[MCR] Mt Assiniboine July 24

Subject: [MCR] Mt Assiniboine July 24
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2010 17:20:54 -0600
 Climbed the NE Ridge of Mt Assiniboine with Tom Dwyer on July 24.

The mountain has a lot of snow on it, as you can see in the attached photo. Nevertheless, a good overnight freeze on the 23rd made for easy climbing in the morning, with crampons on a firm crust. By the afternoon, the crust had broken down and the snow was mostly isothermal over top of ice. It was nonetheless possible to descend on rock ribs and mostly avoid the ice on the way down.

There has been significant rockfall on the upper, knife-edge rock ridge before the last steep step. A large block has come loose, leaving behind a mess of debris and loose boulders over a distance of about 5 meters. A delicate touch is required in this section and a bit of careful trundling would be useful if there are no other parties climbing below. Hopefully it will become more stable with time.

Be careful, have fun,

Grant Meekins
ACMG Mountain Guide

Attachment: Mt Assiniboine July 24.jpg
Description: JPEG image

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