizabeth, and King Albert (left to right).

I wonder what lies under the blanket of snow on Zeke's western slopes...If it's scree, that could make for an extremely visually rewarding scramble :)! If it's steep, smooth slabs, it may not be a scramble at all :(.

King George (distant), Cradock, Back, Queen Elizabeth, King Albert, Leman, Talon and Soderholm (distant), from left to right.

Mount Smuts peeks out to the right of Snow Peak.

Whistling Rock, Zeke's, and Sir Douglas make for quite a view across South Burstall Pass.

Sir Douglas one last time! Maybe... ;)

Mount Williams is quite a stunning peak itself! Just gotta frame it so it's not overshadowed by big boy Sir Douglas, rising 700m above, just to the left!

Although it was pretty chilly on the summit, we spent a good hour admiring our surroundings. Days like this are truly special, and not something you want to cut short! Unfortunately, we couldn't stay up there forever, and eventually it was time to see what ski quality was in store for us.

We started by retracing our steps down the south ridge, but wanted to ski the whole way down if possible. Just a few steps down from the summit we noticed a sort of "funnel" (the easier ascent route...??) leading down, and decided to give it a go.

First turn! Wonder what the snow is like...

Skiing down the "funnel".

Looking back, as I start down from the summit ridge. Folks, I have a confession to make...I lied in the summit register :o! The snow was not at all crap! The sun had worked wonders, softening up the snow, and although a little heavy, once you got some speed it was a total hoot! Photo credit: Dad

For our ski descent route, we ignored the bench we'd traversed earlier, and simply continued down to the east. These slopes were great fun to ski, and consisted of steeper sections, separated by gentle plateaus. Kinda like giant steps!

Our tracks down the "steps".

Since we didn't come up this way, we were always cautious when we reached the top of a roll, making sure we wouldn't cliff out before committing to it.

Put into perspective.

Our route easily led us to the base of the valley, which we could easily follow back to our ascent route.

What an unreal place to ski!

Looking back to Burstall Pass Peak, with our tracks showing our descent down the valley, on the left.

Down we go.

To avoid dense trees, we navigated our way to the drainage we'd skinned above (to climber's right) on ascent, which conveniently took us down to the open flats of the upper valley. We even ran into this neat feature along the way ;P!

Because you haven't seen enough angles of Birdwood already ;).

Some massive slabs on the north end of Whistling Rock. We were stubborn, and simply poled our way across the open, upper valley, knowing we still had a steeper, ski-able section to come.

My dad almost eats it, as he drops into the descent drainage...The snow was soooo wet and heavy down here!

Once again, this drainage conveniently avoids the forest, and leads down to Burstall Flats without difficulty.

Pretty lighting on Commonwealth's southwest face. I can't believe this mountain is a scramble! Add that to the ever-expanding list ;).

Robertson is a beauty as well.

Those cornices on Snow Peak truly are incredible. I wonder if there's a correlation with the name...

Crossing the flats. We put skins on here, as it's less than a 100m drop over a long distance to the highway.

I can't believe this much snow exists at the end of May! Won't be here long with a few more days like this though...As we made our way down the 3.7km of sticky snow, in the hot afternoon sun, our backpacks quickly grew to the biggest they'd been all winter, as we shed one extra layer after another!

Evening views of Mount Nestor, as we make our way down the highway towards tomorrow's objective, Red Ridge!

Beautiful lighting on Sparrowhawk, with pointy Read's Tower jutting out below.

And that's the end of my favourite day this winter, and last day skiing for that matter :(. We may have had better days in terms of quality skiing...Black Prince Glades, Tent Ridge North, and Stanley Glacier Valley, come to mind. But the scenery around Burstall Pass Peak is absolutely phenomenal, and will stand out in my mind for a long time. I guess I have my dad to thank after all...If he hadn't kept pushing it off, we wouldn't have experienced Burstall Pass Peak on such a perfect day ;)!