ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains August 8th, 2019

It looks to be a cooler week of weather and rain is expected for the weekend and beyond in most areas. This will be a temporary break from the great conditions on both rock and snow people have been reporting.

In the rockies snow conditions have been near perfect in the mornings after clear nights, with the freeze breaking down mid morning. Glacier snow cover is still reported to be excellent with many bergshrunds still being passable but starting to open up along with crevasses. Ice faces are starting to melt out but they are much healthier this August than they have been in the past few summers. Rockfall is the major concern anytime sun is on these faces and this will likely increase as the week goes on.

Same goes for the Bugaboos and Rogers Pass. Some of the bigger mountains such as Mt. Sir Donald in Rogers Pass are mainly snow free and the bigger routes in the Bugaboos are being climbed. The Bugaboo/Snowpatch col is reportedly in easy travelling shape with some crevasses opening up. Rockfall events are becoming more frequent this time of year as the loose talus melts out.

In all areas there still are some large cornices still hanging around which wouldn't be a great idea to tempt fate and spend lots of time under.

Given the forecast it wont be a great weekend to be in the big mountains, and we might get a blast of snow above 3000m. Cooler and clearer conditions next week might provide some good windows of alpine climbing opportunity.

Have a good week

Steve Holeczi
ACMG Mountain Guide