Hello Everyone,
I was guiding the scramble/traverse of Yamnuska yesterday (June 24th). As most would expect based on how the mountains are looking right now on the east slope of the rockies, conditions are well behind seasonal. There was still quite a bit of snow above 2000 meters, most notably on the north facing aspects of Yamnuska.
Past the crux chains it is particularly snowy with patches of ice underneath which isn't readily obvious. The potential to grease off down the slope exists in a few spots so care had to be taken in these sections after the chains and up to the summit. We didn't use traction devices for our boots but for people not as confident on their feet in these conditions, this could be of good use particularly if there was a solid freeze overnight like there may be later this week.
Down the summit to the col had a few snow patches but was straightforward. We wore helmets in some sections when walking back under the main face of Yamnuska in light of the recent rockfall events on Yam from other ACMG members.
Paddy Jerome