Mount Burgess (2599 m) |
I attempted Mount Burgess twice, making it the second time. On the first attempt on June 30th, 1997 we were stopped by too much snow on the final face. The second time was on September 6th, 1997. We succeeded this time. With me were my Dad, my brother Bruce and his at-the-time girlfriend Gwynith. It was about 1200 m. of elevation gain over about 18 km. We were 4hr45 minutes on the ascent and 3hr15minutes on the descent. I really wanted to climb this mountain since Dad said he'd give me an old $10 bill since this mountain used to be on it if I climbed it. This picture is of the formidable face you see from Emerald Lake. Note that this is NOT the same trail as explained in the scrambles, but judging by the pictures, this one looks much more enjoyable. |
Starting off from Emerald Lake, the trail switchbacks innumerably over a course of 7 km before coming to Burgess Pass. From here we were hailed on quite heavily until the face came into view. This is the face that you climb. You traverse left upon the scree (where we were stopped the first time) until you hit a pillar which you contour around. From there traverse the other way above the rock band you were just under, then switch directions, aiming for the obvious chute which gives you access the the summit scree and plateau. |
This is the great view from the summit. You can see many distinct mountains from this area, notably those around Field, the Wapta Icefields, Emerald Lake and even the massive mountains of Lake O'Hara. Below me to the right are Takkakkaw Falls (I hope I spelled it right). |
This is what it looks like after the chute on the top. You can see the indentation on the ridge where we are headed for and the chute begins. Huge Mount Stephen looms in the upper right corner of the picture, with Field at the bottom. Then it was down to Burgess Pass for my first and last shot of my Dad's infamous Apricot Brandy. That stuff is lightning! We also saw many a helicopter picking up presumably fossils from nearby Mount Wapta. |
