Mount Burns East Peak (attempt)

Kananaskis, AB, Canada

6 October 2019

With Richard

A winter scramble on a beautiful Kananaskis ridge  

It was definitely a bit of a gamble to head out this weekend after almost all of the front ranges had seen a huge dump of snow a week earlier. But with nothing but sun and blue skies in the forecast, we simply couldn’t resist the temptation to get out again. We were glad we did – although we didn’t make the summit, it was no doubt an absolutely fabulous day.

The initial goal was Shunga-la-she, but after arriving at the start of the north ridge ascent route just past the bridge and seeing how much snow was still around in the forest, we decided against it. On the other side of the Sheep River north of the bridge the slopes looked much more inviting – in the sun and largely free of snow. These were the south slopes of Mount Burns’ east ridge. Ok, objective changed… Mount Burns East Peak it was!

Little did we know how involved and complicated this ridge can be when snow-covered. I vaguely remembered reading Nugara’s route description in his More Scrambles book, but didn’t recall any details. If I had, I would’ve known that even in summer this is a scramble with difficult sections that are not to be underestimated.

The ascent up the south slopes was straightforward and quite enjoyable. It was steep, but sticking to patches of grass and snow made it easier. Gibraltar Mountain’s dramatic east face provided a beautiful backdrop. About half-way up we encountered a vertical cliffband running horizontally across the mountainside. It was easily bypassed on climber’s left, followed by a simple slog up to the top of Mount Burns’ east ridge. The views up here were breathtaking: golden-brown crags and cliffs, partially covered in streaks of bright white snow, with deep blue skies above. It’s amazing how winter landscapes can be so much more dramatic and the experience more intense than in the summer.

The next big high point along the ridge (GR 565-088) looked beautiful but also a bit intimidating, especially with all that snow on the east face. Sure enough, after hiking up to it along the ridge crest our progress slowed significantly. The steepness of the slopes on the east face, combined with heaps of snow that reached up to our waist in places, was making it considerably more difficult than we had expected. A few cairns and flags provided some welcome guidance on these slopes as any traces of a trail were hidden under a blanket of snow. Some of the steepest sections were really tough to ascend and we thought about turning around several times. Eventually, we made it across the last steep slope to the edge of the uppermost cliffband and turned a corner, revealing the remainder of the ridge leading to the East Peak. Still a long way to go! Too long for our liking, considering how much time it had taken us to struggle up the last section, how tired we were, and that Richard was still recovering from a stubborn cold. It probably would’ve taken us at least another hour and a half to reach the East Peak, provided we would be able to negotiate the narrow ridge that looked like it was going to be pretty dicey if not impossible to do with snow on it.

It didn’t matter, though. We were just very happy to be here and equally happy to turn around at this point. We found a nice spot along the cliff to sit down and enjoy our lunch while tanning in the warm sun before heading back. The return trip was easier yet still required a lot of care and concentration. While the terrain on the east face was steep and slippery, the snow was pretty packed so thankfully there was no risk of avalanches on these slopes.

The normal route for this scramble goes up and down the length of the east ridge, and this is the route we took on descent. There’s a trail that we were able to follow most of the way and several small cliffbands that had to be downclimbed or bypassed made it fun and entertaining. The ridgewalk also offers magnificent views of nearby Junction Mountain and Shunga-la-she, both completely snow-covered.

Further down in the forest we encountered some orange flagging that, in the absence of a visible trail, guided us more or less efficiently back to the Sheep River trail. When we arrived at the parking lot we were surprised to see the whole trip had taken us almost eight hours. This was a fantastic scramble in full-on winter conditions, but to make it to the East Peak this trip is better left to the summer months. We’ll be back next year!

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