Climbed the left side of the Upper Wall yesterday. The route is in good shape
with two distinct cruxes, one on the second pitch (physical 5+) and one on the
last half of the last pitch (harder/more technical but shorter). Overall there
is only about 10 meters of climbing at the guidebook grade.
There are some large daggers on the left side of the route that need to be
respected. We were able to use sheltered belays and limited our time around
this feature.
The climbing was mostly quite good with the normal sections of funky, technical
and hard to protect ice. We were able to walk up to the Upper Wall on old
avalanche debris.
Timing is everything on this route and it might be wise to stay away from it if
gets cold in the next little while - the daggers will pose a problem once the
ice becomes brittle.
The Right Hand line on the Lower Wall was also in good shape, albeit quite wet.
Currently this route is on the easier side of the grade.
Have fun!
Mike Stuart
ACMG Alpine/Assistant Ski Guide
Canadian Alpine Guides
_______________________________________________
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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