Monday Dec 11: Climbed Rogan's Gully on Cascade. Generally in good shape and surprisingly not very wet inspite of the warmth. The big funnels above the route have already slid earlier this year and avalanche debris can be found before the last pitch and in the exit bowl. Cascade was not looking very inviting. There is a fair bit of water running underneath the ice and I bet the two crux pitches would be scary right now.
Tuesday Dec 12: Climbed Coire Dubh on Loader Mountain. The ice climbing is in good shape - a bit wet in places but easily avoided. A couple of intense snow squalls passed through during the climb and deposited about 5 cm of snow, which made the initial rock pitch for the integral finish quite tricky. For those who don't know, the bolt that is mentioned in the guide book and which used to protect the crux move has been gone for a while, but one can get decent trad gear placement instead. We descended from the tree after the crux pitch due to the adverse conditions on the rocks.
Good luck out there,
Jorg Wilz
Mountain Guide (ACMG / IFMGA / UIAGM)
1-800 506-7177 or (001) 403 678 2717