Bourgeau, Little (+ A Hidden, Giant Cave)

To reward myself for being married to the same person for 28 years, I decided on a short scramble near Banff on Friday, July 11 2025. There were other reasons for tackling this small objective that has been on my list for many years already. First, my sister and her family were in town so I didn’t want to get home late (and risk ending said marriage 😮). Second, it was forecast to be a hot day and I don’t like hiking in hot weather. Third, Devan Peterson had put up a nice track on Strava earlier this year in winter conditions that I was interested in checking out.

After a 56km day on Quartal Peak only a few days previous, not to mention a 4-hour approach drive, it was very nice to drive less than 1.5 hours to a pull out along the Sunshine Village road.

I was a little concerned with the “No Parking – Tow Zone” signs along this stretch but they all indicated that it was due to “Avalanche Zones”, so I reasoned that it only applied when the slopes above were holding snow. With some nervous glances over my shoulder back at the car, I headed for an obvious trail heading right up from the road across the pullout.

When advertising his ascent, Devan mentioned this trail and also mentioned almost no bushwhacking – another reason for my interest. And sure enough!

Just as the Fuhrer route on Mount Wardle avoids a much more commonly done bushwhack line, so does this one. And just like that route, this one goes pretty much straight up from the highway!

There were actually 3 sheep trails leading up the lower gully before they convalesce into one obvious track trending left under a line of low cliffs. As I quickly ascended, I noticed that the views behind me were already pretty good. The weather was gorgeous with a deep blue summer sky overhead. I didn’t traverse the cliffs long before spotting trees ahead. Wanting to avoid them, I deviated up easy scramble terrain onto a ledge running up and left along the cliffs, just off the deck and trees below. Perfect! This was just ticky boo, and I was feeling stoked as I continued following obvious sheep tracks along the ledges, ever trending left and upward. 🐏

Again, it didn’t take long (this isn’t a big scramble after all), and I reached another deviation in the route. As I discovered on return, I could have pushed through a bush or two along the ledges and would have found an easy lower traverse continuing above the trees and below any challenging terrain above on the cliffs. Instead, I pushed through a bush or two that were almost vertical – up a very sneaky little dirt chimney that was almost too steep to handle. I had to literally pull myself up the last part on a tree in order to pop out of the chimney on another system of ledges. I had a huge smile on my face at this point. This was pure scrambling FUN!

Once more, as I gazed off to my left, I could spot an obvious sheep trail running off along a system of ledges, nestled neatly under towering rock cliffs above. Unlike the lower traverse however, this one also had cliffs below.

I didn’t mind a wee bit of exposure, so I marched confidently along the sheep track, noting that I was now off Devan’s line but realizing that he was likely on snow already at this point in his day.

The further I followed the ledge trail the better my views got – especially looking back at the morning sun on the green alpine ledges with dark cliffs looming overhead.

I’m not gonna lie. I got worried more than once as the sheep tested my worthiness with pretty extreme exposure and tight squeezes along a couple of sections. One section in particular had me on my knees without much stability, crawling over a drop off that definitely would have ended my marriage prematurely along with my existence. ☠️ The only reason I’m not labeling this scramble “SC7” is that you don’t have to follow my up track. If you do follow it, beware that there are more than one “no slip” zones. They are short but potentially deadly and they are on grass and dirt so any moisture would really suck.

Thankfully I didn’t slip, but I was starting to wonder at the wisdom of my route as it went on and on without obvious signs of getting any easier. Where were these bloody sheep going anyway?! At this point I was seriously invested in the series of ledges I was on, so I kept going. I figured worst case I could turn back, but I wasn’t going to be happy about descending those exposed bits. I could clearly see an easy line below me at the base of the cliffs and could see Devan’s track there but I had no exit line at this point. The views were stunning, birds were chirping and I was having a blast so I kept on, keeping on.

Finally I rounded a corner and spotted an easy exit to another trail below, tracing the cliff base and still above tree line. I followed this track for a bit before being presented with another option to do another ledge traverse along the line of cliffs above. I figured the first one was so much fun, why not try this one too? I knew I could turn back this time, so I headed up it.

And wouldn’t you know it? It all worked out perfectly again! What a day this was turning into! I couldn’t believe how much fun this little route was turning out to be. A top 10 for sure – with stunning views still opening up behind me. The upper ledges perfectly merged onto severe avalanche slopes in a huge bowl under more towering cliffs high above.

I was happy to have Devan’s line here – it wasn’t obvious what would go or not from this vantage. I was also happy I wasn’t here in winter – this is very serious avalanche terrain and should be treated with extreme caution if you go in winter conditions. Even better than Devan’s GPS track was the bloody sheep track that I was somehow STILL on as I ascended steeply to a low waterfall in the gully above the ledges. At the waterfall I took a moderate line straight up beside it, there’s an easier line climber’s left that I used on descent.

I continued straight up the huge gully until deciding I should maybe check my GPS again. Oops! I was one gully to climber’s right of Devan’s track. I had been getting a little nervous looking up the gully I was in – the terrain above it looked very convoluted and cliffy.

Thankfully, once again my route worked out perfectly with another sheep trail leading from the gully I was in to the one Devan used to my left. Not only that, but once I was in that gully everything stayed on the easy side of scrambling with basic routefinding.

Following Devan’s track and another older Gaia base map line I managed to break through into an easy upper rubble bowl and from there it didn’t take long and I was on the easy east ridge to the summit. A surprisingly large cairn with a large wooden staff greeted me, along with some not-surprisingly good views. I was very happy to spot some familiar names such as Andrew Nugara and Rafal Kazmierczak who apparently did this peak on May 24 of this year.

One entry in the register got my attention in particular. “Jack” recommended, “GO CHECK OUT THE ICE CAVE AT TOP OF SOUTH GULLY!”. Since he shouted it at me I decided I’d better give that a look on my way back down the mountain.

I didn’t linger at the summit (refer back to the first reason I chose this smaller objective today) and was soon bashing my way back down the upper south rubble gully. I didn’t know where the heck the cave was, but I took a guess that it was above me to the west where I could just make out some potential cave entrances. The thought of slogging back up some of the worst rubble of the day was a little “meh”, but Jack really seemed psyched so I had to take the 5-10 minutes to at least get eyes on this “cave”.

And boy am I glad I did! Despite rather pedestrian views from below, once I struggled my way into the entrance of the cavern I was duly impressed – it’s pretty darn big! I spent a few minutes exploring it and taking some photos and video before continuing down the mountain.

I decided to try my initial gully for descent, rather than traverse back to the one Devan used. It worked perfectly and would be a slightly more direct ascent line too. Despite appearances from below there are no real difficulties here.

My return line worked perfectly and still avoided any bushwhacking. I recommend most folks follow this line for both ascent and descent.

My round trip time was only 4 hours and that included exploring the huge cave, which you should also check out. Arguably it’s more impressive than the summit views… This little scramble surprised me in all the good ways. A fun, sneaky, scenic route with a good trail almost everywhere you want it, no bushwhacking and hardly any annoying scree. Great views and a hidden giant cave. Minutes from Banff with no approach – it goes straight up from the road. What more do you need, really? Highly recommended in summer conditions.