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Spent the last six days in the Rogers Pass area doing a little traversing. Here's what we saw.
July 26 - Abbot/Afton/Rampart/Dome to Sapphire Col Normal dry conditions. Scrappy getting to Dome col from the Lily side. 3L of white gas and a single ensolite at the hut.
July 27 - Castor/Pollux/Leda to Asulkan Cabin Normal dry conditions on the Jupiter traverse. Snow almost all the way down from Asulkan Pass to the cabin.
July 28 - Young's Pk NW Face, descend N Ridge/Illecillewaet Neve traverse/Terminal N Pk SW Face/Terminal SE Pk N Ridge/descend Terminal via Vaux Glacier to Sir Donald bivy site Young's NW Face has a strip of snow up the right side that was still there when I looked back at it today. Good travel on the Illecillewaet. Bergschrund easily crossed on Terminal SW Face. We just squeaked down the descender's right side of the Vaux Glacier on snow but by now I bet there will be a section of ice. Crevasses are opening all the way down the Vaux.
July 29 - Sir Donald NW Ridge and West Face Bypass on descent Quite firm but kick-steppable snow on approach to the col, if you're in five-tennies it will be challenging. We were able to kick steps down the snow on the W Face bypass but this place will be changing daily. Crampons probably recommended until it melts away, which won't be long now. There was a major rockfall down the W Face about an hour after we crossed it. Witnesses from the trail below say it came right off the summit, was about 100m wide, raked the entire W Face including the bypass and ran a fair ways down into the talus and meadows below the mountain.
July 30 - Uto SW Ridge descend NW Ridge/Sulzer Tower/Eagle Pk SE Ridge descend SW Ridge Normal dry conditions.
July 31 - Avalanche SE Ridge descend SW Ridge Normal dry conditions. Ascent to the col is soft with recent rains but still unpleasant.
Other notes Flowers are out in full force as are the bugs who have a hankering for your DNA
Mark Klassen Mountain Guide www.alpinism.com
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