West Coast Mountain Conditions Summary for Aug 10,
2006
The hot dry summer has been recently interrupted by marginally
cooler temps and wet weather. All the precip has been falling as rain
below 3000m. Most guides are now finding seasonal snow has pretty much
disappeared, which means that you will most likely encounter ice and
harder firn snow on snow faces and glaciers - more like September
conditions than August. Exactly how hard? - depends on the overnight temps
and cloud cover. It seems that most snow slopes of any steepness now
require crampons in the AM. Afternoon descents on softer snow require good
judgement, however hidden ice runnels and ice patches just underneath the
snow can surprise descenders without crampons, and test your self arrest
skills in a hurry.
Due to glacial melting, rockfall hazard is becoming a problem. Rocks
that have been carefully held in place by glaciers for centuries are now
being exposed to the effects of gravity. And the effects can be
surprising. Although we may not be in the same league as the Alps in
Europe (where large sections of mountain are calving off on the Eiger -
see msn.com), refrigerators and TV sets have been seen tumbling down
regularly in some areas - couliors, gullys, and some snow faces. Keep a
eye out for fresh evidence, which usually indicates the hazard areas, and
avoid travel in these areas while the heat of summer is here.
Glacier snowbridges are sagging and collapsing everywhere with
afternoon warming. Keep in mind...The uptrack you were following from the
party 2 or 3 days ago might not be the best one for today. This is
especially true in high traffic areas such as Mt. Baker where plodding
parties with their heads down mindlessly follow an old track over a
sagging snowbridge, rather than use their own good mountain sense, and
forge a new trail which avoids the sag.
Pretty much all alpine rock routes are long since free of snow on the
South Coast, however getting on to some routes is becoming very
challenging due to glacier melt back and impassable schrunds. This is
especially true in the Tantalus Range - N side of Alpha, and routes on
Tantalus. Be prepared for some intricate schrund crossings followed
by challenging rock climbing on slippery glacier polished granite (with
loose rock), just to access the start of a route!
Squamish Chief Dihedral rock routes are now all entirely open, with
young Peregrine Falcons having mostly fled their nests (thus facilitating
BC Parks to open the corners).
Looks like a hot and dry weekend coming up.
Keep your head up, and the sharp points down.
Brian Gould
ACMG/IFMGA Mountain
Guide