Mount Murray Scramble

Lat/Lon: 50.74°N, 115.29°W
Mount Murray resides in the middle of the Spray Mountain Range in Kananaskis
Provincial Park along with such notables as Shark Mountain and The Fist hemmed
in to the west by the 11,172' Mount Sir Douglas on the Continental Divide. Mount
Murray was officially named (as most mountains in the area) after a WWI General in
1918.

Mount Murray sees few scramblers, and for good reason, it is quite a scree fest.
The views are grand, but there are many other options in the area to obtain the same
viewpoint, without the same amount of scree. The access described in the route
section also serves as the back door into Mount Sir Douglas as well as the Haig,
French, Robertson and Smith-Dorrien Glaciers, the largest assemblage of glaciers
in Kananaskis. A non-maintained trail up French Creek serves as a backcountry-
mountaineering ski route in the winter. The only published route for Mount Murray is
the moderate scramble traverse from the unnamed peak to the north. There are no
published alpine or ski routes up the mountain. The views include the big three in
Kananaskis, Mount Sir Douglas , Mount Joffre and Mount Assiniboine. To the north
are views of Mount Engadine and Mount Chester.   Mount Birdwood thoroughly
entertains via the west during your entire ascent.

Getting There
From the Canmore Nordic Center, drive 40 km south on the Spray Lakes/Smith
Dorrien Road (gravel). Turn right at signs for the Burstall Pass day use parking lot.
You are guaranteed mountain sheep on the Spray Lakes Road and once in a blue
moon, a moose or two. Watch for hazardous rock fall on the switchbacks above
Canmore. At times this road will be closed due to rock and/or mud slides.

Red Tape
There are no permit requirements to enter, climb and/or park in Kananaskis
Provincial Park. This is active grizzly country however. Take bear spray. I have seen a
black bear on the Burstall Pass trail in the past. There are no park headquarters on
this road. Kananaskis Park headquarters are located on Highway 40 east of
Canmore. Any recent notices will be posted on the bulletin board at that location. If
they are open, check in with the ranger staff, they have tons of beta and are always
friendly.

When To Climb
As with most scrambles in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June
through September. I climbed Mount Murray in July and it was in good condition with
minimal snow above 8000’. There are no published backcountry ski routes on
Murray, nor would it be conducive to ski to the summit.

Camping
The closest camping is located back at the north end of Spray Lakes Reservoir
across the dam at random campsites located on the west shore of the lake. You
cannot camp outside of the marked specific camping areas in Kananaskis.   Refer to
the Kananaskis Provincial Park website for more information regarding camping
and/or lodging. A premium accommodation is the Engadine Lodge which is only
several kilometers north on Spray Lake Road.

Mountain Conditions
The Kananaskis Provincial Park website is a very thorough park website, including
trail conditions or closures, wildlife notices, weather conditions, avalanche
conditions, camping permits, whitewater conditions, etc. It is an excellent source if
you are going to spend any time here and comparable to any National Park website I
have used. Outside of the parks web site, Canadian Avalanche Association is also
useful, particularly for winter travel.

Route
This is a 4000’+/- ascent day and I recorded 4300’ to the summit via accumulated
elevation.   As on occasion, I consider Mr. Kane’s notes in the Scrambles in the
Canadian Rockies guide book on this particular scramble to be seriously omitting.
From the Burstall Day Use area, hike or bike across the dam to where the Burstall
Pass Trail takes a hard right. Continue straight on an old logging road.   This is the
same route used by backcountry skiers in the winter months.   Using a bike is a 50-
50 proposition here as there are many downed trees on this old logging road and it
is not maintained as a summer trail.   I suggest the bike to save a few net minutes.
Once down at the French Creek, park the bike.   You have several options, depending
on the volume of the creek.   You can wade across the creek or fight through some
bush immediately upstream to several logs that were in place in 2005.   A third
option is to continue upstream on a faint trail to gain the creek above a steep
waterfall and cross a log-bush jam at that level.   I suggest the option immediately
upstream once you reach French Creek.

Once on the other side of French Creek, continue along the logging road and
eventually it turns into a single track trail that is also not maintained. You are looking
to gain a significant gravel drainage to the east that leads up to a ridge on an
unnamed peak directly north of Mount Murray. I turned east too early via Kane’s
description and landed on the north ridge (8000’) of this unnamed peak and had to
make a difficult traverse to its west summit ridge. This route was not bad in any
particular way, as much as the correct route is more scenic and straight forward. The
correct drainage does not bleed gravel all the way down to French Creek.   It is
approximately 30 minutes after you cross French Creek on your left side (now
flagged).   If you leave the French Creek Trail at the appropriate mark and head east,
the gravel wash is immediately and readily apparent.   Once you discover this
drainage, it starts to open up and breaks through a cliff and onto open slopes of
scree and grass that ascend up to the west ridge of the unnamed peak directly north
of Mount Murray which is also in full view to the southeast as you proceed through the
cliff break.   In July, 2005 there was a significant snow slope you can ascend
immediately to the right after you enter the break in the cliff.   At the top of this snow
slope are beautiful high alpine meadows that lead left up to scree and good ground
that bypasses steep cliffs directly below the col of the unnamed peak and Mount
Murray to the south.

You have the option of achieving the summit of the unnamed peak and then
descending to the col or, once above the steep cliff line, you can traverse large and
medium sized scree to the col further south.   Once at the col at approximately 8800’,
you will traverse below Mount Murray’s summit block to the right and completely
circle around the western flank of the mountain, gaining altitude along the way until
you are at the southeast ridge.   Mount Murray’s summit walls will look
impenetrable, without gear, until you see this southeastern ridge on the backside
which is much less intimidating. There are many ways to finish the route, but not
without enduring some additional larger sized talus.   I ascended to the base of the
summit walls so I could contour around the summit block on firmer ground.
Eventually I found a chimney full of ice and snow and ascended this chimney and cut
back left onto firm rock and scrambled my way to the final summit.   There is a
multitude of ways to ascend this final portion, they get easier as you continue to
circumvent to the southeast.   The more interesting moves are the earlier routes
you find.

Despite the infrequency in which this mountain gets climbed, Kane did add a
register and it was still in place in 2005. The views of Mount Joffre, Mount Sir
Douglas and Mount Assiniboine are extremely clear on a good day. The Robertson
Glacier, Mt.Birdwood (gives you many looks on the ascent) and Mt. Burstall are in the
immediate vicinity. Mount Engadine, Mount Chester and other Kananaskis peaks
show up across the Smith Dorrien Valley to the north.

Return the same.   Beware of the steep cliffs below the col of Mount Murray and
the unnamed peak to the north.   From below the summit block of Mount Murray
peering down, you might be tempted to give them a test, however, when viewed from
below it is obvious they do not offer relief. You must contour back to the western ridge
of the unnamed peak to descend.   The mountain sheep give you a line across the
medium sized talus.   If they can’t find a break in the cliffs, then you can’t either.

Once below the western ridge of the unnamed peak, you need to aim for that break in
the lower cliffs below tree line that you ascended and it will lead back to the gravel
drainage which peters out into the forest, and you will immediately find the east side
trail of French Creek which takes you back to the old logging road.   I am rating this
route two stars due to the plentiful scree.

Essential Gear
Alpine Ax for snow patches up to and including July, Bear Spray, Helmet, Gaiters
(plenty of water opportunities on route)

Trip Report
This was a solo trip. I made it to the summit in four hours, but that is fast, despite
going off route and adding extra ridge work into the day. This is a scree fest and I don’
t recommend it except for you Canadian Rocky die hards. This summit does put you
damn close to Mount Sir Douglas. Cheers!