[MCR] Mt Begbie, Monashee Mountains

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

spent a nice, leisurely lap on the NE ridge yesterday. route is in great shape with the storm snow now all gone.  we had +10 temps (!) thru the night at the campsite just below the glacier with a short lived dip to +7 at first light.  fortunately a good 'radiation' freeze kept things nice & firm and travel was quick on the glacier.  

even though it is a short trip across the glacier, numerous crevasses were snowbridged & thin in spots, especially at the firn line, so we elected to use the rope.  the transition from the moat to the ledge was turned by moving slightly above the ledge elevation where we found a good, solid snowbridge allowing us to step down onto the ledge.  the first couple of moves are on loose, wet rock & have a bit of exposure, so we protected this section with a couple of #3 cams until we could use the bolts installed further along the ledge.  all hangers / bolts & chained stations were in excellent shape.  we elected to rappel back to the glacier from the North most of the two stations. a 50m rope will just touch the snow - 60m is better & allows one to move further back from the moat edge

a really nice scramble up the ridge with a bit of rope fun on the glacier & across the exposed parts of the ledge.  a great day with great weather

dave healey, asg