BOU AVENUE
Red Peak
On 12 November 2016, I headed out with Asieh Ghodratabadi, Ali Shariat and Zosia Zgolak to climb Red Peak in Alberta's Kananaskis Country.  This hike is described in Gillean Daffern's Kananaskis Country Trail Guide, but we drew most of our inspiration from Bob Spirko's trip report.  Starting from Buller Pass trailhead, we followed the main trail across the junction with the new High Rockies Trail and continued to the turnoff for North Buller Pass (unsigned just beyond a footbridge).  Increasing snow cover made it difficult at times to follow the trail, but Ali had Spirko's GPS tracks which helped to keep us on the right track.  Below North Buller Pass, Asieh decided to turn around due to the windy conditions and cold temperatures.  Although Ali made it up to the pass with Zosia and me, he decided to forego climbing Red Peak, and instead, he dutifully retreated and accompanied his wife back to the trailhead.  Zosia and I temporarily escaped the wind by dropping down the east side of North Buller Pass and working our way northward to bypass an intervening bump between the pass and Red Peak.  Snow was abundant everywhere in this back bowl, but most of it seemed stable enough for Zosia and me to feel safe about venturing onto the slopes.  A large snow cornice guarded the low point of the ridge between the intervening bump and Red Peak, but we managed to surmount it without too much difficulty.  From there, it was a long but simple plod up to the summit of Red Peak.  Tragically, Zosia lost her beloved down jacket here when a strong gust of wind plucked it from between her legs just as she was about to put it on.  The jacket is now probably being used as a warm bird's nest somewhere in the vicinity of Sparrowhawk Tarns.  As a result, we did not linger for long before commencing our descent.  We stayed a bit higher this time while traversing to North Buller Pass under the intervening bump in order to avoid unnecessary elevation gain.  After descending from the pass, we retraced our steps without any issues and reunited with Asieh and Ali back at the trailhead.
Nope, my jacket doesn't come with batteries! Asieh and Ali follow Sonny into the valley leading to North Buller Pass (not visible here).

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

It's almost ski season! North Buller Pass (left) is in sight.
Because of the wind, Asieh turned around shortly after this part. Ali and Asieh come up the open slopes below North Buller Pass.  Mount Buller is partially shrouded in clouds at right.
Steepest grunt of the day right here! Zosia climbs up toward North Buller Pass.
With more snow, these slopes could potentially become dangerous... From North Buller Pass, the route cuts across this slope and climbs toward the corniced ridge at distant right.
Now we are mountaineering! Sonny carefully drops down the east side of North Buller Pass.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

Sticking to the snow is easier. Zosia climbs up a mix of snow and rubble.
Luckily, the cornice was easy to surmount or circumvent. Sonny approaches the cornice guarding the ridge.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

Back into the wind...brrrrrrr! Zosia pops out onto the ridge crest beyond the intervening bump behind her.
No more difficulties from here! Zosia hikes the easy south ridge of Red Peak.
Let's go see if there's a pot o'gold! A rainbow appears unexpectedly beyond the summit ridge.
Here's looking at you, kid! The clouds lift slightly to partially reveal Mount Bogart.
In memory of Zosia's purple down jacket... Sonny and Zosia stand on the summit of Red Peak (2781 metres).
Too bad about the clouds, but the views are still respectable. To the southwest is Mount Buller (right).
I wonder if my old ice axe is still somewhere up there... Mount Kidd South Peak and Ribbon Lake grab all the attention to the southeast.
We stayed high enough to avoid unnecessary elevation loss. On descent, Zosia aims for North Buller Pass (right of centre).
A long but scenic trip that would be worth saving for a sunnier day... Total Distance:  17.7 kilometres
Round-Trip Time:  7 hours
Net Elevation Gain:  977 metres

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