Climate Change Era Routes

[geosean]

Hey, I've been thinking a bit about routes that a person should plan to do sooner rather than later in the big scheme of things due to climate change. Basically routes that will get much harder as snow conditions go out.

I'm thinking Nooksack Tower, Liberty Ridge, Price Glacier (almost too late already). They don't have to be snow routes but just routes with snow access that is getting difficult.

Anybody have any thoughts?

For instance, the Price Glacier Right used to be a viable route:

Photo from July 22nd this year.

[bedellympian]

I think the season will just change. Most of these routes will become spring routes with less reliable weather. You'll just have to get better at climbing in weather and cold to send. I think the broken up glaciers will make them more challenging still. You'll need to be a more solid ice climber to get through schrunds and what-not but they will still go.

[dberdinka]

IMO the Grand Wall has always been an extremely precarious and large flake of rock.  With the numerous heat? induced rockfalls in Squamish over the last couple years, seems like the whole mass of rock is altering.   Maybe jump on that sooner than later.

[genepires]

17 hours ago, dberdinka said:

IMO the Grand Wall has always been an extremely precarious and large flake of rock.  With the numerous heat? induced rockfalls in Squamish over the last couple years, seems like the whole mass of rock is altering.   Maybe jump on that sooner than later.

or mountain ridges too   

https://gripped.com/news/big-rockfall-on-chamonixs-aiguille-du-midi/?mc_cid=ef6ceea73a&mc_eid=c39442b80c

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by genepires

[kurthicks]

The loss of glacial ice feels particularly dramatic this season, doesn't it?! I've been joking for years that climate change will eliminate the need for glacier travel skills in the PNW--I didn't realize it would happen in my lifetime!

A few local ones:
Ice Cliff Glacier/Girth Pillar
everything on the north side of Rainier
Adams Glacier
NW Face of Forbidden
Buckner North Face

[geosean]

On 8/24/2023 at 11:40 AM, bedellympian said:

I think the season will just change.

I agree about getting better at ice climbing for late season, but on a snow or ice route you can't just go earlier for more snow because the consolidation effect greatly changes the route. For instance sure you could do the Price Glacier in April but you would be wallowing in deep snow for much of it, then by the time the snow consolidates the cracks are open. But yeah, I could do something like the Price in august if I was a better ice climber.

[geosean]

On 8/26/2023 at 10:32 PM, kurthicks said:

I didn't realize it would happen in my lifetime!

I know right! That's why I'm becoming a mountain runner, I'll run up to the north side of Rainier then scramble Liberty Ridge in dry conditions in August of 2040.