ACMG Mountain Conditions Summary for the Rockies and Columbia Mountains Issued August 19th, 2017

Alpine conditions in the forecast region continue to be great overall. Our huge winter snowpack has held on strong providing unusually good glacier travel for this time of year. That said, this prolonged warm and dry spell is slowly taking its toll. In many places, there is not much snow left on top of the ice and having proper crampons and an ice axe are becoming mandatory.

The melting of the snow means that crevasses, bergschrunds and moats are growing and becoming harder to navigate. There will also likely be more rockfall as the snow continues to recede.

The forecast is not bad with scattered showers on the eastern edge of the zone and freezing levels remaining at around 3000m.

Unfortunately, air quality might still be one of the greatest limiting factors this weekend. I've been using this smoke forecast which has proven to be quite accurate.
http://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/viewer/run/ops/BSC-WC-01/current/

A reminder that 'Group of Four' bear restrictions are in effect in many areas. Check with Parks Canada for details.

Have fun,

Marc Piché
ACMG Mountain Guide