ACMG MOUNTAIN CONDITIONS SUMMARY FOR THE ROCKIES AND COLUMBIAS; July 2, 2009.
The past week of summer weather has dried off many routes with sun exposure up to the 3000 metre level (10,000’ for our American friends). Above this level you can expect to find significant snow and wintery conditions especially at the Columbia Icefields. Most reports indicate conditions typical for early July although a few days ago there were still reports of windslab concerns at the Columbia Icefields.
Elsewhere in the Rockies, strong overnight freezes have created excellent conditions on steep snow routes. With early starts and timing that allows getting off steep snow before radiation breaks down stability, routes requiring steep snow travel should be in good shape. Keep in mind that during the solstice, the sun will come around quickly. The main and front ranges are essentially dry although a flight by the top of Castle today showed a lot of snow on the summit ridge over to the descent gully. The more committing routes such as the Temple North Face and East Ridge routes, the Goodsirs, Hungabee or Edith Cavell will be a few weeks yet. The popular SE ridge of Victoria will be quite difficult on the Summit ridge with cornices still present.
Reports from the Bugaboos indicate good early July conditions. As long as you are on sun exposed routes and not on the higher objectives such as the NE ridge of Bugaboo or the Becky Chouinard, you should encounter only minimal amounts of snow to negotiate. The Bugaboo Snowpatch col is in good condition but again, careful evaluation is required later in the day. Significant rock fall events are common there. There have been no reports from Rogers Pass but it is likely that the normal route on Tupper is in reasonable shape. The Swiss Peaks are also probably manageable with some snowy sections. Sir Donald likely still has snow and wet sections on both the classic route and the descent.
The weather still looks good into the weekend but all bets are off after this.
Marc Ledwidge
ACMG/UIAGM Mountain Guide