[MCR] Mt. Athabasca area-May 30 and 31/09

Subject: [MCR] Mt. Athabasca area-May 30 and 31/09
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2009 12:47:18 -0600
Spent May 30 and 31 around the Mt. Athabasca area.

May 30- Plenty of snow at Parkers ridge that was isothermal and sloppy on Saturday. Still offered a good opportunity to practice basic snow climbing skills.

May 31- Went from the toe of the North Athabasca glacier to the Boundary-Athabasca col and over to the west ridge of A2 peak (a small peak between Mt. Hilda and the East side of Athabasca). There was bare ice on the steep part of the glacier toe with increasingly deep snow as we gained the col. With a good overnight freeze (-2 at 4am at the campground) the travel was fast and the didn't start to soften until mid afternoon. Similar conditions were found on the Boundary glacier (snow was 1.5 -2 meters deep) with most of the big slots still well hidden with the winter snow.

All in all conditions are highly variable. The glaciers felt pretty good while frozen hard but would be terrifying if in isothermal conditions. The same goes for the snow and ice faces. It is probably wise to still stay off committing high Northerly aspects that haven't had a really good exposure to the heat of spring ie: the ramp route on Athabasca. With a good overnight freeze and an early start many other routes such as the AA col route, Silverhorn, North Face of Athabasca, Skyladder appear to have minimal winter snow lurking above and plenty of bare ice exposed. The Andromeda Strain, Shooting Gallery, Asteroid Alley, and Grand Central Couloir could be in really good condition with properly cool overnight temps and minimal daytime warming.

Beware that sun exposed descents late in the afternoon and warming cornices are a major concern this time of year and are a major consideration when looking at the choice of routes and timing of your climbs.


Rob Owens- ACMG alpine guide and Assistant Ski Guide

mobile 403-609-0960

www.robowensguiding.com







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