BOU AVENUE
Mount Buller

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I got off to a really late start for this scramble on 15 June 2003.  The long trip to Mount Ware the day before had tired me out , but sleeping in seemed to re-energize me.  At around noon, I finally decided to take advantage of the good weather and head out to the mountains.  I had a number of "quick" peaks in mind to do, and Mount Buller in the Spray Lakes area of Kananaskis Country was the most appealing choice for me.  I started off from the parking lot at about 2:45 PM and made good progress along the trail to Buller Pass.  About 35 minutes later at a log bridge, I left the trail and began bushwhacking (not that bad) up toward the col southwest of the peak.  There is a beaten path heading up the scree slope above the col, and I followed it most of the way to the summit ridge.  The route was completely dry on this day making the steep slabs near the top fairly easy to climb.  I reached the summit at about 5:20 PM, took a few pictures, signed the register, drank some pop, and began my descent just before 6:00 PM.  The scree slope was quite ideal for descending, and it only took me 15 minutes to get back to the col.  The thrash from the col back down to the trail was not without some misery, but I eventually made it back to my car by about 7:35 PM, less than 5 hours for the round trip and a very satisfying way to end the weekend.

	This gully leads up to the col.
	Sonny takes a short break at the surprisingly windless col.
	From the col, it's another 350 vertical metres to the summit.
	Mount Nestor and 'Old Goat Mountain' look splendid across the Spray Lake Reservoir.
	Sonny hikes up the summit ridge.
	Sonny reaches the 2818-metre summit of Mount Buller.
	The summit register contains a photocopy of a newspaper article about this man who died on Mount Buller.  Click here to read the article.
	To the west, Mounts Eon and Assiniboine are partially obscured by clouds.
	It's after 6:00 PM, and these guys (via the technical west ridge) are still on their way up!
	This is Mount Buller as seen from the Spray Lakes Road.