Bush Mountain Falls

Turn off the Trans-Canada Highway on Donald Road (signed for the town of Donald), then after a kilometer, turn left onto the Bush River FSR. Follow the Bush River Road for 63km then turn right onto the Valenciennes River FSR shortly after crossing the Valenciennes River. Follow the Valenciennes Road for 18km then bear left onto the Mons Creek - Icefall FSR and follow it for another 3.75km to where the road crosses a large outwash channel and the falls can be seen across the valley. The road network in this area is not frequently maintained and can be rough. High clearance vehicles with 4wd capabilities are recommended.In many places throughout the Canadian Rocky Mountains the geology has worked against significant waterfalls to the detriment of visibility. Marble and Limestone being common throughout the mountain range, rivers have been able to carve deeply into the mountainsides and in some cases, hide themselves from sight entirely. In the valley of Icefall Brook, however, several instances of waterfalls pouring out of the mountains, rather than into, punctuate the ease at which water can sculpt the landscape. Perhaps most noticeable is this lofty cascade spilling forth from high up on the side of the Rostrum Peak group. The falls emerge from the mountainside at about the 5830 foot (1777m) elevation and immediately slide, skip and veil down a non-stop, uninterrupted cascade for over 1500 vertical feet, ending in the run out of a long alluvium chute that extends up an adjacent gully of the mountain. What makes this fall so impressive - even viewed at over a kilometer away - is the volume of water involved. We surveyed at the beginning of August, and while the fact that it emerges from an underground source (which likely ultimately begins in the glaciers above) may have effects on the consistency of the stream that can't be predicted with ease, it appears that this waterfall flows very consistently given the volume seen at the mid-point in the summer.