[MCR] Wapta and Columbia Icefields conditions

[Public Mountain Conditions Report]

Hi All:

I was at the Bow Hut July 7-10 and Columbia Icefields on the 11th. Snow line at the Wapta was about 2600m (give or take) and despite no freeze for quite some time travels quite well. Snow covered crevasses are quite spooky with rotten snow bridges.

The Columbia Icefields region is as dry as I have ever seen since my first trip there in 1975. I did not have a complete look but can offer the following: The Skyladder on Andromeda is now a rock route in the lower section and had nearly constant rockfall. The NW shoulder routes are not there at all.  I didn't have a look deeper in the basin.

We considered the normal ramp route on the north glacier of Mt Athabasca but bailed due to the melted out rocks and potential large rockfall from the looter's right side of the Silverhorn. The traverse across the ramp itself looked fine and was climbed today however we thought better of it.  Worthy to consider is the potential for large dramatic rock fall events from the terrain that was formerly ice covered but is now recently exposed. It is often unstable for quite some time and triggers like continued heat or sudden cold can cause surprisingly large, difficult to predict events.

The Silverhorn ridge is entirely free of snow and ice top to bottom.

The Hourglass Route is gone.

The regular North Face route is all ice and with the continued melt the gap in the ice to the upper gulley appears to be 15 to 20 m. Bring some rock gear if you head to that route. A rappel descent may have some merit.

The lower sections of the North Face Bypass looked unappealing and strewn with black streaks and rocks. The Scottish gulley in the upper section appears to be totally melted away from the view on Boundary Peak.

The NE ridge is bone dry.

Hope this is useful and play safe!
James Blench UIAGM/IFMGA
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