How Not to do the French-Haig-Robertson Traverse

Springtime is for ski traverses and other such trips that wouldn't be appealing at other times of the year. I got it in my head that I wanted to do the French-Haig-Robertson traverse, a loop around Mt. Burstall and Roberson in Kananaskis. This route is known for its excellent views and mellow glacier travel over a distance of about 22 km (20 km in Summits and Icefields) with 1000 m of elevation gain. As the weekend drew closer the weather wasn't looking so great but I had my mind made up, we were going to give it a try. 

Our track and elevation profile

We left Calgary at 6 am and arrived at the Burstall Pass trailhead shortly after 8. It was cloudy and snowing lightly. Kyle was unconvinced but without much of a back up plan, we decided to just start up French Creek and see if it would clear up. It was a bit confusing finding the correct path to the creek and we got off route initially resulting in breaking trail though crusty snow. Kyle was less than stoked. Eventually we found the well traveled trail (which is one of the first left branches off the Burstall Pass trail after the Mud Lake Dam). Once at the creek, we made the mistake of following the right bank and ended up at a dead end (French Creek Falls). Fortunately, it was a only short back-track to a snowbridge and we were able to gain the elevation around the falls in the forest on the left side of the creek. We followed the creek (staying on the left), winding our way through the trees and meadows for a few kilometres without gaining much elevation. It was easy going and we made up some time after our initial faff.

Starting in a snow squall - foreboding of what was to come

The clouds break and Mt. Burstall appears

The weather was showing signs of improving and so did Kyle's mood. I was having some issues with blisters but wasn't ready to turn back so we continued on. We stayed on the left and followed the moraine up towards the French-Haig col. As we did so, the wind picked up and the clouds rolled back in. We stopped in an unprotected spot behind a rock and discussed our options. By this point we had already climbed 600 m and were only 200 m below the col. We had also skied about 8 km so were close to half way. The decision was made to push on, especially since the ski back down French Creek would have been very unenjoyable (tight trees and death crust). I pulled my boot off to examine the blisters just as the wind picked up, depositing a snow drift inside my liner. With my socks and gloves off, my digits quickly froze and I shoved my foot back in the boot without even attempting to tape the hot spot. We started up towards the col, stopping frequently to deal with screaming barfies. It felt like mid-winter, rather than April spring skiing!

Approaching the French-Haig col in vertigo-inducing conditions

The weather got worse from there. As we approached the col, it got windier and turned into a white-out. We side-hilled to the col to maintain our elevation but the flat light made for disorienting conditions. As we crossed through the col onto the Haig glacier, neither of us were having much fun. I got a strong "I told you so" sentiment radiating from Kyle and decided to just keep my head down and continue breaking trail.

Kyle gives this day no thumbs up

From the photos I have seen of this traverse, Mt. Sir Douglas looks beautiful and the vistas from the Haig glacier are stunning. We were treated to shades of grey. At one point we could just make out a party ahead of us before they disappeared into the cloud again. It so windy that their tracks were completely obliterated. Even when we arrived at the bootpack up to the Haig-Roberson col, there was no evidence that another party had been there only 30 minutes earlier.

Obligatory "wind scoop" photo at the base of Mt. Robertson

Mt. Sir Douglas is over there somewhere

The bootpack was demoralizing. When we finally arrived at the col, the wind was howling and we couldn't see a thing. Kyle traversed out right and I followed, my face stinging from the bite of the wind and snow. Below a roll, we quickly de-skinned and dropped into the grey. Not much was said, it was clear that we both wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Heinous boot back to the Haig-Robertson col

The snow was surprisingly good as we skied the low angle Robertson Glacier. All the wind had deposited fresh, soft snow on the leeward side and we made April powder turns down to the valley. As we descended the visibility improved, the wind died and the temperature rose along with our moral. It was an easy ski down the valley towards the Burstall Pass road. By the time we arrived at the car after the final few kilometres of flat skinning, we were already looking back on the day fondly. Despite the conditions, we completed the loop in 7 hours!

Kyle is smiling once again, but still no thumbs up

Clouds break again, giving us some views of Whistling Rock Peak

While we definitely did not experience the full beauty of the French-Haig-Robertson and kind-of got our ass kicked it ended up being a pretty fun day. I guess that's what type 2 fun is all about!