spearhead traverse beta ??

[enem]

 

anyone have information on conditions on the spearhead traverse or thereabouts ? how is the coverage and how open are the crevasses ??

 

thanks!

[tlinn]

Two weekends ago it was fine on the upper Overlord Glacier as far as the boot track. But if you were to drop down a bit lower on the shoulder of Overlord there were a few big ones that had already opened up. We didn't go any further then the top of the boot track because the weather was coming in and the visibility sucked.

[Nathan]

Everyone seems to go around the north side of Overlord, but you can traverse Refuse pinnacle (I think that's the name) and then over or around the south side of Overlord to the Overlord-Benvolio col. I did this maybe 10 years ago with a group of hikers, some in running shoes, and it was casual.

 

I think Fairley's guide says something about Refuse pinnacle that makes it sound scary, but it is Class 2 at worst. Much easier than dealing with all those crevasses. I'm guessing in winter it would be a lot tricker with cornices and such.