ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued September 21st, 2007.
Summer is definetly over in the mountains. The Larches are yellow and it has been REALLY cold since wednesday am.
In the past 48 hrs at 2000m at Lake O'Hara it has not gone above 3 celcius and it has been tinkling snow above 2700m's almost continously. Yuck!!
Very little snow has actually accumulated. Perhaps 20 cms in the bugaboos and 10-15cms in the alpine along the Louise, Moraine, O"Hara divide. There were some winds today so it is possible there may be some windslabs above 3000m's.
Glacier travel has just gotten a little trickier with crevasses harder to read and bridges not at all stronger.
Climbing conditions are generally slippery and white and it will take a real warm spell to improve even souith facing rock above 3000m's.
There is some dribbles of water ice above 2800m's but there is still a drought in the bowls above most alpine ice routes. Hard to get excited about anything above treeline at this point. Perhaps a good book?
Larry Stanier
Mountain Guide