[MCR] Mt Athabasca North Face

Subject: [MCR] Mt Athabasca North Face
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:38:00 -0600
Climbed the North Face of Mt Athabasca today. Frost on my windshield at 03:30 in the Icefields Campground. Supportive crust on the glacier with some postholing. Bergshrund is straight forward to get over. Cool temps all day and no rockfall on the face. The ice face is in good shape. The crux keeps getting harder with loss of ice. Felt serious and strenuous today. In the future I'll consider a less steep break 30m left of the crux, then a horizontal traverse back right on a snow/scree ledge to just above the crux.

Happy trails

Barry Blanchard
Mountain Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
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