Hello
Climbed Polar Circus on Saturday. Busy route with 5 people on it before 530AM! Good to see people getting early starts on big south facing routes. Route itself is in ok shape. Some of the bottom pitches will be melting out soon and the last pitch was difficult for the grade as extensive cleaning was required. Snow slope felt ok crossing it in the shade both on the way up and down. It would be a different story if it was baking in the sun...
Climbed Hydro yesterday. Drive in through Waiparous was nice and frozen all the way, easy in a normal truck. Route has seen a bit of traffic and is quite hooky, felt classic grade 5. The road was melting a bit on the way out at 3pm causing some of the deeper ruts to become problematic. Could be an issue in upcoming days if it stays warm and sunny.
Spent last week around Assiniboine trying to climb the peak but the late February surface hoar shut us down. We found this layer up to 2800 metres in the area, and gave it major respect in our terrain choices.
Stay safe and have fun!
Cheers
Mike Stuart
Alpine Guide
Alpine Guide