Climbed Mt. Athabasca today (Canada Day) via the AA Col for ascent and descent.
The day was cool and quite windy with temperatures ranging from +1 at the parking lot at 03:30, to near -10 on the upper mountain. We wore all the clothes we brought!
Travel conditions were quite variable due to some recent snow accumulations and a crust that did not always hold the weight of a climber. Pockets of drifted snow between 5 and 30cm thick are scattered around the area, including some areas of windslab. Though we were not concerned today on the AA Col route, the next warm and sunny days will likely trigger some snow slides. I would also be curious about the extent of the windslab on the Ramp Route. Foot penetrations through the day ranged from nil (on a perfect crampon-friendly crust) to occassionally more than knee deep when the crust was breakable and/or you walked into a bigger drift of the new snow.
We spoke briefly to a guided party on the Silverhorn and saw climbers on the Skyladder and the Practice Gullies.
Happy Canada Day!
Jeremy Mackenzie
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
jeremymackenzie@hotmail.com
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