Tom & I went to Urs' Hole on Cascade Mountain today. The entire gully is
filled with pretty smooth and firm avalanche debris, which made for a
pleasant "ramble" with a few shorter sections of easier ice. The "WI5 pitch"
at the end of the gully currently goes much easier (WI3+ or easy WI4) but
doesn't take screws very well. Seems like at least two of the new rappel
stations have disappeared underneath the avalanche debris. Inspired by the
Banff Film Festival ("Never stop exploring") we opted to traverse all the
way to the Cascade Falls descent route, which is an adventurous and
time-consuming (2 hrs plus) exercise. Avalanche hazard is currently minimal
in the big bowls above the Cascade Mountain climbs until the next snowfall
(big surface hoar crystals on a melt-freeze crust!). Rogan's Gully looked ok
from a distance and must have seen a little bit of traffic judging from
tracks leading to the descent route from the top of the climb. Cascade Falls
has suffered from the recent warm weather and doesn't look climbable right
now.
Attached is a shot from the crux pitch on Urs' Hole.
Cheers,
Jorg Wilz
Mountain Guide (IFMGA / ACMG / VDBS)
OnTop ltd.
www.ontopmountaineering.com
+1 403 678 2717 or 1-800-506-7177
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