[MCR] Lyell Traverse

Subject: [MCR] Lyell Traverse
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:19:05 -0600
On Tuesday Mark Klassen, three guests, and I flew into a high camp on the west side of the Lyell Icefield. Tuesday night was cold and stormy, depositing up to 10 cm of snow. Wednesday (yesterday) we did the "Lyell Traverse" as described in the 11-thousander book.

Snow travel was generally good in the morning and crevasses are well covered. The new snow kept the underlying west snow from getting a good freeze. Lyell 4 was full value and resembled the historical description given in the guidebook. The weather throughout the day was generally cold and cloudy, with no new precipitation.

Wed night/this morning was cold and clear and we had a good freeze with excellent travel in the morning, deteriorating by noon. I exited to our car at the head of Icefall Brook/top of Valenciennes Road with one guest via ledges below Mons Pk. This is not a bad way to access the Lyell Icefield but it is still quite rugged.

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
AAG/ASG
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