From mcr at informalex.org Mon Jun 29 11:50:28 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:50:28 -0600 Subject: [MCR] East End of Rundle (EEOR's Tail) Message-ID: Climbed EEOR's tail yesterday Sunday. Everything is absolutely dry including the final three chimney pitches. If you chose to rappel before the right traverse into the chimney it's a good idea to bring some of those beefier lockable chain links as some of the rap stations are missing them. Jorg Wilz Mountain Guide (ACMG / IFMGA) www.ontopmountaineering.com 1-800 506 7177 or (001) 403 678 2717 From mcr at informalex.org Mon Jun 29 14:12:38 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:12:38 -0600 Subject: [MCR] Ha Ling, Castle Mtn, and EEOR (Generosity) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <359E4F51-7D7B-41EA-800E-CDBFB0A038B9@me.com> Out touring some local rock over the last few days. Generosity on EEOR is dry all the way (including the chimney crux). Kicked in a new path for the traverse out of the scree bowl on top yesterday, which was, as always, a bit slippery, loose and exhilaratingly exposed for a few metres. No snow of consequence remains at the top, and everything seemed pretty sticky up there as far as spontaneous rockfall from the bowl is concerned. If you haven't done it, it is surprisingly well protected in the 5.9/.10a cruxes, fairly sustained in the upper two-thirds and I'd recommend it for the rock quality and variety. However, it is quite a bit longer than shown on any of the topos I've seen. I'd put it at around 550m, not the stated 400m. On a side note, if you have to retreat, almost all of the 12-14 bolted belays need fresh rap slings. On Brewer's Buttress on Castle over the weekend. The route is dry with no unavoidable snow on the approach. Still plenty of snow in the descent gully and lots of water running in the approach gully below the hut. The hut got a new stove and some deluxe thickness foamies since I was last there! Up Ha Ling's NE Butt as well. Surprisingly little evidence of the massive rockfall that ran over the lower portion of the route a couple of weeks ago; however, some of the approach ledges on climber's left of the initial scrambly pitches seem more eroded and discontinuous than I remember. No particularly significant new death blocks or other loose rock hazards, at any rate. Overall, the route was in perfect shape except for a couple of avoidable water seeps in the upper corner pitches and some newly precarious blocks/holds there. Sisyphus also looked totally dry. Carl Johnston Rock Guide -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcr at informalex.org Mon Jun 29 22:03:42 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:03:42 -0600 Subject: [MCR] Athabasca glacier and boundary area June 27-29 Message-ID: <20090630020352.CFBF512B0EE@sparta.incentre.net> Another unsettled weekend at the icefields. The 27th and 28th were blustery and it looked like lots of wind at upper elevations. Snow-line was down to about 7500ft yesterday, much of that melted off since. Snow is sticking on old snow surfaces where the wind hasn't blown it off. Today, the 29th we ascended the boundary glacier to the Athabasca col, up boundary peak and down the North Glacier. Very little change in coverage with minimal melting over the last week. Took this shot of a size 2 slide on the north glacier that was noted by Parks yesterday. Good size crown. Winds have been loading this aspect. Would certainly be suspect of similar terrain features. Talking to parties on the AA col route said conditions were good. Conditions stayed quite cool today with crusts intact. some post holing where new snow insulated the old layers, and where the snowpack is shallower than 60cm....otherwise "dust on crust" Peter Amann MG Matt Reynolds AAG/SG pamann at incentre.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: n glacier slab.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 37812 bytes Desc: not available Url : From mcr at informalex.org Tue Jun 30 12:56:48 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:56:48 -0600 Subject: [MCR] Bugaboos June 29 Message-ID: Just had my first trip of the season up to the Bugs and things are looking good. It is definitely still a bit early but there is already lots to do. Road The road is in descent shape and ok for a small car with a bit of navigating through ruts around KM 34. I was in a Toyota Matrix and had no problems. Trail The trail to the Kain hut is mostly snow free but there are a couple of significant piles of avalanche debris and a few fallen trees to negotiate along the way. Travel Conditions Generally, things seem a little ahead of usual. There is still lots of snow above the hut but the moraines are melting out fast. Travel on the lower elevation snow is good in the morning (with a good freeze) and becomes a bit of a slog in the PM when things warm up. Up high (above ~2800m) you can still expect up to knee deep foot penetration through a breakable crust but this would only affect the last bit of glacier to the West Ridge of Pigeon Spire. The Bugaboo-Snowpatch col is in good shape right now but there is already lots of loose rock melted out on the sides. Routes Most of the regular stuff is climbable with a few snow patches remaining. The low elevation routes in the Crescent area look dry as do many of the routes on the west face of Snowpatch. There will inevitably be some wet sections on most routes but they are shrinking by the day. The higher shady routes like the NE Ridge of Bugaboo and the Becky-Chouinard will likely have snow and ice in them for a little while yet. Bears There is a sow grizzly with two, one year old cubs hanging around Bugaboo Creek these days but there was no recent evidence of their presence on the trail. South Howser Descent A new descent has been established from the South Howser Tower that avoids the cornice, loose rock and rope eating flakes of the existing descent. It roughly follows the North Face-Ridge route towards the Central Howser. Stop in at the hut to see a detailed topo. Cheers, Marc Pich? ACMG, IFMGA Mountain Guide -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Snowpatch West face June 29.jpg Type: application/octet-stream Size: 131308 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Pigeon June 29.jpg Type: application/octet-stream Size: 103245 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Crescent June 29.jpg Type: application/octet-stream Size: 167051 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Bugaboo Kain June 29.jpg Type: application/octet-stream Size: 169351 bytes Desc: not available Url : From mcr at informalex.org Tue Jun 30 19:26:19 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:26:19 -0600 Subject: [MCR] Mt. Lefroy June 29 & 30 Message-ID: Yesterday ( June 29) I went up to Abbot Pass Hut. Took the 0830 bus-it was -1 at Lake O'Hara Lodge. There is still snow on the approach slopes to the hut which makes for really good traveling as long as things are frozen. At 12:00 we were already near the hut when I observed a couple rock falls so timing is crucial. Climbed Mt. Lefroy today...Excellent conditions. Perfect firm snow and good kick-stepping all the way. Victoria looked quite snowy. All the best, Marco Delesalle Mountain Guide -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: L1010178.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 119835 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: L1010172.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 152249 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: L1010173.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 154973 bytes Desc: not available Url : From mcr at informalex.org Thu Jul 2 10:55:19 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:55:19 -0600 Subject: [MCR] EEOR - Reprobate Message-ID: Guided Reprobate two days ago. The route is good old-school value. One pin has fallen out on the A0 section of pitch 7 and is dangling on a manky piece of cord and the other pins are on the way out. It would be a good idea to take a hammer and a few meters of cord to make it more passable and to check and or reset some of the other pitons that are nearly forty years old. Sharon Wood ACMG Alpine Guide From mcr at informalex.org Thu Jul 2 13:16:18 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 11:16:18 -0600 Subject: [MCR] Moraine Lake Message-ID: Delays of Rockpile Trail Redevelopment At Moraine Lake What's Happening? Due to weather and contracting delays the Rockpile Trail will not be opened for this weekend as originally planed.: Partial opening of the trail is anticipated for mid-July. The Consolation Lakes Trail will be open by the end of this week or early next week and additional barricades and signs will be put up to prevent visitors form entering into the construction area from the back trail. Why is this being done? These improvements will give visitors to Moraine Lake better viewing opportunities and will help reduce off-trail environmental impacts. What does this mean for you and our visitors? We appreciate the patience of our visitors, tour operators and Moraine Lake Lodge while this work is underway. This project will provide for an improved visitor experience once completed and enhance the protection of sensitive vegetation. Marc Ledwidge Manager, Mountain Safety Programs Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks 220 Hawk Avenue Box 900, Banff, AB T1L 1K2 Ph: 403-762-1401 From mcr at informalex.org Thu Jul 2 13:48:49 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 17:48:49 +0000 Subject: [MCR] Grand Sentinel Message-ID: <770315240-1246556835-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-1546380458-@bxe1278.bisx.prod.on.blackberry> Climbed the regular 5.8 route yesterday. Ice axe and stiff boots recommended for the snow patches getting from the pass to the tower. Cheers, Rob Owens Alpine Guide Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry From mcr at informalex.org Thu Jul 2 21:11:44 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:11:44 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [MCR] N Face Athabasca, July 2, 2009 Message-ID: <686280.42424.qm@web112506.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Had a great day with one guest on the North Face of Athabasca today. -1'C at the car in the morning and cool and clear all day. A little bit of post holing in recent storm snow above 2900m, good travel across the bergschrund, and good ice all the way to the top. A few cm's of snow in places but no avalanche hazard on the route as of today and the snow stayed cold until we topped out at 1000 hrs. We descended the AA col route which was also in good shape. The mixed step remains quite sporting compared to past years and had some recent snow and verglass to keep things interesting. I used a medium angle, medium nuts and 0.4-0.75 Camalots to help protect it. Only found one fixed pin. Other parties were on the Silverhorn, North Glacier Ramp, and AA Col Route during the past two days. A few lingering concerns about the recent storm snow in heavily loaded spots still exist but overall things were in good shape. Cheers, Conrad Janzen IFMGA Mountain Guide www.conradjanzenguiding.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcr at informalex.org Thu Jul 2 21:24:25 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 19:24:25 -0600 Subject: [MCR] Mountain Conditions Summary July 2, 2009 Message-ID: <19740415012840.42413714302D463F@priv-edmwaa07.telusplanet.net> ACMG MOUNTAIN CONDITIONS SUMMARY FOR THE ROCKIES AND COLUMBIAS; July 2, 2009. The past week of summer weather has dried off many routes with sun exposure up to the 3000 metre level (10,000' for our American friends). Above this level you can expect to find significant snow and wintery conditions especially at the Columbia Icefields. Most reports indicate conditions typical for early July although a few days ago there were still reports of windslab concerns at the Columbia Icefields. Elsewhere in the Rockies, strong overnight freezes have created excellent conditions on steep snow routes. With early starts and timing that allows getting off steep snow before radiation breaks down stability, routes requiring steep snow travel should be in good shape. Keep in mind that during the solstice, the sun will come around quickly. The main and front ranges are essentially dry although a flight by the top of Castle today showed a lot of snow on the summit ridge over to the descent gully. The more committing routes such as the Temple North Face and East Ridge routes, the Goodsirs, Hungabee or Edith Cavell will be a few weeks yet. The popular SE ridge of Victoria will be quite difficult on the Summit ridge with cornices still present. Reports from the Bugaboos indicate good early July conditions. As long as you are on sun exposed routes and not on the higher objectives such as the NE ridge of Bugaboo or the Becky Chouinard, you should encounter only minimal amounts of snow to negotiate. The Bugaboo Snowpatch col is in good condition but again, careful evaluation is required later in the day. Significant rock fall events are common there. There have been no reports from Rogers Pass but it is likely that the normal route on Tupper is in reasonable shape. The Swiss Peaks are also probably manageable with some snowy sections. Sir Donald likely still has snow and wet sections on both the classic route and the descent. The weather still looks good into the weekend but all bets are off after this. Marc Ledwidge ACMG/UIAGM Mountain Guide -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcr at informalex.org Sat Jul 4 14:15:21 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:15:21 -0600 Subject: [MCR] NE Ridge, Mt. Victoria N Summit, Lake Louise Group. Message-ID: Climbed the route from the Plain of Six Glaciers on July 3. We left the parking lot at 0430 and found the snow to be softening fast enough on the steeper S facing terrain that we probably should have left 1 hr earlier. Lower angle parts of the glacier remained supportive until ~1330, while the steeper terrain leading up the the Victoria-Collier Col was softening by ~0930. Although it is possible to climb to the V-C col entirely on snow at the moment, we climbed up one of the rock steps just to the left as the line of continuous snow has some loose scree melting at the top of it, which produced one rockfall. A few pieces of rock gear may be useful if you choose this option. Snow remained dry on the N facing aspects above the col. Near the rock step on the upper ridge, there is only 5 - 10cm of snow overlying ice. Josh Briggs ARG ASG From mcr at informalex.org Sat Jul 4 20:34:53 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2009 18:34:53 -0600 Subject: [MCR] Rockies: Colgan area Message-ID: <303440F7-88E8-4116-BFD8-91F85EB0AA21@alpinism.com> Several parties up in the Colgan area the past few days. Ascents were made of Fay W Ridge and Central Ice Bulge; Little; Bowlen; Allen; and Perren. Good snow conditions early in the day, even though it barely made it to 0 degrees overnight there were good radiation freezes due to the clear skies. Things warmed up quickly though and stonefall was noted fairly early in the day, soon after the sun hit the rocks. Crusts also broke down with daytime warming. If overnight temps are warm and skies are cloudy you can expect snow and rockfall conditions to be worse. Crevasses are still bridged fairly well but this won't last long if the warm weather continues as the snowpack is thin. Note the unstable looking seracs on the Chouinard Route! Mark Klassen Mountain Guide www.alpinism.com -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 847 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: P1040446.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 45801 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- P1040446.JPG -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 20 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 20 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: P1040506.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 47522 bytes Desc: not available Url : -------------- next part -------------- P1040506.JPG -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 20 bytes Desc: not available Url : From mcr at informalex.org Sat Jul 4 21:00:37 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2009 19:00:37 -0600 Subject: [MCR] Mt Aberdeen and Haddo Message-ID: Two parties climbed the normal (north glacier) route on Mt. Aberdeen and Haddo today. Overall conditions are excellent. Despite a relatively balmy morning temperature of 7 degrees at Lake Louise, the snowpack had frozen well at higher elevations. Some rockfall and icefall were noted, beginning around 6:30am near the toe of the glacier. Travel conditions were excellent with well frozen snow on the approach and mid-glacier and nice soft ice on the pitchs at the glacier tongue. Things were warming up during the morning and we experienced up to ankle deep boot penetrations on the upper glacier which provided for excellent step-kicking conditions. Crevasses seemed well bridged (for now) and the bergschrund is easily passable. We were happy to have started early. We descended SW from the summitt of Aberdeen to the south face which is also in good condition. There is a significant amount of snow in the normal gully, making for relatively easy travel and helps to save the knees. We stayed on the Aberdeen side of the tributary stream and the main drainage where there is now a faint trail developing that leads through some minor bushwacking for about 1 km before regaining the old trail down Paradise Valley. This option avoids two (or three) river crossings where the old bridges have been removed. Play safe! Jeremy Mackenzie ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide _________________________________________________________________ Create a cool, new character for your Windows Live? Messenger. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9656621 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcr at informalex.org Sun Jul 5 11:40:22 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Sun, 5 Jul 2009 08:40:22 -0700 Subject: [MCR] MacDonald Message-ID: <006101c9fd86$e8f36500$bada2f00$@com> Climbed Flick/Jager route (Middle rib W face) yesterday. The bush bash after the slippery log creek crossing was a typical Selkirk rain forest experience. (Wear your devils club chaps and carry a chainsaw) Approach gully melting out and becoming undermined by the creek. The route was in excellent condition. Descended down SW ridge to the narrow couloir in the col. ( 10 m. rap in and still snow to the base of the gully. ) The top half of Sir Donald looked fairly snowy on the N face. Tupper looked dry and the approach couloirs on the S face still appeared reasonable. Craig Ellis Mountain Guide, -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcr at informalex.org Sun Jul 5 15:45:33 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:45:33 -0600 Subject: [MCR] The Ghost (and The Wraith) Message-ID: <885D8B86-C817-4528-B950-B654A79CBBBC@me.com> Just back from a trip into the Ghost. Very busy there right now with lots of groups camping. It seems there are no active operations (logging etc.) happening anymore, but beware, the road in as far as the Big Hill is as chewed up as I've seen it. Lots of manholes. Still quite passable by passenger car, but you'd better not be in a hurry. (Either that or just bring a rental!) The big hill and the rest of the roads/ crossings in the South Ghost are in average summer shape, with not much water running. A note on "The Wraith": It now has a bolted station on the 4th pitch. Don't know when that happened (it's been a few years since I was on it) but I thought I might not be the only one to whom it was news. This means that with 60m ropes it can now be climbed to the gully and descended without building any anchors. Sort of dilutes the flavour a bit, but it was nice to have the surprise option amongst all the thunderheads yesterday. Carl Johnston RG From mcr at informalex.org Sun Jul 5 23:37:13 2009 From: mcr at informalex.org (Public Mountain Conditions Report) Date: Sun, 5 Jul 2009 20:37:13 -0700 Subject: [MCR] Sir Donald Message-ID: <000e01c9fdeb$0dbb4b50$2931e1f0$@net> What started out as a late start from Revelstoke, for a casual day on Uto, ended up being a beautiful day (by ourselves)on Sir Donald yesterday. We turned back on the summit block due to some threatening cloud formation to the west, but enjoyed good conditions up to there. More lingering snow than my other experiences on the NW, but totally climbable. Pretty much clear to the summit block. A bit white above that. Would expect to find a few slow sections along the final traverse to the summit?? Campground is essentially still under full snow cover and an ice axe was comforting in several places along the route, including the lower portion of the bolted descent. West face bypass was doable yesterday with only an ice axe, but had a few snow patch sections that were a little bit entertaining. Passable but not yet recommended. With an overnight freeze you'd need crampons and it would be a bit sporty! Of note, on the drive home to Revelstoke we observed four notable natural slab avalanches to size 2.5 - 3.0 from NW aspects directly below ridge crest. Three were cornice triggered, one (the largest) did not appear to be. Snowpack in the alpine, north quadrant still definitely deserves some serious respect until the temps cool down. Paul Norrie Mountain Guide -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: