spent a nice, leisurely lap on the NE ridge yesterday. route is in great shape
with the storm snow now all gone. we had +10 temps (!) thru the night at the
campsite just below the glacier with a short lived dip to +7 at first light.
fortunately a good 'radiation' freeze kept things nice & firm and travel was
quick on the glacier.
even though it is a short trip across the glacier, numerous crevasses were
snowbridged & thin in spots, especially at the firn line, so we elected to use
the rope. the transition from the moat to the ledge was turned by moving
slightly above the ledge elevation where we found a good, solid snowbridge
allowing us to step down onto the ledge. the first couple of moves are on
loose, wet rock & have a bit of exposure, so we protected this section with a
couple of #3 cams until we could use the bolts installed further along the
ledge. all hangers / bolts & chained stations were in excellent shape. we
elected to rappel back to the glacier from the North most of the two stations.
a 50m rope will just touch the snow - 60m is better & allows one to move
further back from the moat edge
a really nice scramble up the ridge with a bit of rope fun on the glacier &
across the exposed parts of the ledge. a great day with great weather
dave healey, asg
_______________________________________________
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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