BURL - A New Wasatch Classic?
What makes something a classic, anyway? I hardly have enough confidence in this route to make the declaration, but can confidently say that it was a great day in the Wasatch backyard traversing some incredible ridgeline. Plus, not everything needs to be classic. Here’s how it all happened:
It was September of 2020 and I didn’t have any additional running objectives left. Lauren and I had recently returned from a wonderful seven days fastpacking the Yosemite High Route. I convinced myself I couldn’t let my newly acquired fitness go to waste, so I opened up CalTopo and started to piece together a traverse around the head of Big Cottonwood.
Cottonwood Ridge, Utah
If you know the Wasatch you know that most things have already been done. There are hundreds of impressive mountain humans and dozens of visionary route-builders in a relatively small range. My experience in Utah is that I usually follow and rarely lead. So I pulled out my laptop and started searching for beta.
My search for a similar route came up short until one day I happened across a conversation in a local Facebook running group. I tuned in and soon learned that Courtney Pace had attempted the linkup but was unable to complete it. He was calling it the BURL (which was fun enough to say) and to his knowledge, no one had done it before. I was in.
Start of the WURL/BURL
The route was half of the infamous WURL, half something a little different. It would start in Ferguson Canyon, hit the Twins, follow the Cottonwood Ridge, wrap around Brighton, follow the PC ridgeline and end with the Wildcat Ridge and Mt. Olympus.
2 AM in the mountains
I had already completed the WURL and felt confident enough with that section. Brighton’s backcountry was mostly mellow, with some light use trails and game trails to assist with the fatigue. Once you get to Guardsmans Pass, the terrain mellows out and the travel is quite nice.
Trying to find the cleanest line, I made sure to stay on the ridge proper. Temptation to cruise the Wasatch Crest singletrack was at an all time high at this point, but going up and down the unnamed and named peaks along the backside of Park City Mountain Resort proved to be easy enough.
First of many shitty iphone photos
After hours of walking alone, I arrived at Dog Lake and saw Lauren’s shining smile. We cruised over to Gobbler’s Knob and Raymond, eating snacks and recounting the day’s highs and lows.
After Raymond, I said my goodbyes to Lauren and headed toward the formidable Wildcat. I tried to race nightfall as the technicality picked up, working through each desolate peak and eventually ending up on Mt. Olympus.
Where did all this net out? Around 39 miles and just shy of 22K feet of climbing. Parts were much easier than the WURL, while other bits were harder. Mile for mile, the BURL has easier travel. That being said, right as your body is wasted and ready to be done, you hit the Wildcat.
When I was out there and getting delirious, I joked to myself that the BURL was for those who were sick of the crowds on the WURL. But the WURL is busy for a reason – it’s perfection. And who are we kidding – it’s crowded everywhere in WasAngeles.
Heading into the night on the last of the Wildcat Ridge