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Mount Buller |
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Trip No. 111 Elevation Height
Gain Time to Reach Summit Degree of Difficulty Scenery Date of Most-recent
Ascent |
Mt. Buller is a nice intermediate scramble with an easy approach. The upper sections must be snow free and dry in order for you to reach the summit over open slabs. Drive south from Canmore on the Smith-Dorrien Spray Trail. Towards the south end of Spray Lake park at the Buller Mt. parking lot (GPS reference 50d52m09s N, 115d21m12s W). Get there early if you want to avoid the choking dust whipped up by other vehicles along this stretch of dirt road. Leave the parking lot and go back across the highway. The 9km long Buller Creek trail which goes all the way to Buller Pass starts here. Follow this well-maintained trail for 10 minutes or so and cross Buller Creek on a footbridge. 20 more minutes and you arrive at a clearing on your left below a rocky slope. You should just be able to pick out your summit objective high above and to the right. Keep going for another 10 minutes until you come to a second bridge (GPS reference 50d52m52s N, 115d19m01s W). There's a faint trail which branches left next to the bridge. Say goodbye to Buller Creek trail as you head into trees. You've gained 80 vertical meters so far on nice gentle slopes. Now for some real hiking. The trail vanishes into bushes within 20-30 meters. Drop down to the creek bed on the right. You are now at the terminus of a gully which started high up on the south slopes of Mt. Buller. Do not follow the flowing water course. Instead, angle left up the dry rocky slope. For the next 30 minutes or so it's rough going as much of the dry gully is overgrown. In a couple of stretches it also gets narrow and almost completely disappears. You may find it necessary to detour into forest to the left to get around some steeper pitches. As you gain elevation you'll also find snippets of trail higher up on the left bank. Once you're out of the thickets you can either stay on the crest of the ridge left of the gully, or you can drop down and boulder-hop your way up. The later is not too bad as the rubble seems conveniently stepped like a staircase. The gully eventually flattens out at broken shale. You'll only have to put up with this shifty terrain for a short bit as you emerge at a saddle (GPS reference 50d53m24s N, 115d19m11s W). A splendid view of Mt. Nestor bursts forth as you get your first glimpse of the northwest horizon. Take a break here and gather your energy. The rest of the way to the summit will be considerably tougher than the gully. Initially you can follow a trail as it traverses up the rubble. However you'll soon discover that the trail is nothing more than a funnel for fine scree - best leave this for running back down later. Off trail, the footing is more stable on the right. Continue to grind you way up the broad ridge. Higher up you'll come to steep slabs overlain with pebbles. This is a recipe for disaster if there is any lingering snow or if the rock is wet. Assuming you didn't bring a broom to clear off the surface, just find the cleanest patches and make you way through this section - it's perhaps some 20m long. The slope tapers off beyond this but a second pitch of open slabs lay just ahead. Maneuver through this shorter section and your troubles are behind you (until the return trip, anyway). The summit ridge is not too much further away. There is a brief semi-exposed spot as you make your way across the ridge to the highpoint (GPS reference 50d53m35s N, 115d18m44s W). The summit panorama is quite nice indeed. You have a virtually unobstructed view of the entire length of Spray Lake. In the distance off to the west is Mt. Assiniboine. Pointy Eon Mt. is just to its south. Mt. Nestor is to the northwest at the tip of the Goat Range. You should be able to pick out Big Sister in the far north. Closer and to the right, you have a bird's eye view of the upper ascent route on Mt. Sparrowhawk. To the northeast is towering Mt. Bogart, while Mt. Kidd North and South are directly east. The peaks of the south Opal Range are to the southeast. Directly south across Buller Creek are some impressive looking cliffs on Mt. Engadine. In the southwest, lowly Tent Ridge sits below The Fist and Mt. Smuts.
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