Climbed Bass Buttress yesterday. The route is slightly more involved than
Brewer's as all of the belays must be built, or at least require reinforcement.
The route is generally dry, with the exception of the last pitch, which is wet
and slippery with snow melt. There are some "aider" slings in place at the top
of the route. The top of castle has snow patches up to 30cm deep and is quite
muddy in places-- a pair of gaiters would be useful for the descent. Lots of
water in the gullies at the moment and we heard periodic rockfall throughout
the day.
Note that the proper descent for the castle routes has several cairns at the
top and initially involves walking down scree on faint trails for a fair way.
Rappel stations are in place, lower down, on the west (skiers right) wall and
are generally marked by cairns. It is one gully to the west of the (much
steeper) gully directly above the hut approach.
---
Josh Briggs
ACMG Ski & Asst. Alpine Guide
_______________________________________________
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.
|