Hi Everyone,

We hope the summer season has been treating everyone well. The ACMG Training and Assessment program just competed Module 2 of the Alpine Guides exam and was based primarily in the Rockies except for one team travelling to the Icefield on August 23rd.

Overall, we had decent weather and dry conditions throughout the module with one day of rain and freezing levels dropping to approximately 2400m at the Icefields. The recent rain in the Rockies was welcome making travel slightly easier and tackier in decent gullies off many of the Alpine Rock routes we climbed. It also gave a pause to the smoky air that we encountered on the first couple days. Below is a list of routes we climbed with relevant beta we thought would be worth sharing:

Eisenhower Tower

• No snow in the descent gully.
• All hardware is in good shape.
• Water still to be found in the spring approximately 100m from where the Eisenhower proper approach trail starts.

Brewers Buttress and Ultra Brewers

• All hardware on assent and descent is in good shape.
• Upper descent gully is firm, tough for good footing. Lower gully above the rappels is very loose with some awkward footing. The team spent some time re-establishing the upper trail to Ultra Brewers.
• Little to no water to be found by the Castle Mountain Hut

Lorette

• All hardware is in good shape.
• With recent rain, footing in descent gully and on assent was quite good.

Louis

• All hardware on ascent and descent is in good shape.
• No water is to be found other than the stream in the first hour of the approach.

North Ridge of EEOR

• There is some loose rock throughout the route and rubble from recent rain events.
• All hardware is in good shape.

Icefields

• Approach to the Silverhorn is mostly bare ice. Travel is generally straight forward, and the crevasses are navigable. The bergschrund to get onto the Silverhorn is passable still at the moment. Silverhorn is in good condition with some fresh snow to ease the ascent. The descent down the ramp route has just enough firm snow now for good travel but if the snow melts out conditions will be become increasingly challenging. A separate MCR with more details to follow on the Icefields.