I guided an ascent of Athabasca on July 7 and A2 Peak on July 8. Overall conditions were good and travel was fast with an early start. We did not get much in the way of overnight freezes but the night skies were clear, which resulted in a little bit of radiative freezes.

On the Athabasca summit trip we ascended via the AA col route and descended the Ramp route. The slopes at the top of the AA col route are melting out posing a greater rockfall hazard and requires some low angle ice climbing &/or travel on very loose rock terrain. I would not recommend this option (see pic) without a good freeze moving forward. Descending the ramp route went well and is in good condition. The firn line on the AA gl. is about 2880m and about 2780m on Athabasca’s N. gl.

Today we summited A2 Peak without issue. The RHS of the Boundary gl. doesn’t look in good condition any more (see pic), which is why we opted for the LHS option. Fortunately, we caught the LHS route with just enough snow so no glacial ice climbing was required. The snow section near the top is melting fast and will likely require a bit of ice climbing by as early as tomorrow. Also, heads up that there are a dozen good sized rocks (estimated size between football and microwave) above this route option that are very close to melting out (see pic) of the glacier.

Have a great summer!

Patrick Lindsay
Ridgeline Guiding Services