jmckay

Just came out of the Bugaboos. As you would expect rock conditions are excellent, even with the few cm's of snow from late last week. The glaciers however, continue to deteriorate at a very fast pace. The Bugaboo/ Snowpatch col is down to bare ice till the bergshrund and has a few holes open lower down as well. The bottom two rappels (climbers left side) are becoming hard to reach as the ice continues to melt back. The last anchor is a good 3 meters above the ice, and requires some climbing to get up to it. This last rap (30m) will get you just onto the small bridge. Once this is gone (soon) you will need to make one additional, none fixed rappel to get over. The loose, scree/boulder right hand side seems to almost be a better option now if no one is above you. The glacier on the south side of the Howser/ Pigeon col is also starting to be problematic. A few hundred meters down there are four large crevasses that now almost span the full width of the regular way through. A rope is a must, as are crampons in almost all but the softest conditions. This will be important to remember when there is any significant amount of new snow to dust them over. The rappels off the South and North Howsers are in good conditions as are the bergshunds. Have fun. Craig McGee, IFMGA __________________________

The Athabasca and Icefields Page Athabasca/ ice fields New snow last night and this morning. 4 to 5 cm was observed on the tents in the campground and most likely a lot more at higher elevations. Yesterday warm temps caused la few sluffs in the ramp silverhorn area. The good traveling many of us had experienced in the previous days was changing. Now, will have to wait and see what this short low pressure cycle will leave on the slopes. Patrick Delaney 604 892 7612

Mt Sir Donald Photo Page Snowline down to 8000 ft / 2400 m in Glacier Park and the Revelstoke area this morning (August 31st). Seems to be less snow than guides are reporting seeing in the Rockies, estimating 5-10 cm. With a clear and warm weather forecast through the weekend, Tupper and Uto should dry out enough to climb. Sir Donald may dry out enough as well, but if not, the SW ridge on Uto is a worthwhile alternative. Jordy Shepherd Mountain Guide

Climbed the N face on Stanley yesterday from a bivy just below the glacier that lys directly below the route. Gained the glacier via morraine/ridge climbers left. Interesting glacier travel with some front pointing up crevasse walls, after the initial trough we favoured the climbers left hand side of things until an uninterupted ramp led to the snow cone below the route. Bergshrund on the route quite straight forward. Ice screw anchors all the way with the exception of one t-slot/picket anchor mid route. A strange 10cm thick solid ice crust overlying 2cm of air overlying the true iceface for the last 100m. North ridge descent dry and fine, no crampons after the small summit ice slope. Winter up there today, I'm sure, with all the snow overnight. Happy trails Barry Blanchard Mountain Guide Yamnuska Mountain Adventures

Alpine News: comes out with a new one tommorrow Same story as Marco. At the icefields on the weekend. Excellent conditions and excellent conditions yesterday going up to to Neil Colgan and Fay area. Instant winter overnight with about 15 cm of snow and more coming. Snow line down to almost Moraine lake. Marc Ledwidge Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ 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.

The good old Assiniboine page Just got back from Mt. Assiniboine today. I climbed it on the 28th with a guest in perfect conditions once again. No need for Ice Ax or crampons. However today a different story! On the way down the Gmoser highway snowed quite heavy at times. The snow line was all the way down to Assiniboine lodge. Sure looked like winter out! Marco Delesalle Mountain Guide

East Ridge of Mt Edith Cavell is in great shape as of yesterday. The lower snow/ice gullies can be passed on rock on the left. An ice axe is still neccessary for a few short sections near the summit. Most parties used crampons as well to keep things simple. West ridge descent is bare and dry, runners were nice to have for the trail out. Conrad Janzen ACMG Ski & Asst Alpine Guide A person should have wings to carry them where their dreams go, but sometimes a pair of skis makes a good substitute. -Hans Gmoser- Do you Yahoo!? Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail._______________________________________________ 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. Come have coffee with pete!

Climbed Silverhorn yesterday with good conditions. Anywhere from 5 to 40 cms of new snow on top of good ice. New snow was hiding several small holes mid way up route. It was 6 degrees in the parking lot at 4 a.m. and stayed cool until around 11 when the sun popped out of the clouds. North face looked to be in good shape with one party on it Cheers Mike Stuart Assistant Alpine guide _______________________________________________ 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. What makes me such a great lover!! Athabasca information. Located in the Columbia Ice-Fields

what ever you do do not go to this site. Has an auto virus html upload system. Best to stay away. The firn line is way up around 8500-9000 ft. Travel is good with ankle top penetration at most. Some dodging and weaving around exposed crevasses. Happy trails Barry Blanchard Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ 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.

Robson, sex at altitude, Assiniboine Climbed Mt. Victoria from the Abbot Pass hut (Aug. 25), Excellent Cond. Once again. Everything well frozen. From the last storm, most of the new snow has melted away, some verglass in the lower sections, but easy to get around. At 3300 meters was -3.0 at about 08:00. Lefroy looked in good shape as well. Marco ACMG Mountain Guide Cofee with Pete Mt Victoria page

Alpine News: God only knows their sources! Conditions for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains. In general the mountains are in excellent condition for Alpine climbing. A series of storms mid-week brought some fresh snow and verglass to the upper reaches of the main ranges of the Rockies and this has not yet all melted. Expect some lingering fresh snow and icy rock especially on northerly aspects. This snow was not reported in the interior ranges. The snow/ice routes are in reasonable shape with a little soft snow over hard ice. As this year is one of the driest anyone has ever seen, the glaciers are melting back and exposing lots of loose rock. Rockfall is a real concern. Route travel times may need to be increased on some routes due to the slower nature of climbing on rock or talus where there is normally snow.The bergshrunds are gaping and in some cases have made route access very difficult if not impossible. The forecast for the weekend is showing promise with a ridge of high pressure building in and mainly clear skies expected for the southern parts of BC and Alberta. Start early and enjoy the freeze. Brad White UIAGM Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ 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.

Mount Temple Alpine news we collect it for you Climbed the East Ridge of Temple with a guest yesterday. Excellent conditions and dry (the gullies of the Black Towers are bone dry). Need crampons for the summit Icefield. Instead of going up the the gully in Black Towers, I went up to the ridge above the Sphinx Face and climbed the ridge to the snow field from there - quite good climbing up to 5.7. Beware not to trust all pitons that you see, I replaced some that I was able to pull out. Okay weather for most part, but snowed quite heavily near the summit. Cheers, Marco Delesalle Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ 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.

Aug 17-21 Climbed Mt Brazeau and Henry McLeod from the south on Aug 18th & 20th, with perfect conditions. The approach is well described in the “11000’ers” but I have put a few in just to give people a sense of the terrain. The map for this area is not great, has the switching contours to 40m above 2000m and a lot of the features don’t show up well. The attached picture of the approach shows the route up from the side valley.(1) It’s a long slog to the bivy site at 2720 metres. But the views were incredible. We had runoff from the small patch of snow in the picture.(2) This is now ice and if it doesn't melt during the day you'll be chipping ice. Water can be found down below the site. It would be a ways, Climb There is short section of icefall hazard getting to the access tongue as you pass underneath for a few short minutes. It hasn't been recently active. We climbed Henry McLeod on the second day as a recon. The east face is easily climbed on 25-30 deg snow. For all the peaks, the left side of the glacier closer to Henry McLeod is followed. A big glaciated rib heading east on Henry is contoured . Not much for slots, most are obvious or well bridged. There is a small icefall on Valad Peak near Brazeau which can be avoided by staying lower. (3) Ascent of S face is mostly tedious scree on the way up from the col. Count on 1.5 hours. The 500 metre descent to col was 20 minutes on that same now “excellent” scree. (4) Counted 21 11,000’ers from it’s summit. Very cool place. Peter Amann Mountain Guiding Box 1495, Jasper AB, T0E 1E0 780 852 3237 www.incentre.net/pamann pamann@incentre.net

Sir Donald Climbed Terminal Peak on August 18th, up the trail to Perley Rock, around the south side of North Terminal Peak onto the Illecillewaet Glacier, and up a short snow/ice face and then a scramble up the west ridge of North Terminal Peak. Crampons were nice to have on the lower part of the Glacier approach where it has bared off to ice. The bergschrund is getting large at the base of the 100m, 40 degree snow/ice face, but there is still an easy, safe crossing point, climber’s left of center. Very nice views, and the summit provides a rarely seen angle of the south/west side of Sir Donald and the Vaux Glacier. 12 hours car to car at a leisurely pace. Hiked to the lower bivy site Below Sir Donald/Uto on August 19th. Climbed Sir Donald via the NW Ridge on August 20th, descending via the summit block by-pass on the west face and then the bolted rappel line. Sir Donald is very dry, and excellent condition. There were at least twenty climbers on the ridge on Sunday August 20th. Busy place. Jordy Shepherd ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide Alpine news

My wife Deb and I savoured the delights of the Grand Sentinel for the first time today. Our guide book suggests that the best approach to the Grand Sentinel is by contouring high and into the notch to the left of the spire, crossing several gullies that from a distance look innocent... Right now this is a very dangerous way to get there as it brings you directly in the path of some very active rockfall from the small, steep, rubbly, hidden icefields on the north side of Pinnacle peak. Throughout our visit to the area there was regular rockfall down these gullies, on average once every 5 minutes with huge chunks careening across the "faint trail" that the guide book mentions. One strategy that reduces exposure on the approach is to continue down the well beaten path along the valley bottom until you're directly below the Grand Sentinel spire (and well past the last of the gullies threatening the approach), then hike directly up below the spire, and continue pressed up against the (climber's) left side of the spire and into the notch. This is still a little ugly but seemed to keep us clear of the worst of it all. Regards, Tom Wolfe AAG http://web.mac.com/mountainguide.com/iWeb/alpine-news/Alpine%20News/Alpine%20News.html

Took a couple of clients up the N glacier of Ipsoot Mt today. Flew in to unmarked lake at 6000' and walked up the glacier to a P/U at 8200'. The firn line started at 6700'. Two sections after the firn needed lots of probing with the top going near some big sags (this is on the middle and most obvious route). Good step kicking in late summer snow above 7000'. Dave Sarkany Ski Guide http://web.mac.com/mountainguide.com/iWeb/alpine-news/Alpine%20News/Alpine%20News.html

Darek Glowacki and I had a group in the Neil Colgan area Aug 14-16. Up the Perren, Fay via the centre ice bulge and west ridge, down the Schiesser. Good travel on the glacier, most problem crevasses are visible and avoidable. Good bridge over the schrund on the centre ice bulge route. The west ridge schrund seems impassable on the normal line (shown in Selected Alpine Climbs), we went up the ice face to the west (right) of this and the schrund was bridged well there. The rubbly peaklet you have to traverse over to climb the west ridge is no different than the climbing on the rest of the route. The backside descent still looked doable. Mark Klassen Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ 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.

Hi, I was playing on the Athabasca North Glacier early this morning and saw two significant events of icefall from the Silverhorn lower serac. The first one happened at 0650 with the first sun exposure and the second at 0705. The second event was quite important with a big cloud and chunks of ice going over the tracks of the Ramp route (see pictures). The serac might be still unstable! Recommendation for the Ramp route: Traverse below the Silverhorn way before the sun hits the serac and try to avoid going right underneath it. Recommendation for the North Face and Silverhorn approach: Move fast and early since chunks were flying over those tracks as well. Thank you, Remy Bernier ACMG Rock Guide remybernier@yahoo.com www.myrockguide.com Tel: 403-678-4276

Temple Assiniboine Climbed Assiniboine on Thursday Aug 10 under poor visability that never saw the ceiling rise above the top of the 3rd class section below the Black Band. The N Ridge was completely snow & ice free and although the rock was wet this did not detract from the friction on the mostly horizontal edges. Overnight the snowline dropped down to about 8800 ft. (just below the Hind hut). The whole Assiniboine area was hit quite hard with significant snowfall amounts. On Friday the temp at 1:30pm was only 7C at the Lodge with on and off rain throughout the day which may have meant more snow up high. Sunday Aug 13 on the SW ridge of Temple it seemed the boot top snow Mark had spoken of from Sat. had settled out to 10-15cm in drifted areas only. These drifts were quite critical on the descent as the ascent trail (last 600 ft. to summit) was getting hard and slick with traffic and even icy in sections. Icy verglass had formed on the rock slabs below snowline but this was avoidable with proper route finding. Cheers, Shaun King Asst. Alpine/Ski Guide

I spent the last week in the head waters of the Slim Creek area. The road to the TLH's fuel cache is now barely drivable for a loaded 7p van - it would be no problem for higher clearance vehicles. Lots of melt this summer has left glaciers looking more like early September - lots of exposed ice. The snow line came down to 2300m during the 3 storms that crossed the region while I was there. The bugs low down where nicely tamed by the colder Wx! It seems that no other operators are in the area this summer and this has resulted in a renewed abundance of animal life and sign. If you are planning to cross Slim Creek on the cable (by Baldwin's cabin) take a pulley or extra carabiner to ride the line as the present system is wearing through and getting untrustable. Dave Sarkany Ski Guide

Photos left out because of their size Just drying out my gear after a 3 days trip into Bison ck to try to climb a couple of the Murchison towers with a friend and client who shares a sense of exploration. http://www.mountainguide.com/mcr/towers.jpg i did a short recon earlier this summer to try and figure out how the routes go, and really came to the realization Feuz and his gang were determined! Most of the rock in the area is poor quality limestone, lots of choss! plagued and mostly tent bound we did climb an unnamed 9600" peak west of the SE tower on Aug 11.( Turned out quite a snow storm) Fairly straightforward scramble via the S ridge. From the col on the SE side of the upper drainage we dropped a bit and traversed a scree slope to gain the south ridge. (The attached picture was taken on a solo recon day in Mid july) Morning of Aug 12 we tried to climb the south gully on Feuz tower. This gully climbs 3000' to a col with a steeper section in the upper part. We got to about 9300ft and turned around due to new snow and weather. In the route description it says Feuz descended easily down this from the summit to the road in 2 hours! Wow!... http://www.mountainguide.com/mcr/unnamed Mostly east scrambling up the creek. Much of this is avoided on the descent by adjacent scree slope. You can access the gully from a camp high in the valley by traversing in from around 7400'. Contour around the grassy meadow look for goat tracks. The SE tower can be done in a long day from the road. The routes marked on the photo are a "guestimate" at best. Not much beta on any of these climbs around.... Bison Creek is the best access for Guest, Feuz, SE, Bison and Unnamed towers. Totem Creek is best for Cromwell, Englehard, Hall and Totem Towers. I'll be back. Peter Amann Peter Amann Mountain Guiding Box 1495, Jasper AB, T0E 1E0 780 852 3237 www.incentre.net/pamann pamann@incentre.net http://www.mountainguide.com/mcr/sridge.jpg

temple page An awesome day on Temple normal route today, clouds dodging around the peaks, warm, no wind. Snow in the past 24 hrs, a skiff in the meadows but boot top on the summit ridge with drifts up to shin deep. Settling and melting today but the next few cold mornings expect verglas on the cliffs and slick snow on the packed trail from the crowds, crampons might be an option. Fay is snowy again after looking grey and icy a few days ago when I was on the Grand Sentinel. Don't expect it to look inviting for too long with a return to clear skies and warm temps. Mark Klassen Mountain Guide _______________________________________________ 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.

I was chased out of the Bugaboos by rain on Thursday, Aug 10. Climbed Pigeon on the 9th and all was good except the Bugaboo/Snowpatch col which is getting a bit ugly. Good snow walking to the bergshrund, good bridge to cross on right (for now), then icy with gravel and 10 cm of slush on top. Not bad if frozen but certainly ugly later in the day with parties underneath. Lots of rockfall with the gravel, and it was unpleasant worrying about all the other people around. Crampons essential. Rapelling neccessary if you are uncomfortable downclimbing 40 degree ice. Bugs is very busy right now, the hut is full to capacity and there are 25+ tents at Applebee campground. Maybe less today since it was raining and possibly snowing up high? Grant Statham Mountain Guide

Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains, August 10th, 2006. Conditions are still generally good for midsummer in the mountains. Rain last night has made things slick but freezing levels appeared to be above 3000m in the Lake O'Hara area at least. Last week's snow has melted and frozen at most elevations and aspects. However, there has been reports of significant avalanches at the icefields so it still needs watching on high north faces. Glacier travel is generally good as last weeks snow has settled but wet weak snow bridges could be a problem with a cloudy weekend forecast in some places. North facing ice routes seem to vary from bare ice to good hard old snow. Alpine rock routes will be good as soon as the recent rain dries off. Given the present conditions and the weather forecast, rockfall, lightning and wet snow will be the main things to fret about this weekend. Keep your eyes wide open and your feet on the ground. Larry Stanier Mountain Guide

Guess we have to move Isreal.Since the Brits and Yanks dreamed up this idea of displacing people who have lived where Isreal is now for over 1400 years you have to fix the problem. So give them the Falkland Islands and a piece of Alaska then quickly learn to use public transit. There I fixed everything in 5 minutes. Now do the Picard thing and "make it so"