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Burstall Pass

A gorgeous, easy ski tour through an expansive valley

Ski Touring Easy

Distance
14 km
Ascent
740 m
Descent
740 m
Duration
5-6 hrs
Low Point
1.9 km
High Point
2.3 km
Gradient
33˚
Burstall Pass Map

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.

Description

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.

Difficulty

Easy

Wide gentle slopes at around 20 degrees or less.

Low Exposure (E1)

1 out of 4

Exposure is limited to that of the slope itself. Getting hurt is still likely if the slope is steep and/or the snow is hard.

Remoteness

2 out of 4

Away from help but easily accessed.

Best time to visit

between December and March

Features

  • Bowl
  • Tree Skiing

Equipment required

  • Skins

Similar routes nearby

Guidebooks in this area