Summer finally decided to live up to its name during its last few days,
with fantastic weather across the western ranges: clear and warm.
The heat wave has dried out front range and lower elevation peaks such as
Louis, Castle in the south; Ashler Ridge, Roche Miette, Pevril to the
north; and Uto, Eagle and Tupper. Higher ridges such as Temple and Edith
Cavell's E ridges, however, are still quite snowy in their upper halves
and will probably remain so until next year!
Overnight freezes have been reported to be a marginal. At 2450m in
K-Country (Petain Gl) two nights ago it was +7C at 4am with a light warm
south wind. Further north and west it seems to have been only a little
cooler: north of the Icefields Centre at 1600m it was +5C yesterday at
3am. By noon, melting snow was observed at the top of the north face of
Diadem Peak, and the glacier on the north side of Diadem had 30 cm of snow
on top of the older surface that was supportive in the morning and sloppy
by the afternoon.
With these warm temps rockfall and small surface sluffing has been
occurring on all aspects starting early in the morning and is a
significant hazard for all but the highest elevations in the range. For
example, Humble Horse is "in" but should not be considered until things
cool down significantly.
Travel on the ice continues to be good with good coverage over the crevasses
and bergschrunds. However, especially on shaded aspects and near the firn line
expect thinly hidden crevasses with weak, thin bridges.
All this said it looks like we'll be back to fall soon enough with cooling
temps, clouds, and light precipitation. All this could make for some good
alpine climbing by next week if the forecast holds true (and we don't get
too much snow)!
Regards,
Tom Wolfe
ACMG ASG/AAG
_______________________________________________
These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The
ACMG and its members take no responsibility for errors, omissions, or lapses in
continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable
nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information
provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions
Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
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