ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued July 5, 2007
Conditions have improved significantly with the good weather
of the past week resulting in rapid melting and snowfields settling into good fern
snow climbing conditions. There is still a fair bit of snow on the shaded
aspects as far down as treeline, but in the early part of the day, this can
improve travelling. Routes that require negotiating steep snow such as Lefroy
could be in good condition for a party that can get up and down quickly. Other
snow routes such as the North Face of Stanley have been getting climbed by
climbers that can get off the route before conditions soften too much. Some
routes may warrant considering a bivouac to take advantage of early morning
frozen conditions. Routes like Hungabee and technical routes on Temple that
are high and typically require dry conditions to be “in shape” are
a ways off yet. In the Rockies, most of the Front Range routes are
dry although there is still some quality wallowing to be had in places like the
top of Castle Mountain.
In the Interior, routes such as Sir Donald are getting
climbed by experienced parties that can negotiate the remaining short sections
with snow on them. The rappel route is not dry yet. As of earlier
this week, returning by the NW ridge was required. In other words, it is
not yet in prime condition. Access and return for the west ridge of McDonald
is still possible on snow instead of an alder jungle. The Bugaboos are
also starting to dry off with reported ascents of routes such as the NE ridge and
Kain route on Bugaboo Spire. This would require negotiating some snow
sections.
In the valley bottoms, temperatures for the past couple of
days have been hitting the low 30s (about 90 for our friends south of the
border). The snowmelt is evident daily. A cooler trend is expected
for the weekend. Alpine objectives that can be achieved in mixed
conditions are now reasonable.
Marc Ledwidge
Mountain Guide