garibaldi park, north faces. summer conditions

[lelf]

Hey !

 

I am planning a climbing trip in BC around mid august. I want to climb snow/ice north faces in garibaldi park. The route in want to climb the most are

 

mount fissile NW face

mount fitzsimmons N face

mount wedge NE face

mount weart N face

Joffre couloir or central couloir

 

Any of you guys have climb those mountains/routes ?

any helpfull data ? what are the usual avy conditions at this time of year on garibaldi park north faces ? beacon/probe needed ?

rock pro needed ? what the glaciers looks lik ? bare, collapsed snow bridge, wide open shrund ? any info would help !!

 

thanks and climb safe !!

[G-spotter]

basically it depends on what kind of summer we have, could be anything from 4 feet of snow to bare ice with open crevasses.

 

so, ask again in early august.

[Don_Serl]

lelf, as dru said, conditions can vary a lot, depending on the year. in general, the big snow and ice faces are getting sketchier as they melt out, compared to the '70 or '80s. avvy conditions are usual stable in summer, but you can get huge slab fractures when the firn snow on a steep slope peels off underlying ice. this is very rare, but it's worth thinking about if there's a lot of melting going on when you're considering a route. look around to see what's happening on neighbouring similar slopes. and rockfall is more likely if the temps are high too, especially in couloirs (Fissile, Joffre). nobody i have ever heard of wears an avalanche beacon on a summer route - if the face comes apart and you're on it, you're dead! this is not winter powder... nor is the 'landing' multiple metres of pillowness in the valley...

 

have a good trip, wherever, whenever.