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Snow Peak |
| Elevation 2700m Height Gain Time to Reach Summit Degree of Difficulty Scenery Date of Most-recent Ascent |
Snow Peak is a wonderful extension of the popular Burstall Pass hike. In fact, you walk right past this mountain on your way to the pass. Technical spots are few, and the summit panorama is absolutely gorgeous. Drive south from Canmore on the Smith-Dorrien Spray Trail and park at the Burstall parking lot (GPS reference 50d47m39s N, 115d17m57s W). Get there early if you want to avoid the choking dust whipped up by other vehicles along this stretch of dirt road. From the parking area walk west along the lengthy Mud Lake dam. At the far end the trail heads uphill a bit. At the second sign follow the arrow and turn right. Hike along this virtually flat logging trail until you reach some bicycle lock-ups (GPS reference 50d46m55s N, 115d20m04s W) in about 45-minutes. The road fizzles into trail, and enters open forest. In another 5-10 minutes you arrive at flood plains draining the Robertson Glacier. Here you have a front-row seat to Mts. Commonwealth, Pig's Tail, and Birdwood lined up from right to left. Note that often the braided streams will overflow into the trail. The odd scattered logs may help - if you can find them. As you near forest at the far-end (GPS reference 50d46m26s N, 115d21m06s W) the vertical spire of Mt. Robertson comes into view on your left. You've now done some 1.5 hours of hiking and yet you've only gained 75 meters of elevation. The good trail rises in moderate angle through forest, and exits into an open valley - the head water of Burstall Creek. Snow Peak is on your immediate right. Follow the tracks south up through a short stint of alpine forest, through the headwall and finally to the sign denoting Burstall Pass (GPS reference50d45m35s N, 115d22m24s W). As you look north the easy south slopes of Snow Peak is directly ahead. In spite of the popularity of Burstall Pass, it appears that few people make the trek to Snow Peak summit, as there are no visible signs of trails leading up the mountain. Pick any line you please up the initial grassy slopes - stay just left of the lowest skinny rock band. Once through, angle right across coarse scree towards the skyline ridge. The next band provides some simple scrambling on stair-like rock ledges. The angle eases past this point, and you soon find yourself pulling up past the last few boulders onto the summit ridge. The high point (GPS reference 50d46m22s N, 115d23m03s W) is marked by a sloppy cairn only minutes away. If you thought the view coming up to the crest of Burstall Pass is fantastic, you'll now thumb your nose at the hoards who are starting to gather at the Pass to fritter away their day. Mt. Birdwood is the biggest and the closest to the northwest. In the background to its left is Mt. Smuts. Mt. Shark is to the north, and Mts. Morrison and Currie are to the northeast, and no doubt you'll recognize Mt. Assiniboine. Mts. Warre, Vavasour, and Leval are to the east. At the base of Mt. Leval is colorful Leman Lake. Mt. Queen Elizabeth is south of you. The alpine lakes to its left are Belgium Lake and Back Lake. Shapely Mt. Sir Douglas is to the southeast. Directly east is Mt. Burstall. Looking northeast through the gap, the recognizable peaks of the Kananaskis Range include Chester, Fortress, Gusty Peak, and Galatea.
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