[MCR] Mountain Conditions Summary July 5, 2007

Subject: [MCR] Mountain Conditions Summary July 5, 2007
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 19:01:15 -0600

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