BOU AVENUE
Mount Brett
Taking advantage of the good weather on 31 August 2004, I took the day off work and headed out to Banff National Park to scramble up Mount Brett.  It took me 50 minutes to ride my mountain bike about 4.5 kilometres up the Redearth Creek fire road to the mouth of a drainage coming down from a hanging valley northwest of Mount Brett.  Other than one short stretch of bushwhacking, I had no major difficulties hiking up the drainage into the upper valley.  Just before a tarn at the head of the valley, I veered westward and headed up through a larch forest to an obvious notch in the skyline ridge.  I followed this ridge all the way to the summit.  Two difficult downclimbs just before the summit constitute the crux of the trip.  After a very brief summit stay, I easily descended a rubble slope to the southwest before swinging back around to the north to regain the skyline ridge near the notch.  From there, I simply retraced my steps back down the valley and the drainage.  After retrieving my bike, I flew down the fire road and reached the trailhead in less than 15 minutes.  My total round-trip time was 8 hours 10 minutes.
Mount Ball Mount Ball comes into view early in the climb up the drainage.
There's the shirt that everyone knows and loves! Sonny hikes along the soft, mossy ground of the upper valley.  Copper Mountain is visible behind him.
Still a lot of climbing left to do! This is Mount Brett as seen from the upper valley.  The ascent route heads up through the larch trees at lower right to eventually gain the skyline ridge at upper right.
Pretty easy so far... Sonny hikes along the skyline ridge.
Another tough downclimb just ahead! This is the view of the remainder of the route from just past the first downclimb.  The summit is just left of centre.
5 hours 10 minutes from the car. Sonny stands on the 2983-metre summit of Mount Brett.
Overall, a much more enjoyable ascent than Pilot Mountain! The view north from the summit includes Copper Mountain at left and Pilot Mountain at right.  Castle Mountain is visible in the distance, and even Mount Hector can be seen sticking up on the horizon.
I was only the second party in 2004 to sign this register. Sonny writes a tribute to Alan Kane in the summit register.
That bit of green on the left sure looks inviting! This is the rubble slope on the west side of Mount Brett that Alan Kane recommends for a quicker descent.  The idea is to angle down to the saddle at centre and pick up a trail that contours around the mountain to the right.
A nice place to take a nap in the sunshine! Sonny easily hikes toward the notch (right of centre) where he originally gained the skyline ridge on the ascent.
Time to rock and roll! This is arguably the best part of the whole trip:  the return bike ride on the Redearth Creek fire road.