| I climbed Mt Alberta yesterday (July 30) via the Japanese route.
The Sunwapta ford is easier than I expected, although there are many channels none of them are more than knee deep, even late this afternoon on our return trip.
The route itself is in prime condition. There is snow over the worst of the scree to get to the low bivy (2950m), good kick stepping in the afternoon of the 29th (although we used crampons) and frozen hard this morning in descent. No running water near the bivy but lots of snow to melt, and that should be the case for a while yet.
From the bivy you have to cross this same snow patch for a couple of hundred meters but then you can leave the crampons and ice axes behind. There are a few snow patches on the scree terrace below the upper wall but these can be easily bypassed. The pitched climbing above is dry, there is trickle of water in the Japanese Gully and a bit of snow and ice high in the gully that is nowhere near the route. The summit ridge is entirely dry, with some old remnant cornices clinging to the lee side.
This morning a cold front rolled through, low cloud and a dusting of snow above 2800m. This had melted by the time we crossed Wooley Shoulder, but the peak was still a bit damp. The weather was worse around Alberta today than it was around the other Icefields peaks, but it seemed to clearing a bit late in the day.
The NE ridge was climbed July 29 and was reportedly in good conditions. Between that party and ours we put a bunch of new sling on several of the raps but whoever goes next could bring a bit more and do the same. Mark Klassen Mountain Guide |