Bertha Peak – “Gullies” route

Posted on by par

June 3, 2023. Route finding and moderate scrambling to the top of Bertha Peak.

  • Region: Paahtómahksikimi/Waterton Lakes National Park. Traditional territory of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina, and Ktunaxa First Nations
  • Distance: 1.9 km one-way from the Bertha Lake campground
  • Elevation Gain: 665m from the Bertha Lake campgournd
  • Elevation of Objective: 2450m
  • Time: 2 hours one-way from the Bertha Lake campground
  • Safety and Disclaimer

Alan Kane’s Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies describes a route to the summit of Bertha Peak which involves scrambling up gullies on the east face beginning at a spot somewhere behind the backcountry campground. On previous visits to the lake I’ve explored a bit, trying to figure out exactly where this route starts, but I’ve never really committed to trying it. The south ridge route is easy to find and quite a satisfying ascent so I figured, Why bother? This past weekend, though, I decided to commit to trying Kane’s route.

I’ll describe the route beginning from Bertha Lake. See my south ridge post for detailed directions on getting to this point. Also, the conditions for that trip were generally more favourable for photography. A lot of pictures I took on this trip amounted to duplicates from that trip, just with more clouds and haze. I’d strongly suggest you check out the south ridge post for an idea of how great the scenery can be up on Bertha Peak.

I had been told (years ago) that the place to start was a trail leading into the woods from behind the outhouse at the campground. I found that trail and followed it as it petered out and became quite faint, obstructed here and there by fallen trees. After a while I could see that I was drawing near a fan of scree coming down from the face of the mountain. I ascended that, then started traversing to the left along the rocks. I knew I was looking for a drainage or a gully to the right of the waterfall. I encountered a snow patch before finding any such gully, but I could see that the mountain looked like it was climbable at this point, so I started climbing.

Kane mentions that there are many possible routes, and Bob Spirko‘s 2004 report comments that there was more route finding than he expected. I agree with Bob. It’s hard to describe the route I followed, aside from saying I knew I wanted to find a gully and it was to my left, so I ascended while cutting to the left and eventually found a gully. Once in the gully, the going was easier for a while until it petered out and I picked a route up to a large scree field south of the summit. After slogging up this scree I headed to my right and made it to the summit. After enjoying having the summit all to myself for a while I descended via the south ridge route.

I’m not sure I’d recommend this route unless, like me, you wanted to check it off your list of routes to try. It’s “moderate” scrambling (as per Kane/Nugara’s rating scheme) with some route finding – but it wasn’t really that much more engaging than the south ridge. I think most people will happily stick to that route.

Click/tap the pictures pictures below to access full-resolution images.

Route overview. The start point is at the backcountry campground. I’m skeptical as to how accurate this track is – it depicts some detours that didn’t happen.
Bertha Peak basking in the morning sun.
Lower Bertha Falls. The bridge has been rebuilt here, so you no longer have to divert along the equestrian route.
Bertha Lake.
A very general idea of the route I used to ascend the face.
Behind the outhouse at the backcountry campground, there’s a fairly clear trail that heads into the woods.
After a while, the trail peters out, but there’s a suggestion of which way to proceed.
Eventually, this fan of scree coming down from the mountain became visible.
I ascended the scree and started bearing to the left.
A snow patch prevented me from reaching the bottom of the ascent gully, so I started to climb and bear generally left. This picture makes the terrain look more dramatic than it was. Don’t get me wrong, though, there was a fair amount of route finding and I think you could get yourself into trouble here.
Taking a break to look back down at the lake and Mount Richards.
Cutting left, I made my way towards a diagonal line of darker rock.
I found the gully!
Towards the upper reaches of the gully the terrain looked like this.
Continuing to ascend. Expecting to find a scree field up here eventually.
Up on the scree filed, looking to my left. The waterfalls above Bertha Lake originate from the deep snow in the larch forest which the south ridge route passes through.
I found the scree to be of the exhausting treadmill variety. I tried to find slabs to ascend and took a break to admire the rocks. I love the idea that I’m walking up an ancient sea-bottom near the summit of a mountain.
Taking a look over my shoulder. Mount Richards and Mount Alderson are in the background. There’s still plenty of snow in the larch forest.
Ascending to the summit, which is still not in view.
Finally, the summit cairn.
At some point since my last visit here, somebody has spray painted “SUMITT” on a rock next to the summit. That’s…stupid.
Looking back towards Mount Alderson makes for a more satisfying shot of the cairn.
Looking down at Bertha Lake and Upper Bertha Falls.
Panorama looking south.
Starting my descent. I decided to head back down via the south ridge.
Heading back down to the lake shore.

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