[MCR] Rockies - Jasper Park Front Ranges

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

Hi All

Just finished nine days of rock climbing and 'swimming lessons' in Jasper
Park. During this period a couple of Monsoon days of rain and snow had us
holed up indoors while the snow line crept down to almost the valley floor.
Rumours of upwards of 15cm of new snow at Marmot Basin are likely true and I
would not have been surprised to hear reports of 20cm or more of snow along
the divide.

The aftermath of this storm has the rivers and creeks swollen with low lying
areas flooded in isolated locations. Best to check with the Park info office
for specific information on trail conditions. An example of the issues that
you may encounter is the high water and flooding on the Overlander trail
approach to CR5A and Meisner's Ridge (CR3). The creek flowing between these
two peaks is a torrent right now. Let it be for now.

The divide still has plenty of snow on anything higher. The Cavell road is
still closed until the end of the month. Edith Cavell is looking VERY snowy
at the moment and I would have left it alone for a few weeks anyway. Peveril
Peak still has more snow on it than you would expect for mid June (never
mind mid July). We didn't climb it this week even though it was on our list.

Pyramid Mountain looks like you can get up there now without hitting much
snow. Consider an ice axe just in case since I am basing this comment on a
look from the road rather than a recent ascent.

Climbed the Arch a week ago and all of the belay / rappel stations are in
fine shape. It should be dry again by now.


The Front Ranges have been recovering well after the snowfall and the
farther east you go the drier things look. We climbed the Guide's Route and
Mountaineer's Route on Morro where the rain has cleaned out some gullies but
left piles of loose scree stacked on top of some pitches where you have to
be super cautious topping out to avoid letting loose a volley of pebbles and
stones on your poor second. Otherwise these two routes are good to go.

The rest of the Colin Range looks pretty good with some snow still lingering
on peaks on the more southern part of the range. Oldman Mtn (Roche Bonhomme)
will be dry very soon. Colin and Hawk look good to go.

Esplanade and Gargoyle are now dry again on the south aspects and Roche de
Smet will look dry soon as well.

Some snow lingers on Roche Jacques and Cinquefoil but you should be able to
deal with that as it dries out over the next few days.

The routes on Roche Miette are all getting back to normal summer condition
with the scramble looking like it is dry (from a distance). Expect some
extra rockfall due to the recent rain having moved scree around.

Hidden Valley is as you would expect in July. We climbed here extensively
before and after the rain and it was essentially none the worse for wear
with the exception of some erosion on the trails from the deluge. 'Alaska
Bob' had many of the stones removed from the upper gulley, which was a bit
of an improvement.

We climbed both the Chimney (N ridge) and W face Diagonal routes on Roche a
Perdrix both yesterday and the day before. The Diagonal route had some
redistribution of stones during the rainfall but the route is generally in
normal condition. The Chimney Route has some rockfall concern in the very
upper gulley but this is somewhat to be expected. If you do the route in the
near future you may want to bring a small wrench to tighten the bolts on the
rappel hangers on several of the stations. Otherwise it is dry.

The E side scramble / descent route on Perdrix is a bit muddy and the snow
in the gullies is all but gone with some lingering patches. Bring hiking
poles for the descent! There is still water trickling down the bottom of the
gullies for refilling your bottles.

I expect the Ogre Canyon road will be a nightmare for a few days yet as it
always turns into a rutted up bog after rainfall like we just had.

That's all we can think of for now. Enjoy the return to more seasonable
conditions as summer begins anew.

Cheers

Cyril Shokoples MG
Jeremy Mackenzie MG
And the crew of the ACC Rock Solid Leadership Course
http://www.rescuedynamics.ca
http://www.rescuedynamics.com

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