Spent the last week (May 28 - June 2) in the Ghost River area. Our group
arrived at the end of the monsoon rains. The logging road was very rough right
from the beginning with many potholes and some deeper water runnels on the
steep hills, this made for very slow driving. In contrast the 'big hill' was in
great shape and much to our dismay, the first river crossing was easy with
water no more than mid-tire height. We made it across just fine in a small
Suzuki 4x4 and Ford 12 passenger van. The sun came out for the first time in a
week, and in a few hours we counted 8 wet slab/loose snow avalanches from all
aspects. Upwards of 60cm of new snow was found in the alpine on easy scrambling
objectives like BlackRock mountain, and continued solar related avalanches kept
us down in the valleys on the rock, and away from the summits.
There was a lot of seeping going on, but this dried out as the week progressed
and we enjoyed some fine climbing on Silver Tongue Devil crag, Sentinal Wall,
Wully Wall, and South Phantom Crag. As we drove out, many classic routes were
looking dry such as The Wraith, Bonanza, Consolation, most of STD wall and
pretty much all of South Phantom crag. Expect up to a meter of snow against the
base of the cliffs that do not face south. The river crossing on the way out
was still in fine shape, and the road had dried out, but was still rough.
Jason Billing
ACMG Assistant Alpine/ Assistant Ski Guide
Yamnuska Mountain Adventures
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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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