Buller Pass Hike

Where:

• Buller Pass

 

When:

• December 21, 2024

 

Who:

• Ed, Dave, Oak, Erin, Kellie, Neil, Carolyn, Roger

 

Trailhead:

• the trail starts at the Buller Mountain Day Use Area which is 30 km from Canmore on the Spray Lakes Road
• park on the entrance road to the day use area which is on the right (west) hand side of the road
• the trailhead is straight across the road on the east side

 

 

Degree of difficulty:

• 400 meters of elevation gain (we made it close to the base of Buller Mountain before the snow became too deep)
• 8 km distance return
• the trail is relatively easy to follow although you have to be careful where it intersects the High Rockies trail in two spots near the beginning
• 4 km up the valley (just across the fourth bridge), you take the fork to the right to get to Buller Pass
• the climb to the pass is steep but only takes 20 minutes
• the hike took us just under three and a half hours
• the trail had a few inches of fresh snow, which increased the further we went up the valley

 

 

Interesting notes:

• partway up the forested valley, there are several unique trees that have multiple trunks (still a mystery to me how they are formed)
• as well there are several burnt areas throughout the hike that offer a cool stark contrast to the forested areas
• there were several downed trees across the trail that were a bit tricky to navigate around or over
• the views are tremendous once you break out of the forested area with Buller Mountain to the north and east and Mt. Engadine to the south
• at the pass, you look across the valley to Mt. Kidd and Guinn Pass, down to Ribbon Lake and Mt. Bogart off to the left (north)