New Blogger-based archive for the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides' public Mountain Conditions Report mailing list. See http://acmg.ca/mcr for details.
The MCR team apologizes for not submitting a summary this past Thursday. Please refer to the previous week’s summary prepared by Brad White. It is still valid with one more week of dry hot weather. Crevasse bridges will be a little weaker and the thin ice routes even uglier. There was a little bit of snow at high elevations early last week but this should have evaporated in most places.
Marc Ledwidge
I found it strikingly similar to the upper N ridge of Stephen -- long and
challenging with lots of choss but some good climbing. Unlike Stephen it
has excellent positions in the rambly top 1500 ft. We found no signs of
prior passage (maybe because we couldn't find that arch?)
"Almost worth doing" - L. Stanier
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.
Continuous rockfall on the Andromeda Strain, starting at 06:45, about an hour
after the sun hit the ridge.
Descent via the ramp route. The recent snowfall was just starting to stick to
crampons at 11:00. Feeling pretty steep down the ramp, but OK with one
client. Not a place to be later in the day.
Good travel all day with the remnants of that cold front keeping it cool until
we got low on the north glacier.
One group turned around in the early hours, had the peak to ourselves on a
spectacular day!
Jordy Shepherd
Mountain Guide
www.PeakAlpine.com
_______________________________________________
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.
Spent the past 4 days in the Swiss peaks area - excellent conditions. Snow up to
Marc Ledwidge
Mountain Guide
Climbed the west ridge yesterday. Finally a good freeze with 0 degrees at 0430 @ Neil Colgan hut. Temperatures in alpine have remained cool throughout the last 48hrs. Climbed small ice face to gain ridge in 2 60m pitches. The regular small ice/ snow slope described and shown in the Selected Alpine book does not look good (Large schrund, melted out and black). Instead we climbed the next slope to the climbers right that hits the ridge to the west (climbers right), of a small peak on the ridge. This ice slope had less rockfall potential, and easier schrund crossing, only downside is an added 20min to get up over and down the first mini peak on ridge. Crampons and axe were needed again up higher to make the summit. Centre ice bulge direct, and chouinard route looked reasonable with a good freeze. Roth /Kallen, Berle/ Kallen looked terrible/ non existent. Mt little and Bowlen also in good shape.
Cheers
jeff
Jeff Honig
Mountain Guide
Alpine Addictions
Box 1106
Revelstoke BC
V0E2S0
(250)837-2215 (home)
(240)837-1333 (cell)
jeff@alpineaddictions.com