[MCR] Morrison/Tarrant Buttress, Mt. Odaray & Prime Rib, Mt. MacDonald - Aug. 9/10th

Morrison/ Tarrant Buttress, Mt. Odaray - August 9th

 

Conditions:

• The rock was dry, and all snow patches on the ascent could be avoided.
• Well consolidated snow on Odaray glacier made for good step kicking on descent in afternoon. Still good coverage on the glacier.  Nice to have an ice axe on steeper slopes.

Additional Information:

• The route description created by Tom Wolfe that is available on the web seemed to work pretty well for us.  There are some loose bands of rock on this route, but they are relatively short lived, with lots of pretty good rock in the quarzite and limestone bands, so perservere! 
• We took the 'Y chimney' through the black band - starting in the right chimney, and traversing into the left, which worked well.

Prime Rib, Mt. MacDonald - August 10th

 

Conditions:

• Dry rock.
• Approach to MacDonald had some firm snow in the gulley (we used crampons), but the snow was undercut by meltwater in many spots, and we used caution to ensure we were on supported snow.  Otherwise, thick Selkirk bushwacking to reach the base.
• We didn't place any pitons on the route, although a hammer was usefull to check fixed pins.  There were 5-6 fixed pins on the 11a traverse pitch.
• We replaced/ backed up many of the slings on the rappel anchors.

Areas of Concern:

• A trail to the log crossing Connaught creek is flagged from the W end of the pullout on the W side of the 'Lens' snow shed (the second shed you reach if travelling E from the Pass). 

Great conditions in both areas.  Nice to have a few lightning-free afternoons!

 

Ian Jackson

ACMG Aspirant Guide

Visitor Safety Technician

Banff, Yoho, & Kootenay National Parks

www.parksmountainsafety.ca

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