Lat/Lon: 51.4223°N, 116.5°W Mount Burgess is a well known stand alone peak that looms over one of the pride jewels of Yoho National Park, Emerald Lake. If you are seated at the outdoor patio of the Emerald Lake Lodge, Burgess dominates the southeastern sky line. Mount Burgess was first ascended in 1892 by surveyors McArthur and Tuzo and officially named after a Canadian Bureaucrat in 1897. During the 50’s and 60’s Mount Burgess was featured on the back of the Canadian ten dollar bill. Mount Burgess has two summits. The north summit, which is much more attainable, has its own official name of Walcott Peak, named after the geologist who discovered the Burgess Shale Fossils. Charles D. Walcott, (then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution), discovered the first Burgess Shale fossils on Fossil Ridge in 1909. Burgess Shale fossils appear as lithographic pictures on fine-grained shale. Even the soft parts (gills, legs, and guts) of some animals are preserved, which is very rare, since usually only hard parts of animals (their shells, bones, or teeth) are preserved as fossils. In 1984, UNESCO declared Yoho, Banff, Kootenay and Jasper National Parks, along with Mt. Robson, Hamber and Mt. Assiniboine Provincial Parks, as the Rocky Mountain World Heritage Parks. Thus, the Burgess Shale is a protected area of international importance, within a World Heritage Site.
The only published route on Mount Burgess is the scramble mentioned in “Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies”. The north summit is considered an easy outing, but can be combined with the true summit, the south peak, which is considered a difficult scramble with some interesting exposure (photos). The views are immense, as all the summits in Yoho are, including the President, Vice President and the Emerald Glacier to the north, Mount Vaux and the Hanbury Glacier to the south and Mount Carnarvon to the west.
Getting There The Trans-Canada Highway runs from Calgary through Banff and Yoho National Parks on its way to Vancouver. Pass through Lake Louise heading westbound and continue on the Trans-Canada on its way to Field, BC. After Yoho Valley Road and before you get to Field, there is a trailhead parking area on your right. This is the Burgess Pass Trailhead.
Field is a town of approximately 300 people located in the Kicking Horse River valley of southeastern British Columbia in the confines of Yoho National Park. Field was established during the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway as a locomotive depot for pusher engines required to help trains over the nearby Field Hill and Big Hill. Field is 27 km west of Lake Louise along the Trans-Canada Highway, the only access to Field. The visitor centre for Yoho National Park is located in Field.
Red Tape You will be required to purchase a national park pass as you enter Banff National Park coming from the east on the Trans-Canada. This pass is good for all four national parks. If you plan many visits to Canadian National Parks within one year, you should purchase an annual pass. There are no permit requirements to climb in Yoho National Park, but all camping is regulated. There is also a backcountry permit required if you plan on spending a night in the backcountry versus the town campsites. This can be obtained via the parks website (above) in the camping section below. Yoho National Park headquarters are located in Field, BC and you will drive through the manned national park kiosks as you enter Banff National Park on the Trans-Canada.
This is active grizzly country, therefore, you should always have bear spray on your person. I advise checking with Parks Canada for any area and/or trail closures.
I highly recommend eating at Truffle Pigs in Field. It is quite the experience in dining and you will not be disappointed. We always make the effort to dine there when we are in the area. They also sell produce and groceries if you are camping.
When To Climb As with most scrambles in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June through September. I climbed Mount Burgess in July. A serious avalanche accident occurred on the scramble route in April of 2000. It is my guess that skiing to the north summit is possible, but with considerable avalanche risk along the route. I don’t know of anyone who has done it and it is not listed as a ski summit in Chic Scott’s Alpine Ski Tours. Skiing to the south summit would not be plausible whatsoever.
Camping The closest camp site would be quite a distance at Yoho Pass, Yoho Campsite #3. It is on Yoho Lake and I have hiked by this campsite. It is actually pretty nice, but not really that relative to climbing Mount Burgess specifically. You can go on line at Yoho National Park to pick a camp site and obtain your camping permit. You will also be required to obtain your backcountry permit which is separate, but can be obtained simultaneously if you plan on camping at a backcountry site like Yoho Pass. You cannot camp outside of the marked specific camping areas.
Emerald Lake Lodge offers premium lodging at the other end of Burgess Pass Trail. Field has one inn and several B&B’s.
Route This is a 6000’+/- ascent day if you are doing both summits and do the descent the way I did it. There are two different approach trails to the scramble route up Mount Burgess. That means you should take advantage of the traverse option. Of course that would also require a hitch back to your car or to be dropped off to begin with. You could plant a bike, but that would make for a very long day. The Burgess Pass Trail circumvents Mount Burgess from the southeast to the northwest and this is the direction I chose. From the trailhead on the TransCanada proceed ¾’s of the way up to Burgess Pass itself. To the pass is 8.2kms, so approximately 6kms+/-. Follow the trail from 4300' to 6000' to a broad avalanche area on your left. The Mount Burgess east face looms above you.
There was one cairn marking this turnoff in 2004, but basically just aim for a scree gully right of an island of trees that stand out on the massive scree slope. Once you reach this gully, hug the right vertical wall as the gully narrows for another 1500' to a point on the north ridge at 8100' (now you are out of the gully). Once on the ridge, traverse left to the lower flank of the north peak and ramp up to its summit. This section is an easy scramble and fairly straight forward.
The true summit is the south summit. This is a difficult traverse. Navigate lower left on the ridge and continue to descend until you reach a substantial exposed notch at about 8000'. I chose to “high wire” the right side of a pinnacle that landmarks this section (the crux). The other alternative is to traverse left. Both involve seriously exposed moves. Once I reached the other side of the pinnacle, I proceeded at a 45 degree angle keeping left until I topped out on the final summit ridge. This ridge is hands on scrambling and again presents a difficult scrambling section.
Once on the summit, you have great views of Mount Vaux and the Hanbury Glacier to the south, the President, Vice President and the Emerald Glacier to the north and Mount Carnarvon and Emerald Lake to the northwest. There was a register in 2004 at the south summit that was installed by Alan Kane in 1990. I was the only entry in 2004 and there were but a handful since 1990. Most parties settle for the north summit.
On descent, once you get through the tough ridge and the crux, set out for some cairns that mark where you topped out of the gully. This saves having to climb up the ridge between the south and north summits. This will involve some hands on down climbing. Once back in the gully, make sure no one is above you and that you are not wreaking havoc on anyone below. In its narrow sections, this is a danger zone for rock fall. Once through the constricted sections, stay skiers right this time to find some great glissading scree.
I did made the mistake of descending all the way back to the trail at 6000' even though I was doing a hike through to Emerald Lake via Burgess Pass. I advise one to attempt to contour around Burgess to the left staying above tree line until you reach the northern ridge which will lead directly to Burgess Pass and/or the trail itself. The pass is at 7500'. The Burgess Pass Trail then descends west to Emerald Lake. The entire trail is a 15km trip not including the scramble portion. Then close the day out having a beer and dinner on the patio at the bridge and enjoy super scenery including your objective for the day.
Essential Gear Helmet, some potential rock fall on this one. Gaiters for the scree and/or snow. Alpine Ax and/or hiking poles. A short rope for parties of two or more wanting extra security getting to the south summit. Bear Spray. Map. Compass. Possible bike depending on how you handle the traverse option.
Trip Report The south summit is a straight up difficult scramble, not to be confused with the north summit's ease if in fact the highest point is your objective. I reached the south summit in 3.5 hours from the road moving at a fast clip. I did the full traverse from the TransCanada to Emerald Lake. You will need a shuttle or hitch back to your car. I recommend doing both summits to make this is a 5-star day. Cheers
CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTOS 1. President/V.Pres and Emerald Lake 2. -4. Crux Photos 5. Summit Photo 6. Mount Vaux and the Hanbury Glacier
