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ACMG Mountain Conditions Report Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains issued June, 26, 2014
According to the calendar it is summer in the mountains of Western Canada but full-blown summer conditions are not quite here yet.
A lot has changed since last week's report and snow line has crept up significantly. That said there is still a considerable amount of snow in the high mountains and conditions are really variable depending on latitude, aspect and altitude.
Rockies
Many of the peaks in K-Country are being hiked and scrambled via their sunny routes without encountering much snow. Most of the rock climbing in the lower Bow Valley is now dry enough however, rock fall may be a concern on routes where snow is still melting above (i.e. East End Of Rundle). Both Mount Edith and Mount Louis near Banff have been climbed recently.
Quite a few people have been venturing on to the more classic alpine routes of the Rockies in the last week. They have been reporting excellent conditions when there is a good freeze and frustrating/ painful travel when there isn't! The winter snowpack has not completely settled yet and under that crust is a great deal of very wet and loose snow. Numerous wet snow avalanches have been observed in the last week. The guides I spoke with were aiming to be on the summits before 10 AM in an effort to beat the thaw. There was also a report of a large, natural serac ice avalanche between the Silverhorn and Hourglass routes on Mount Athabasca.
Columbias
Similar conditions have been reported from the Columbia Mountains with numerous recent ascents on the sunny sides of Mount Tupper and Mount McDonald in Rogers Pass, but it seems that it is still a bit early for Mount Sir Donald. Snowline has just melted to the elevation of the hut in the bugaboos. Climbing on the south facing towers of the Crescent Basin may be quite good at the moment but many of the bigger objectives may still be snowy.
Weather
The weather forecast is quite similar from Calgary to Revelstoke with Saturday having a chance of rain and Sunday being quite wet. Although this does not bode well for weekend plans it may be just what we need to speed up the arrival of more summer-like conditions.
Of note, considering the challenging winter we just finished and in particular the deep instability that was the cause of many very large avalanches, it might be prudent to treat large snow slopes in the alpine with caution. In the past, these deep persistent instabilities have occasionally come back to life in the early summer before the snowpack has completely settled for the season.
Have a great weekend,
Marc Piché
ACMG Mountain Guide
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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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_______________________________________________
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.
See http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
See http://informalex.org/subscribe.shtml#unsubscribe to remove your name from
this list.
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