Mount Buller Scramble

Lat/Lon: 50.89°N, 115.31°W
Mount Buller is connected to the long Kananaskis Range located just north of
Kananaskis Lakes in the center of Kananaskis Country, a provincial park which
encompasses over 4,000 square kilometers of foothills and mountains bordering
Banff National Park in the central Canadian Rockies. Mount Buller shares the range
with many other climbs including: Mount Galatea, Gusty Peak, Mount Engadine, The
Fortress, Mount Chester and Mount Lawson.   Mount Buller was officially named in
1922 after a WWI colonel, typical of peaks in this section of Kananaskis. The first
ascent to the summit was made in 1956 by Fraser, Hicks and Gorril.

There is one published route up Mount Buller, the moderate scramble via the west
ridge. The route is easily accessed and can make for a short day, but rewarding
views. One person has perished on this route due to rock fall. The views encompass
Mount Sir Douglas and Mount Birdwood to the south, Mount Bogart and Mount Kidd to
the east and Mount Nestor fills up the northern sky.

Getting There
From the Canmore Nordic Center, drive 32 km south on the Spray Lakes/Smith
Dorrien Road (gravel). Turn right at signs for the Buller Mountain Day Use parking lot.
You are guaranteed mountain sheep on the road and once in a blue moon, a moose
or two. Watch for hazardous rock fall on the switchbacks above Canmore.

Red Tape
There are no permit requirements to enter, climb and/or park in Kananaskis
Provincial Park. This is active grizzly country however. Take bear spray. I discovered
a fresh lamb kill (photo included) on the descent of Mount Buller.   There has also
been a large male black bear frequenting the area in 2005.   There have been
numerous 2005 trail closures in Kananaskis due to mountain lions and grizzlies.
We just had our third serious grizzly attack in the Canmore area for 2005. Therefore
it would be prudent to check recent notices posted on the park’s website. The
park headquarters is actually located on Highway 40 (Kananaskis Trail) several
kilometers south of the Trans-Canada. Notices are posted outside if they are closed.
This is a solid information center with good staff and beta.

When To Climb
As with most climbs in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June through
September. I did the scramble up the west ridge of Mount Buller in August, 2005 and
conditions were dry. There are no published backcountry ski routes on Mount Buller,
however, I can envision making a ski summit with little room for error at the top of the
west ridge.

Camping
The closest camping is located back at the north end of Spray Lakes Reservoir
across the dam at random campsites located on the west shore of the lake. You
cannot camp outside of the marked specific camping areas in Kananaskis. Refer to
the Kananaskis Provincial Park website for more information regarding camping
and/or lodging.

Mountain Conditions
The Kananaskis Provincial Park website is a very thorough park website, including
trail conditions or closures, wildlife notices, weather conditions, avalanche
conditions, camping permits, whitewater conditions, etc. It is an excellent source if
you are going to spend any time here and comparable to any National Park website I
have used. Outside of the parks web site, Canadian Avalanche Association is also
useful, particularly for winter travel.

Route
This is a 3300’+/- ascent day. I recorded 3500’+/- on my altimeter. Cross the road
from the Buller Day Use parking area and pick up the well maintained single track
Buller Pass Trail. After about 10 minutes you will cross your first bridge and start
gaining some elevation. After about 20 more minutes you will start to see Mount
Buller’s summit through a clearing on the left. Mount Engadine will have been on
your right this whole time. After approximately 40 minutes total you should reach a
second foot bridge and this is where you depart from the trail.

Turn left, before crossing the bridge, and follow the left bank for a short distance
looking to intersect a mostly dry creek bed that forks left. Turn left and follow this
drainage up to a col below Mount Buller’s west ridge.   You could pick several lines.
I chose to follow a deep cut canyon as it developed on my right side. This allowed for
some solid rock ascent originally. I left any signs of trail or flagging, but it turned out
to be good ascent ground all the way as well as a very direct approach. My route
bypassed the col to the right and eventually intersected a faint descent trail through
scree and talus on the west ridge. If one stayed further left you would ride up a ravine
to shale that led to the before mentioned col.

Once on the west ridge, you have approximately 1000’ left to the summit. The first
half is easy going, but towards the top you will run into polished slabs (photo
included), some of which will be covered with ball bearing rubble.   If you stay
climbers right you will avoid most of this crux. However, if you are a competent
climber/scrambler, you will probably just prefer to smear up this solid rock to the
finish.   The top of the ridge narrows somewhat, but serves as a pleasant and
uneventful finish to Mount Buller.

There are two summit registers. One is actually dedicated to a fallen comrade who
apparently lost his life on the mountain. The most prominent views I enjoyed on a
semi-cloudy day included Mount Sir Douglas, Mount Birdwood, Mount Bogart, Mount
Kidd and Mount Nestor.

On descent, I took the fast scree down all the way to the col, which is a great lunch
spot. I then descended fast shale directly down the north slope from the col and
encountered a fresh lamb kill (photo included). I continued down this gully,
sometimes taking advantage of the right bank and eventually just took off on the right
bank to intersect the Buller Pass Trail. This involved some bushwhacking but was
straightforward for the most part. I completed this route in 4 hours but Kane’s
guidebook advises 5-7 hours which is no doubt more realistic.

Essential Gear- Bear Spray, Alpine Ax and Gaiters if Snow Conditions Prevail

I needed a “filler” between a race and scheduled long run (marathon training) and
Mount Buller’s scramble served that purpose. It is readily accessible and not taxing
on the brain either. I did observe a fresh lamb kill that is more than likely the result of
a bear. It was too low to be associated with a mountain lion. And it was precisely on
the descent route. I have done all the mountains around Buller. It is a great mountain
to observe a ton of climbing objectives from. Cheers.