Tried to climb Mt. Odaray yesterday and retreated in the face of overwhelming shittiness.

The recession of the Odaray Glacier and the frequency of rockfall coming off the freshly exposed cliffs, combined with a LOT of rain overnight on Wednesday was more than enough evidence to keep me off the regular SE ridge route. The guests were still keen on Odaray so I was inspired to try and reach the Odaray col via the backside of Little Odaray/Feuz pk.

Wrong again. I had travelled there before but the faint trail was basically obliterated. My best guess is that the early May wet avalanche cycle redistributed all that SW and W facing Talus into unstable piles. Terrible walking, tedious scrambling with the terrifying prospect of being on/in some of those 39-40 degree talus piles in one of our recently frequent heavy rains. Yukk!

A major change is going to have to happen to bring Odaray back onto my personal dance card.

New snow above 3200 M the night of the 12th and very little melt on the 13th due to the smoke and fog. Poor visibility but the Huber Glacier looked freshly white as seen through the grey.

Just another reminder that Geological time includes now.

Larry Stanier
ACMG Mountain Guide