ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued June 19th, 2008.
It is finally starting to feel like early summer in the mountains. Observations from the alpine have been limited, due both to the difficulty of getting through the treeline snow and the recent extended monsoon season. Below treeline along the divide we are perhaps a little ahead of schedule for snowmelt for this time of year. In the alpine it looks like late may. The alpine snowpack has, however, now gone through several weeks with periods of melting, freezing and settling. I am slowly becoming confident that the winters persistent week layers are becoming less of a concern, at least up to 3000m. It is impossible to say at this point what may be happening on high north facing terrain on peaks like Robson, Clemenceau and Sir Sanford. Big spring avalanches are still a possibility/probability anywhere in the alpine if and when we get some really hot weather. As I recall, we have only seen one REALLY warm spell in the alpine and that was a while ago.
Glacier travel and snow and ice face conditions are all about the melt freeze cycle for the next while. The snow is simply not strong enough in most places to be counted on for good traveling without a cold clear night Big ridge routes like Mt. Victoria, Edith Cavell and Sir Donald are very white and would be serious undertakings between the cornices, moats between the snow and rock and the avalanche danger late in the day on the descents. Yesterday, on a ridge at 2500m at O'Hara I had to shovel away approx 150cms of wet snow to find an anchor that was visible at this time last year. There are white looking ice smears all over the alpine but none that I have seen look very attractive. My guess is that most of them are the consistency of something between a stiff slushy and shaving cream. Expect a nasty couple of weeks of sun triggered wet avalanches and rockfall still to come in the alpine whenever the heat is on. Consider leaving those ice tools locked in your cupboard and get out rock climbing on a dry place in the sun. Alpine rock routes like Mt. Louis and Castle are drying out but expect some postholing on flat ground and in gullies above 2300m.
Rivers and creeks are still high. I can't help feeling that one of the biggest hazards right now is falling through all that wet snow into a running creek, crevasse or a moat somewhere. Walk carefully and don't trust the snow for a while yet.
Larry Stanier
Mountain Guide