August 18th, 2024. Yoho National Park, BC
Round Trip: 8.5 Hours, Elevation Gain: 1350m
Easy/Moderate Scramble
Ben and I scrambled up Walcott Peak back in 2016 under moody skies, and got turned around trying to get up Mt Burgess due to wet conditions. After hiking Mount Field last year with Dan and Bri, this peak came back on our radar as an opportunity to take a new scrambler up something less busy, and or for a redemption trip up Mt Burgess. I was in a bit of a haze so-to-speak the first time up Walcott Peak so hadn’t taken enough notes to construct a trip report nor enough photos of the route up. The opportunity to revisit Walcott presented itself when Dan’s partner Shirley told us she was joining for an adventure, and that they wanted to cap things at 8 hours. Walcott fits the bill perfectly so, plus Bri and I didn’t want an overly long adventure either given that we were slated to scramble up Mt Nelson in Invermere the next day.
Having used Kane’s (2016) Scrambles as reference in 2016, and having used the same approach for Mt Field in 2023, we followed the Burgess Pass trail more or less by memory. I took a couple photos from Scrambles just in case the group was feeling ambitious enough for Mt Burgess too. We parked at an unsigned parking lot for Burgess Pass just east of Field in Yoho. From there our group of four got started around 9am, and took an hour to complete the series of trail switchbacks. Sightly past the upper switch back a well defined foot path intersects with the main trail, flagged by a large cairn. We followed this trail up over an avalanche slope and entered the ascent gully around 11:30am.
The scramble is straight forward enough, staying in the main gully we trended slightly to the climber’s right. Rock fall hazard was ever prevalent so we spaced ourselves out accordingly. It took an hour and twenty minutes for everyone to top out of the gully. Out of the gully it was an easy hike over the rubble slopes to Walcott Peak’s top where we were rewarded with excellent lighting for photos of Emerald Lake. Car to summit had taken us roughly 4 hours total, and after a prolonged rest at the top it was nearly 4 hours back to the car.
This was Dan and Shirley’s first peak of the season, Bri and I were in for a big one the next day, so collectively we agreed to save Mt Burgess for a future trip. Having done those Burgess Pass switch backs two summers in a row, I can’t say that Mt Burgess is high on the list for next year. Time will tell! Highly recommend Walcott Peak itself if after a chiller moderate scramble with great views and certainly with less visitors than nearby Paget Peak.
Steep Sheep 