Starting from Burstall Pass trailhead, Zosia and I, in typical fashion, made a route-finding error right off the bat when we inadvertently followed the snowshoe trail to Hogarth Lakes.  Fortunately, we caught our mistake early and were able to make a quick course correction to get back on the official trail.  A little less than three kilometres from the trailhead, we abandoned the official trail and followed an already-established track down to the flats of the westernmost of the frozen Burstall Lakes.  By skiing along the flats, this saved us from needlessly undulating for another kilometre or so along the official trail.  At the end of the flats, we grinded up the familiar headwall along Burstall Creek before continuing through a meadow in the upper valley where we got our first glimpse of Burstall Pass Peak looking resplendent in the morning sun.  This was followed by another lengthy stretch of climbing up a forested ravine before we finally broke out of the trees for good over three hours after leaving the trailhead.

Once in the open, Zosia and I continued southward toward South Burstall Pass, and although we no longer had a broken trail to follow, the windblown snow was very supportive and easy to ski.  Upon reaching the pass, we turned westward and climbed up fairly gentle slopes all the way up to the summit ridge.  Two other skiers had preceded us and taken a more direct but steeper short cut up the peak, but oddly enough, they had only tagged a couple of false summits to the north before starting their descent.  We followed their tracks up to one of the false summits, and from there, we turned south and carefully skied along the airy summit ridge to the true summit.  I was happy that Zosia was finally able to stand on top of Burstall Pass Peak, and she could not have chosen better conditions to be up there--clear skies and visibility, hardly a breath of wind, and mild temperatures.

Zosia and I spent about twenty minutes on the summit before commencing our descent.  We skied almost right off the summit, but instead of descending directly to South Burstall Pass, we made a short detour further south to get a better look at a couple of goats that I had spotted from the top.  Unfortunately, I was unable to get a good photo of the goats, but we were both still thrilled to see them.  Leaving the goats in peace, we enjoyed a nice ski back to the pass where we reconnected with our up-track.  Despite the snow having a bit of a wind crust, the ski conditions were surprisingly not bad.  From the pass, we backed out the way we came via the forested ravine and the meadow, but as usual, the headwall was by far the most challenging part of the descent as we resorted to mostly survival skiing to navigate the steep and narrow trail.  Fortunately, we made it down to the flats without too much grief, and from there, we settled into a mind-numbingly long but straightforward ski back to the trailhead.

	Zosia skis past a snow-covered boulder along the trail to Burstall Pass.
	Zosia takes to Burstall Lakes to avoid the undulations of the summer trail.
	Snow Peak is visible at right as Zosia proceeds across the flats of Burstall Creek.
	Zosia grinds her way up the headwall guarding the upper valley.
	Burstall Pass Peak comes into view at left in the upper valley.
	Zosia stands in a massive snow pit near tree line.
	Zosia finally breaks out of the trees into more open terrain.
	Mount Sir Douglas dominates the view through South Burstall Pass.
	Zosia ascends the eastern slopes of Burstall Pass Peak.
	Zosia follows the tracks of some other skiers to the summit ridge.  The actual summit is somewhere at left.
	Zosia carefully makes her way southward along the summit ridge.
	Zosia and Sonny stand on the summit of Burstall Pass Peak (2573 metres).

Leman Lake and Mount Assiniboine attract most of the attention to the northwest.

 

The view to the northeast is not bad as well.

 

	They are hard to discern, but there are two goats on the rocks at bottom left.
	Zosia skis below the ridge in hopes of getting a better look at the goats (barely visible on top of the ridge).
	Zosia skis back down into the trees with Mount Birdwood looking resplendent in the afternoon sunshine.
	Zosia enjoys the last bit of direct sunlight before plunging down the headwall.
	Mount Chester appears to be on fire as Zosia returns to the trailhead.
	Total Distance:  19.3 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  8 hours 15 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain:  685 metres GPX Data