I returned yesterday from a week of climbing at the ACC's annual General Mountaineering Camp south of Hallum Peak in the Monashees. This GMC, the ACC's 112th, was a first for me, and I was really impressed with the venue and the quality of the camp and experience. A great time with new mountain friends.

It was a wonderful week for weather and conditions -- hot (highs in the high 20s) and mostly clear, with generally really good glacier coverage and easy travel. The exception was on something called the "Riddle Glacier" on the approach to Hallum Glacier, which though spectacularly fractured still offered surprisingly straightforward passage all week, with a bit of caution required on the melting bridges and a couple of belays on the ever-increasing ice. Although the snow was melting fast this week, it didn't seem to be making passage more difficult -- if anything, the best ways through are becoming more obvious.

There were no overnight freezes (temps in the teens) but the snowpack held firm throughout our travels, which typically ended in the early afternoon. Apart from the heat the other reason for our early finishes was afternoon thundershowers, which happened almost every day. Friday was a bit different, with cloud and showers all day, but we seem to be back to normal again with hot summer weather in the forecast.

No signficant rockfall, cornice or serac hazard threatened any of our routes all week, although seracs were very active off the cliffs near camp and pretty spectacular.

I'm attaching a few photos showing the glacier travel approaching Hallum Peak as well as the route from across the valley (from near the base of Magic Carpet Glacier).

Regards,
Tom Wolfe
Mountain Guide
www.sawback.com