Climbed Mt. Stanley with Jeremy Mackenzie today.
Cooler temperatures over the last two days helped make a generally supportive crust on the glacier in the early morning which began to deteriorate by about 1000hrs. Below this crust the snow is still very moist and in some locations not well consolidated making us a bit leary of steep slopes as the day warmed up.
The toe of the glacier is still mostly snow covered (though not for long) making for good travel up to the base of the routes on the North side of Mt. Stanley.
The Y and Waterman Couloir's had open bergschrunds and are topped by very large cornices so we gave them a miss.
The North Face (Kahl) Route was in good shape with a well covered bergschrund followed by several pitches of ice. The upper section was covered in snow and we avoided it due to warming temperatures. Instead we followed the NW Ridge (descent route) to the top.
A nice descent back down the NW Ridge with a couple 25m rappels and then down a snow gully to the climbers right of the lower North Face, brought us back to the main glacier.
With cooler temperatures and clear skies this route should be in shape again for early morning travelers. If things heat up there is still quite a bit of snow up high which could become a concern.
Cheers, Conrad Janzen
ACMG Ski & Asst. Alpine Guide
Do you Yahoo!?
Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail Beta.