ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Archive: July 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for July 31st, 2008.

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued July 31st, 2008

The recent history- As of tuesday afternoon, conditions in the mountains were excellent. Tuesday night through Wednesday approximately 10-20 cms of snow fell along the divide in the Rockies and a bit less in the Columbias. Today, Thursday, was a clear cold day everywhere. Some melting occurred today in the Rockies and Columbias and with one more sunny day the alpine could be in fine shape again.

The forecast is for a bit of a cool grey weekend so it may not feel exactly like summer in the mountains. There will very likely be patches of verglas above treeline and snow up high, especially on the North faces. It will be a bit of a suffer-fest on places like the North face of Temple(I suppose it always is)but sunny alpine rock could be fun if the wind stays low. As we said last week, have a good look before committing to any of the big routes. Some are in excellent shape and others are still fairly buried in old snow and the frosting from Tuesday/Wednesday.

Classic ridges like Sir Donald, Victoria and Edith Cavell could be in good shape if we get a sunny day friday or saturday and no more precipitation.

By the standards of recent summers, snow and ice routes like Athabasca, Lefroy and Fay etc are in excellent condition for early august. Glacier travel conditions are also potentially very good if we get decent overnight freezes.

During the last warm spell there was a few scattered, worrisome avalanches to the glacial ice. These were all on steepish NE facing ice faces around the Lake Louise group. Most, but not all of them were triggered by cornice fall and/or rain. Perhaps it is not a concern given the forecast but if it gets warm, keep this info in mind.

If you are heading into the alpine, I would suggest bringing your woollies and lots of warm duds. I have been wearing way too many clothes the past three days walking uphill and never came close to breaking a sweat. It would be REALLY miserable spending a night outside in your cute little softshell and Capri's this weekend.

Be patient, summer is coming. Maybe in 2009.

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Mountain condition report for the South Coast of British Columbia.

Mountain condition report for the South Coast of British Columbia.

This week has been dominated by the return of wet weather to the coast.
Freezing levels have remained between 2200 and 2500m throughout the period.
Little information has been available about the exact build up of new snow above these elevation. However, from a recent drive of the Duffy lake road and from observations around the Whistler area there appears to be only 5-10cms above 2500m.
With the recent Precipitation and warm temps from the weeks before, the Glaciers are starting to look a bit more as they should for this time of year. Most glacier toes are down to bare ice and many more crevasses have started to open in the past few weeks.
Some alpine faces such as Mt. Matiers north face, Joffre's NE face, Slalok, Wedge, Garibaldi and many others, have now lost some of their winter snow and are starting to show bare ice in places.
>From a report last week the troublesome Slesse pocket Glacier is still half there and quite dangerous at the moment. It may be best to wait a few more weeks till the rest hopefully falls off.

With the forecasted high pressure arriving this weekend and a return to warmer temps most of this new snow should melt off by Sunday and we should be back to great alpine conditions soon. In the meantime you may want to be a bit cautious on glaciers were the new snow has lightly hidden some crevasses and where the snow may have built up to deeper amounts and may cause some small avalanches when it warms up.

Have fun out there!

Craig McGee, ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide

_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

[MCR] Brewers Buttress / Castle Mountain

Did Brewers Butress on Castle Mountain today. As expected, route and descent gully are totally dry. There is still water running in the pm at the exit of the ascent gully on your way to the hut, which might be of interest for anyone wishing to spend the night in the hut. Aslo, looking at the high peaks around Lake Louise (namely Temple) it seemed that most of the new snow which had fallen yesterday and over the previous night in higher elevations, had melted out by the end of the day.

Cheers,

Jorg Wilz

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Little Sister

Climbed Little Sister today (N ridge/aka "Grassi Route"), a highly
enjoyable adventure as usual.

The route was in good shape, mostly dry with occasional icy patches in
the gully. Descent rappels are in decent shape with mostly new slings.
Bring along a hammer, pins, and tat in addition to your cams: this is
still an old school mountain.

There's a quite decent approach trail that starts about 1 km from the
golf course, and I recommend taking the time to find it. From your car,
take your choice of a wide variety of roads and trails east of the creek
and head south. Pretty much where the major treed ridge off of the
Little Sister comes down close to the creek you'll find a steep bank
with a trail to your left/east. This is right around where you start to
see pieces of an old wooden penstock and well before the dam. The path
is well defined and fairly well flagged almost all the way to the base
of the route except for a section of blowdown about 100m up from the
creek, and at the obvious "Sound of Music" glade that you can see from town.

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

[MCR] Mt Aberdeen North Glacier

Climbed the North Glacier of Mt Aberdeen yesterday. A little bit of a
freeze: ice forming on puddles below the glacier. There was rockfall
off the climber's left edge of the ice tounge, we approached for
climber's right. Crossed the bergshrund on climber's left. A strange
drum skin of ice, separated from the true ice face by several
centimeters, in places; had to chop through it to get real screws.

We descended the gully to the south east. The valley bottom trail out
of Paradise Valley has been closed since the last time I was there,
seems the way to go now is to head up valley to the gain the Giant
Steps trail and then climb to the Lake Annette trail, would have
saved us several fordings of paradise creek and some bushwacking.

Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

[MCR] Mt Louis / Gmoser Route

Great day on Mount Louis today. Gmoser route and descent were in perfect
condition, descent only had the odd trickle of water. Judging from the
summit register Kain Rt & Homage to the Spider have been getting lots of
traffic, but today was quiet, we were the only party up there.

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
ASG/AAG
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

Monday, July 28, 2008

[MCR] Northern Selkirks, Adamants, Austerity Glacier.

Just came out from a week of climbing in the Austerity glacier side of the Adamants.

Unsettled weather was the main story of the week, however there were still a few good days of climbing.

Lots of snow is still left over from the winter and the mountains feel more like late June than almost August. Overall the temperatures were quite cool and every day there was a good overnight refreeze. Travel on the snow was very good and crampons were needed on about half the mornings. The crevasses and bergshrunds on the Austerity glacier are just starting to open up, but pose little problems.

There is quite a bit of snow left in the Ironman descent gully but it is still wise to rappel on the climbers left side in three 60m rappels and a little bit of down-climbing. This lessens the chance of getting your ropes stuck and of rockfall.

All other rock routes in the area were free of snow and dry when it was not raining.

Have Fun. Craig McGee. MG

[MCR] Bugaboo's

Climbed W ridge of Pidgeon on the 26^th and Lion’s way yesterday. Conditions in the Bug’s are great right now. Travel on snow is good, the BS col is snow all the way. The shrund is starting to open up but it is still very easy to cross. The snow is going fast with the recent rain and warm temp’s. Came out yesterday in showers.

Have fun

Todd Craig, MG

Sunday, July 27, 2008

[MCR] Mt Fay

Hello,

Just returned from a weekend in the Neil Colgan area. The glacier travel was in good condition with no more than boot top slop in the PM except in shallow areas. We climbed the West Ridge on Mt Fay today and found over all good conditions with occasional insecure sections in moist snow before getting to the ridge crest.

Jesse de Montigny
ACMG Ski Guide
ACMG Assistant Alpine Guide

[MCR] Little Yoho

26 July (Sat) - Climbed both Presidents.
27 July (Sun) - climbed McArthuer and Isolated peak.

Good coverage and easy travel on the glaciers.

President Gl bergschrund is massive but is easily crossed on the obvious
bridge on climber's right at the moment.

Top steep pitch on McArthur is deep wet snow or scrambling on the loose
rock to the right.

Firn lines are just above the glacier toes still but this is changing
quickly with warm temps, rain, and no overnight freezes to speak of.

Mornings were clear and beautiful but deteriorated quickly. A little luck
and very early starts meant sunshine on the summits for us and back to the
huts for lunch before the electrical storms and torrential rains resumed.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

[MCR] Mt. Lefroy

Hiked up to Abbott Pass yesterday and climbed Lefroy this morning.

Good step kicking entire way except for 3 spots in the upper third of the face which required front pointing. These sections were all less than 2 body lengths.

Minimal freeze last night made the last 200 metres before the hut a bit sloppy on the descent (around 830). Summit ridge has two or three large, sagging cornices still hanging on.

Victoria looked like it had quite a bit of snow on the ridge from the first summit to the main summit.

Cheers

Mike Stuart
Alpine Guide

Thursday, July 24, 2008

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for July 24th, 2008.

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued July 24th, 2008.

Summer has finally arrived in the alpine. The past week has seen dramatic changes in snow cover, depth and character. It is possible that some cold, weak snow exists above 3350m on places like the North Face of Mt. Robson or Clemenceau. Everywhere else, however, the winters snow has been through some very dramatic melting recently and with a cold, clear night it could be an excellent travelling surface. With rain, daytime heat or a poor freeze it can still suck like few other things can.

Ice is starting to appear in lots of places. This obviously makes for more difficult travel in some places. More importantly, if the heat stays on, we may soon be into the "modern" summer issue of nasty rockfall events. Assume that there is potential for BIG rockfall events anywhere ice faces are melting away. A couple of classic examples are the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col and the West Face of Mt. Lefroy. The BIG rockfall/avalanche that was reported from the South Howser Tower on the 22nd was a "bit" of an anomoly but I have no doubt there is more to come. This beast came very close to plowing over the bivy sites in East Ck. These sites are also potentially within reach of icefall. I never did sleep well there. Perhaps a new bivy site would be a REALLY good idea.

Most Rockies East slope alpine rock routes are in fine shape(ie snow free) and people are getting out on some alpine rock routes along the divide such as Temple's East Ridge and the Greenwood/Jones on the North Face.

Glacier travel is generally excellent. Crampons are probably needed for any sloping ice for the next few weeks(hopefully!!). Snow bridges are well settled now and their strength will be completely dependent on the temperature and thickness of the bridge. Remember, a short avalanche probe is often a useful tool on a snow covered, crevassed glacier.

Throughout the Rockies and Columbia mountains, conditions are fairly similar. A couple of dry days and most classic summer routes could be as good as they get.

At the same time, there is no question that some routes, such as the West ridge of Hungabee and probably the East Face of Pigeon are still buried in snow. Have a good look around and be very conscious of what is above you when the heat or the rain gets turned on.

To quote my 1974 edition of the Alpine Guide to Southwestern British Columbia-

"As an instructive generalization, novices in the mountains are afraid of falling, while experienced climbers are afraid of things falling on them"

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Morro peak Guides route

Up the Guides route on Morro peaks SW face yesterday. the second
pitch is the crux (5.7) and has a few new pins on it. Checked all the
pins and re- hammered a few. 2-3 screamers are useful along the route
for some of the old pins. (Especially for the "swing set bolt" on pitch 2.)

At Hidden Valley on the 21st my gang forgot 3-4 runners on Bullet
head buttress. Maybe the nice couple we met there grabbed them while
on that route right after us? Would be nice to get them back. Hope to
get some aerial shots of Cavell's east and west ridges, from a friend
with a plane and will post them when I do.

Peter Amann
Mountain Guide.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

[MCR] Lake Louise / Ohara

>From Marc Ledwidge

Rupert Wedgwood and I just spent the past 3 days with two groups on these.
Approach up the Huber Ledges is good as is the Huber Glacier with good snow
travel. There is still enough snow above the ledges to generate rockfall.
Yesterday we witnessed a large rockfall at around 11:30 that raked the
traverse. Conditions on Huber are good with the shrund passed on the
right. Travel up to the Victoria Ridge was on good snow and the bergsrund
is well filled and easy. The Vistoria ridge is covered in snow and
tricky. We worked our way up it for a while as long as we could stay on
top of it. The last section to the summit appeared either undercut or
required exposure on the south slopes. Any snowballs down the south
side generated avalanches up to 2.5. No evidence of anyone going to the
summit or getting past the south peak from Abbott Pass.

Today on Aberdeen, we found good conditions down lower on the ice tongue.
The shrund was passbale on the right without too much exposure to the
icefall. It does not look like the bridge will last long though. Snow
travel is fair with moist snow in deeper areas. Snow in the descnet gully
made for a n easy descent.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

[MCR] East Ridge of Mount Temple

Up the East Ridge of Temple today with Ross Berg and Jeff Bullock. Felt pretty much tropical leaving the car at 0430hr. Route seems like it's in pretty good shape right now. It's tottaly dry to the top of the big step where the odd patch of snow starts to show up. Getting across to the Black Towers was also easy travel, more snow, but with a mostly supportive track that took us all the way across to the base of the gulley (same one as shown in the Selected Alpine Guidebook). The rock in the gulley was pretty much all dry, interspersed with good step-kicking on small snow patches right to the top of the ridge. From ridge-top to summit, snow cover is still good, easy travel for the most part but there are definitely a few thinner bridges (that, me being the fattest, managed to stuff my leg through) up there.

Also - I'd heard last week that there might be an issue with cornices looming over the black tower's ascent gulley. Not a problem for us. Must have cleaned out/fallen off in the last few days. We had no exposure to any cornices from car to summit.

Have fun out there!

Mike Trehearne
Assistant Rock Guide.

[MCR] Columbia Icefields July 22

Hello,

Steve Holeczi and I spent the last 4 days in the Columbia Icefields Area. The conditions have significantly changed since Jorg's post. In the past 3 days the early morning Temperatures in the campground have been in the +10 to +12 range and the supportive crust up high has disappeared and been left with knee deep post holing in the previous tracks. Snow bridges are still difficult to see and are extremly weak. No new avalanches were noted. These conditons were seen on route to A2 and below the Silverhorn.

Heads up.

Jesse de Montigny
ACMG Ski Guide
ACMG Assistant Alpine Guide

[MCR] Recent avalanche from South Howser tower down in to East Ck. bivy/camping area

Good Morning,

Yesterday I was talking to two of the Army guys who have been running a mountain school in the Bugs and camping over in East Creek.

They said that about 3 or 4 days ago they watched a massive avalanche started by rockfall somewhere off of the South Howser Tower or Minaret ( they were not totally sure) into the icefall between and below the South Tower and the Pigeon Howser col . It started a large combined ice and rock avalanche which stopped about 15m. short of the tents at the normal East Ck. campsite.

I have not been over there recently to see the evidence, but one of our summer guides has a fuzzy photo of it , so we were able to confirm the information, but unfortunately the photo is not good enough to post on the site.

The army camp was further away and they were not threatened, but some of the other climber's tents were almost nailed by the slide.

Cheers, Dave Cochrane

Mountain Guide.

Monday, July 21, 2008

[MCR] East Ridge Mt Patterson

Climbed the East Ridge of Mt Patterson July 19, 20. The route is in
good condition overall with a fair amount of snow caking the
mountain above 9,500 feet. Snow can be avoided for most of the rock
climbing and really isn't a hinderance. We were a party of 3,
Saturday we forded the Mistaya River at 05:00 and climbed to the top
of the the "three obvious steps" (Climber's Guide to the Rocky
Mountains Of Canada - South) and a good bivoauc on snow at 19:30.
Sunday climbing at 06:00, placed two screws in ice at the end of the
snow/ice arete (only screws placed on route). The huge multiyear
cornice that sat over the route in 2005 is gone and last winter's
cornice is mostly fallen away; getting over it was straight forward.
Summit at 13:30, descent via Delta Creek, back at the car at 20:00.

A party of two climbed the East Face, via the finishing rock rib, on
Sunday over 18 hours.

Happy trails

Sunday, July 20, 2008

[MCR] Wapta Icefields Traverse, July 13-19, 2008

Just back from a ACC summer traverse of the Wapta Icefields, stopping in at each of the huts and climbing one or two peaks a day. Conditions up there are excellent right now!

Cool morning temperatures (-1 to +1'C) are providing good travel until about 1100 with daytime highs around 12'C. Minus 2'C on top of Mt Daly early yesterday morning.

Snow coverage on the glaciers is still averaging around 2m above 2800m (Snow line is around 2400m). High up the crevasse bridges are beginning to sag but are generally in good condition. The Balfour high col is crossed via a couple of large & solid snow bridges and might be a tricky spot later in the season, but is in good shape right now.

No avalanche activity observed other than some surface sluffing and rockfall as things heated up each day.

A great time to be traveling high in the alpine!

Cheers, Conrad Janzen
IFMGA Mountain Guide

Saturday, July 19, 2008

[MCR] Mt. Athabasca

Busy day on Mt. Athabasca today with an estimated 30 climbers reaching the summit on various routes. Travel Conditions were good to excellent with a (for most part!) carrying melt-freeze crust on the North Glacier. The "ramp" had a couple of cms of (wind transported?) graupel, which must have been deposited during the intense thunderstorms the previous 24 hrs. Crevasse coverage is generally good with the first sags showing in some spots. Also the descent down the AA col around noon time was still in good shape.

Cheers,

Jorg Wilz

Mountain Guide (ACMG / IFMGA)

1-800 506-7177 or (001) 403 678 2717

www.ontopmountaineering.com

[MCR] Forbes addendum

I should correct myself and say that there is another way to walk out of the Forbes/Lyells area to the west and that is via Crampon Col and Icefall Lodge and then down to the valley by the lodge trail. I haven't done it though so can't recommend it one way or the other.

Mark Klassen

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Forbes

Camped beneath Forbes the night of the 17th but 14 hours of near continuous thunder, lightning and pelting rain and graupel overnight foiled our chances of getting up the peak. That said, the peak looks like it is in good condition although the lower glacier is bare ice. There was a skiff of snow above 8500 feet when the cold front finally passed at 6 am on the 18th.

We exited to Icefall Brook via the same route as Tom mentioned, on ledge systems on the west side of Mons Peak. I agree that although adventurous it is pretty durn rugged and not really recommended, but perhaps less rugged than the $1000 helicopter bill that is the only other west side escape option.

Mark Klassen

Mountain Guide

Friday, July 18, 2008

[MCR] Abbott Pass neighbourhood

Friday july 18th.

Just got down from Abbott pass via the Death Trap. OK conditions but one crevasse at the Furhman ledges elevation requires a fairly sporty jump, downclimb or burly spotting right now. It will only get worse and the serac hazard isn't getting any better.

O'Hara approach was in excellent shape on tuesday with lots of firm snow. No sign of last years trail work where snow is melted. Hmm, could be nasty when the snow melts but we shall see.

Climbed Victoria S ridge to the summit before the sickle on thursday. Excellent conditions with dry rock and hard steps. Still lots of verglas potential overnight. No tracks beyond this point and snow getting very weak on sun affected East face by 9am. Lefroy has/had a fine ladder of steps up it and was climbed on wednesday/thursday and probably friday. Ice on the west face is starting to show though and the snow may not last long if the sun ever shines.

Light rain/snow but no accumulation and 0c at 530am this morning with a mediocre freeze.

Hut is in great shape but no TP or paper for firestarter.

Larry Stanier

Mountain Guide

Thursday, July 17, 2008

[MCR] Lyell Traverse

On Tuesday Mark Klassen, three guests, and I flew into a high camp on
the west side of the Lyell Icefield. Tuesday night was cold and stormy,
depositing up to 10 cm of snow. Wednesday (yesterday) we did the "Lyell
Traverse" as described in the 11-thousander book.

Snow travel was generally good in the morning and crevasses are well
covered. The new snow kept the underlying west snow from getting a good
freeze. Lyell 4 was full value and resembled the historical description
given in the guidebook. The weather throughout the day was generally
cold and cloudy, with no new precipitation.

Wed night/this morning was cold and clear and we had a good freeze with
excellent travel in the morning, deteriorating by noon. I exited to our
car at the head of Icefall Brook/top of Valenciennes Road with one guest
via ledges below Mons Pk. This is not a bad way to access the Lyell
Icefield but it is still quite rugged.

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
AAG/ASG
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

[MCR] Mt Sir Sandford

Climbed Sir Sandford, NW Ridge, with Gilbert Butler on July 15. Found
excellent conditions with dry rock and firm snow.

Used a helicopter to get to the start of the route at the Ravelin/Sir
Sandford col, which made the approach much more enjoyable. The descent went
smoothly across the Sir Sandford glacier and below the S Face of Palisade,
approximately following the description in the Selkirks North guidebook by
David P. Jones.

12 hours from the Ravelin Col to the summit and back to the Great Cairn Hut.

Grant Meekins
Alpine Guide

[MCR] MCR Summary July 17, 2008

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued July 17, 2008

Conditions in the alpine for most areas are now fairly typical for the middle of July. Remnant snow patches remain in shaded areas and on the steeper ice faces you can now expect mostly ice conditions.

The weekend weather is looking quite good although if clouds come in overnight this will not help in setting up snow conditions for a good overnight freeze. Regardless, with an early alpine start many of the classic objectives in both the Rockies and Columbias should be in reasonable shape.

Recent reports from the Bugaboos are that the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col is in good snow conditions but there is starting to be a visible sag in the bergschrund. Many routes are getting climbed but expect to still find snow and/or water in gullies or chimneys that are shaded.

There have been limited reports from the Selkirks but many of the quartzite ridge routes should be in good condition.

In the Rockies, reports from the Columbia Icefields indicate generally good conditions. The bigger more technical routes such as Edith Cavel or Hungabee will still have snow at upper elevations and will likely be a little while yet.

It looks like a good weekend to enjoy the mountains but pay attention to afternoon build-up and the possibility of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Marc Ledwidge

Mountain Guide

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

[MCR] Jasper Park Front Ranges - July 12, 13, 14

Rock Climbing in Jasper over Saturday, Sunday, Monday. A bit of snow
overnight on Sunday night up high means that it will take even longer for
things at altitude to get back into shape.

Despite the cool and showery weather, the snows above treeline are finally
leaving but still expect anything in the high alpine to be a couple of weeks
behind schedule.

Everything in the front ranges is pretty much dry these days (i.e. Perdrix,
Cinquefoil, Juno Wall, Colin, Hawk, Morro, Miette, Ashlar, Esplanade, Rainy
Day slabs).

The road in to Ogre Canyon is still an unholy mess which also means that if
you want to get in to Ogre or Bedson ridge via Brule you need a REAL 4X4
with mud tires not a low clearance front wheel drive with smooth radials.
You can still get to Bedson via the boat approach however.

Looking over at the Fryatt area I noticed a lot of snow still low down on
the ledges below Christie, Brussels and Lowell. Cavell still looks similarly
snowy as shown in the recent photo on the MCR.

Hidden Valley - the rappel bolt hangers above Crescent Crack and Crescent
Corner were replaced earlier this summer with new Fixe ring bolts. Much
nicer. Also, new bolts added for protection at the tops of Spiral Staircase,
Bullethead Buttress and Goats in the Machine earlier in May / June. This
gets rid of the runouts on the third pitches of these three routes.

Cyril Shokoples MG
Rescue Dynamics
5109 - 17A Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6L 1K5
http://www.rescuedynamics.ca

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[MCR] Jasper Park Front Ranges - July 12, 13, 14

Rock Climbing in Jasper over Saturday, Sunday, Monday. A bit of snow
overnight on Sunday night up high means that it will take even longer for
things at altitude to get back into shape.

Despite the cool and showery weather, the snows above treeline are finally
leaving but still expect anything in the high alpine to be a couple of weeks
behind schedule.

Everything in the front ranges is pretty much dry these days (i.e. Perdrix,
Cinquefoil, Juno Wall, Colin, Hawk, Morro, Miette, Ashlar, Esplanade, Rainy
Day slabs).

Looking over at the Fryatt area I noticed a lot of snow still low down on
the ledges below Christie, Brussels and Lowell. Cavell still looks similarly
snowy as shown in the recent photo on the MCR.

Cyril Shokoples MG
Rescue Dynamics
5109 - 17A Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6L 1K5
http://www.rescuedynamics.ca

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[MCR] Mt Athabasca North Face

Climbed the North Face of Mt Athabasca today. Frost on my windshield
at 03:30 in the Icefields Campground. Supportive crust on the glacier
with some postholing. Bergshrund is straight forward to get over.
Cool temps all day and no rockfall on the face. The ice face is in
good shape. The crux keeps getting harder with loss of ice. Felt
serious and strenuous today. In the future I'll consider a less steep
break 30m left of the crux, then a horizontal traverse back right on
a snow/scree ledge to just above the crux.

Happy trails

Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.

[MCR] Mt. Athabasca North Face Bypass

Climbed the North Face Bypass on Mt. Athabasca with Arian yesterday (July 15). Overall the conditions were excellent and temperatures stayed fairly cool through the day.

Temperature was 3 degrees at 03:30 at the parking lot. The glacier below the ramp route had a relatively good freeze with a 10 to 15cm thick crust that was supprotive about 80% of the time. Boot pen was 30 to 80cm and all the way to the glacier when you did punch through. Travel conditions were perfect above the altitude of the nunatak. We were able to short rope almost the entire climber's left side of the north face, with excellent step kicking all the way to the shoulder on the NE ridge. The traverse ledge and Scottish Gully were in excellent shape with several good pitons in place. Bring extra webbing for the station at the top of the gully. The mixed climbing above had some snow lingering, but made for easy travel.

Descent via the AA col was in excellent shape at 11:00 and there was minimal post-holing from the top of the AA col all the way to the toe of the glacier. The bergschrund is just beginning to show beneath the old avalanche debris, but is still in good condition to cross at the "normal" spot.

Two parties on the Silverhorn moved fast and reported excellent conditions with single axe climbing, but were still using screws at the top of the route.

Have fun out there.

Jeremy Mackenzie
ACMG Ski Guide, Asst. Alpine Guide
Box 173
Exshaw, AB T0L 2C0
CANADA
403-673-2954
jeremymackenzie@hotmail.com

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

[MCR] Bugaboos July 13 - 15

Just returned from 3 days in the Bugaboos today, where we climbed the Kain route on Bugaboo Spire (essentially completely snow free if you stay on route) and the NW Ridge on Eastpost. Generally good travel conditions on the glacier (inspite of marginal overnight refreeze) and into the Bugaboo - Snowpatch Couloir, where the bergschrund is becoming visible as a sag on the climbers right side. Also, surprisingly, not very busy inspite of the nice weather of the past days: Only 12 guests at the Kain Hut and Applebee Camp appeared only a bit busier.

Cheers,

Jorg Wilz

Mountain Guide (ACMG/ IFMGA / VDBS)

1-800 506-7177 or (001) 403 678 2717

www.ontopmountaineering.com

Sunday, July 13, 2008

[MCR] Mnt. Garibaldi North face, Coast Range

Up Mount Garibaldi yesterday via Brohm ridge and the North face route.
The road up from cat lake to the ski cabin has become much, much rougher since I was last up there a few years back. I would say only a high clearance 4WD can make the drive and good experienced driver is needed too. 1 hour up to the cabin. No snow on the road till a few hundred meters past this point.
Travel was OK with a decent overnight freeze. By the end of the day the snow was still good with only mid boot deep penetration.
Above 2300m on the North side of Garibaldi the Glacier is becoming more broken up than in past years and walking over a few big sagging bridges is pretty much unavoidable. The Bergshrund as usual the crux of the route. Its is passable on the far left by climbing down into the hole and climbing out some blocks and steep snow to the ridge crest. There is still a bit of snow in the upper choss band so that part is not that bad.

Have fun. Craig McGee Mnt. Guide

Craig McGee, ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
102-4369 Main St. Suite #337
Whistler BC
Canada
V0N 1B4
cell 604 902 0296
Home 604 935 0077

Saturday, July 12, 2008

[MCR] South Kananaskis Pass area

Spent the last few days around the pass. Conditions were good before Thursday nights storm.

Thursday we climbed the North face of Mt. McHarg which was perfect cramponing, and then the ridge connecting to Mt. Worthington, which was dry.

Woke up Friday morning to 5 cms of snow in Three Isle campground and it looked at least double that up high. On our walk out the snow was below 1800 metres but melting fast.

Some snow still on the lee sides of the Northover Ridge traverse. Lots of bear activity (diggings, scratched trees, etc) in the area.

Cheers

Mike Stuart
Alpine Guide

Friday, July 11, 2008

[MCR] Observations from Vehicle - Exshaw to Jasper - July 11, 2008 - afterthought

Just in case you are wondering who made the above observations, I forgot the
signature line!

Cyril Shokoples MG
Rescue Dynamics
5109 - 17A Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6L 1K5
http://www.rescuedynamics.ca

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[MCR] Observations from Vehicle - Exshaw to Jasper - July 11, 2008

Drove from Exshaw to Jasper this afternoon. Here are some general
observations and a few specific peak comments. Remember these observations
were made at 90kmh and at a distance. Observations from Canmore were around
noon; Lake Louise around 3PM; Jasper around 7PM.

Exshaw at 6AM - Zero degrees and visible skiff of snow at the base of
Yamnuska. Snow down to below treeline in the area and temperature rather
slow to climb by noon. Yam and Goat drying off quickly in the steep terrain.

Canmore / Banff - many scrambles in the area look pretty plastered while
steeper sun-exposed rock terrain drying off nicely with wet streaks on some
faces. I would probably give the scrambles a day or two to get back in to
shape depending upon what the weather brings this weekend. Look above you
before committing to any rock routes. Melting snow may cause rockfall above
some routes.

Lady Mac & Grotto - scrambles look very snowy above treeline
Cascade & Rundle - scrambles look very snowy above treeline
Mt Louis - East face looks pretty dry from highway. Didn't see Kain route

Lake Louise area - looks like it got hit pretty hard up high by the snow.

Castle / Eisenhower - rock routes look pretty dry but summit looks snowy. A
few isolated snow patches on flat spots on routes. Backside looks plastered
above treeline.
Ski area - getting a good start on the ski season!
Temple - yikes - East ridge took a beating with what appears to be a pile of
new snow on the route. Likely set things back a week.
Hector - Lots of new snow here too.
Dolomite Peak - will take a few days to get back to dry.
Observation Peak - Lots of snow

Saskatchewan Crossing - seems to be a significant transition at about this
point as the snowline seems distinctly higher and amounts appear less the
farther north you travel toward Jasper. Some of this may be because of
daytime warming, but I think snowfall amounts were likely less north of here
as well.

Resolute / Cline area - about 300m above treeline the real damage seems to
start.

Columbia Icefields area - seems to have gotten less than Lake Louise but
evidence of new snow on the ice making things look white again. For example,
the bare rock that was exposed on the base of the Skyladder is now thinly
disguised with new snow, simply begging unsuspecting souls to come hither
and get hammered by rockfall as the snow melts away. Sluffing evident on
steep terrain but did not observe well enough to say how extensive or how
recent. Lots of wind evident up high as I drove by. Scrambles around the
Icefields seem little changed since last week.

Athabasca - new snow evident on the North glacier since last week but
amounts uncertain
Tangle Peak - still a go to get to the top, but some new up high.
Nigel - still has a lot of snow in the upper basin. Still too early in my
opinion.
Wilcox - still has patches as per last week.
Sunwapta - still a LOT of new and old snow lingering above treeline. Give it
a miss for now.

Jasper Area - decreasing snow as you get farther along but... Record low
temperatures early in the morning (zero).

Edith Cavell - still looks pretty early for the E ridge
Fryatt - still looks pretty snowy
Hardisty / Kerkeslin - still a frosting of snow on the rocks visible from
town.
Colin Range - looking dry as a bone with a smattering of new here and there
near the summit. Should be gone by tomorrow.
Skyline trail - still looks to have snow up high.

All in all it seems like a great weekend for rock climbing or lower
elevation trips to give the new fluff a chance to melt or settle out.

I hope this capsule summary gives you some idea of how the freak snow (or is
it freakin' snow) has affected things. Observe carefully and act accordingly
as you travel as things have changed a lot in the last day.

[MCR] Conditions at Lake O'Hara

Park Staff at Lake O'Hara have reported that the July 10th storm dumped 20
cm of new snow at 7500 feet in the Lake O'Hara Area.

Brian Webster
Mountain Guide

[MCR] Mt. Blane - Kananaskis - July 9, 2008

Jer and I took a crack at Mt. Blane in K- country. The "Selected Alpine"
guidebook describes it as good rock by Rockies standards but we both found
it to be rather crappy and we are both Rockies guys. I would certainly not
add it to my list of recommended climbs. Just in case you are determined to
want to head up this choss heap of deteriorating rock, here is some beta
that may save you some time.

Ascending King Creek it is presently necessary to make 15 single and double
log crossings over the creek due to high water. This makes for a rather
sporty start to the day and wastes a fair bit of time. Bring a ski pole for
balancing on the logs and for the scree and trails above.

The beginning of the climbers trail out of the creek is marked by cairns at
the start of the third gulley. If you ascend immediately out of the creek on
a good trail right at the fork of the creek and pass a bunch of ceremonial
flags in the trees then you should just follow the trail back along the
creek and descend back down to follow the trails along the creek to the
cairned start of the climbers trail.

The pretty good climbers trail does bring you to a section of quartzite
scree after which your are indeed forced into the gulley. At the moment
there is still a bunch of rock studded avalanche debris still in the gulley
but watch out as a couple of sections are badly undercut moat type affairs.
Otherwise the debris affords good travel in many places for the time being.
Once it melts it will leave a generally chossy gulley.

The guidebook mentions to ascend to the col, but really since the route does
not go up directly from the col it is a waste of time unless you want to go
there to rest. With all the stream crossings and carrying on we took three
hours to the col.

>From just below the col it is quicker to head right (West side) around the
first tower on the ridge to a small chimney. Depending upon your ability you
may rope up here and short rope for a while. This is a really brutal peak to
try to short-rope however and you should be really competent on crappy rock
before heading here.

The ridge is followed for a while and as the guidebook suggest another tower
farther along can be by-passed on the right (West) as well on a good ledge
with a cairn. On this route sometimes the easiest scrambling / climbing is
on the left, other times on the right and sometimes along the ridge crest.
Look around corners before deciding which is the easiest line.

When you encounter a single piton on a short wall the climbing begins in
earnest. We eventually got tired of the crappy nature of the rock and
decided that the whole affair wasn't worth finishing so we did some rappels
from blocks and pitons and bailed about 100 - 200m before the end. We didn't
find the quality of the rock all that appetizing and we were constantly
being buffeted by very gusty strong winds. This coupled with the long
runouts on loose rock made the whole affair a gong show in our opinion.

If you do this route bring some pitons and lots of webbing and cord for
rappelling off plus a sense of humour for dealing with the choss.

Some movie shows rate movies by "kernels of popcorn" on a scale of 1 to 5
kernels, with 5 being an academy award winning film. I would give this route
ONE kernel of popcorn, only because the views are stellar and some of the
exposed positions on the ridge are very airy and cool. Otherwise I would
recommend doing something else if you have a choice.

Cyril Shokoples MG
Rescue Dynamics
5109 - 17A Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6L 1K5
http://www.rescuedynamics.ca

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[MCR] Mt. Victoria North Peak - July 8, 2008

Jeremy Mackenzie and I climbed Victoria North Peak during a brief day of
very cold weather.

It is important to note that there was a clear cold night with below
freezing temperatures at the parking lot followed almost immediately by
clouds showing up at sunrise and a cold north wind all day. Without this
assistance from the weather we would not have been able to safely complete
the climb.

The trail above the teahouse was in excellent shape and we roped up and put
on crampons almost immediately as the snow was down to almost the top of the
trail and quite firm due to the good freeze and continuing cold
temperatures.

The lower glacier was in pretty good shape with pretty good coverage of the
crevasses, although many sags were now beginning to show and gave us some
moments of attentive behaviour regarding crossing some bridges. Two ropes of
two were wisely an hour in front of us and they occasionally went straight
up and down a few things we went around.

The Victoria / Collier col still has large cornices above the low point and
the rock bands discussed in the guidebook are still snow covered.

Since there is so much snow below the col and cornices threatening the
normal approach we were all forced to climb up steeper slopes to the
climbers right of the cornices. The snow here was generally very supportive
and had a solid 15 cm crust making for good cramponing except in a couple of
key spots. On two steep traverses over rock bands the crust was thinner and
gave for some exciting post-holing into moist snow beneath. Even an hour of
sunlight on this slope would have made things dangerous and necessitated a
traverse over Collier or even further to be able to descend a safer route.

Fortunately for us the clouds descended, the wind became cooler and the
temperature at 2PM at the toe of the glacier at the end of the climb only
got up to 7 degrees. We considered how this slope would be for the descent
and chose to continue given how cold the weather had become.

Above the col we ascended on firm snow then steepening ice around the cliff
band to the right. Definitely a good place for a half dozen screws and
pitching it out. At this elevation the conditions were more like winter than
summer but with exposed ice. The upper slopes were firm cramponing on hard
snow or ice.

On descent we rappelled the rock band in two 25m rappels down to ice. The
first rappel was from a slung block and the second rappel was on pitons.
Bring spare cord or webbing just in case you are forced to do the same. The
parties before us did one 60m rappel back to ice.

We retraced the route and down-climbed the steep slopes back to the glacier.
The steeper section of concern was holding together but still would have
been unsafe if temperatures or solar radiation were anymore than we had,
which was minimal. The flatter sections on the glacier were still very
supportive all the way back to the top of the descent trail to the Plain of
Six Glaciers teahouse.

Since it is unlikely that this combination of very cold, clear night
followed by very cold, cloudy and windy day is unlikely to repeat itself, I
would definitely wait until a lot of the crappy snow either melts off,
sluffs off or settles out before attempting this route. Be wary of the
cornices as well as they are pretty huge right now.

Recent aerial photos of the Lake Louise group submitted by Mac Ledwidge show
just how snowy things are in this area. Play safe.

Cyril Shokoples MG
Rescue Dynamics
5109 - 17A Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6L 1K5
http://www.rescuedynamics.ca

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[MCR] Deception - Nanny Goat Buttress - July 7, 2008

Jeremy Mackenzie and I climbed Deception on Nanny Goat in threatening
weather and wind but no rain. The route now sports a lot of bolts. Belay
stations are often 35m or less apart. (Thanks to whoever did the work.) It
would still be very difficult to rappel off the route as it traverses
extensively and at least one rap would require a 70m rope or more.

Despite the good job of bolting the route there are still a few fairly
run-out sections of 5.7 climbing and you should be comfortable at the grade.
We did use some cams and a couple of wired nuts to supplement the bolts on a
few pitches, so this is not a sport route by any stretch of the imagination.

The route description in the guidebook is quite deceptive regarding where
the belays are as they are not always in the old locations. If you are
belaying off anything but dual bolts, keep looking.

At the top, a couple of extra pitches including a 5.8 finish can be had by
traversing up and right along the easy ramp to another two bolt belay. Two
and a half more short pitches gets you to the top. (We did a total of 8 1/2
pitches, each of 35m length or slightly less.)

On the descent a two bolt rappel (ring bolts) on the skiers left of the
little gulley gets you nicely to the ground after following the climber /
goat path descent down to that point.

Cyril Shokoples MG
Rescue Dynamics
5109 - 17A Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6L 1K5
http://www.rescuedynamics.ca

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[MCR] [MCR[ Rockies - David Thompson Country - July 5 2008

ACC Calgary Scrambles Leadership course went up Earnest Ross Peak and
traversed to the second summit and down a unique descent route for
route-finding practice. Very fun exploratory scramble with our descent route
having no trails other than snippets of game trails which were used to good
effect by the group. Perfect for our training purposes. Normal descent is
back down the route of ascent from the highway.

Route was dry throughout as was everything North and East of Kootenay
Plains. Mount Abraham looked bone dry as did Stelfox, etc.

Mount Wilson observed from the highway still had extensive snow cover down
to the base of the glacier. Some ice starting to show at the toe of the
glacier. A brief glimpse of Forbes showed a very snowy upper mountain before
the cloud swallowed it up again. North faces of peaks observed south of
Kootenay Plains area still looked pretty snowy.

Cyril Shokoples MG
Rescue Dynamics
5109 - 17A Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6L 1K5
http://www.rescuedynamics.ca

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[MCR] Tangle Peak - Columbia Icefields - July 6, 2008

ACC Calgary Scrambles Leadership course went up Tangle Peak on July 6. Of
special note was the intense mosquito activity at Wilcox Creek campground
and on the first part of the approach to Tangle.

Snow on upper slopes can be largely avoided but we took to the snow for some
step kicking practice when generally went well with good boot-top
penetration until we began post-holing in waist deep mush around 9000 -
9500'. The step kicking exercise was terminated shortly thereafter. No
amount of prudent route-finding could find better snow mostly because of a
rain overnight and a poor overnight freeze. I would not have wanted to be on
anything steep that day.

We descended a non-standard way which had us negotiating some more snow
which either supported your weight or dropped you down into post-hole city
depending upon your weight and your degree of luck. Another great
route-finding exercise was had by avoiding the normal descent of retracing
the ascent route. Stream crossing provided a minor bit of excitement at
day's end.

Observation of the Skyladder on Andromeda makes me think the route is now
completely done for the year. The lower slopes now have extensive sections
of rock exposed where some recent sluffs have removed the snowcover. This
now exposes parties to the rockfall that many climbers have experienced in
recent years now that the ice on the lower third of the route has completely
melted. "Reduce your greenhouse gas emissions" should be our rallying cry as
I watch more and more ice routes melt into oblivion.

Nigel Peak still has a lot of snow on the upper part of the scrambles route
from what we could see and I would give it a miss for a while yet as that
slope is steep enough to be a concern. We chose Tangle in part because of
the remaining snow on Tangle and Wilcox potentially causing us issues.
Patience is likely a virtue in waiting for these scrambles to dry off a bit
more.

Cyril Shokoples MG
Rescue Dynamics
5109 - 17A Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6L 1K5
http://www.rescuedynamics.ca

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thursday, July 10, 2008

[MCR] ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued July 10, 2008

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued July 10, 2008

In general, cooler weather over the past week has improved the travel conditions in the mountains and has given us a return to “normal” July conditions.

I expect that today’s precipitation will have changed the conditions somewhat. Rains in the valley and new snow higher up is occurring in spotty areas from Rogers pass through to the Continental Divide. A little patience will be needed if you are considering high alpine routes; allow them time to clean off. With the return to the west flow on Friday and moderately warmer temperatures forecast for the next week, a good freeze and early start will still be the key to safer travel on the alpine routes.

With recent cooler temperatures, avalanche activity has not been as widespread as in the previous weeks however there have been reports recent large slab avalanches in Little Yoho area; so last winter’s deep weaknesses are not history quite yet. The snow and rain of today will decrease stability in the short term. Isothermal snow, slab failure and cornice failure must still be considered for judicious route selections.

Reports have been coming in through out the Rockies, Glacier National Park and the Bugaboos. Most parties have been reporting fairly good travel on firm snow with some exceptions. In the Columbia Ice fields travel in and around the 2400 meter level is on mushy or isothermal snow and post holing conditions do exist. This has been echoed by mountaineers on the Wapta over the last week.

Most alpine routes have been in good shape and many of the classic snow and ice routes are getting climbed. Valley rock routes have been dry and longer alpine rock routes have been mostly dry with some snow patches on northern aspects and some snow still lurking in gullies. Many routes are still shedding rock from the winter freeze thaws so beware of loose rock and rock fall. Ice axes and crampons should still be considered for approaches.

Watch for rising water levels if your route involves a creek over river crossing.

Be patient over the next couple of days and allow the new snow to melt off or settle out. The rock routes will dry out faster and a couple of days cragging may be in order before committing to any bigger alpine routes.

Have fun out there but be aware.

Dave Stark

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Schiesser Ledges, Kallen/Roth on Mt Fay.

We climbed up the Schiesser Ledges to the Colgan Hut on July 7th. A
half a dozen snow patches to kick steps in over the length of the
route, good step kicking conditions with an ice edge around the
perimeter of the snow. The once red paint that marks the route has
faded to orange and can, unfortunately, resemble orange lichen. The
chains are still in place in the rock bands, but avalanches? have
stripped the cable.

The night of July 7th provided a decent freeze. July 8th we climbed
the Kallen/Roth to the summit of Mt Fay. The Bergshrund looked wide
from below and we opted to cross it one rope-length to climber's
right via a bridge and some M1 climbing to gain the rock 30 meters
higher. A one pitch left rising rock traverse over rubble ledges
bought us back to the route. Ice anchors all the way. Some small rock-
fall on route. We rapped the route off of a slung block then 5
abalakovs (the bergshrund may be crossable dead centre in the route).

The Chouinard and Berle/Kallen routes are a mess with recent serac
calving. Looks like the whole glacier is going to fall off! There is
a size 2.5 slab out of the bottom of the Central Ice Bulge Direct,
crown line of the slab up to 1 meter deep and down to the permanent
ice surface. Normal route looks good with an eyebrow bridging the
bergschrund.

Descended the Schiesser Ledges July 9th. Added a rappel station about
halfway up where the last cable use to be.

Happy trails

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

[MCR] Columbia Icefields July 8

Hello,

I just returned from 5 days at the Columbia Icefields ending July 8th. A few observations to add to the previous posts.
We climbed Mt Athabasca via the AA col route and found the bergshrund covered in old avalanche debris and easy to cross. The crust on this side of the mountain was about 10-15 cm thick and seemed to hold up longer than the other side reported by Grant. Wet snow was still found below the crust. A couple of hundred meters above the bergshrund the route is mainly scree. The Silverhorn and North Face routes looked to be in good shape, with lots of ice, and were climbed by other parties. The ramp route was still holding a fair amount of wet mushy snow that we chose to avoid. A few good freezes could make this a good ascent option. I would still avoid areas with steep snow.

It's starting to feel like the summer is finally taking hold at the Icefields.

Jesse de Montigny
ACMG Ski Guide and Assistant Alpine Guide
Yamnuska

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

[MCR] Columbia Icefields

Just back from a few days at the Columbia Icefields, July 5-7.

Here are a few observations:

Some snowpack settlement has occurred during the past warm spells, but the
current cooler trend has not been quite cold enough to truly stiffen up the
snow. Morning lows in the Icefields Campground of 6 degrees Celsius were
resulting in 5 cm crusts at 2700 m on NE and E aspects, while N and NW
aspects had thicker crusts and better travel. Wherever the snowpack is
shallower than 75 cm, foot penetration on the glaciers is down to the ice,
especially in the pm. Afternoon heating is still a definite concern, and
serious thought should be given to the route of descent.

Grant Meekins
Alpine Guide

[MCR] Wapta Icefields July 1-7

Just back from a week on the Wapta between the Bow and Peyto huts.
We started with lots of sun which gradually turned to more and more cloud cover as the week progressed. Afternoon rain showers occured on several days with extensive overnight rain on July 3 - 4.
Morning temps at the huts were in the 8 to 10C range for most of the week, but despite the lack of freezes, travel was very reasonable with foot penetrations around 5cm so long as you steered clear of thin areas where postholing was inevitable. This was slowly improving yesterday with cooler a.m. temps (even a skiff of new snow above 9400 ft.)
We managed to sneak up St. Nicholas during an overcast spell with good steps in snow right next to the rock ridge, but avoided the snow gully to the summit which was hard ice beneath. The possibility of getting sucked off in an isothermal slide exists here in hot sunny conditions.
2 pockets slid down to bare ice on Olive and St. Nick in the afternoon rains on July 2. See attached photo.

July 6, North Rhonda was easy travel on bare rock next to the large cornice for the entire length of the summit ridge. The Peyto glacier is bare ice below ~7800 ft.
We didn't need crampons for anything all week, but hopefully this will change.
Creek crossings in and out of the Bow were a bit tricky with high water levels.

Enjoy,
Shaun King
Alpine Guide

Monday, July 7, 2008

[MCR] Bow to Peyto Lake via Bow and Peyto Hut July 6-8.

Quite variable weather during our three day trip on the Wapta with a fair bit of rain, especially on Sunday. Travel conditions on the glacier were nevertheless quite good on a slushy surface with boot top penetration. Leaving this morning from the Peyto Hut there was even a hint of a surface refreeze overnight. The main thing of note is the high water level of the creeks. The Bow Hut trail was submerged under water at the far end of the lake and required a short bit of knee-high wading. Also the creek crossing just above the steeper section below the hut (i.e. about 10 minutes before the hut) was tricky for the short legged and we used the last snow bridge higher up above the regular trail level. The Bow Hut is sporting some nice renovations including new kitchen counters and floor paint!

Happy trails,

Jorg Wilz

Mountain Guide (ACMG / IFMGA / VDBS)

1-800 506-7177 or (001) 403 678 2717

www.ontopmountaineering.com

[MCR] Ultra Brewers, Castle Mountain (July 7)

Ultra Brewers on the lower rampart of Castle Mountain is dry (the
third pitch was wet last week).

The first pitch is as crappy as ever with lots of fresh rat feces
oozing from the crack. Definitely a health hazard so bring your Purell
and wet wipes. The roof / block / finishing hand-hold at exit of pitch
three seems to be loosening from its packed-dirt mortar. Tread
carefully and pull lightly; or completely avoid by scrambling the big
gully to the left and traversing in at pitch four (the start of the
good climbing).

Drinking water can be found in the big gully west of the first pitch
(the same gully that can be scrambled to avoid the the first three
pitches) and near the top of the standard descent gully near the hut.

Sean Isaac
ACMG Assistant Alpine Guide

Thursday, July 3, 2008

[MCR] JASPER CONDITIONS - Last Week of June until July 1

Hi Folks

Just back from a couple of weeks in Jasper. Here are some recent
observations from many locations:

July 1 - Highway 16 closure west of Jasper due to mud slide. Road supposed
to be closed for at least a day and perhaps more. Check before heading
toward Robson Park via Jasper.

July 1 - Hidden Valley - Old Salt: The belay pitons on the left side of the
Old Salt route are now gone and the belay is on dual bolts at the top of the
route instead. Red Line: Two bolts and a piton have been added to the first
pitch of Redline thus getting rid of the runouts. The belay bolts at the top
of pitch one have been replaced with rappel hangers. Sword of Damocles: This
route has now been rigged to rappel off on a 60m rope. The first three
rappels stations are on the route. On the third rappel you have to diagonal
over to the new rappel bolts on Redline to get down the last rappel (first
pitch). Sport climbing fall near Spiderman Slab had Rupert and Joe flying in
to do a rescue for a gal with an injured ankle.

June 30 - Late start on Boundary Peak had us following the tracks of another
party thus our trail breaking chores were minimal. Track holding well with
only one or two post holes. Surprised by the lack of avalanche activity,
although we witnessed a nice juicy cornice collapse on the ridge connecting
Parkers Ridge with Mount Athabasca. Was quite surprised to see someone was
bold enough to go up the Ramp (normal route?) on Athabasca. Certainly more
bold than I was prepared to be on a day with forecast highs of 32 and a poor
overnight freeze. Despite this, the snowpack seemed more supportive than I
would have guessed.

June 28 - Morro Peak - Mountaineers Route now has four new bolts added to
the first pitch to reduce the runout and keep the rope from running over the
loose rubble and killing your belayer. Rest of the route remains the same
and rockfall can be readily managed if you are attentive.

June 25 - Roche a Perdrix - climbed with several parties. The snow on the
ascent and scrambles descent is all essentially gone. Fixed pins on the West
Face diagonal route all still in place. Route is pretty clean these days by
Rockies standards.

Late June - Ogre Canyon - An attempt by a bulldozer to enhance the
drivability of the road has resulted in the opposite effect. The bulldozer
flattened the roadbed and in the process brought a lot of new dirt into
play. This was then followed by a couple of weeks of wet weather which
resulted in ruts that were a LOT deeper than before the "improvement". I
definitely would not attempt to drive in from Brule in anything but a 4X4.
One person had to abandon their vehicle for over a week before they could
get the thing out.

Other observations:

Icefields Scrambles: Nigel Peak Scramble route still looks very plastered
and had a lot of sluffing in the steep W facing bowls. Wilcox still looks to
have snow along the ridge but hard to tell whether it can be avoided. Tangle
Peak Scramble still looks like it has a pile of snow above treeline.
Sunwapta Peak above treeline is very snow covered.

Colin Range - the late snows have melted off most routes in the Colin
Range... Finally.

Fryatt Valley - still looks very, very snowy for the time of year. Lots of
snow visible on Brussels, Lowell, Christie, Fryatt, et al.

Edith Cavell - still plastered.

Peveril Peak - Still had snow on the upper sections as of a few days ago.

That is about it for now.

Cheers

Cyril Shokoples
ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide
Rescue Dynamics
5109 - 17A Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6L 1K5
http://www.rescuedynamics.ca

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[MCR] MCR Summary

ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued July 3, 2008

Last weekends hot weather finally started to create some change and an avalanche cycle on many of the higher peaks. Most of the avalanche activity has occurred as loose wet snow avalanches with the occasional deep slab release to remind us that we are not yet dealing with summer firn snow conditions. Warm seasonal temperatures are forecasted into the weekend with valley bottom highs in the mid 20s. This continuing stretch of warm weather is resulting in rapid changes. Some of the alpine routes are starting to come into shape.

Above 2800 metres, there is still a lot snow but some ridge routes are getting climbed. In Glacier Park, Mt. McDonald and Tupper have seen ascents and Uto, and Eagle appears to be reasonable. Sir Donald is apparently getting attempted today. Expect snow for at least part of the approaches and the route. There is likely still 50 cm of snow at Hermit Meadows.

In the Rockies, snow and ice routes at the Icefields are very much dependent on a good overnight freeze which does not seem likely over the next few days given high freezing levels. Snow is melting fast though and ice is becoming more and more visible. In the Lake Louise area, the peaks are drying off quickly but the high stuff like Victoria and Lefroy is till quite snowy. Today there was still almost a metre at Abbott Pass and the approach from Oesa has enough snow above it to be of concern. As soon as you move east of the Divide, the ridges are looking much drier.

Reports from the Bugaboos have been very limited. Ascents of technical routes so far seem to have been few. You can expect most routes there to have challenges with snowy sections and/or wet areas.

We are at the period of Solstice and snow conditions can change from excellent to terrifying in a very short time. This should be considered for any steep snow slopes. Large cornices are still present on many ridges and when they fail have the potential to trigger large avalanches below.

On the lower elevation rock routes such Mt. Colin, Castle, Louis and other Front range objectives in the Rockies, most of the winter snowpack is gone. These routes are generally in good shape.

PS: Rockies photos from yesterday on separate posting courtesy Percy Woods

Marc Ledwidge

Mountain Guide

[MCR] Howson Range

This morning attempted a route on the Howson Peak but got turned back
early in the adventure by bad weather.

Snow travel is good with boot penetration 5-10 cm. Crevasses are still
well bridged but schrunds are opening up. Ridge routes are climbable now
but still a little moist and corniced. Lots of snow still in the alpine.
It's far to warm right now to consider snow and ice routes, but as soon as
there are a few cold clear nights the alpine here will be good to go.

With the weather forecast that won't be for a week or more though.

The Howsons are a beautiful and rugged range west of Smithers and can be
reached by float plane to either Burnie Lake or Sandpiper Lake (Alpine
Lakes Air), or by helicopter to anywhere in the range (Canadian
Helicopters). It's a 1-hr hike from Burnie Lake to the Burnie Glacier
Chalet (Bear Mountaineering/Christoph Dietzfelbinger) and another 4-5 hr
hike to a bivy below Howson Pk on decent trails.

Remember the mosquito paraphernalia.

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