Burstall Pass
Backcountry Skiing Route
Details
8.82 mi
2,012 ft
A gorgeous, easy ski tour through an expansive valley
Burstall Pass is a classic Nordic Ski Area on the Smith Dorrien road. Parking is easy to find with a well established trail sign to Burstall Parking. You will get on a non track set Nordic Trail which is heavily used for snow shoeing, walking and nordic skiing in the winter.
The trail is meandering and mostly flat until you get to the back of the valley. The trail through the valley hugs the left hand side to mitigate avalanche exposure off of Mount Birdwood and Commonwealth Peak. Once you are at the back of the valley you ascend toward the Col between Snow Peak and Burstall Pass Peak like most places in this area this is most likely a skin track already in. You are exposed to some overhead hazard at this point from Snow Peak and will only want to proceed if safe to do so.
If stability allows you can continue on to the col between Snow Peak and Burstall Pass Peak or just descend through the trees. This is a beautiful ski tour with expansive views. If you feel comfortable with some exposure and stability is good you could continue on to the Burstall Pass Peak Route but this would certainly move this tour from easy to complex. This is a scenic tour with not a lot of actual turns as the approach is fairly long both in and out, however, this shouldn't deter you if you enjoy beautiful views and more of a traverse-style ski tour. Written by Kylee Toth
Burstall Pass is a classic Nordic Ski Area on the Smith Dorrien road. Parking is easy to find with a well established trail sign to Burstall Parking. You will get on a non track set Nordic Trail which is heavily used for snow shoeing, walking and nordic skiing in the winter.
The trail is meandering and mostly flat until you get to the back of the valley. The trail through the valley hugs the left hand side to mitigate avalanche exposure off of Mount Birdwood and Commonwealth Peak. Once you are at the back of the valley you ascend toward the Col between Snow Peak and Burstall Pass Peak like most places in this area this is most likely a skin track already in. You are exposed to some overhead hazard at this point from Snow Peak and will only want to proceed if safe to do so.
If stability allows you can continue on to the col between Snow Peak and Burstall Pass Peak or just descend through the trees. This is a beautiful ski tour with expansive views. If you feel comfortable with some exposure and stability is good you could continue on to the Burstall Pass Peak Route but this would certainly move this tour from easy to complex. This is a scenic tour with not a lot of actual turns as the approach is fairly long both in and out, however, this shouldn't deter you if you enjoy beautiful views and more of a traverse-style ski tour. Written by Kylee Toth