Came out of the Strathcona high country late on Friday after an attempt to climb the Golden Hind. As expected, we found lots of snow at tree line and above and did not meet anybody else for the first 3 days, which may also had to do with the heatwave (35C on Philips Ridge!). In spite if the heat, on many of the north and westerly slopes, the trail was under a good blanket of well settled snow and especially in the morning, crampons were crucial. Even with overnight temps of around 14C the clear skis made for a solid refreeze and some of the terrain is exposed with high consequence in case of wipe-outs! We turned around just before the Borman Ridge / Shoulder on day 3. Carter and Schjelderup Lakes are still 90% frozen and snow-free camp spots are hard to come by there.

The south-east couloir on the Golden Hind looks good from a distance and the snow is well settled and provided good boot packing conditions even in the heat of the day!