[MCR] Rogers Pass conditions, July 17, 2012

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

I hiked up the Glacier Crest Trail today to get a better look at how the alpine is shaping up.  The snow line on Glacier Crest was around 1800m. The classic Rogers Pass routes; Tupper’s W ridge, the SW ridge of Uto and the NW ridge of Sir Donald; are all looking good. While the ridges are mostly free of snow, the approaches still hold snow and ice axes would likely be appreciated. Sir Donald’s “west face bypass” descent option is still mostly snow covered and is not recommended until snow free. The Hermit campground and Sir Donald bivy sites are still snow bound, but I would expect the food storage and privies to melt out in the next week or so. Routes on Mt Macdonald have been in for a while, but by now not much snow remains in the Crossover slide path making the descent a slow and painful alder bash.
 


Of note, large deep slab avalanches have been occurring on northerly aspects around 2700 to 2800m (Bonney, Mt Green and Swiss/Truda). These have been triggered by cornice fall and failing on ice or firn. None of these have affected any of the standard climbs in the area, but large cornices are still present on many ridges and are something to keep in mind. 
 
The alpine is coming into shape in Rogers Pass.  Enjoy.
Danyelle Magnan 
Visitor Safety Technician
Mt Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks 
ACMG ASG
Danyelle.magnan at pc.gc.ca
250.814.5256
 
Photos in order: Avalanche to Sir Donald, Abbot Ridge to Rampart, Abbot to Asulkan Pass, Hermit Area, Macdonald from hwy1, Tupper from hwy1, Sir Donald from Avalanche (14-07-14),  		 	   		  
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