[MCR] Columbia Icefields area

Subject: [MCR] Columbia Icefields area
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 15:31:13 -0600
Back from 3 days of "summer" at the Columbia icefields.
Climbed Athabasca today via AA col route. (+3 parking lot 0330) Conditions held together in the gullies but only a 5cm crust is holding the gullies from being isothermal. Along the edges step kicking was reasonable, not to deep and a good crust. Above the gullies the mountain was excellent travel, good and hard both up and down. Still pretty solid in the gullies at 1030 when we were back at the bottom, but there is certainly a need for moving quickly.

Looks like a new serac under the ramp on the normal route is forming and separating. A very large feature. Important to give this area a wide birth from as soon as you get on the glacier. Forget about the red line in the guide book. The normal route up the ramp looked fat and loaded. Doesn't look like there has been any traffic on the ramp in a while, or at all this season. There is an old slab on the left side that has been there for a while.
Maybe this heat will clean things out.

Tracks visible both on Skyladder and the descent route looked deep... post holing. I am sure the descent on south side to the AA col is sporty right now in the heat! One party we talked to spent the night out. No significant avalanche activity recently observed, but lots of wet small sluffs on the east face of Andromeda near the Strain.
The cornices on Andromeda are really drooping, and they are big!
A cooling trend would greatly decrease the hazards on some of these fine alpine routes.
Peter Amann

Peter Amann
Mountain Guiding
Box 1495, Jasper AB, T0E 1E0
780 852 3237
www.incentre.net/pamann
pamann@xxxxxxxxxxxx